Editing Dome (section)

== Symbolism ==
{{Main|Symbolism of domes}}
According to E. Baldwin Smith, from the [[Later Stone Age|late Stone Age]] the dome-shaped tomb was used as a reproduction of the ancestral, god-given shelter made permanent as a venerated home of the dead. The instinctive desire to do this resulted in widespread domical mortuary traditions across the ancient world, from the [[stupa]]s of [[India]] to the [[Beehive tomb|tholos tombs]] of [[Iberian Peninsula|Iberia]]. By Hellenistic and Roman times, the domical tholos had become the customary cemetery symbol.{{sfn|Smith|1950|pp=51–53}}

Domes and tent-canopies were also associated with the heavens in Ancient Persia and the Hellenistic-Roman world. A dome over a square base reflected the geometric symbolism of those shapes. The circle represented perfection, eternity, and the heavens. The square represented the earth. An octagon was intermediate between the two.{{sfn|Grupico|2011|pp=3, 8}} The distinct symbolism of the heavenly or cosmic tent stemming from the royal audience tents of [[Achaemenid Empire|Achaemenid]] and Indian rulers was adopted by Roman rulers in imitation of [[Alexander the Great]], becoming the imperial [[baldachin]]. This probably began with [[Nero]], whose "[[Domus Aurea|Golden House]]" also made the dome a feature of palace architecture.{{sfn|Smith|1950|p=53}}

The dual sepulchral and heavenly symbolism was adopted by [[Early Christianity|early Christians]] in both the use of domes in architecture and in the [[Ciborium (architecture)|ciborium]], a domical canopy like the baldachin used as a ritual covering for relics or the [[Altar#Christianity|church altar]]. The celestial symbolism of the dome, however, was the preeminent one by the [[Christian era]].{{sfn|Smith|1950|pp=53–56, 79}} In the early centuries of Islam, domes were closely associated with royalty. A dome built in front of the mihrab of a mosque, for example, was at least initially meant to emphasize the place of a prince during royal ceremonies. Over time such domes became primarily focal points for decoration or the direction of prayer. The use of domes in mausoleums can likewise reflect royal patronage or be seen as representing the honor and prestige that domes symbolized, rather than having any specific funerary meaning.{{sfn|Grabar|1963|pp=195, 197}} The wide variety of dome forms in medieval Islam reflected dynastic, religious, and social differences as much as practical building considerations.{{sfn|Peterson|1996|p=68}}