Umayyad Caliphate · 691-692

The Dome of the Rock

Completed in 691-692, the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem is the oldest surviving great Islamic monument. Students explore why it was built, what it says, and why Jerusalem matters to three faiths.

Teach it live New Open on the map
Length
45 minutes
Ages
11–14
On the map
3 steps, AD 691
Live lesson
7 rounds, 3 on the map
Worksheet
Two A4 pages, with Classroom
You need
A projector; phones for live

Live lesson · new in Classroom

Teach it live. The class answers on their phones.

Put the board on the projector. Students join with a six-digit code, no account needed, and tap the map: where was the frontier, where did the grain come from. Their pins drop in together when you reveal, and the closest student takes the round.

€19 per month: every lesson live, every worksheet, cancel anytime. Rome at its height runs live for free.

A live lesson on the projector: the class's pins on the map around Alexandria, the closest students listed beside it A student's phone: the question and a map to tap
7 rounds
3 places to find on the map, quiz questions, a class vote and a one-line answer.
About 15 minutes
Run it as the map step, or to open the discussion. You move on with the space bar.
A report
Every answer, per student and per round, to read back or print after the lesson.
1

Introduction

5 min

Read aloud

Completed in 691-692, the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem is the oldest surviving great Islamic monument. Students explore why it was built, what it says, and why Jerusalem matters to three faiths.

By the end of the lesson, students can

  • Explain why Jerusalem is holy to Jews, Christians and Muslims.
  • Describe the shape and decoration of the Dome of the Rock.
  • Give two reasons why caliph Abd al-Malik built it.
2

Explore the map

12 min

Project the map, or let students follow on their own devices. Each step opens the map at the right year and place.

a

AD 691

A holy city

Open the map in 691 with the Cities layer and Historical Events on. Find Jerusalem and the Religious Event for the Dome of the Rock. Which state rules the city?

Open this view on the map
b

AD 691

Ruled from Damascus

Zoom out until you see both Jerusalem and Damascus. Abd al-Malik ruled from Damascus. Why might he build his great monument in Jerusalem rather than in his own capital?

Open this view on the map
c

AD 691

A rival empire

Zoom out further and find the Eastern Roman Empire to the north. Its capital had the huge domed church of Hagia Sophia. How could a golden dome in Jerusalem answer that rival?

Open this view on the map
3

Class discussion

14 min

Pick two or three. They run from what happened to why it mattered.

  1. Why is Jerusalem holy to Jews, Christians and Muslims?
  2. The Dome of the Rock is a shrine built over a rock, not a mosque for Friday prayers. What is the difference?
  3. Its inscriptions are verses from the Quran, some of them speaking to Christians about Jesus. Who was the building trying to speak to?
  4. Abd al-Malik was fighting a rival caliph in Mecca while the Dome was being built. How might a great building help a ruler in a civil war?
  5. The Dome has stood for more than 1,300 years. Why do people care so much about protecting old sacred buildings?
4

Game round

9 min

Play one round of Rule History as Justinian I, who built Hagia Sophia in Constantinople about 150 years before the Dome of the Rock. Discuss: why did rulers like Justinian and Abd al-Malik spend so much on great religious buildings?

Open Rule History
5

Worksheet

5 min

This worksheet comes with Classroom

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