THE DOME OF THE ROCK

The Decoration of The Dome of the Rock and its Interpretation

The floral mosaic decoration on the arcades, consisting of vases above the columns, with branches spreading out on either side across the flanking arches, meeting those of the adjacent vases. Such a motif, a continuous series in an octagonal or round context, is invariably connected with the iconography of Paradise, regardless of the cultural matrix.

On each arch of the arcade is a very delicate motif of an axial tree. As on the carved marbles, each schematised tree is accompanied by various hybrid details. Sasanian iconography for paradise. the word paradise is derived from the ancient Persian word meaning literally "a place surrounded by a wall."

The Muslim Paradise is repeatedly described, always in very similar terms, and there are few divergence's from the essential concepts. These Muslim descriptions are based on two principal components: trees and precious stones. In the Koran, one such description reads:

"They shall repose on couches, adorned with gold and precious stones ... They shall abide among lotus trees, without thorns, and trees of Mauz, loaded with fruit from top to bottom.(LVI, 15-33)

Other descriptions : "I shall descend upon thee a dome of light, made by my own hands, that will shine in the sky and in the air; I shall raise upon thee a wall of gold, a wall of silver, a wall of emerald, a wall of clouds , a wall of pearls, a wall of rubies ..."

"Eight gates of gold and precious stones, wooden beams made of alternating silver and gold."

The 15th C manuscript, entitled Mi'raj Nameh, deals with the heavenly journey of the prophet Muhammad. When is heaven, he encountered the Emerald tree in paradise. the tree was studded with precious stones. Going a step further in our iconographic investigation, we are told- that beneath this tree, the 4 rivers of paradise, the cosmic waters and Rivers of paradise, issuing forth from the roots of the tree- the tree of Life.

It is well established that Muslim traditions relating to paradise, and to the eschatological concepts underlying them, are of Persian and Judaeo-Christian origins.

Without going into detailed examination of such relations, we may cite one jewish example, particularly relevant to the matter at hand, in Pirqei Mashiah, in the chapter on the messiah: "and her throne is a temple built on 4 golds: fine gold, refined gold, beaten gold and red gold, like the gold that makes fruits, founded in sapphire and fixed in alabaster.

"The Christian interpretation of paradise, as seen in the conventional views of the period, can also serve in clarifying the iconography of the Dome of the Rock.

Principle conceptions of Paradise prevailing in the early middle ages were the allegorical, as perceived by St. Ambrose and the geographical, as perceived by St Jerome.In St Augustine we read: ... Paradise is the symbol of life, its 4 rivers are the 4 cardinal qualities ... the trees herein are the right achievements, their fruits ... the Good Deeds.

Parallel to this is an allegorical conception based on the basic symbolism of the Church: the 4 rivers as the 4 gospels, the trees as the saints etc.

An equivalent of this interpretation can be found in Jewish traditions: Scholem has shown that the plants (Hebrew neti'ot) mentioned in the Jerusalem Talmud, tractate Berakhot 11,8 actually corresponds to the saints in Jewish metaphysical literature.