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| Dome of the Rock,
Origin |
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Source:
Earthly Footsteps of the Man of Galilee, p. 119. |
The Mosque of Omar,
Jerusalem
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Above the mosaics [inside the building] runs the remarkable inscription, written
in letters of gold, which records the erection of the Dome of the Rock by El
Mamun in the year 72 of the Hegira. As, however, El Mamun, who was a son of
Harun al Reshid, died in 218 A.H., M. de Vogue and Professor Palmer believe that
the name of Abd el Melik, who, according to their opinion, was the original
founder, was purposely erased, and that of the Imam el Mamun fraudulently
substituted; the short-sighted forger, however, omitted to erase the date. The
inscription consists chiefly of verses from the Koran. The following are some of
the most interesting passages of the inscription: "In the name of God, the
Merciful, the Compassionate! The servant of God, Abdallah, the Imam el Mamun,
Commander of the Faithful, built this dome in the year 72 (A.D. 691). May God
accept it at his hands, and be content with him. Amen! . . ." (Source:
Picturesque Palestine, vol. 1, p. 56.) |
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The Architects |
Source:
Photographs of Charles Lee Feinberg. |
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What is the origin of this beautiful
building? . . . The conclusions arrived at by
a committee of architects and engineers, who
considered the question at Munich, seem to
have been that the Dome of the Rock was not an
old Arab building, and that it could not have
been built by Constantine or later than the
reign of Justinian. The view of the committee
was that the evidence laid before them tended
to show that the building could only belong to
the first third of the sixth century. The Arab
historians attribute the erection of the Dome
of the Rock to Abd el Melik, and this is the
view generally taken of its origin. The
essentially Byzantine character of the
building is explained by the supposition that
Abd del Melik employed a Greek architect, the
Arabs at that time having no style of their
own. It is somewhat surprising, however, to
find that, though the Arabs came in contact
with Byzantine civilization in other places,
there is no known instance of a similar style
of building having been erected by them.
(Source:
Picturesque Palestine, vol. 1, pp.
64-65.) |
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Source:
Photographs of Charles Lee Feinberg. |
Tradition
The origin of the mosque, as given by Muslem
authorities, is interesting. It is as follows.
After taking the city, the Khalif Omar asked
where the Jewish Temple stood. The Patriarch
took him to this rock, then covered with
ruins. Omar, with his own hands, helped to
remove the rubbish, and gave orders for the
erection of the mosque. It is further said
that it was rebuilt in a style of greater
splendour by Abd el-Melek, who covered it with
plates of gold. During the temporary rule of
the Crusaders it was converted into a church,
and they called it "The Temple of the Lord."
(Source:
Jerusalem, Bethany, and Bethlehem, p.
48.) |
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See
Temple Mount,
Exterior of the Dome of the Rock,
History and Traditions of the Dome of the Rock,
Interior of the Dome of the Rock,
or
Al Aqsa Mosque |
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