Saladin captured Al-Quds and the major sanctuary buildings returned to Muslim use. The minbar commissioned by Nur al-Din was brought from Aleppo. This was a change of use and renewal, not the first construction of the entire compound.[1][2][3]
A change of rule and religious use
The Metropolitan Museum’s Ayyubid overview places Saladin’s capture of Al-Quds in 1187. Accounts of the sanctuary describe the Dome of the Rock and southern mosque returning to Muslim use after their Crusader-period functions. This was a major historical transition, but it was not the first construction of either monument.[1][2][4]
Nur al-Din’s minbar came from Aleppo
Museum With No Frontiers records that Nur al-Din commissioned the wooden minbar in Aleppo between 1169 and 1174. Saladin arranged for it to be installed in Al-Qibli in 1187. Separating commission, manufacture and installation explains why the object is associated with both rulers and two cities.[3]
Renewal continued after the political event
Ayyubid patronage included religious and architectural renewal, while later Mamluk, Ottoman and modern work added further layers across the sanctuary. The year 1187 is therefore a clear historical marker within a much longer building history. It should label the transition it documents instead of serving as a catch-all date for Al-Aqsa.[1][3][5]
Sources & references
References are attached to the passages they support. Dates below record source consultation.
- The Art of the Ayyubid Period (ca. 1171–1260)
The Metropolitan Museum of Art · Consulted 2026-09-14
- The Dome of the Rock · Ana Botchkareva
The Metropolitan Museum of Art · Consulted 2026-09-14
- Pieces from the Nur al-Din Zangi minbar · Nazmi Al-Juʿbeh
Museum With No Frontiers · Discover Islamic Art · Consulted 2026-09-14
- Jamiʿ al-Aqsa
Archnet · Aga Khan Documentation Center, MIT · Consulted 2026-09-14
- A Guide to Al-Aqsa Mosque / Al-Haram Ash-Sharif (2015)
pp. 24–59
PASSIA · Jerusalem Awqaf · Hashemite Fund · Consulted 2026-09-14