آداب الرافدين (Sep 1982)
Architectural and artistic elements of the Dome of the Rock and Al-Aqsa Mosque
Abstract
The Dome of the Rock and Al-Aqsa Mosque are among the most important Arab Islamic buildings as a whole, as they are among the oldest buildings that still retain distinct architectural and artistic elements dating back to the era of the first construction, which played a prominent role in crystallizing the Arab-Islamic style And the research will focus on those elements in terms of their characteristics and track their origins and indicate their importance and extent of spread and development without touching on the subsequent elements and architectural roles that these two buildings went through except to the extent required by the nature of the research. The Dome of the Rock, built by Caliph Abd al-Malik ibn Marawan in the year (72 AH / 691AD), was distinguished by its unique design in the history of Arab architecture in the Islamic era, and its consistency is an octagonal outer wall, followed by a middle circle of pillars and columns surrounding the rock in the middle of the building and on which a wooden dome rests on it separating the external valuation from a circle The interior dome has a median precinct of columns surmounted by circular arches (drawing ۲, ۱). The median precinct resulted in two exterior and interior galleries covered with a wooden ceiling. The aforementioned design of the building required architectural and religious necessity, as the costly polygon planning increased the durability of the building, while circular planning facilitated the installation of the dome with a circular projection. As for the outer corridor, it fulfilled the purpose of circumambulating the rock around the rock to clear it, and the inner hallway was used for the same purpose in addition to performing the prayer.
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