Caliph Abd al-Malik: An Ummayad Builder

After years of chaos and uncertainty, the Ummayad Dynasty at last took control of the Islamic empire. The first in this dynasty was Marwan I, followed by his son Abd al-Malik. Though his reign was rife with wars and political discord, Caliph Abd al-Malik is widely regarded as a capable ruler who instituted many reforms and introduced a special currency for the Muslim. But Abd al-Malik may be best known for constructing the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem, to tower above the city as an imposing symbol of Islamic conquest.

When Abd al-Malik took the throne of the Islamic empire in 685 A.D., it signified an era of relative stability after the battles of succession that had torn Islam apart. But introducing a new Muslim currency led to war with Justinian II of Byzantium, and overall al-Malik’s reign was rarely a peaceful one.

Caliph al-Malik is reputed for having provided capable leadership for the empire, instituting important reforms that would have lasting repercussions for centuries. The identity of the Islamic empire as an independent entity was consolidating during this period, as can be seen from the new currency—used throughout the empire—and that al-Malik translated many important records to Arabic for the first time.

The Dome of the Rock

But perhaps the most lasting monument that still endures to the reign of Caliph al-Malik is the Dome of the Rock, which even today still dominates the Jerusalem panorama. During the period of al-Malik’s reign, Jerusalem was still a city with a Christian majority, and the landscape of the Holy City was replete with graceful monuments to Christianity, including the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and the Church of the Ascension.

Like many Muslims of the period, Caliph Abd al-Malik was keenly aware of the disparity in grandeur between the Christian churches and the crude wooden mosque on the Temple Mount. Additionally, the antagonism between Christianity and Islam had only increased with time. This antagonism is expressed in an inscription within the Dome of the Rock, which challenges the doctrines of Christianity.

The chosen site of the Dome was to have great significance, as the rock in question is known in Judaism as the Foundation Stone, wellspring of the world’s creation, site of Jacob’s dream of a ladder of angels. Later on, a mythos related to the rock arose in Islam as well: It became known as the place from which Mohammed ascended to heaven in the course of his Night Journey.

At the time of its construction, the Dome was plated with 100,000 gold dinar coins, so that it appeared then much as it does today. The interior of the dome is lavishly decorated with mosaic tiles. While al-Malik made many architectural repairs and renovations in Jerusalem, it is the Dome of the Rock in particular that has stood the test of time.