The Daring
Diagonal Virtual
Museum
A division of the Center
for the Study of Diagonality
in World Culture

Dome of the Rock, Jerusalem
Jerusalem
691-692
Jerusalem
691-692
Executed by:
Date:
The Dome of the Rock initially completed in 691-92 AD in its core is one of the earliest works of Islamic architecture still standing. It was built by Abd al-Malik as a sanctuary for Muslims and as a stamp of Muslim ownership of Jerusalem. The original dome collapsed in 1015 and was rebuilt in 1022-23. The plan of the current structure on the exterior is an octagon. The architectural scheme is based on nearby Byzantine churches and palaces such as the Church of the Seat of Mary built in 451-458. Below the circular dome is a drum that is surrounded by an octagonal arcade creating an ambulatory. The outer wall also forms an octagon. This building, because of its importance in the Islamic faith, contributed to the continued used of the octagonal motif in architecture, whose roots go back to the Tower of the Winds in Athens, built around 50 BC.
Related Galleries: 2.4 - ISLAM | 3.1 - ARCHITECTURE | REVOLVING THUMBNAILS | WORLD MAPS OF DIAGONALITY
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