Among the world’s most recognizable man-made structures, the Dome of the Rock–known in Arabic as the Qubbat as-Sakara–is also one of its most mysterious. Although much of the Dome’s construction, reconstruction, and later additions are well-known from historical texts and archeological work, what it represents, why it was built where it was, and even its use remain the subject of scholarly controversy. Known for its immense size and beauty, and also for being located in the middle of Jerusalem, one of the world’s holiest cities, the Dome of the Rock has been the focus of political leaders who wished to legitimize their rule, religious warriors who believed that it empowered their weapons, and pilgrims who thought it was a site of salvation and enlightenment. As it drew these often diverse and sometimes disparate people to it, it has served the purposes of devout Jews, Muslims, and Christians, who–although often not peacefully sharing the site–seem to recognize its spiritual importance.

The Dome of the Rock has been many things to many people over the centuries, and historians, art historians, and archaeologists have studied the Dome of the Rock and its background extensively. Academics have created an accurate chronology of its life, as well as details about how the monument was built, including the construction and artistic techniques that were used. The dome was built on the site of what is believed to have been the Solomonic Temple that the Israelites built to worship their god, Yahweh, setting the stage for the entire area to be a holy site for the Abrahamic religions over the following centuries. Historians believe that the Umayyad Muslims saw this background as a prime location to build one of the greatest religious complexes in the Islamic world.