Decoration of the Dome of the Rock

As the earliest monument to come down to us from the Umayyad era, the Dome of the Rock was constructed on a platform where the temple of Solomon formerly stood. Many traditions, both Jewish, Christian and Muslim are attached to it. Its layout, centred on a double ambulatory around the Sacred Rock, is descended from the line of older Roman and Byzantine monuments. Its decoration, subsequently copied in other important Umayyad mosques, such as those of Damascus, Aleppo, Hama and Medina, extremely refined and luxurious, and doubtless the work of local craftsmen experienced in Byzantine techniques, respects Muslim ideology and contains no representations of living beings, whether animal or human.

From the beginning, the whole building, both inside and outside, was treated according to the same principles: a polychrome decoration overall, constructed with attention to symmetry which contributes to the balance of the whole, but also with a high degree of fantasy, in which motifs such as trees, sometimes treated with a degree of realism, sometimes very stylised in presentation, are found side by side, and all well adapted in design to the surfaces to be decorated. All of these characteristics endured throughout Islamic art, whatever the region or the period.

The walls were covered up to seven metres in height with marble slabs, cut to form motifs and sometimes inlaid with threads of coloured stones to create further designs. Above were panels of many-coloured glass mosaic, some with gold or silver backgrounds, highlighted with mother-of-pearl. Of the exterior of the building, only two of the porches have in part been preserved. The rest were replaced in the sixteenth century by Iznik ceramic tiles on the orders of Solomon the Magnificent, protector of sacred places and ruler of all the countries bordering the eastern and southern Mediterranean, with the exception of Morocco. Inside, the original decoration is still largely in place with the exception of the ceilings and the dome, which have been painted. Slabs of marble which look like moiré fabric, set off the stones in contrasting colours[1]. The Corinthian capitals are gilded; the tie-beams, architraves and door lintels are faced with bronze plates with various foliage decorations carried out in repoussé work, handed down from antiquity in Mediterranean and Sassanid art.  Up above, mosaics on a gold background[2] trace friezes, with small shell niches, figuring ornamentation of bright foliage: branches and bunches of acanthus, “candelabra” trees and date palms, sometimes realistically presented and sometimes more stylised, but always with attention to symmetry. In the rotunda and the first ambulatory, rich jewels, thrown into relief by mother of pearl, are hanging from the vegetation and seem to form a sort of crown of offerings around the rock. Studies have shown that these were jewels, crowns and diadems of Byzantine, Sassanid  or other provenance, which were all symbols of the importance of the peoples subjugated or partly subjugated by the Arabs, who had appropriated these jewels for themselves[3]. The long gilded inscription on its blue background which dominates the whole of the decoration of the outer octagon is another sign of their wish to assert the supremacy of Islam in the regions where Christians were in the majority.  The verses from the Koran were not chosen by chance: they speak of recognition of Jesus and Mary, of Christians as forming part of the “People of the Book”, the representation of Mohammed’s mi‘râdj (Ascension) and the assertion that Islam is the one true faith. It is the earliest inscription on a monument from Islamic civilisation and its placement symbolises the omnipotence of God and the sacred nature of His Word[4].

The layout of the Dome of the Rock was not repeated, but the architectural elements and its decoration, borrowed from earlier civilisations, were merged and transposed in a harmonious amalgamation and can be found in most Umayyad constructions.

[2]Another Byzantine tradition.  See for example St Apollinaire in Ravenna, 6th century.

[3] A pictographic transcription of the existing custom : when a town or city was conquered, precious and valuable objects were sent to the Ka‘ba (the "Cube" is a building in Mecca, and is the most holy place in Islam) as symbols of victory. Certain 19^th century texts give a list enumerating them.

[4] Vehicle of the divine message, arabe script also has a sacred character. In almost all Islamic religious monuments, the Koranic inscription (often historical as well), is above the heads of the faithful, symbol of God’s omnipotence, whose Revelation « descended » (term used in the intensive form). The golden letters on  a blue background, symbols of the divine light descended from heaven, were often used afterwards as for example in  the  mosaic mihrâb in the Great Mosque at Cordoba and in the Fatimid stucco and painted wooden friezes …