ART HISTORY MIDTERM

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Introduction:

The Dome of the Rock is situated in the city of Jerusalem, Israel, glittering in the fading light, is

undoubtedly one of the most recognizable pictures of the Middle East. It is the earliest Islamic

monument still standing. On my careful analysis, I concluded that the Dome of the Rock

displayed Islam's belief that it had fulfilled and surpassed the predictions of the two

religions by adamantly claiming a place of pilgrimage for Jews and Christians. As a result,

the dome's building was a powerful religious and political declaration that established Jerusalem

as a sacred pilgrimage site and proclaimed Islam's supremacy there. My thesis provides research

as to why the Dome of the Rock was constructed and the relationship between the monument and

the cultural and political development throughout the history of art.

Beliefs of the different societies on the monument:

In the latter half of the 7th century CE, Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan came forward for the

construction of the Dome of the Rock. It is also known as Qubbat Al-Sakhrah, a monument in

Jerusalem. We can call the Dome of the Rock noteworthy because not only it is a mosque but

also a shrine that guards the Foundation Stone, a sacred object to two different world faiths. Jews

believe that the stone serves as a bridge between the spiritual and material worlds since it was the

first stone God created during the Creation and serves as the foundation for all else in the

cosmos. Muslims consider that this is the site where the Prophet Muhammad was carried into a

paradise for an encounter with Allah (an occurrence known as the Mirj) the rock over which the

dome was built. The Al-Aq Mosque, which is close by and is situated on the southern tip of the

plaza, is where Muslims belief that the Prophet was apparently taken from Mecca during the

night time of his meeting. (Stokstad & Cothren, 2017)

Purpose of the construction of the monument:

The Haram al-Sharif is where the dome is located. In present, we can see that the sizable outdoor

platform serves as home to the Al-Aqsa Mosque, madrasas, and several other religious

structures. Among the most sacred sites for the Muslims, the Jews, and the Christians is the

Haram al-Sharif. It is the Temple Mount, where the Jewish second temple once stood. The

prevailing controversy over the reasons behind the building of the Dome of the Rock centers on

two theories: that it was Abd al-fierce Malik's rivalry with Abdallah b. al-Zubayr in Mecca

prompted him, and rivalry with nearby Christian monuments drove Abd al-Malik to construct

this magnificent structure. Abd al-Malik was motivated by this rivalry to create a design

surpassing those in Constantinople, particularly the Hagia Sophia. According to Muslim belief,

Constantinople ruined the temple's location and claimed to have inherited its status as God's

kingdom on earth. To defend the Temple of Jerusalem's reputation against claims made by

Constantinople, the Dome of the Rock, was constructed. (Clark, 2012)

Key artistic style and conceptual idea of the monument:

Although the dome of the rock's structure and embellishments have their roots in Byzantine

architecture, I think its development in the seventh century can be marked as the beginning of a

distinctive Islamic visual aesthetic. The building has an octagonal surface with polished wooden

dome close to the center of a large raised platform. Stone, mosaics, and metal inscriptions

decorate the building's interior and exterior (Stokstad & Cothren, 2017). These mosaics at the

Dome of the Rock can be seen sharing a technique with Byzantine public churches but it lacks

any pictures of animal or human forms. Although the decorative scheme is pervasive, I believe

that the building's primary focus is the straightforward rock it hides rather than art or

architecture. Around the octagonal arcade are Arabic religious inscriptions. (Suleiman, 2016)
Importance of the Dome of the Rock:

The Dome of the Rock's fundamental significance today is the Prophet Muhammad's journey to

heaven, but this event is not mentioned in the structure's writings. I found that Al-Aram al-Sharf

is mentioned in the initial Islamic descriptions from the 9th century that imply some connection

to the Mirj. Even today, the Dome of the rock's purpose and importance remains unclear, partly

due to the absence of contemporaneous discussion regarding its construction (Stokstad &

Cothren, 2017). The longitudinal layout might not be suited for Muslim congregational prayer,

and the structure's design process may not be characteristic of a mosque. Furthermore,

incorporating it into other styles of Islamic institutions is difficult.

Purpose of the Dome of the Rock:

My research suggests that the dome of the rock makes an effort to position Islam as the

legitimate heir to the Abrahamic tradition. This is supported by a number of elements. It's

conceivable that the great size and pricey decorations of the Dome of the Rock were intended to

conflict with the Christian temples, particularly the Church of the Holy Sepulchre (Fischer,

2016).

On research, we can see that scholars started claiming that Abd al-Malik constructed the Dome

of the Rock in place of the Kaaba after the Abbasid dynasty came into power in the 8 th century to

move the Muslim pilgrimage from Mecca, which was then ruled by rebels commanded by Ibn al-

Zubayr. But modern academics have cast doubt on this account, pointing to the Abbasid

historiography's strong anti-Umayyad bias and evidence that Mecca retained the hajj's

destination during Ibn al-Zubayer's uprising (Stokstad & Cothren, 2017). Other researchers have

hypothesized a historical explanation for the dome of the rock's creators, suggesting that the
design, positioning, and sculptural patterns of the dome correspond with Islamic and Byzantine

beliefs.

Conclusion:

Analysis of the Dome of the Rock has begun to paint a particular picture of the structure. First,

Islam saw itself as the apex of Christianity and Judaism. Muslims established their influence in a

city that was extremely important to Jews and Christians by creating a brand-new, significant

structure that had never before been seen in Islam. Second, the Dome of the Rock was

constructed by Caliph Abd ai-Malik ibn Marwan as a political act against his Islamic opponents

in Arabia. Third, Muslims were showing off what they believed to be the outcome of the

Abrahamic/Monotheistic lineage by establishing the site of the former temple, which Jews

revered. In addition, by choosing this specific location, they were reinforcing what they believed

to be their close ties to Judaism. Muslims recognized Jerusalem's significance to Jews and

Christians who had a long history of making pilgrimages there. Realizing this, Muslims believed

that they, too, should hold Jerusalem in great respect as fellow followers of the Bible. Here, we

can see how the Dome of the Rock accommodated the needs of the three major religions. In

other words, while events did occur at distinct, independent times, they were linked together by

the personalities, tactics, and conditions, or causes and cumulative effects, that evolved through

time.
References

● Suleiman, F. W. (2016). The dome of the rock: A rich historic and artistic account. Kent

State University.

● Clark, G. (2012). The Dome of the Rock: the historical, political and religious

motivations behind its construction.

● Fischer, N. (2016). Seeing and unseeing the dome of the rock: Conflict, memory and

belonging in Jerusalem. In Spatializing Peace and Conflict (pp. 242-264). Palgrave

Macmillan, London.

● Stokstad M., & Cothren M. W. (2017). Art History. [VitalSource Bookshelf]. Retrieved

from https://bookshelf.vitalsource.com/#/books/9780134485058/