The Dome of the Rock is one of the holiest sites in Islam, located on one of the holiest site in Judaism and Christianity, on the Temple Mount, where stood the Second Jewish Temple before being destroyed by the Roman army in 70 CE. After the Islamic invasion of the Byzantine Empire, The Dome of the Rock was erected between 685 and 691 CE, on the Fondation Rock: according to Islamic tradition, the rock is the spot from where Muhammad ascended to Heaven accompanied by the angel Gabriel; in Judaism, it is considered as the holiest spot on Earth, the site of the Holy of Holies during the Temple Period. The Dome of the Rock itself was long believed by Christians and Jews to echo the architecture of the Temple at Jerusalem, as can be seen in Raphael’s The Marriage of the Virgin.

[vols]