Dictionary of islamic architecture

Early Islamic Period
During the early Islamic period the area of the
Temple Mount (Haram) was developed for the first
time since Hadrian’s destruction in 70 CE. The first
mosque known to have been built in Jerusalem was
erected by the caliph 
Umar and was described by
the Christian pilgrim Arculf as ‘a rectangular place
of prayer…roughly built by setting big beams on the
remains of some ruins’. However, nothing of this
early structure remains so that the earliest surviving
structure in the city is the Dome of the Rock built by
Abd al-Malik in 691. This is a large, domed octagonal
structure built over the bare rock of the Temple
platform, below which is a cave. Related to the Dome
of the Rock is the Qubbat al-Silsila which was
probably built at the same time.
To the south of the Dome of the Rock is the Aqsa
Mosque which may have been started under Abd
al-Malik although most of the construction was
carried out under al-Walid. The mosque has been
rebuilt several times subsequently although it is
believed that the present structure maintains the
basic layout of al-Walid’s mosque. It has recently
been demonstrated that the walls of the Haram
were probably rebuilt at this time and provided
with gateways, thus suggesting that the area was
systematically developed by the Umayyads
probably as a rival to the Church of the Holy
Sepulchre. Further evidence for this comes from the
excavations to the south of the Haram which have
revealed a large Umayyad palace located at the back
of the Aqsa Mosque. This follows the pattern
established at other early Islamic cities such as Kufa,
where the royal palace Dar al Imara is placed behind
the mihrab.
Although it is known that many repairs and
rebuildings were carried out during the Abbasid and
Fatimid periods there was no major building
programme similar to that carried out under the
Umayyads.
Crusader Period
The capture of Jerusalem by the Crusaders marked
an abrupt end to four and a half centuries of Muslim
rule. The Crusader occupation completely changed
the character of the city as the Muslim inhabitants
had either been killed, fled or sold for ransom. Even
most of the Christian inhabitants had fled and the
Crusaders had problems repopulat-ing the city with
Europeans.
One of the first priorities of the Crusaders was to
rebuild Christian churches and monuments and
convert Islamic buildings to other uses. Thus the
Church of the Holy Sepulchre was expanded by
adding a Romanesque transept to the east side of
the Rotunda. Elsewhere in the city over sixty
churches were built or renovated, whilst mosques
were converted into churches. The Dome of the Rock
was given to the Augustinians who made it into a
church whilst in 1104 Baldwin I made the Aqsa
Mosque into a royal palace.
Some of the houses built during this period were
similar to southern European town houses with two
or three storeys above a shop or store room.
However, other houses were built with courtyards
in a style more familiar to the Middle East. Several
suqs were built during this period and the main suq
in the centre of the Old City was largely built during
this period. This is a covered street with shop units
either side and light openings in the roof.
The Crusades influenced the subsequent
architecture of Jerusalem in several ways including
the introduction of the folded cross vault and the
use of cushion-shaped voussoirs.
Ayyubid and Mamluk Period
In 1188 Jerusalem was recaptured by Salah al-Din
and reconverted into a Muslim city. The Haram was
cleared of its Christian accretions and reconse-
crated as Muslim sanctuary. The cross was removed
from the top of the Dome of the Rock and replaced
with a golden crescent and a wooden screen was
placed around the rock below. Also at this time the
famous wooden minbar of Salah al-Din was placed
next to the new mihrab in the Aqsa Mosque.
However, the major building projects of the
Ayyubid period date mostly to the time of Salah al-
Din’s nephew al-Malik al-Mu
az-zam Isa. During
this period the most important project was
rebuilding the city walls. Within the Haram certain

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Jerusalem (al Quds)
restorations were carried out and at least two
madrassas were founded, the Nahawiyya and the
Mu
azzamiyya. Also the porch of the Aqsa Mosque
was built during this period.
In the later Ayyubid period (first half of the
thirteenth century) Jerusalem was again subjected
to invasions first by the Crusaders and later by the
Khwazmian Turks so that no substantial building
work was carried out.
The Mamluk period lasted from 1250 to 1516
and has provided Jerusalem with some of its most
beautiful and distinctive architecture. Over sixty-
four major monuments survive from this period
and testify to the city’s wealth and confidence. The
Haram in particular received a great deal of
attention from the Mamluk sultans who regarded
the patronage of building in this area as a royal
prerogative. During this period the walls of the
Haram were repaired and the interior of the west
wall was provided with an arcaded portico.
Several major buildings were built within the
Haram, one of the more important of which is the
Ashrafiyya Madrassa built on the west side.
Several attempts were made to build this structure
although the final attempt only took two years
with masons sent from Cairo. The most impressive