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Jerusalem
Dome of the Rock
The most famous Islamic site in Jerusalem is the Dome of the Rock (Qubbat as-Sakhrah). An impressive and
beautiful edifice, the Dome of the Rock can be seen from all over Jerusalem. It is the crowning glory of the Haram esSharif ("Noble Sanctuary"), or Temple Mount.
The Dome of the Rock is not a mosque, but a Muslim shrine. Like the Ka'ba in Mecca, it is built over a sacred stone.
This stone is believed to be the place from which the Prophet Muhammad ascended into heaven during his Night
Journey to heaven.
The Dome of the Rock is the oldest Islamic monument that stands today and certainly one of the most beautiful. It
also boasts the oldest surviving mihrab (niche indicating the direction of Mecca) in the world.
History
The sacred rock over which the Dome of the Rock is built was considered holy before the arrival of Islam. Jews
believed, and still believe, the rock to be the very place where Abraham prepared to sacrifice Isaac (an event which
Muslims place in Mecca). In addition, the Dome of the Rock is believed by many to stand directly over the site of the
Holy of Holies of both Solomon's Temple and Herod's Temple.
The Dome of the Rock was built by the Umayyad caliph Abd al-Malik from 688 to 691 AD. It was not intended to be a
mosque, but a shrine for pilgrims. According to tradition, the Dome of the Rock was built to commemorate
Muhammad's ascension into heaven after his night journey to Jerusalem. But there seems to have been more to it
than this, since the Dome of the Ascension was later built nearby.
Actually, according to the Oxford Archaeological Guide to the Holy Land, "Abd al-Malik's purpose was more complex
and subtle." He wished to erect a beautiful Muslim building that could compete with the majestic churches of
Christendom and would be a symbolic statement to both Jews and Christians of the superiority of the new faith of
Islam. "His building spoke to Jews by its location, to Christians by its interior decoration."
In the 10th century, the Jerusalem visitor Mukaddasi wrote of the magnificent structure:
At dawn, when the light of the sun first strikes the dome and the drum catches the rays, then is this edifice a marvelous sight
to behold, and one such than in all of Islam I have not seen the equal; neither have I heard tell of anything built in pagan
times that could rival in grace this Dome of the Rock.
By the 11th century, several legends had developed concerning the Dome of the Rock and its sacred stone,
including the following:
They say that on the night of his Ascension into Heaven the Prophet, peace and blessing be upon him, prayed first at the
Dome of the Rock, laying his hand upon the Rock. As he went out, the Rock, to do him honor, rose up, but he laid his hand
on it to keep it in its place and firmly fixed it there. But by reason of this rising up, it is even to this present day partly
detached from the ground beneath.
In the Middle Ages, Christians and Muslims both believed the dome to be the biblical Temple of Solomon. The
Knights Templar made their headquarters there during the Crusades and later patterned their churches after its
design.
Jerusalem became the birthplace of Christianity in the first century CE**, one thousand
years after David. As the location of both the Crucifixion and Resurrection of Jesus
Christ, Jerusalem is also referred to as the Holy City of this faith. While Constantine
spread Christianity throughout the Roman Empire in the 4th century, the Christian
desire to reclaim the Holy Land from the infidels arose a millennium after the
Crucifixion, when the Crusaders slaughtered and exiled both Muslims and Jews.
Christian reign of the city lasted approximately 100 years until the Muslims led by
Saladin finally recaptured Jerusalem, permitting the return of those exiled.
Jerusalem is holy to more people than any other city on earth. For Muslims, Jerusalem (known as AlQuds, the Holy) is where Muhammad ascended to heaven. For Christians, Jerusalem is where Jesus
walked, was crucified and resurrected. Why is Jerusalem a sacred city for Jews?
Abraham
Jewish ties to Jerusalem go back to the time of Abraham, the father of Judaism. To test Abraham's
faith in God, God said to Abraham, "Take, I beg of you, your son, your only son, whom you love,
Yitzhak, and get yourself to the land of Moriah and offer him up there as an offering on one of the
mountains on which I will tell you." (Genesis 22:2) It is on Mount Moriah in Jerusalem that Abraham
passes God's test of faith. Mount Moriah came to symbolize for the Jews the supreme embodiment of
their relationship with God.
Then, "Abraham named this place: God Sees, which today is expressed as follows: On the mountain of
God is one seen." (Genesis 22:14) From this Jews understand that in Jerusalem, unlike any other
place on earth, God is almost tangible.
King David
In approximately 1000 B.C.E., King David conquered the Canaanite center called Jebus. Then he built
the City of David on the southern slope of Mount Moriah. One of David's first acts after conquering
Jerusalem was to bring into the city the Ark of the Covenant which contained the Tablets of the Law.
Thereupon David went and brought up the Ark of God from the house of Oved-edom to the City of
David, amid rejoicing. When the bearers of the Ark of the Lord had moved forward six paces, he
sacrificed an ox and a fatling. David whirled with all his might before the Lord; David was girt with a
priestly garment. Thus David and all the House of Israel brought up the Ark of the Lord with shouts
and with blasts of the shofar. (2 Samuel 6:13)
With the transfer of the Ark of the Covenant, Jerusalem became a holy city and the center of worship
for the Israelites.
King Solomon
It was David's son, Solomon who built the Temple for God on Mount Moriah in Jerusalem, inaugurating
it in 960 BCE. The most costly materials and advanced builders were used to create this magnificent
Temple, which would house the Ark of the Covenant.
Babylonian Exile
Unlike the Assyrians, the Babylonians, in 586 B.C.E., succeeded to conquer Jerusalem. The
Babylonians, led by Nebuchadnezzer, destroyed the Temple and exiled the Jews to Babylonia.
Even in exile, however, Jews never forgot their holy city of Jerusalem.
The Crusades - What were the Crusades?
The Crusades were a series of Holy Wars launched by the Christian states of Europe
against the Saracens. The term 'Saracen' was the word used to describe a Moslem during
the time of the Crusades. The Crusades started in 1095 when Pope Urban II preached the
First Crusade at the Council of Claremont. The Pope's preaching led to thousands
immediately affixing the cross to their garments - the name Crusade given to the Holy
Wars came from old French word 'crois' meaning 'cross'. The Crusades were great
military expeditions undertaken by the Christian nations of Europe for the purpose of
rescuing the holy places of Palestine from the hands of the Mohammedans. They were eight
in number, the first four being sometimes called the Principal Crusades, and the remaining
four the Minor Crusades. In addition there was a Children's Crusade. There were several
other expeditions, which were insignificant in numbers or results.
The Crusaders
Capture Jerusalem, 1099
In the year 637 the armies of Islam lead by the Caliph Omar conquered the city of Jerusalem, the
center of the Christian world and a magnet for Christian pilgrims. The city's Muslim
masters exhibited a certain level of religious tolerance. No new churches were to be
built and crosses could not be publicly displayed outside church buildings, but the
pilgrims were allowed to continue their treks to the holiest shrines of Christendom
(the pilgrims were charged a toll for access). The situation remained stable for over
400 years. Then, in the latter part of the 11th century, the Turks swarmed westward
out of Central Asia overrunning all that lay in their path. Jerusalem fell to them in
1076. The atmosphere of tolerance practiced by the followers of Omar was replaced
by vicious attacks on the Christian pilgrims and on their sacred shrines in the Holy
City. Reports of robberies, beatings, killings, degradation of holy sites and the
kidnapping for ransom of the city's patriarch made their way back to Europe. To the
Europeans the Holy Land was now in the smothering grip of the Infidel and something
must be done.
In response, Pope Urban II called a conference at the city of Clermont, France in
1095, concluding the eight days of deliberation with one of history's most influential
speeches. Mounting a lofty scaffold, the Pope exhorted the assembled multitude to wrest the Holy
Land from the hands of the Infidel and assured them that God would absolve them from any sin
associated with the venture. His words fell on receptive ears as the crowd responded with cries of "It
is the will of God!", "It is the will of God!". The Crusades had begun.
The First Crusade was the most successful in that it actually accomplished what it set out to do conquer Jerusalem. But it had its problems. Responding to the Pope's challenge, thousands of
peasants rallied to the cause motivated by a combination of religious fervor and the desire to escape
their squalid condition at home. Led by Peter the Hermit and Walter the Penniless the hapless rabble
marched across Europe to Constantinople, only to be slaughtered by the Turks soon after crossing the
Bosphorus into Asia Minor.
In the meantime, the nobility of Europe raised an army of thousands that made its way through
various routes and with much mishap to Constantinople. Unfortunately, many of these crusaders could
not wait until they met the Muslims on the field of battle to demonstrate their religious zeal. As they
progressed through Europe many Jewish communities became the target of their wrath and thousands
were massacred.
In the spring of 1097, a host of over 100,000 crusaders joined forces on the eastern side of the
Bosphorus. The combined army then fought its way along the coast of the Mediterranean reaching the
gates of Jerusalem in June of 1099.
The Crusaders finally reached Jerusalem in May, 1098. They
were surprised to see all the civilized things in the city of
Jerusalem - the Dome of the Rock mosque, and hot baths,
and advanced Islamic medicine.
The Crusaders taking Jerusalem
The Crusaders made many mistakes in their fighting. But the
Fatimids were also fighting with the Seljuks, so they didn't
defend Jerusalem very well. The Crusaders managed to
take Jerusalem, as well as some other important cities along
the Mediterranean coast. They settled down there as the
kings of Jerusalem, in their own new country. So the First
Crusade was a big success for the Europeans and a
setback for the Fatimids.
This Date in History: Saladin Takes Jerusalem
Sunday October 2, 2005
October 02, 1187: Muslim forces under the command of Saladin officially
takes control Jerusalem from the Crusaders, effectively ending any major
Christian presence in the Levant (also known as Outremer: the general region
of the Crusader states through Syria, Palestine, and Jordan). Saladin had
delayed his entry into the city by two days so that it would fall on the
anniversary of when Muslims believe that Muhammed ascended from
Jerusalem (the Dome of the Rock, specifically) to heaven to be in the
presence of Allah. Unlike the Christian capture of Jerusalem almost a hundred
years earlier, there is no mass slaughter - merely debates about whether
Christian shrines like the Church of the Holy Sepulcher should be destroyed to
take away Christian pilgrims' reason for returning to Jerusalem. In the end,
Saladin insists that no shrines are to be touched and the holy sites of
Christians should be respected. This stands in sharp contrast to Reynald of
Chantillon's failed attempt to march on Mecca and Medina for the purpose of
destroying them in 1183. Saladin also has the walls of Jerusalem destroyed so that, if the Christians
ever take it again, they would not be able to hold it.