What Are The Similarities Between Dome Of The Rock And The Byzantine Church

Dome of the Rock, an Islamic shrine built on Temple Mount in Jerusalem in 691, and the Church of San Vitale, a Byzantine church built in 547 in Ravenna, Italy, are two buildings of great importance to their respective religions, Islam and Christianity. Because both buildings have religious functions, they have many situational and architectural similarities to symbolize the importance of God and to create a connection between Earth and Heaven, yet because of differences in cultural history and transforming styles, the buildings convey religious messages through distinct architectural and decorative techniques. The Church of San Vitale and Dome of the Rock have similarly significant locations to reflect the religious grandeur of Islam and Christianity.

For example, both buildings are central plans with ambulatories. This plan creates temporal disruption because it makes the visitor stop under the dome upon entrance, and the buildings use the octagonal domes to connect the viewer to heaven. In Islam and Christianity, circles represent heaven and squares represent earth, so both buildings use the octagon as a symbolic bridge between heaven and earth to increase the spiritual symbolism of the buildings. Also, mosaics decorate the interiors of both Dome of the Rock and the Church of San Vitale. Both buildings use the mosaics to filter light to create a heavenly aura that makes the viewer feel as though they have left the physical realm and are in the spiritual realm. Many of the mosaics in both buildings depict vivid scenes of paradise because both the Quran and Genesis promise paradise to Muslims and Christians. The Church of San Vitale and Dome of the Rock employ similar decorations and architectural styles to convey common messages about religion and to accentuate the holiness of the

Since Islamic art focused on architecture and decoration equally, both the interior and exterior of the building are highly decorative. On the other hand, Byzantine art emphasized decoration more than architecture so the exterior of the Church of San Vitale is plain and the interior is ornamented. This is because Dome of the Rock is a pilgrimage site so the decorative interior and exterior makes the building stand out and parallels the magnificence of Islam, whereas Christian art focused on the interior to resemble a spiritual atmosphere through mosaics that create a smoke and mirror effect. Furthermore, because Islamic art banned figuration, Dome of the Rock is decorated with landscape depictions of paradise, abstract patterning, and calligraphy typical of Islamic art. The Church of San Vitale, conversely, has mosaics that depict stories from the Old Testament, such as the sacrifice of Isaac and Moses and the Burning Bush. These buildings have variations because of transforming artistic styles and different beliefs about how the Word of God should be spread and