The Dome of the Rock at Jerusalem (691)

Rivaling the great churches of Christendom, the mosque in Jerusalem called Dome of the Rock borrowed from late Roman and Byzantine forms even while asserting its Islamic identity. The columns and the capitals atop them, the round arches, the dome, and the mosaics are all from Byzantine models. In fact, the columns were taken from older buildings at Jerusalem. But the strips of Arabic writing on the dome itself—and in many other parts of the building—assert Islamic doctrine. (Erich Lessing / Art Resource, NY.)