Editing Al-Aqsa Mosque (section)

==History==
===Pre-construction===
[[File:Israel-2013(2)-Aerial-Jerusalem-Temple Mount-Temple Mount (south exposure).jpg|thumb|right|The mosque is situated at the Southern end of the Haram al-Sharif]]

The mosque is located on the southern part of the Temple Mount or Haram al-Sharif, an enclosure expanded by King [[Herod the Great]] beginning in 20&nbsp;BCE during his reconstruction of the [[Second Temple|Second Jewish Temple]].<ref name="Hartsock2014">{{cite journal |last1=Hartsock |first1=Ralph |date=27 August 2014 |title=The temple of Jerusalem: past, present, and future |journal=Jewish Culture and History |volume=16 |issue=2 |pages=199–201 |doi=10.1080/1462169X.2014.953832 |s2cid=162641910}}</ref> The mosque resides on an artificial platform that is supported by arches constructed by Herod's engineers to overcome the difficult topographic conditions resulting from the southward expansion of the enclosure into the [[Tyropoeon Valley|Tyropoeon]] and [[Kidron Valley|Kidron]] valleys.<ref name="Netzer2008">{{cite book |author=Ehud Netzer |title=Architecture of Herod, the Great Builder |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DbEFv2BBsCgC&pg=PA161 |date=October 2008 |publisher=Baker Academic |isbn=978-0-8010-3612-5 |pages=161–171 |access-date=29 January 2018 |archive-date=1 September 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190901161324/https://books.google.com/books?id=DbEFv2BBsCgC&pg=PA161 |url-status=live}}</ref> During the late [[Jerusalem during the Second Temple Period#Herodian period|Second Temple period]], the present site of the mosque was occupied by the [[Royal Stoa (Jerusalem)|Royal Stoa]], a [[basilica]] running the southern wall of the enclosure.<ref name="Netzer2008"/> The Royal Stoa was destroyed along with the Temple during the [[Siege of Jerusalem (70)|siege of Jerusalem]] by the [[Roman Empire|Romans]] in 70&nbsp;CE.

It was once thought that Emperor [[Justinian]]'s "[[Nea Ekklesia of the Theotokos]]", {{literally|the New Church of the God-Bearer}} and commonly known as the Nea Church, dedicated to the [[Theotokos|God-bearing]] [[Virgin Mary]], consecrated in 543, was situated where al-Aqsa Mosque was later constructed. However, remains identified as those of the Nea Church were uncovered in the south part of the [[Jewish Quarter (Jerusalem)|Jewish Quarter]] in 1973.<ref>{{cite journal |first=Nahman |last=Avigad |title=A Building Inscription of the Emperor Justinian and the Nea in Jerusalem |journal=Israel Exploration Journal |volume=27 |issue=2/3 |year=1977 |pages=145–151 |jstor=27925620}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |first=Robert |last=Schick |chapter=Byzantine Jerusalem |title=Jerusalem before Islam |publisher=Archaeopress |editor1-first=Zeidan |editor1-last=Kafafi |editor2-first=Robert |editor2-last=Schick |page=175 |year=2007 |isbn=978-1-4073-0141-9}}</ref>

Analysis of the wooden beams and panels removed from the mosque during renovations in the 1930s shows they are made from [[Cedrus libani|Lebanese cedar]] and [[cypress]]. Radiocarbon dating gave a large range of ages, some as old as the 9th century BCE, showing that some of the wood had previously been used in older buildings.<ref>{{cite journal |first1=N. |last1=Liphschitz |first2=G. |last2=Biger |first3=G. |last3=Bonani |first4=W. |last4=Wolfli |title=Comparative Dating Methods: Botanical Identification and <sup>14</sup>C Dating of Carved Panels and Beams from the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem |journal=Journal of Archaeological Science |year=1997 |volume=24 |issue=11 |pages=1045–1050 |doi=10.1006/jasc.1997.0183 |bibcode=1997JArSc..24.1045L}}</ref> However, reexamination of the same beams in the 2010s gave dates in the Byzantine period.<ref name=Baruch>{{cite journal |author=[[Yuval Baruch|Baruch, Yuval]] |author2=[[Ronny Reich|Reich, Ronny]] |author3=Sandhaus, Débora |title=A Decade of Archaeological Exploration on the Temple Mount |journal=Tel Aviv |volume=45 |issue=1 |year=2018 |pages=3–22 |doi=10.1080/03344355.2018.1412057 |s2cid=166015732 |url=https://www.academia.edu/37652052 |access-date=29 April 2022 |archive-date=29 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220429140820/https://www.academia.edu/37652052/A_Decade_of_Archaeological_Exploration_on_the_Temple_Mount |url-status=live}}</ref>

During his excavations in the 1930s, [[Robert Hamilton (archaeologist)|Robert Hamilton]] uncovered portions of a multicolor mosaic floor with geometric patterns, but did not publish them.<ref name=Baruch13>Baruch et al. (2018). pp. 13-14.</ref> The date of the mosaic is disputed: [[Zachi Dvira]] considers that they are from the pre-Islamic Byzantine period, while Baruch, Reich and Sandhaus favor a much later [[Umayyad]] origin on account of their similarity to a mosaic from an Umayyad palace excavated adjacent to the Temple Mount's southern wall.<ref name=Baruch13/> By comparing the photographs to Hamilton's excavation report, Di Cesare determined that they belong to the second phase of mosque construction in the Umayyad period.<ref name=DiCesare>{{cite book | author = Michelina Di Cesare | chapter = The mosaic pavement beneath the floor of al-Aqṣā mosque: A case study of late antique artistic ''koiné'' | title = A Globalised Visual Culture? | editor = Fabio Guidetti and Katharina Meinecke | publisher = Oxbow | year = 2020 | pages = 289–320 }}</ref> Moreover, the mosaic designs were common in Islamic, Jewish and Christian buildings from the 2nd to the 8th century.<ref name=DiCesare/> Di Cesare suggested that Hamilton didn't include the mosaics in his book because they were destroyed to explore beneath them.<ref name=DiCesare/>

===Umayyad period===
[[File:Jerusalem_Tempelberg_BW_1.JPG|thumb|upright=1.2|The mosque along the southern wall of al-Haram al-Sharif]]

A mostly wooden, rectangular mosque on the Temple Mount site with a capacity for 3,000 worshippers is attested by the [[Gaul|Gallic]] monk [[Arculf]] during his pilgrimage to Jerusalem in {{circa|679–682}}.{{sfn|Elad|1999|pp=31–32}}{{sfn|Grabar|1986|p=340}} Its precise location is not known.{{sfn|Grabar|1986|p=340}} The art historian [[Oleg Grabar]] deems it likely that it was close to the present mosque,{{sfn|Grabar|1986|p=340}} while the historian Yildirim Yavuz asserts it stood at the present site of the Dome of Rock.{{sfn|Yavuz|1996|p=153}} The architectural historian [[K. A. C. Creswell]] notes that Arculf's attestation lends credibility to claims by some Islamic traditions and medieval Christian chronicles, which he otherwise deems legendary or unreliable, that the second [[Rashidun]] [[caliph]], [[Umar]] ({{reign|634|644}}), ordered the construction of a primitive mosque on the Temple Mount. However, Arculf visited [[Palestine (region)|Palestine]] during the reign of Caliph [[Mu'awiya I]] ({{reign|661|680}}), founder of the [[Bilad al-Sham|Syria]]-based Umayyad Caliphate.{{sfn|Elad|1999|pp=31–32}} Mu'awiya had been governor of Syria, including [[Jund Filastin|Palestine]], for about twenty years before becoming caliph and his accession ceremony was held in Jerusalem. The 10th-century Jerusalemite scholar [[Ibn Tahir]] claims Mu'awiya built a mosque on the Haram.{{sfn|Elad|1999|p=33}}

There is disagreement as to whether the present al-Aqsa Mosque was originally built by the Umayyad caliph [[Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan|Abd al-Malik]] ({{reign|685|705}}) or his successor, his son [[al-Walid I]] ({{reign|705|715}}). Several architectural historians hold that Abd al-Malik commissioned the project and that al-Walid finished or expanded it.{{efn|[[K. A. C. Creswell]], the archaeologists [[Robert Hamilton (archaeologist)|Robert Hamilton]] and Henri Stern, and the historian [[F. E. Peters]] attribute the original Umayyad construction to al-Walid.{{sfn|Allan|1991|p=16}}{{sfn|Elad|1999|p=36, note 58}} Other architectural historians, Julian Rabi,{{sfn|Allan|1991|pp=16–17}} [[Jere Bacharach]],{{sfn|Bacharach|1996|p=30}} and Yildirim Yavuz,{{sfn|Yavuz|1996|p=153}} as well as the scholars [[Idris Bell|H. I. Bell]],{{sfn|Bell|1908|p=116}} Rafi Grafman and Myriam Rosen-Ayalon,{{sfn|Grafman|Rosen-Ayalon|1999|p=2}} and Amikam Elad,{{sfn|Elad|1999|p=39}} assert or suggest that Abd al-Malik started the project and al-Walid finished or expanded it.}} Abd al-Malik inaugurated great architectural works on the Temple Mount, including construction of the Dome of the Rock in {{circa|691}}. A common Islamic tradition holds that Abd al-Malik simultaneously commissioned the Dome of the Rock and the al-Aqsa Mosque.{{sfn|Elad|1999|p=36}} As both were intentionally built on the same axis, Grabar comments that the two structures form "part of an architecturally thought-out ensemble comprising a congregational and a commemorative building", the al-Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock, respectively.{{sfn|Grabar|1986|p=341}}{{efn|This tradition is detailed in the work of the 15th-century Jerusalemite historian [[Mujir al-Din]], the 15th-century historian [[al-Suyuti]] and the 11th-century Jerusalemite writers [[Abu Bakr Muhammad ibn Ahmad al-Wasiti|al-Wasiti]] and Ibn al-Murajja. The tradition cites an ''isnad'' (chain of transmission) traced to Thabit, a mid-8th-century attendant of the sanctuary complex, who transmits on the authority of [[Raja ibn Haywa]], Abd al-Malik's court theologian who supervised the financing of the Dome of the Rock's construction.{{sfn|Elad|1999|p=36}}}} Guy le Strange claims that Abd al-Malik used materials from the destroyed Church of Our Lady to build the mosque and points to possible evidence that substructures on the southeast corners of the mosque are remains of the church.{{sfn|Le Strange|1890a|pp=90–91}}

The earliest source indicating al-Walid's work on the mosque is the Aphrodito Papryi.{{sfn|Elad|1999|pp=36–37}} These contain the letters between al-Walid's [[Qurra ibn Sharik|governor of Egypt]] in December 708–June 711 and a government official in [[Upper Egypt]] which discuss the dispatch of Egyptian laborers and craftsmen to help build the al-Aqsa Mosque, referred to as the "Mosque of Jerusalem".{{sfn|Bell|1908|p=116}} The referenced workers spent between six months and a year on the construction.{{sfn|Elad|1999|pp=26, 36–37}} Several 10th and 13th-century historians credit al-Walid for founding the mosque, though the historian Amikam Elad doubts their reliability on the matter.{{efn|The 10th-century historians [[Eutychius of Alexandria]] and al-Muhallabi attribute the mosque's construction to al-Walid, though they also erroneously credit him for the Dome of the Rock's construction. Other inaccuracies in their works make Elad question their reliability on the matter. A number of 13th-century historians, including [[Ibn al-Athir]], support the claim, but Elad points out that they copy directly from the 10th-century historian [[al-Tabari]], whose work only mentions al-Walid building the [[Umayyad Mosque|great mosques of Damascus]] and [[Masjid al-Nabawi|Medina]], with the 13th-century historians adding the al-Aqsa Mosque to his roster of great building works. Traditions by sources based in nearby [[Ramla]] in the mid-8th century similarly credit al-Walid for the mosques in Damascus and Medina, but limit his role in Jerusalem to providing food for the city's [[Qurra|Quran reciters]].{{sfn|Elad|1999|pp=37–38}}}} In 713–714, a series of earthquakes ravaged Jerusalem, destroying the eastern section of the mosque, which was subsequently rebuilt by al-Walid's order. He had gold from the Dome of the Rock melted to use as money to finance the repairs and renovations. He is credited by the early 15th-century historian [[al-Qalqashandi]] for covering the mosque's walls with mosaics.{{sfn|Elad|1999|p=39}} Grabar notes that the Umayyad-era mosque was adorned with mosaics, marble, and "remarkable crafted and painted woodwork".{{sfn|Grabar|1986|p=341}} The latter are preserved partly in the [[Palestine Archaeological Museum]] and partly in the [[Islamic Museum, Jerusalem|Islamic Museum]].{{sfn|Grabar|1986|p=341}}

Estimates of the size of the Umayyad-built mosque by architectural historians range from {{convert|112x39|m|ft|sp=us}}{{sfn|Grafman|Rosen-Ayalon|1999|p=6}} to {{convert|114.6x69.2|m|ft|sp=us}}.{{sfn|Yavuz|1996|p=153}} The building was rectangular.{{sfn|Yavuz|1996|p=153}} In the assessment of Grabar, the layout was a modified version of the traditional [[hypostyle]] mosque of the period. Its "unusual" characteristic was that its aisles laid perpendicular to the ''qibla'' wall. The number of aisles is not definitively known, though fifteen is cited by a number of historians. The central aisle, double the width of the others, was probably topped by a dome.{{sfn|Grabar|1986|p=341}}

The last years of Umayyad rule were turbulent for Jerusalem. The last Umayyad caliph, [[Marwan II]] ({{reign|744|750}}), punished Jerusalem's inhabitants for supporting a rebellion against him by rival princes, and tore down the city's walls.{{sfn|Goitein|1986|p=326}} In 746, the al-Aqsa Mosque was ruined in an earthquake. Four years later, the Umayyads were toppled and replaced by the Iraq-based [[Abbasid Caliphate]].{{sfn|Pruitt|2017|p=36}}

===Abbasid period===
The Abbasids generally exhibited little interest in Jerusalem,{{sfn|Pruitt|2017|pp=36–37}} though the historian [[Shelomo Dov Goitein]] notes they "paid special tribute" to the city during the early part of their rule,{{sfn|Goitein|1986|p=326}} and Grabar asserts that the early Abbasids' work on the mosque suggests "a major attempt to assert Abbasid sponsorship of holy places".{{sfn|Grabar|1991|p=707}} Nevertheless, in contrast to the Umayyad period, maintenance of the al-Aqsa Mosque during Abbasid rule often came at the initiative of the local Muslim community, rather than from the caliph.{{sfn|Pruitt|2017|p=36}}{{sfn|Grabar|1986|p=341}} The second Abbasid caliph, [[al-Mansur]] ({{reign|754|775}}), visited Jerusalem in 758, on his return from the [[Hajj]] pilgrimage to [[Mecca]]. He found the structures on the Haram in ruins from the 746 earthquake, including the al-Aqsa Mosque. According to the tradition cited by Mujir al-Din, the caliph was beseeched by the city's Muslim residents to fund the buildings' restoration. In response, he had the gold and silver plaques covering the mosque's doors converted into [[dinar]]s and [[dirham]]s to finance the reconstruction.{{sfn|Pruitt|2017|pp=36–37}}

A second earthquake damaged most of al-Mansur's repairs, except for the southern portion near the ''[[mihrab]]'' (prayer niche indicating the ''qibla''). In 780, his successor, [[al-Mahdi]], ordered its reconstruction, mandating that his provincial governors and other commanders each contribute the cost of a [[colonnade]].{{sfn|Pruitt|2017|p=37}} Al-Mahdi's renovation is the first known to have written records describing it.{{sfn|Jeffers|2004|pp=95–96}} The Jerusalemite geographer [[al-Muqaddasi]], writing in 985, provided the following description:

<blockquote>This mosque is even more beautiful than that of Damascus ... the edifice [after al-Mahdi's reconstruction] rose firmer and more substantial than ever it had been in former times. The more ancient portion remained, even like a beauty spot, in the midst of the new ... the Aqsa mosque has twenty-six doors ... The centre of the Main-building is covered by a mighty roof, high pitched and [[gable]]-wise, over which rises a magnificent dome.{{sfn|Le Strange|1890a|pp=98–99}}</blockquote>

Al-Muqaddasi further noted that the mosque consisted of fifteen aisles aligned perpendicularly to the ''qibla'' and possessed an elaborately decorated porch with the names of the Abbasid caliphs inscribed on its gates.{{sfn|Grabar|1991|p=707}} According to Hamilton, al-Muqaddasi's description of the Abbasid-era mosque is corroborated by his archaeological findings in 1938–1942, which showed the Abbasid construction retained some parts of the older structure and had a broad central aisle topped by a dome.{{sfn|Pruitt|2017|pp=37–38}} The mosque described by al-Muqaddasi opened to the north, toward the Dome of the Rock, and, unusually according to Grabar, to the east.{{sfn|Grabar|1991|p=707}}

Other than al-Mansur and al-Mahdi, no other Abbasid caliphs visited Jerusalem or commissioned work on the al-Aqsa Mosque, though Caliph [[al-Ma'mun]] ({{reign|813|833}}) ordered significant work elsewhere on the Haram. He also contributed a bronze [[portal (architecture)|portal]] to the mosque's interior, and the geographer [[Nasir Khusraw]] noted during his 1047 visit that al-Ma'mun's name was inscribed on it.{{sfn|Pruitt|2017|pp=36, 38}} [[Abd Allah ibn Tahir]], the Abbasid governor of the eastern province of [[Greater Khorasan|Khurasan]] ({{reign|828|844}}), is credited by al-Muqaddasi for building a colonnade on marble pillars in front of the fifteen doors on the mosque's front (north) side.{{sfn|Le Strange|1890a|pp=94, 98–99}}

===Fatimid period===
[[File:Interior of the Al-Aksa mosque, Jerusalem. Chromolithograph Wellcome V0050126.jpg|thumb|upright=1.1|A 19th-century chromolithograph of the mosque's interior. The mosaic designs on the drum of the dome, the pendentives, and the archway in front of the ''mihrab'' date from the mid-11th-century [[Fatimid]] reconstruction]]
In 970, the Egypt-based [[Fatimid Caliphate]] conquered Palestine from the [[Ikhshidids]], nominal allegiants of the Abbasids. Unlike the Abbasids and the Muslim inhabitants of Jerusalem, who were [[Sunni Islam|Sunni]]s, the Fatimids followed [[Shia Islam]] in its [[Ismailism|Isma'ili]] form.{{sfn|Pruitt|2017|p=41}} In 1033, [[1033 Jordan Rift Valley earthquake|another earthquake]] severely damaged the mosque. The [[Fatimid]] caliph [[al-Zahir li-i'zaz Din Allah|al-Zahir]] ({{reign|1021|1036}}) had the mosque reconstructed between 1034 and 1036, though work was not completed until 1065, during the reign of Caliph [[Al-Mustansir Billah|al-Mustansir]] ({{reign|1036|1094}}).{{sfn|Grabar|1991|p=707}}

The new mosque was considerably smaller, reduced from fifteen aisles to seven,{{sfn|Grabar|1991|p=707}} probably a reflection of the local population's significant decline by this time.{{sfn|Grabar|1986|p=342}}{{efn|A great famine during the reign of al-Ma'mun depleted the Muslim population, and the situation was exacerbated for all of the city's inhabitants during the city's plunder by the peasant rebels of [[al-Mubarqa]].{{sfn|Goitein|1986|pp=326–327}} The situation may have recovered by the late 10th century, but the unprecedented depredations throughout Palestine by the Bedouins of the [[Banu Tayy]] under the [[Jarrahids]] in the 1020s likely caused a substantial decrease in the population.{{sfn|Goitein|1986|pp=328–329}}}} Excluding the two aisles on each side of the central nave, each aisle was made up of eleven arches running perpendicular to the ''qibla''. The central nave was twice the breadth of the other aisles and had a gabled roof with a dome.{{sfn|Pruitt|2017|p=45}}{{efn|This description of al-Zahir's mosque is the general scholarly view and is based on archaeological studies carried out during restoration work in the 1920s and the diary of Nasir Khusraw's visit in 1047.{{sfn|Pruitt|2017|p=45}}}} The mosque likely lacked the side doors of its predecessor.{{sfn|Grabar|1991|p=707}}

A prominent and distinctive feature of the new construction was the rich mosaic program endowed to the drum of the dome, the [[pendentive]]s leading to the dome, and the arch in front of the ''mihrab''.{{sfn|Pruitt|2017|p=45}}{{sfn|Grabar|1991|pp=707–708}} These three adjoining areas covered by the mosaics are collectively referred to as the "triumphal arch" by Grabar or the "''maqsura''" by Pruitt.{{sfn|Pruitt|2017|p=45}} Mosaic designs were rare in Islamic architecture in the post-Umayyad era and al-Zahir's mosaics were a revival of this [[Mosaic#Arab|Umayyad architectural practice]], including Abd al-Malik's mosaics in the Dome of the Rock, but on a larger scale. The drum mosaic depicts a luxurious garden inspired by the Umayyad or [[Mosaic#Greek and Roman|Classical]] style. The four pendentives are gold and characterized by indented [[tondo (art)|roundel]]s with alternating gold and silver planes and patterns of peacock's eyes, eight-pointed stars, and palm fronds. On the arch are large depictions of vegetation emanating from small vases.{{sfn|Pruitt|2017|pp=45–46}}{{sfn|Grabar|1991|pp=707–708}}

[[File:Lazhar Neftien Aqsa 27.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.3|Caliph [[al-Zahir li-i'zaz Din Allah|al-Zahir]]'s inscription above the ''mihrab'']]

Atop the ''mihrab'' arch is a lengthy inscription in gold directly linking the al-Aqsa Mosque with Muhammad's [[Isra' and Mi'raj|Night Journey]] (the ''isra'' and ''mi'raj'') from the "''[[Masjid al-Haram|masjid al-haram]]''" to the "''masjid al-aqsa''".{{sfn|Pruitt|2017|p=46}} It marked the first instance of this Quranic verse being inscribed in Jerusalem, leading Grabar to hypothesize that it was an official move by the Fatimids to magnify the site's sacred character.{{sfn|Grabar|1986|p=342}} The inscription credits al-Zahir for renovating the mosque and two otherwise unknown figures, Abu al-Wasim and a ''[[sharif]]'', al-Hasan al-Husayni, for supervising the work.{{sfn|Pruitt|2017|p=46}}{{efn|The inscription above the central ''[[mihrab]]'' reads <blockquote>In the name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful, Glory to the One who took his [[Muhammad|servant]] for a [[Isra' and Mi'raj|journey by night]] from the ''masjid al-haram'' to the ''masjid al-aqsa'' whose precincts we have blessed. [... He] has renovated it, our lord Ali Abu al-Hasan the imam [[al-Zahir li-i'zaz Din Allah]], [[Amir al-Mu'minin|Commander of the Faithful]], son of [[al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah]], Commander of 
the Faithful, may the blessing of God be on him and his pure ancestors, and on his noble descendants [Shia religious formula alluding to the descendants of Muhammad through his daughter [[Fatima]] and her husband [[Ali]], Muhammad's cousin]. By the hand of Ali ibn Abd al-Rahman, may God reward him. The [job] was supervised by Abu al-Wasim and al-Sharif al-Hasan al-Husaini.{{sfn|Pruitt|2017|p=46}}</blockquote>}}

Nasir Khusraw described the mosque during his 1047 visit.{{sfn|Pruitt|2017|p=47}} He deemed it "very large", measuring 420 by 150 [[cubit#Islamic world|cubit]]s on its western side. The distance between each "sculptured" marble column, 280 in number, was six cubits. The columns were supported by stone arches and lead joints.{{sfn|Le Strange|1888|pp=36–37}} He noted the following features:

<blockquote> ... the mosque is everywhere flagged with coloured marble ... The [[Maqsura|Maksurah]] [or space railed off for the officials] is facing the centre of the south wall [of the Mosque and Haram Area], and is of such size as to contain sixteen columns. Above rises a mighty dome that is ornamented with enamel work.{{sfn|Le Strange|1888|pp=36–37}}</blockquote>

Al-Zahir's substantial investment in the Haram, including the al-Aqsa Mosque, amid the political instability in the capital [[Cairo]], rebellions by [[Bedouin]] tribes, especially the [[Jarrahids]] of Palestine, and plagues, indicate the caliph's "commitment to Jerusalem", in Pruitt's words.{{sfn|Pruitt|2017|p=44}} Although the city had experienced decreases in its population in the preceding decades, the Fatimids attempted to build up the magnificence and symbolism of the mosque, and the Haram in general, for their own religious and political reasons.{{efn|The Fatimid efforts to strengthen the Muslim position in Jerusalem, starting from the reign of al-Zahir's predecessor, Caliph al-Hakim, was part of a proxy religious conflict between them and the Christian [[Byzantine Empire]]. From at least the 9th century, efforts had been underway to boost the city's Christian edifices, such as the [[Holy Sepulchre]], and pilgrimage infrastructure by Christian powers and leaders, including the [[Carolingian Empire]] and the [[Thomas I of Jerusalem|patriarch of Jerusalem]], in the backdrop of renewed Byzantine offensive action against [[Bilad al-Sham|Islamic Syria]]. Recurrences of mob violence by the city's Muslims against Christians are reported in the 10th century, a time in which al-Muqaddasi laments that Christians and Jews in Jerusalem held the upper hand against the Muslims.{{sfn|Pruitt|2017|pp=39–43}} The Fatimid inscription also points to al-Zahir's reassertion of the orthodox Muslim narrative of the Night Journey and Muhammad's primacy in Islam against the claims by the [[Druze]], a newly emergent outgrowth of Isma'ili Islam in Egypt and Syria, of al-Hakim's divinity and [[occultation]].{{sfn|Pruitt|2017|pp=50–51}}}} The present-day mosque largely retains al-Zahir's plan.{{sfn|Pruitt|2017|pp=44–45}}

Fatimid investment in Jerusalem ground to a halt toward the end of the 11th century as their rule became further destabilized. In 1071, a Turkish mercenary, [[Atsiz ibn Uvaq|Atsiz]], was invited by the city's Fatimid governor to rein in the Bedouin, but he turned on the Fatimids, besieging and capturing Jerusalem that year. A few years later, the inhabitants revolted against him, and were slaughtered by Atsiz, including those who had taken shelter in the al-Aqsa Mosque. He was killed by the Turkish [[Seljuk Empire|Seljuks]] in 1078, establishing Seljuk rule over the city, which lasted until the Fatimids regained control in 1098.{{sfn|Goitein|1986|p=328}}

===Crusader, Ayyubid and Mamluk periods===
[[File:Saladin Minbar-Aqsa.JPG|thumb|right|The doors of the [[Minbar of the al-Aqsa Mosque|Saladin Minbar]], early 1900s. The ''[[minbar]]'' was built on [[Nur ad-Din Zangi|Nur al-Din]]'s orders, but installed by Saladin]]
Jerusalem was captured by the [[Crusades|Crusader]]s in 1099, during the [[First Crusade]]. They named the mosque ''Templum Solomonis'' ([[Solomon's Temple]]), distinguishing it from the Dome of the Rock, which they named ''Templum Domini'' (Temple of God). While the Dome of the Rock was turned into a Christian church under the care of the [[Augustinians]],<ref name="Pringle403">Pringle, 1993, p. 403.</ref> the al-Aqsa Mosque was used as a royal palace and also as a stable for horses. In 1119, the Crusader king accommodated the headquarters of the [[Knights Templar]] next to his palace within the building. During this period, the mosque underwent some structural changes, including the expansion of its northern porch, and the addition of an [[apse]] and a dividing wall. A new cloister and church were also built at the site, along with various other structures.<ref>Boas, 2001, p. 91.</ref> The Templars constructed vaulted western and eastern annexes to the building; the western currently serves as the women's mosque and the eastern as the [[Islamic Museum]].<ref name=Nusseibeh/>

After the [[Ayyubid]]s under the leadership of Saladin reconquered Jerusalem following the [[Siege of Jerusalem (1187)|siege of 1187]], several repairs and renovations were undertaken at al-Aqsa Mosque. In order to prepare the mosque for [[Friday prayer]]s, within a week of his capture of Jerusalem Saladin had the toilets and grain stores installed by the Crusaders at al-Aqsa removed, the floors covered with precious carpets, and its interior scented with rosewater and incense.<ref>Hancock, Lee. [https://books.google.com/books?id=bXHpDNO70CcC&pg=PT40 Saladin and the Kingdom of Jerusalem: the Muslims recapture the Holy Land in AD 1187] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190912153635/https://books.google.com/books?id=bXHpDNO70CcC&pg=PT40 |date=12 September 2019 }}. 2004: The Rosen Publishing Group. {{ISBN|0-8239-4217-1}}</ref> Saladin's predecessor—the [[Zengid]] sultan [[Nur ad-Din Zangi|Nur al-Din]]—had commissioned the construction of a new ''[[minbar]]'' or "pulpit" made of [[ivory]] and wood in 1168–69, but it was completed after his death; [[Minbar of the al-Aqsa Mosque|Nur ad-Din's ''minbar'']] was added to the mosque in November 1187 by Saladin.<ref name=Maddenp230>Madden, 2002, p. 230.</ref> The Ayyubid sultan of Damascus, [[Al-Mu'azzam Isa|al-Mu'azzam]], built the northern porch of the mosque with three gates in 1218. In 1345, the [[Mamluk Sultanate|Mamluk]] sultan [[al-Kamil Sha'ban]] added two naves and two gates to the mosque's eastern side.<ref name=Nusseibeh/>

===Ottoman/modern period===
[[File:Jerusalem Al Aqsa Moschee um 1900.jpg|thumb|left|The front view in 1900]]

After the [[Ottoman Empire|Ottomans]] assumed power in 1517, they did not undertake any major renovations or repairs to the mosque. They made architectural contributions elsewhere on the Haram, including building the [[Fountain of Qasim Pasha]] (1527) and three free-standing domes—the most notable being the [[Dome of the Prophet]] built in 1538, and restoring the [[Pool of Raranj]]. These constructions were commissioned by the Ottoman governors of Jerusalem, rather than the [[List of Ottoman Sultans|sultans]],<ref name=AG07>[http://www.aqsa.org.uk/MULTIMEDIA/AlAqsaGuide/tabid/82/language/en-GB/Default.aspx Al-Aqsa Guide] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081006175930/http://www.aqsa.org.uk/MULTIMEDIA/AlAqsaGuide/tabid/82/language/en-GB/Default.aspx |date=6 October 2008 }} Friends of Al-Aqsa 2007.</ref> whose contributions were limited to additions to the existing minarets.<ref name=AG07/>

In 1816, the mosque was restored by [[Sulayman Pasha al-Adil]], the [[Acre, Israel|Acre]]-based governor of [[Sidon Eyalet|Sidon]], after having been in a dilapidated state.<ref>{{cite book |last=Pappe |first=Ilan |title=The Rise and Fall of a Palestinian Dynasty: The Huyaynis 1700 – 1948 |date=2012 |publisher=Saqi Books |isbn=978-0-86356-801-5 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WzshBQAAQBAJ |chapter=Chapter 2: In the Shadow of Acre and Cairo: The Third Generation |access-date=14 August 2015 |archive-date=15 July 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200715070725/https://books.google.com/books?id=WzshBQAAQBAJ |url-status=live}}</ref>

The first renovation in the 20th century occurred in 1922, when the [[Supreme Muslim Council]] under [[Amin al-Husayni]] (the [[Grand Mufti of Jerusalem]]) commissioned [[Turkey|Turkish]] architect [[Mimar Kemaleddin Bey|Ahmet Kemalettin Bey]] to restore al-Aqsa Mosque and the monuments in its precincts. The council also commissioned [[Great Britain|British]] architects, [[Egypt]]ian engineering experts and local officials to contribute to and oversee the repairs and additions which were carried out in 1924–25 by Kemalettin. The renovations included reinforcing the mosque's ancient Umayyad foundations, rectifying the interior columns, replacing the beams, erecting a [[scaffolding]], conserving the [[arch]]es and drum of the main dome's interior, rebuilding the southern wall, and replacing timber in the central nave with a slab of concrete. The renovations also revealed Fatimid-era mosaics and inscriptions on the interior arches that had been covered with [[plasterwork]]. The arches were decorated with gold and green-tinted [[gypsum]] and their timber tie beams were replaced with [[brass]]. A quarter of the stained glass windows also were carefully renewed so as to preserve their original Abbasid and Fatimid designs.<ref name="Yuvaz149-153">Yuvaz, 1996, pp.&nbsp;149–153.</ref>

Severe damage was caused by the [[Galilee earthquake of 1837|1837]] and [[1927 Jericho earthquake|1927]] earthquakes.<ref name="Nusseibeh"/> The damage from the 1927 earthquake and a small tremor in the summer of 1937 caused the roof of the mosque to collapse.<ref name=Hamilton1-2>[[Robert Hamilton (archaeologist)|Hamilton]] (1949), pp. 1–[http://www.iaa-archives.org.il/zoom/zoom.aspx?folder_id=83&id=6683 2] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201026170115/http://www.iaa-archives.org.il/zoom/zoom.aspx?folder_id=83&id=6683 |date=26 October 2020 }}</ref> Repairs were undertaken in 1938 and 1942.<ref name="Nusseibeh"/> The upper part of the north wall of the mosque was reconstructed and the whole interior of the roofing was refaced. Other repairs included the partial reconstruction of the jambs and lintels of the central doors, the refacing of the front of five bays of the porch, and the demolition of the vaulted buildings that formerly adjoined the east side of the mosque.<ref name=Hamilton1-2/> [[Italian Fascist]] leader [[Benito Mussolini]] donated [[Carrara marble]] columns in the late 1930s.<ref>Fr Alexander Lucie-Smith, [https://catholicherald.co.uk/jerusalems-archives-a-tantalising-glimpse-of-a-lost-world/ ''Jerusalem's archives: a tantalising glimpse of a lost world''], [[Catholic Herald]], 29 August 2019. Accessed 14 June 2023.</ref>

On 20 July 1951, [[King Abdullah I]] was shot three times by a Palestinian gunman as he entered the mosque, killing him. His grandson [[King Hussein of Jordan|Prince Hussein]], was at his side and was also hit, though a medal he was wearing on his chest deflected the bullet.
[[Image:Al aqsa moschee 2.jpg|thumb|left|The dome in 1982, covered in aluminum and visibly silver, following the 1969 fire, rather than the original grey lead]]
The site fell under Israeli control on 7 June 1967, during the [[Six Day War]].
On 21 August 1969, [[Al-Aqsa mosque fire|a fire was started by a visitor from Australia]] named [[Denis Michael Rohan]],<ref name="Times">{{cite magazine |title=The Burning of Al-Aqsa |magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |page=1 |date=29 August 1969 |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,901289,00.html?promoid=googlep |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110628234157/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,901289,00.html?promoid=googlep |url-status=dead |archive-date=28 June 2011 |access-date=1 July 2008}}</ref> an [[Evangelicalism|evangelical Christian]] who hoped that by burning down al-Aqsa Mosque he would hasten the [[Second Coming of Jesus]].<ref name='Time 2006-01-12'>{{cite magazine |title=Madman at the Mosque |date=12 January 1970 |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,942143,00.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101030164859/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,942143,00.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=30 October 2010 |magazine=Time |access-date=3 July 2008}}</ref> In response to the incident, a summit of Islamic countries was held in [[Rabat]] that same year, hosted by [[Faisal of Saudi Arabia]], the then king of [[Saudi Arabia]]. The al-Aqsa fire is regarded as one of the catalysts for the formation of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC, now the [[Organisation of Islamic Cooperation]]) in 1972.<ref>Esposito, 1998, p.&nbsp;164.</ref>

Following the fire, the dome was reconstructed in concrete and covered with [[anodized aluminium]], instead of the original ribbed lead enamel work sheeting. In 1983, the aluminium outer covering was replaced with lead to match the original design by az-Zahir.<ref name="Archnet">[http://www.archnet.org/library/sites/one-site.jsp?site_id=475 Al-Aqsa Mosque Restoration] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090103003046/http://www.archnet.org/library/sites/one-site.jsp?site_id=475 |date=3 January 2009 }} Archnet Digital Library.</ref>

In the 1980s, Ben Shoshan and [[Yehuda Etzion]], both members of the [[Gush Emunim Underground]], plotted to blow up the al-Aqsa mosque and the [[Dome of the Rock]]. Etzion believed that blowing up the two mosques would cause a spiritual awakening in Israel, and would solve all the problems of the Jewish people. They also hoped the [[Third Temple|Third Temple of Jerusalem]] would be built on the location of the mosque.<ref>Dumper, 2002, p.&nbsp;44.</ref><ref>Sprinzak 2001, pp. 198–199.</ref>

On 5 November 2014, Israeli police entered Al-Aqsa for the first time since capturing Jerusalem in 1967, said Sheikh Azzam Al-Khatib, director of the Islamic Waqf. Previous media reports of 'storming Al-Aqsa' referred to the Haram al-Sharif compound rather than the Al-Aqsa mosque itself.<ref>{{cite web |title=Israeli occupation forces breach Al-Aqsa Mosque for the first time since 1967 |url=https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/news/middle-east/15098-israeli-occupation-forces-breach-al-aqsa-mosque-for-the-first-time-since-1967 |website=Middle East Monitor |access-date=23 December 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141223114210/https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/news/middle-east/15098-israeli-occupation-forces-breach-al-aqsa-mosque-for-the-first-time-since-1967 |archive-date=23 December 2014 |url-status=dead}}</ref>