This collection groups together past faculty, both visiting and permanent, who have taught in the&nbsp;<a href="https://archnet.org/authorities/2703" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Aga Khan Program for Islamic Architecture</a>&nbsp;at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and at Harvard University.&nbsp;

Past Faculty: Aga Khan Program for Islamic Architecture

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Sabri Jarrar

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IHJ0004

Located at the southwest corner of the Dome of the Rock in the old city of Jerusalem, the Qubba Nahawiyya (or Madrasa al-Nahawiyya) is composed of two interdependent stories, one at the level of the Dome of the Rock platform (sahn, or courtyard), and the other at the lower level of the al-Haram’s esplanade. In his book Mufarrij al-Kurub fi Akhbar Bani Ayyub, Ibn Wasil writes that al-Malik al-Mu’azzam 'Isa built the Qubba as a great waqf for the teaching of the seven readings (versions of the Qur’an), and appointed the Shaykh Shams al-Din b. Razin al-Ba’albaki for this purpose, particularly for the teaching of Arabic grammar ("nahw"). The thirteenth-century historian Ahmad Ibn Yahya al-Umari designates 1211/608 as the year when al-Malik al-Mu'azzam 'Isa endowed the Qubba, whereas the fifteenth-century historian Mujir al-Din al-Ulaymi gives the year 1207/604 for its completion. According to al-Umari, this building known as the Madrasa Mu'azamiyya was also known as the Qubbat al-Nahw ("Dome of Grammar"). The Ayyubids resumed the early Islamic tradition of erecting freestanding domes (qubbas) on the site of the al-Haram in order to commemorate religious events (e.g., the Qubbat Yusuf, built by Saladdin al-Ayyubi on the southern side of the Dome of the Rock platform). Later, the qubba emerged as a pedagogical institution for the teaching of theology and philology. The Qubba Nahawiyya is such an institution. In its current state, the Nahawiyya shows major alterations in terms of building materials, added and omitted structures, and openings, particularly on its northern elevation. Most architectural historians identify three phases in which the building changed its appearance. The original building, or the first phase, comprised a central open portico (riwaq) with three arched bays on the north elevation, flanked by two domed chambers (4 by 4 meters each) on the east and west, projecting 1.8 meters forward from the portico’s elevation surface. This description aligns with what Al-Umari describes; he also mentions that the eastern chamber served as the residence of the imam, the attendant of the Qubba, and for storage for oil used to light the al-Haram platform. Traces of the portico’s arches can still be seen on the elevation, which was filled with stones in a second phase. An inscription and grooves on the floor indicate the introduction of a sabil (water fountain) in 1137/1724-25, the Ottoman period. This sabil, located on the western corner of the portico and the west chamber, is no longer extant.. The original eastern dome most likely collapsed as a result of an earthquake and was replaced by a shallow dome similar to other Ottoman domes built in Jerusalem. The most distinctive feature of the third phase is the lavishly ornamented portal situated at the center of the north elevation. According to photographs, this portal was added sometime between 1865 and 1889 (it appears in an 1889 photo by the American Colony in Jerusalem but is missing from an 1865 photograph taken by Sir Charles Wilson). This intricacy of detail present in this main portal contrasts with the simplicity of the white limestone used to as infill within the three archways of the portico. It is as tall as the upper story of the Qubba and is elevated on a plinth, on top of which rest two pedestals, one on either side of the portal, holding a column of a rope-like intertwined shaft. On top of the shaft rest two capitals carved with a leaf motif, similarly to the capitals of the Hagia Sophia in Constantinople. These capitals carry a rectangular frieze supporting two carved panels that hold another horizontal entablature, at the same level as and jutting from the Qubba’s roof. From this main portal one enters the vaulted hall (12.86 by 4 meters), comprising three cross-vaulted bays which correspond to the three bays of the portico and ascend from massive rectangular piers on the north and south walls (four on each wall). To the west of this hall is the domed chamber (4 by 4 meters), accessed through a door. Four squinches facilitate the transition from a square to an octagonal zone, above which eight more small conch-like squinches on the four corners of the chamber create a sixteen-sided drum that is closer to a circle upon which drum of the dome rests. The dome is constructed of horizontal circular tiers of stones and has an external cylindrical drum, on top of which rest brackets that hold the cavetto cornice. These bracketed cornices are similar to those used in the dome of the Holy Sepulchre and the Church of St. Mary (Gethesemane), and they continued to be used in the early Mamluk period. The stones of the dome are covered by sheets of lead and surmounted by a stone finial. The north elevation of the western chamber has three windows, now blocked. The window in the middle (1.2 meters high and 0.9 meters wide) is higher than the other two flanking it (0.8 meters high and 0.6 meters wide). All three lintels of these windows are cut diagonally, beveled back into the wall, and carved with geometric rope and fish-scale motifs. The same window treatment appears on the west and south walls of the dome chamber: three windows, one higher than the other two, with geometric carvings. The Qubba sits at the southwest corner bordering between the upper platform of the Dome of the Rock and the lower esplanade. Its south and west elevations are two stories constructed in smooth white stone. The lower story of the south elevation comprises four pointed archways: one is on the western bay underneath the western dome, while the other three correspond to the three bays of the upper hall area. These archways were previously blocked by masonry, which was removed in 1982-83 in a restoration project carried out by the administration of the Awqaf of Jerusalem. These archways are supported on two sides by buttresses (60 centimeters wide and 3.65 meters high) made of stone and protruding from the elevation. On the upper story, in the three bays of the southern wall of the hall, are three tall windows with cusped arches, at the center of each bay. The east elevation is of one story overlooking the al-Haram platform. Constructed of the same white limestone used on the northern elevation, it is a contemporary structure. It has no openings. The eastern domed chamber was accessed through a small door located on the northeast corner of the wall separating it from the main hall. This wall has been removed, and in their place, two pointed arches springing from a round column in the center of the opening were installed. The western elevation has the same pointed archway at the lower story, bolstered by similar buttresses projecting from the wall. On the upper floor, as mentioned above, the triple window motif appears. Under the stair flight leading to the upper level of the Dome of the Rock through the southwest colonnade is a small door that gives access to this lower story of the Qubba. The lower level was originally accessed from the four pointed arches on the south elevation on the esplanade’s level. Today, a door underneath the stairs ascending to al-Haram gives access to the lower floor of the madrasa. After turning at a right angle, one enters what used to be a hall with eight cross vaults springing from eight massive piers and defining eight square bays. Recently, the space was partitioned by the Awqaf administration into cells in order to accommodate offices. Over the course of the twentieth century, the Qubba had several different functions. Between 1923 and 1956 it was a library known as Dar Kutub al-Masjid al-Aqsa, after which it housed the headquarters of the committee responsible for the restoration of the al-Aqsa. Currently, it is the office of the Head of the Supreme Muslim Council. Sources: Asali, Kamil. J. (ed). 1997. Jerusalem in History: 3000 B.C. to the Present Day. London & New York: Kegan Paul International; New York: Columbia University Press, 109-110. Burgoyne, Michael Hamilton. 1987. Mamluk Jerusalem, An Architectural Study. London: Published on behalf of the British School of Archaeology in Jerusalem by the World of Islam Festival Trust, 91, 570. Hawari, Mahmoud. 2007. Ayyubid Jerusalem (1187-1250): An Architectural and Archaeological Study. Oxford: Archaeopress, 112-126.  Jarrar, Sabri. 1998. Suq al-Ma'rifa: An Ayyubid Hanbalite Shrine in al-Haram al-Sharif. In Muqarnas XV: An Annual on the Visual Culture of the Islamic World. Gülru Necipoglu (ed.) Leiden: E.J. Brill, 73-75. Najm, Ra'ef, et al. 1983. Kunuz al-Quds. Milan: Sagdos, Brugherio, 122-123.

Qubba al-Nahwiyya

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IHJ0005

Qubbat Musa is one of many constructions built during the Ayyubid period on al-Haram al-Sharif. It was built in the mid 13th century on the west esplande in close proximity to Bab al-Silsila, the main entrance to the Haram. The simple square building sits on a stone base and is crowned with an octagonal drum that forms the zone of transition to a rounded, slightly elongated stone dome. A semi-circular mihrab at the south wall is expressed on the exterior facade, between two rectangular windows. Sources: Grabar, Oleg and Nuseibeh Said. 1996. The Dome of the Rock. New York: Rizzoli, 171 Burgoyne, Michael Hamilton. 1987. Mamluk Jerusalem: An Architectural Study. Jerusalem: British School of Archeology in Jerusalem, 246 Burgoyne, Michael H. 1976. A Chronolofical Index to the Muslim Monumnets of Jerusalem. In The Architecture of Islamic Jerusalem. Jerusalem: The British School of Archaeology in Jerusalem.

Qubba Musa

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IHJ0006

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IHJ0020

Approaching the Dome of the Rock terrace from the main gate of the Haram al-Sharif, Bab al-Silsila, one encounters wide stone steps crowned with the Southwest Qanatir, a triple-arched arcade that frames the view of the mountains surrounding the Old City of Jerusalem. The present steps and colonnade were built under the reign of Sultan Qaytbay to replace the narrow vaulted stairway with the unrespectable name "the Lane of Kissing" (zuqaq al-bus). The southern pier leans on the northwest corner of the Qubbat al-Nahwiyya, built in 1207-8. The northern pier on the other hand was built substantially wider, since it had to support the lateral thrust from the arcades without the help of another structure. The building that abuts the northern pier today is a later Ottoman addition. The columns are in secondary use, apparently from Byzantine origin and are made of a variety of dissimilar components. The Qanatir is capped with a gabled roof on top of a cavetto cornice to shed rainwater. Sources: Burgoyne, Michael Hamilton. 1987. Mamluk Jerusalem: An Architectural Study. Jerusalem: British School of Archeology in Jerusalem, 570-571 Burgoyne, Michael H. 1976. A Chronological Index to the Muslim Monuments of Jerusalem. In The Architecture of Islamic Jerusalem. Jerusalem: The British School of Archaeology in Jerusalem.

Qanatir al-Janub al-Gharbi

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IHJ0027

The term the "farthest mosque" is considered in Islamic tradition as the general name for the precinct of <a target="_blank" href="http://archnet.org/sites/4348">Haram al-Sharif</a> ("The Noble Sacred Enclosure") in Jerusalem, as well as the specific name for the congregational mosque located at its southern edge. The contemporary congregational mosque of al-Aqsa is a result of different stages of construction and renovations. It is usually agreed upon that 'Abd al-Malik (685-705), the Umayyad Caliph who was the patron of the Dome of the Rock, started the construction of al-Aqsa Mosque at the end of the 7th century. A major building phase took place during the time of the caliphate of his son, al-Walid (709-715). The building suffered from several major earthquakes and was renovated and reconstructed during the Abbasid period by Caliph al-Mahdi (775-785) and possibly by Caliph al-Mansur (754-775). A further reconstruction was executed during the Fatimid period, in the 11th century. During the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem the mosque was considered as Templum Salomonis (Royal Palace of Solomon) and it served as the palace of the Kings of Jerusalem and later as the dwelling place of the Knights Templars. At the same time the Dome of the Rock was regarded as the Templum Domini (The Temple of the Lord). Moreover, several major restorations are known to have taken place during the 14th and 20th century. The mosque consists today of a seven bay hypostyle hall with several additional small halls to the west and east of the southern section of the building. Unlike most hypostyle-style mosques the building does not have a clearly delineated courtyard unless one considers the whole Haram as its court. It is capped with a silver dome, made of lead sheets, which together with the golden dome of the Dome of the Rock, formulate the icon of the Haram in Jerusalem. Sources: Burgoyne, Michael H. 1976. A Chronological Index to the Muslim Monuments of Jerusalem. In The Architecture of Islamic Jerusalem. Jerusalem: The British School of Archaeology in Jerusalem. Burgoyne, Michael Hamilton. 1987. Mamluk Jerusalem: An Architectural Study. Jerusalem: British School of Archeology in Jerusalem, 45-47 Grabar, Oleg and Nuseibeh Said. 1996. The Dome of the Rock. New York: Rizzoli, 43-47 Grabar, Oleg. 1996. The Shape of the Holy: Early Islamic Jerusalem. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 117-122 Hamilton, Robert. 1992. Once Again the Aqsa. In Bayt al-Maqdis: Abd al-Malik Jerusalem. edited by Raby, Julian and Johns, Jeremy. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 141-144 Rosen-Ayalon, Myrian. 1989. The Early Islamic Monuments of Al-Haram al-Sharif: An Iconographic study. Jerusalem: Qedem, 4-7.

Jami' al-Aqsa

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IHJ0039

When approaching the Old City of Jerusalem from the south, as used to be the main approach in the Middle Ages, the first impression of the city is the glittering golden color of the Dome of the Rock viewed from a great distance. Entering the Old City one wanders through dense meandering alleys and alternating plays of dark deep shadows and bright light shining on the buff-beige Jerusalemite stone. The 7th century Dome of the Rock with its colorful exterior wall decoration and Golden Dome reappear in full glory only when entering the precinct of al-Haram al-Sharif ("The Noble Sacred Enclosure"). Al-Haram al-Sharif is an enormous open-air platform of artificial construction that houses the congregational mosque of al-Aqsa, numerous memorial buildings and fountains and is surrounded by many madrasas. The platform was built during Herodian times (1st century AD) to accommodate the new Jewish Temple (that was burned shortly after its completion). The Dome of the Rock is built approximately in the center of the Haram on an additional platform, it is the most prominent building in al-Haram al-Sharif both in terms of height and colors. The Dome of the Rock was built by the Umayyad Caliph Abd al-Malik and completed in 691 AD. While it is the earliest Islamic monument that has survived and one of the most admired ones, the original purpose for its creation have been the subject of much debate from the late Middle Ages to this day. Its location, on the top of Mount Moriah, which is also known as Temple Mount, associates the building with a rich tradition of Jewish and Christian narratives. The location of the Dome of the Rock connects it with a long tradition of the two other monotheistic religions in Jerusalem, Judaism and Christianity. The place is not only the place where the second Jewish Temple was built, but is also associated with the first Jewish Temple of Solomon. In addition, the Rock was considered to be the place where Abraham was prepared to sacrifice his beloved son Isaac. It is in the same location where numerous the important events in the life of Christ are assumed to have happened, and the area to which he predicted: "There will not be left here one stone upon another that shall not be thrown down" (Mark 13:2). Today the Dome is mainly perceived in the Islamic world as the commemoration of the marvelous story of the night journey of the Prophet Muhammad (al-Isra') and his ascension to the sky (al-mi'raj). It is believed that one night, while Muhammad was sleeping near the Ka'ba in Mecca, he was taken by the Angel Gabriel on a legendary steed named al-Burak to al-Masjid al-Aqsa (the farthest mosque) in Jerusalem. From the rock Muhammad ascended to the sky where he met all the prophets who had preceded him (such as Moses, Josef and Christ), witnessed paradise and hell and finally saw God sitting on his throne circumambulated by angels. Since the association of the Dome with the story of the night journey appeared in texts only several decades later, some theories suggest that the main purpose of the building was to express the victory of Islam in the recently conquered dominantly Christian city. The pictorial and textual decoration and the visual dominance of the building in the cityscape might support this theory. Another theory goes as far as to suggest that in response to the political tensions that endangered the pilgrims performing the Hajj to Mecca in those unstable times, Abd al-Malik wanted Jerusalem to supercede Mecca as the main focus of Islamic pilgrimage, thus constructing a building that would allow the ceremony of the circumambulation (al-tawaf). The building of the Dome of the Rock surrounds the somber rock by two sets of colonnades and an octagonal exterior wall. The central colonnade made of four piers and twelve columns support a rounded drum that transitions into the two-layered dome, which is more than 20m in diameter. Light that enters from grilled windows pierced in the drum and exterior wall glitters on golden mosaics and depictions of jewels, and Byzantine and Sassanian crowns in the midst of vegetal motifs. Those decorations have been interpreted as trophies that show the victory of Islam or as depictions of paradise. Quotations from the Koran are inscribed on the arcades and attest the role of Muhammad and of Islam and clarify the perception of Jesus Christ ('Isa) in Islam as an important prophet but not the son of God or God himself. The exterior walls were richly decorated with marble and mosaics similar to the interior. In the 16th century though, at the time of the Ottoman ruler Suleyman the Magnificent the exterior decoration was replaced by Turkish faience tiles, which in turn were widely replaced by a faithful copy made in Italy in the 1960s. One can conclude the attempt to describe the Dome of the Rock with the memory of the 14th century traveler Ibn Batuta who wrote "This is one of the most fantastic of all buildings. Its queerness and perfection lie in its shape... It is so amazing it captivates the eye... Both the inside and the outside are covered with many kinds of tiles of such beautiful make that the whole defies description. Any viewer's tongue will grow shorter trying to describe it" Sources: Ettinghausen, Richard and Grabar, Oleg. The Art and Architecture of Islam 650-1250, 28-34. New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 1987. Grabar, Oleg and Nuseibeh Said. The Dome of the Rock. New York: Rizzoli, 1996 Hillebrand Robert. Islamic Art and Architecture, chp. 1. London: Thames and Hudson, 1999. Hoag, John D. Islamic Architecture, chp. 2. New York: Harry N. Abrams, 1977. Ibn Batuta. Rihlet Ibn Batuta. trans. by Said Nuseibeh. Beirut: Dar Sader. Jeffery, Arthur. A reader on Islam, 621-639. Salem: Ayer Co., 1962. Rosen-Ayalon, Myrian. The Early Islamic Monuments of Al-Haram al-Sharif: An Iconographic study, 12-24. Jerusalem: Qedem, 1989.

Qubba al-Sakhra

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IHJ0068

Sabil Bab al-Silsila, that abuts the wall of al-Turba al-Sa'diyya to the west, and faces the square of Bab al-Silsila, is only 7m from the main gate of al-Haram al-Sharif (of the same name). It is one of the sabils (water fountains) built by Sultan Sulayman I in Jerusalem during the 16th century. The sabil is of a rectangular shape with a recessed niche framed by a pointed arch. The niche is decorated by a rosette, taken as a spolia from a crusader rose window. The rosette is cut by the foundation inscription that date the construction to the year of 1537. At the bottom of the niche there is a highly decorated trough that is likely to be a re-used sarcophagus, like in the case of other sabils and basins in Jerusalem. Sources: Natsheh, Yusuf. "Architectural Survey." In Ottoman Jerusalem: The Living City 1517-1917, (Sylvia Auld and Robert Hillenbrand, eds.), 685-687. London: Altajir World of Islam Trust II, 2000.

Sabil Bab al-Silsila

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IHJ0074

The monumental gate Bab al-Qattanin that sits on the western border of the precinct of al-Haram al-Sharif ("The Noble Sacred Enclosure") leads to the splendid street market of Suq al-Qattanin "Market of the Cotton Merchants". The complex takes the traveler through a dark vaulted elongated space, with shops on either sides and two public baths (hammam). The market-street dramatically lit by skylight openings, leads from the Haram westward into the fabric of the old city of Jerusalem, ending at Tariq al-Wad street. The Mamluk market, that according to Creswell was the finest bazaar in Greater Syria, was built by Sultan al-Malik al-Nasir Muhammad in the 14th century to replace an older construction. Its main gate is one of the grandest of the Haram gates, built into the west portico of the Haram. The gate lies under a splendid muqarnas (stalactite) vault. It sits in a trefoil arch that is contained within a significantly larger recess. The larger recess is topped with a semi-dome supported by marvelous muqarnas pendentives, and surrounded by a slightly pointed arch of ablaq construction of alternating red and cream colored stones. Sources: Burgoyne, Michael Hamilton. Mamluk Jerusalem: An Architectural Study, 273-298. Jerusalem: British School of Archeology in Jerusalem, 1987. Burgoyne, Michael Hamilton. "The Gates of the Haram al-Sharif." In Bayt al-Maqdis: Abd al-Malik Jerusalem, edited by Raby, Julian and Johns, Jeremy, 114. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1992.

Bab al-Qattanin

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IHJ0075

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