Dome of the Rock Architecture and Work of Art
Figure 1. The Dome of the Rock (Qubbat al-Sakhra), Umayyad, stone masonry, wooden roof, busy with glazed ceramic tile, mosaics, and gold aluminum and bronze dome, 691–2, with multiple renovations, patron the Caliph Abd al-Malik, Jerusalem
The Dome of the Stone is a building of boggling beauty, solidity, elegance, and singularity of shape. . . Both outside and inside, the decoration is so magnificent and the workmanship then surpassing equally to defy description. The greater office is covered with aureate so that the eyes of i who gazes on its beauties are dazzled by its luminescence, now glowing like a mass of low-cal, at present flashing like lightning.
—Ibn Battuta (fourteenth century travel writer)
A Glorious Mystery
One of the most iconic images of the Middle East is undoubtedly the Dome of the Rock shimmering in the setting sun of Jerusalem. Sitting atop the Haram al-Sharif, the highest bespeak in sometime Jerusalem, the Dome of the Stone's gilt-color Dome and Turkish Faience tiles dominates the cityscape of One-time Jerusalem and in the 7th century served as a testament to the power of the new organized religion of Islam. The Dome of the Rock is i of the earliest surviving buildings from the Islamic world. This remarkable building is non a mosque, as is commonly assumed and scholars still fence its original function and meaning.
Figure ii. Interior of the Dome of the Rock
Betwixt the expiry of the prophet Muhammad in 632 and 691/ii, when the Dome of the Rock was completed, there was intermittent warfare in Arabia and Holy Land around Jerusalem. The offset Arab armies who emerged from the Arabian peninsula were focused on conquering and establishing an empire—not building. Thus, the Dome of the Stone was one of the kickoff Islamic buildings e'er constructed. It was built betwixt 685 and 691/two by Abd al-Malik, probably the about important Umayyad caliph, every bit a religious focal betoken for his supporters, while he was fighting a civil war against Ibn Zubayr. When Abd al-Malik began construction on the Dome of the Rock, he did not have command of the Kaaba, the holiest shrine in Islam, which is located in Mecca.
Figure 3. View of the Dome of the Rock Above the Western Wall
The Dome is located on the Haram al-Sharif, an enormous open up-air platform that now houses Al-Aqsa mosque, madrasas and several other religious buildings. Few places are equally holy for Christians, Jews and Muslims as the Haram al-Sharif. It is the Temple Mountain, the site of the Jewish second temple, which the Roman Emperor Titus destroyed in lxx CE while subduing the Jewish defection; a Roman temple was later congenital on the site. The Temple Mountain was abandoned in Late Artifact.
At the eye of the Dome of the Rock sits a large rock, which is believed to be the location where Abraham was prepared to sacrifice his beloved son Isaac. Today, Muslims believe that the Rock commemorates the dark journey of Muhammad. One night the Angel Gabriel came to Muhammad while he slept about the Kaaba in Mecca and took him to al-Masjid al-Aqsa (the uttermost mosque) in Jerusalem. From the Rock, Muhammad journeyed to sky, where he met other prophets, such equally Moses and Christ, witnessed paradise and hell and finally saw God enthroned and circumambulated by angels.
Figure 4. Looking down on the rock (Sakhrah) in the centre of the Dome of the Rock
The Stone is enclosed past two ambulatories (in this instance the aisles that circle the rock) and an octagonal exterior wall. The central colonnade (row of columns) was composed of four piers and twelve columns supporting a rounded pulsate that transitions into the 2-layered dome more than than 20 meters in diameter.
The colonnades are clad in marble on their lower registers, and their upper registers are adorned with exceptional mosaics. The ethereal interior atmosphere is a result of light that pours in from grilled windows located in the drum and outside walls. Golden mosaics depicting jewels shimmer in this glittering lite. Byzantine and Sassanian crowns in the midst of vegetal motifs are also visible.
Figure v. Mosaic detail from the Dome of the Rock
The Byzantine Empire stood to the North and to the West of the new Islamic Empire until 1453, when its capital, Constantinople, fell to the Ottoman Turks. To the East, the one-time Sasanian Empire of Persia imploded under pressure from the Arabs, just nevertheless provided winged crown motifs that can be found in the Dome of the Rock. Wall and ceiling mosaics became very popular in Late Antiquity and adorn many Byzantine churches, including San Vitale in Ravenna and Hagia Sophia in Constantinople. Thus, the use of mosaics reflects an artistic tie to the world of Late Antiquity. Tardily Antiquity is a period from about 300–800, when the Classical earth dissolves and the Medieval period emerges.
The mosaics in the Dome of the Rock contain no human being figures or animals. While Islam does not prohibit the use of figurative art per se, it seems that in religious buildings, this proscription was upheld. Instead, we see vegetative scrolls and motifs, as well as vessels and winged crowns, which were worn by Sasanian kings. Thus, the iconography of the Dome of the Rock also includes the other major pre-Islamic culture of the region, the Sasanian Empire, which the Arab armies had defeated.
The building enclosing the Rock also seems to have its class from the purple mausolea (the burial places) of Roman emperors, such as Augustus or Hadrian. Its circular course and Dome as well reference the Church building of the Holy Sepulcher. The circular Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem was built to enclose the tomb of Christ. The Church building of the Holy Sepulcher and the Dome of the Rock have domes that are almost identical in size; this suggests that the elevated position of the Dome of the Rock and the comparable size of its dome was a mode that Muslims in the late eighth century proclaimed the superiority of their newly formed religion over Christians.
The Dome of the Stone also contains an inscription, 240 meters long, that includes some of the earliest surviving examples of verses from the Qur'an—in an architectural context or otherwise. The bismillah (in the name of God, the merciful and compassionate), the phrase that starts each verse of the Qu'ran, and the shahada, the Islamic confession of faith, which states that there is merely one God and Muhammad is his prophet, are also included in the inscription. The inscription also refers to Mary and Christ and proclaim that Christ was not divine simply a prophet. Thus the inscription also proclaims some of the core values of the newly formed organized religion of Islam.
Beneath the Rock is a small chamber, whose purpose is not fully understood even to this 24-hour interval. For those are fortunate enough to exist able to enter the Dome of the Rock, the feel is moving, regardless of one'due south religion.
Inside Dome of the Stone, Mosque
Source: https://courses.lumenlearning.com/suny-arthistory1/chapter/dome-of-the-rock/
0 Response to "Dome of the Rock Architecture and Work of Art"
Post a Comment