What is the Dome of the Rock?

This historic building is the oldest surviving Islamic building in the world with links to Judaism and Christianity

Dating back over 1,300 years, the Dome of the Rock is the oldest surviving Islamic building in the world and a UNESCO world heritage site. It was built by Umayyad Caliph Abd al-Malik between 688 and 691 on the Temple Mount in the Old City of Jerusalem, as a Muslim shrine for pilgrims at a time when Islam was emerging as a new faith. Located inside the shrine is the sacred Foundation Stone, the site where the Prophet Muhammad is believed to have ascended into Heaven during his Night Journey.

Interestingly, the Foundation Stone is also considered to be the place where Abraham was prepared to sacrifice his son, Isaac, and therefore it is a sacred site in both Judaism and Christianity. While there is a lot of debate surrounding Abd al-Malik’s reasons for commissioning the Dome of the Rock, it is commonly argued that the shrine served as a symbolic statement to both Christians and Jews that Islam was the superior faith, with its design rivalling the Christian Church of the Holy Sepulchre, also located in Jerusalem.

After the city was captured by the Crusaders during 1099, the building was handed to Augustinian priests, who transformed it into a Christian church. It was eventually given to the Knights Templar, who used it as their headquarters and renamed it the Templum Domini. It was during this period that the Dome of the Rock influenced the design of Templar churches throughout Europe.

During this time and for much of the Middle Ages, both Christians and Muslims believed that the Dome of the Rock was the site of the Temple of Solomon. After almost a century in Christian hands, Jerusalem was recaptured by Saladin and the Dome of the Rock was reconsecrated as a Muslin shrine, and it has remained so ever since.

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