Dome of the Rock: Jeruselam
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Jake Kelly
4/27/2012
Art History 130c Report
Dome of the Rock: Jerusalem The Dome of the Rock is in an area surrounded by religious influences and not all these are Islamic. It is located on the Haram al-Sharif in Jerusalem, which has gone through many religious changes. Religious groups have been fighting over this area for thousands of years and the fighting still continues today. Many different groups have inhabited this region, but not many have made the impact as the group responsible for the Dome of the Rock. The most dramatic change came when the Muslims took Jerusalem the Christians. When this historical event happened, the Muslims wanted to get rid of any Christian influence, and the Dome of the Rock reflects this idea. This new ruling group wanted to take the religious focus from every previous Christian piece of architecture and turn it towards the Dome of the Rock. To accomplish the construction of a building that overlooked all over Jerusalem, there needed to be a elevated, flat space. The location of its construction is a plateau above the holy city and is another clue to what the Muslims were trying to accomplish. The Haram had many Christian holy spots located there, including the tomb of Christ and the rotunda above it. The structure we see today, has pro Islam calligraphy on the outside walls as well as the mosaics located inside. This use of calligraphy in art work in the Dome of the Rock is one of the first used in Muslim architecture. They use the calligraphy for Qur’anic versus’ as well as explain their faith to people visiting the Dome. Even though the Muslims were trying to out do the previous
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religion, Christian influence is seen through the octagonal shape of the structure. Along with the location and calligraphy, the nature theme of the art work inside show the religious shift that was taking place at the time of its creation. In early Islamic art that was used during this period of time, no human art forms are used. This was
Jake Kelly
4/27/2012
Art History 130c Report
Dome of the Rock: Jerusalem The Dome of the Rock is in an area surrounded by religious influences and not all these are Islamic. It is located on the Haram al-Sharif in Jerusalem, which has gone through many religious changes. Religious groups have been fighting over this area for thousands of years and the fighting still continues today. Many different groups have inhabited this region, but not many have made the impact as the group responsible for the Dome of the Rock. The most dramatic change came when the Muslims took Jerusalem the Christians. When this historical event happened, the Muslims wanted to get rid of any Christian influence, and the Dome of the Rock reflects this idea. This new ruling group wanted to take the religious focus from every previous Christian piece of architecture and turn it towards the Dome of the Rock. To accomplish the construction of a building that overlooked all over Jerusalem, there needed to be a elevated, flat space. The location of its construction is a plateau above the holy city and is another clue to what the Muslims were trying to accomplish. The Haram had many Christian holy spots located there, including the tomb of Christ and the rotunda above it. The structure we see today, has pro Islam calligraphy on the outside walls as well as the mosaics located inside. This use of calligraphy in art work in the Dome of the Rock is one of the first used in Muslim architecture. They use the calligraphy for Qur’anic versus’ as well as explain their faith to people visiting the Dome. Even though the Muslims were trying to out do the previous
2
religion, Christian influence is seen through the octagonal shape of the structure. Along with the location and calligraphy, the nature theme of the art work inside show the religious shift that was taking place at the time of its creation. In early Islamic art that was used during this period of time, no human art forms are used. This was
Bibliography: Aref, Aref El. A Brief Guide to The Dome of the Rock and Al-Haram Al-Sharif. Jerusalem: Supreme AWQAF Council, 1959. Print. Bloom, Jonathan M. Early Islamic Art and Architecture. Aldershot [u.a.: Ashgate Variorum, 2002. Print. Grabar, Oleg. The Dome of the Rock. Cambridge, MA: Belknap of Harvard UP, 2006. Print. Nuseibeh, Said, and Oleg Grabar. The Dome of the Rock. New York: Rizzoli, 1996. Print. Shanks, Hershel, and Hershel Shanks. Jerusalem 's Temple Mount: From Solomon to the Golden Dome. New York: Continuum, 2007. Print. [ 2 ]. Shanks, Hershel. Jerusalem 's Temple Mount: From Solomon to the Golden Dome. New York: Continuum, 2007. Print. [ 3 ]. Nuseibeh, Said, and Oleg Grabar. The Dome of the Rock. New York: Rizzoli, 1996. Print [ 4 ] [ 5 ]. Grabar, Oleg. The Umayyad Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem. Vermont: Ashgate Publishing Company, 2002. Pg. 224 [ 6 ] [ 7 ]. Shanks, Hershel. Jerusalem 's Temple Mount: From Solomon to the Golden Dome. New York: Continuum, 2007. Print. [ 8 ]. Shanks, Hershel. Jerusalem 's Temple Mount: From Solomon to the Golden Dome. New York: Continuum, 2007. Print. [ 9 ]. Aref, El Aref. A Brief Guide to The Dome of the Rock. Jerusalem: The Supreme Awqaf Council. 1959.