Dome of Yusuf

The Dome of Yusuf – honoringSaladin,a 12th-century sultan – is on theTemple Mountin theOld City of Jerusalem.

TheDome of Yusuf(Arabic:قبة يوسفQubbat Yūsuf) is a free-standingdomedstructure on theTemple Mount,located south of theDome of the Rock.

It was built bySaladin(born Yusuf) in the 12th century, and has been renovated several times.^[1]^[2]^[3]It bears inscriptions from the 12th and 17th centuries: one dated 1191 in Saladin's name, and two mentioning Yusuf Agha, possibly a governor of Jerusalem or aeunuchin theOttoman imperialpalace.^[1]^[4]^[5]

Description

A rectangular semi-enclosed structure resembling anaedicule,^[6]the Dome of Yusuf sits upon a solid stone wall and is supported by three pointed open arches. On the northern face of the southern wall, there are stone carvings and a marble-facedblind niche.The exterior of the dome is covered in lead sheeting, and the interior is decorated with a ribbed pattern.^[4]^[5]

The structure has three inscriptions:

The prominent inscription on the lower panel, a greennaskhArabic text, is from 1191 (during theAyyubid dynasty). It calls Saladin by hiskunyaAbū’l-Muẓaffar( "father of the Triumphant" ) and hispersonal nameYūsuf.^{[N 1]}It also mentions anemir,al-Asfahasalar Sayf ad-Din Ali bin Ahmad (al-Asfahsalar Ali bin Ahmad al-Hikkari), for having supervised the construction of a defensive trench.^[7]
Two small, unpainted inscriptions are on the façade'sspandrels(above the arch). They are in two different languages, together forming abilingual epigraphic text.Both panels end with "1092" inEastern Arabic numerals(١٠٩٢), which is theHijri yearthat overlaps partly with 1682 CE.^[8]
- The right one is in Ottoman Turkish, stating that Superintendent Ali Agha built this.^{[N 2]}
- The left is in Arabic, with mostly the same information. It indicates that Ali did it on behalf of Yusuf Agha. Both panels clarify that the reward for this effort should go to Yusuf.^{[N 3]}

The white central panel inside the niche is blank.

Environs

It is one of several structures jutting out of the southern end of the raised platform (terrace) of theDome of the Rock. The Dome of Yusuf is between theSummer Pulpit(Minbar of Burhān ad-Dīn) and thean-Naḥawiyya Dome(Grammarians' Dome). To their east, one sees themain southern colonnade(mawāzīn).

The less-ornamentalDome of Yusuf Aghais a separate building, located in a plaza in the south of the compound.

References

^Saladin's nameʾAbū al-Muẓaffar Yūsuf ibn Ayyūb(أبو المظفر يوسف بن أيوب) is in the fourth line, starting in the middle.
^
The right (west) inscription:^[8]
- "The superintendent Ali Agha has built this – that the reward should all fall on Yusuf Agha. On seeing it, the Oracle Hatif pronounced its date:Muharramof the year 1092 (AH). "
- InscribedOttoman Turkishtext:
یابدی ناظر علی اغا بونی اوله اجرى يوسف اغايه تمام دیدی حاتف كورنجه تأريخن اولدی بيك طقسان ایکی ده اتمام محرم سنة ١٠٩٢
- Transliteration:Yapdı Nazır Ali Ağa bunu / Ol ecri Yusuf Ağayı tamam / Dedi Hatif Kurnaci tarihin / Oldu bin doksanikide tamam / Muharrem sene 1092.
^
The left (east) inscription:^[8]
- "This [dome] has been built out of piety on behalf of Yusuf, / the agha of the Abode of Supreme Felicity [Istanbul], through his perfect piety. / We are presented with it in the phrasing (chronogram) regarding its construction. / Ali has built it [the dome], but the reward for it returns to Yusuf. /Muharramof the year 1092 (AH). "
- Inscribed Arabic text:
بناه على التقوى على ليوسف اغا دار اوج السعد من بره وفي لنا جاء في التأريخ عند بنائه بناه على والثواب ليوسف محرم سنة ١٠٩٢

^^a ^bCarole Hillenbrand (2000).The Crusades: Islamic perspectives(Illustrated, reprint, annotated ed.). Routledge. p. 191.ISBN 978-0-415-92914-1.a monumental inscription dated 587(AH)/1191 in [Saladin's] name on the Dome of Joseph [Qubbat Yusuf] on the Haram esplanade: 'the victorious king, the probity of this world and of [true] religion, the Sultan of Islam and of the Muslims, the servant of the two noble sanctuaries and of Jerusalem.'
^Necipoğlu, Gülru(1998).Muqarnas: An Annual on the Visual Culture of the Islamic World(Illustrated, annotated ed.). BRILL. p. 73.ISBN 978-90-04-11084-7.
^Myriam Rosen-Ayalon (2006).Islamic art and archaeology in Palestine(Illustrated ed.). Left Coast Press. p. 97.ISBN 978-1-59874-064-6.
^^a ^b^{[dead link]}Qubbat Yusuf ArchivedAugust 5, 2011, at theWayback MachineArchnet Digital Library.
^^a ^b^{[dead link]}Al-Aqsa GuideFriends of al-Aqsa 2007.ArchivedDecember 20, 2008, at theWayback Machine
^Hillenbrand, Robert (2000). Auld, Sylvia (ed.).Ottoman Jerusalem.London: British School of Archaeology in Jerusalem. p. 16.ISBN 978-1-901435-03-0.[…] two structures erected by Yusuf Agha in 1681 – the Qubbat Yusuf (an open-plan aedicule) and the Qubbat Yusuf Agha (a closed domed square) – clearly suggest that, despite the identical terminology, different forms connoted different functions in Jerusalem at that time.
^"Marble inscription panel".Museum with No Frontiers.
^^a ^b ^cTutuncu, Mehmet (2006).Turkish Jerusalem (1516-1917): Ottoman Inscriptions from Jerusalem.SOTA.The name Qubbat Yusuf refers not only to the builder Yusuf Agha but it also refers to Salahaddin. He is referred to in the inscription asAbulmuzaffer Yusuf. A version ishere, p. 10-12,but it misspells "piety" (should beالتقوى) asالتققى.

31°46′38.60″N35°14′07.17″E/ 31.7773889°N 35.2353250°E/31.7773889; 35.2353250

External links

Media related toDome of Yusufat Wikimedia Commons
360-degree viewfrom under the dome
A19th-century map of the area.It is labelled lowercasen.The author, Ermete Pierotti, claims it was where Saladin prayed after winning theSiege of Jerusalem:"où Saladin fit sa premiere prière après la prise de Jérusalem".

[7] Saladin's nameʾAbū al-Muẓaffar Yūsuf ibn Ayyūb(أبو المظفر يوسف بن أيوب) is in the fourth line, starting in the middle.

[10] The right (west) inscription:^[8]
"The superintendent Ali Agha has built this – that the reward should all fall on Yusuf Agha. On seeing it, the Oracle Hatif pronounced its date:Muharramof the year 1092 (AH). "

InscribedOttoman Turkishtext:
یابدی ناظر علی اغا بونی اوله اجرى يوسف اغايه تمام دیدی حاتف كورنجه تأريخن اولدی بيك طقسان ایکی ده اتمام محرم سنة ١٠٩٢
Transliteration:Yapdı Nazır Ali Ağa bunu / Ol ecri Yusuf Ağayı tamam / Dedi Hatif Kurnaci tarihin / Oldu bin doksanikide tamam / Muharrem sene 1092.

[3] "The superintendent Ali Agha has built this – that the reward should all fall on Yusuf Agha. On seeing it, the Oracle Hatif pronounced its date:Muharramof the year 1092 (AH). "

[4] InscribedOttoman Turkishtext:

[5] Transliteration:Yapdı Nazır Ali Ağa bunu / Ol ecri Yusuf Ağayı tamam / Dedi Hatif Kurnaci tarihin / Oldu bin doksanikide tamam / Muharrem sene 1092.

[11] The left (east) inscription:^[8]
"This [dome] has been built out of piety on behalf of Yusuf, / the agha of the Abode of Supreme Felicity [Istanbul], through his perfect piety. / We are presented with it in the phrasing (chronogram) regarding its construction. / Ali has built it [the dome], but the reward for it returns to Yusuf. /Muharramof the year 1092 (AH). "

Inscribed Arabic text:
بناه على التقوى على ليوسف اغا دار اوج السعد من بره وفي لنا جاء في التأريخ عند بنائه بناه على والثواب ليوسف محرم سنة ١٠٩٢

[7] "This [dome] has been built out of piety on behalf of Yusuf, / the agha of the Abode of Supreme Felicity [Istanbul], through his perfect piety. / We are presented with it in the phrasing (chronogram) regarding its construction. / Ali has built it [the dome], but the reward for it returns to Yusuf. /Muharramof the year 1092 (AH). "

[8] Inscribed Arabic text:

[Hillenbrand-1] Carole Hillenbrand (2000).The Crusades: Islamic perspectives(Illustrated, reprint, annotated ed.). Routledge. p. 191.ISBN 978-0-415-92914-1.a monumental inscription dated 587(AH)/1191 in [Saladin's] name on the Dome of Joseph [Qubbat Yusuf] on the Haram esplanade: 'the victorious king, the probity of this world and of [true] religion, the Sultan of Islam and of the Muslims, the servant of the two noble sanctuaries and of Jerusalem.'

[Gulru-2] Necipoğlu, Gülru(1998).Muqarnas: An Annual on the Visual Culture of the Islamic World(Illustrated, annotated ed.). BRILL. p. 73.ISBN 978-90-04-11084-7.

[Ayalon-3] Myriam Rosen-Ayalon (2006).Islamic art and archaeology in Palestine(Illustrated ed.). Left Coast Press. p. 97.ISBN 978-1-59874-064-6.

[ADL-4] {[dead link]}Qubbat Yusuf ArchivedAugust 5, 2011, at theWayback MachineArchnet Digital Library.

[FA07-5] {[dead link]}Al-Aqsa GuideFriends of al-Aqsa 2007.ArchivedDecember 20, 2008, at theWayback Machine

[6] Hillenbrand, Robert (2000). Auld, Sylvia (ed.).Ottoman Jerusalem.London: British School of Archaeology in Jerusalem. p. 16.ISBN 978-1-901435-03-0.[…] two structures erected by Yusuf Agha in 1681 – the Qubbat Yusuf (an open-plan aedicule) and the Qubbat Yusuf Agha (a closed domed square) – clearly suggest that, despite the identical terminology, different forms connoted different functions in Jerusalem at that time.

[8] "Marble inscription panel".Museum with No Frontiers.

[Tutuncu-9] Tutuncu, Mehmet (2006).Turkish Jerusalem (1516-1917): Ottoman Inscriptions from Jerusalem.SOTA.The name Qubbat Yusuf refers not only to the builder Yusuf Agha but it also refers to Salahaddin. He is referred to in the inscription asAbulmuzaffer Yusuf. A version ishere, p. 10-12,but it misspells "piety" (should beالتقوى) asالتققى.

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