- 1. In what year did the Crusaders capture Jerusalem?
A) 1187
B) 1099
C) 1119
D) 1218
- 2. During which Crusade was Jerusalem captured by the Crusaders?
A) Second Crusade
B) Fourth Crusade
C) Third Crusade
D) First Crusade
- 3. What name did the Crusaders give to the al-Aqsa Mosque?
A) Dome of the Rock
B) Templum Domini
C) Templum Solomonis
D) Temple of God
- 4. What name did the Crusaders give to the Dome of the Rock?
A) Al-Aqsa Church
B) Templum Domini
C) Solomon's Temple
D) Templum Solomonis
- 5. Which religious order took care of the Dome of the Rock when it was turned into a Christian church?
A) Knights Templar
B) Augustinians
C) Zengids
D) Ayyubids
- 6. Besides being used as a royal palace, what else was the al-Aqsa Mosque used for by the Crusaders?
A) A grain store
B) A stable for horses
C) A library
D) A museum
- 7. In what year did the Crusader king accommodate the headquarters of the Knights Templar at the mosque?
A) 1187
B) 1099
C) 1218
D) 1119
- 8. Which group established their headquarters next to the Crusader king's palace within the building in 1119?
A) Ayyubids
B) Augustinians
C) Knights Templar
D) Mamluks
- 9. Which part of the mosque was expanded during the Crusader period?
A) Northern porch
B) Eastern side
C) Southern wall
D) Mihrab
- 10. What structural additions were made to the mosque by the Crusaders?
A) An apse and a dividing wall
B) A gilded glass mosaic
C) Two naves and two gates
D) A minbar of ivory and wood
- 11. What currently serves as the women's mosque, originally constructed as an annex by the Templars?
A) Western annex
B) Northern porch
C) Eastern annex
D) Southern naves
- 12. What currently serves as the Islamic Museum, originally constructed as an annex by the Templars?
A) Central courtyard
B) Northern porch
C) Eastern annex
D) Western annex
- 13. Who led the Ayyubids in the reconquest of Jerusalem?
A) Al-Kamil Sha'ban
B) Nur al-Din
C) Al-Mu'azzam
D) Saladin
- 14. In what year did Saladin reconquer Jerusalem?
A) 1187
B) 1218
C) 1099
D) 1119
- 15. What undesirable installations placed by the Crusaders did Saladin have removed from al-Aqsa Mosque?
A) Dividing walls and apses
B) Toilets and grain stores
C) Altars and statues
D) Stables and horses
- 16. What scent was used to perfume the interior of al-Aqsa Mosque after Saladin's reconquest?
A) Rosewater and incense
B) Frankincense and myrrh
C) Jasmine and musk
D) Sandalwood and amber
- 17. What material covered the floors of al-Aqsa Mosque after Saladin prepared it for Friday prayers?
A) Precious carpets
B) Wooden planks
C) Marble tiles
D) Stone mosaics
- 18. Where is the restoration inscription commemorating Saladin located?
A) Above the mihrab
B) At the western gate
C) On the northern porch
D) In the eastern annex
- 19. What script was used for the restoration inscription commemorating Saladin?
A) Latin script
B) Kufic script
C) Thuluth script
D) Arabic naskhi script
- 20. What type of panel contains the Arabic naskhi inscription about Saladin's restoration?
A) Marble relief panel
B) Gilded glass mosaic panel
C) Carved wooden panel
D) Painted ceramic panel
- 21. Who was Saladin's predecessor that commissioned a new minbar?
A) Al-Mu'azzam
B) Baldwin
C) Al-Kamil Sha'ban
D) Nur al-Din
- 22. What materials were used to make the minbar commissioned by Nur al-Din?
A) Gold and silver
B) Stone and marble
C) Ivory and wood
D) Bronze and copper
- 23. In what years was the minbar commissioned by Nur al-Din constructed?
A) 1218–19
B) 1168–69
C) 1187–88
D) 1345–46
- 24. In what month and year was Nur ad-Din's minbar added to the mosque by Saladin?
A) November 1187
B) November 1099
C) November 1345
D) November 1218
- 25. Where was Nur ad-Din's minbar placed inside the mosque?
A) At the main western gate
B) Next to the mihrab
C) Inside the eastern annex
D) Near the northern porch
- 26. Who was the Ayyubid sultan of Damascus that built the northern porch with three gates?
A) Nur al-Din
B) Saladin
C) Al-Kamil Sha'ban
D) Al-Mu'azzam
- 27. In what year was the northern porch of the mosque built by al-Mu'azzam?
A) 1345
B) 1168
C) 1218
D) 1187
- 28. How many gates did the northern porch built in 1218 have?
A) One gate
B) Four gates
C) Two gates
D) Three gates
- 29. Who added two naves and two gates to the mosque's eastern side in 1345?
A) Al-Mu'azzam
B) Saladin
C) Al-Kamil Sha'ban
D) Nur al-Din
- 30. What title did al-Kamil Sha'ban hold?
A) Ayyubid sultan
B) Crusader king
C) Mamluk sultan
D) Zengid sultan
- 31. In what year were two naves and two gates added to the mosque's eastern side?
A) 1187
B) 1218
C) 1345
D) 1119
- 32. Which monk attested to the existence of a wooden mosque on the Temple Mount during his pilgrimage in c. 679–682?
A) Arculf
B) K. A. C. Creswell
C) Ibn Tahir
D) Oleg Grabar
- 33. What shape was the mosque described by Arculf?
A) Square
B) Rectangular
C) Octagonal
D) Circular
- 34. Where does historian Yildirim Yavuz assert that the early mosque seen by Arculf stood?
A) Close to the present mosque
B) Next to the Church of Our Lady
C) At the present site of the Dome of the Rock
D) In the southern part of the city
- 35. Which caliph's reign coincided with Arculf's visit to Palestine?
A) Mu'awiya I
B) Abd al-Malik
C) Al-Walid I
D) Umar
- 36. Who ordered the construction of a primitive mosque on the Temple Mount according to claims supported by K. A. C. Creswell?
A) Umar
B) Mu'awiya I
C) Abd al-Malik
D) Marwan II
- 37. What was Umar's relationship to the Rashidun caliphs?
A) He was the founder of the Umayyad Caliphate
B) He was the last Rashidun caliph
C) He was the first Rashidun caliph
D) He was the second Rashidun caliph
- 38. Before becoming caliph, for about how many years was Mu'awiya governor of Syria, including Palestine?
A) Five years
B) Thirty years
C) Twenty years
D) Ten years
- 39. Where was Mu'awiya's accession ceremony held?
A) Cairo
B) Damascus
C) Jerusalem
D) Baghdad
- 40. Which 10th-century Jerusalemite scholar claims Mu'awiya built a mosque on the Haram?
A) Amikam Elad
B) Al-Qalqashandi
C) Ibn Tahir
D) Guy le Strange
- 41. There is disagreement as to whether the present al-Aqsa Mosque was originally built by Abd al-Malik or which of his successors?
A) Mu'awiya I
B) Umar
C) Marwan II
D) Al-Walid I
- 42. According to a common Islamic tradition, when were the Dome of the Rock and the al-Aqsa Mosque commissioned?
A) Centuries apart
B) By Caliph Umar
C) During the Abbasid period
D) Simultaneously
- 43. Whose claim is it that Abd al-Malik used materials from the destroyed Church of Our Lady to build the mosque?
A) Yildirim Yavuz
B) Guy le Strange
C) K. A. C. Creswell
D) Amikam Elad
- 44. What possible evidence does Guy le Strange point to as remains of the Church of Our Lady?
A) Substructures on the southeast corners of the mosque
B) The central dome's wooden framework
C) The columns in the northern courtyard
D) The mosaics on the exterior walls
- 45. What is the earliest source indicating al-Walid's work on the mosque?
A) The writings of Ibn Tahir
B) The Aphrodito Papyri
C) Arculf's pilgrimage account
D) The chronicles of al-Qalqashandi
- 46. What name is used for the al-Aqsa Mosque in the Aphrodito Papyri letters?
A) Umayyad Congregational Mosque
B) Temple Mount Mosque
C) Mosque of Jerusalem
D) The Haram Sanctuary
- 47. Which historian doubts the reliability of 10th and 13th-century historians who credit al-Walid for founding the mosque?
A) Oleg Grabar
B) Guy le Strange
C) K. A. C. Creswell
D) Amikam Elad
- 48. What natural disaster ravaged Jerusalem in 713–714, destroying the eastern section of the mosque?
A) A prolonged drought
B) Earthquakes
C) A massive flood
D) A severe firestorm
- 49. Which historian credits al-Walid with covering the mosque's walls with mosaics?
A) Abd al-Malik
B) Arculf
C) Al-Qalqashandi
D) Ibn Tahir
- 50. What is the maximum estimated length of the Umayyad-built mosque mentioned in the text?
A) 114.6 meters
B) 39 meters
C) 69.2 meters
D) 112 meters
- 51. According to Grabar, what was the layout of the Umayyad mosque a modified version of?
A) A Byzantine domed church
B) The traditional hypostyle mosque of the period
C) A Roman basilica
D) A Persian audience hall
- 52. How many aisles are cited by a number of historians for the Umayyad mosque?
A) Seven
B) Fifteen
C) Twenty
D) Three
- 53. What likely topped the central aisle, which was double the width of the others?
A) A pitched roof
B) A dome
C) A vaulted arch
D) A flat terrace
- 54. Who was the last Umayyad caliph?
A) Abd al-Malik
B) Marwan II
C) Mu'awiya I
D) Al-Walid I
- 55. In what year was the al-Aqsa Mosque ruined in an earthquake during the late Umayyad period?
A) 746
B) 691
C) 713
D) 750
- 56. Four years after the 746 earthquake, what dynasty replaced the Umayyads?
A) Abbasid Caliphate
B) Mamluk Sultanate
C) Ottoman Empire
D) Fatimid Caliphate
- 57. Where was the Abbasid Caliphate based?
A) Hijaz
B) Egypt
C) Iraq
D) Syria
- 58. Which of the following is one of the Arabic terms translated as Al-Aqsa Mosque?
A) Qubbat al-Sakhra
B) al-Haram al-Makki
C) al-Masjid al-Aqṣā
D) al-Masjid al-Nabawi
- 59. In which book was the name al-Masjid al-Aqṣā first used?
A) The Torah
B) The Quran
C) The Bible
D) The Hadith of Bukhari
- 60. Which Surah of the Quran first used the term al-Masjid al-Aqṣā?
A) Surah 17
B) Surah 36
C) Surah 2
D) Surah 114
- 61. Were there any buildings on the site of Al-Aqsa when the Quran was written?
A) Yes, several minarets were already built
B) No, there were no buildings
C) Yes, the Dome of the Rock stood there
D) Yes, the silver-domed mosque existed
- 62. Who was al-Muqaddasi?
A) A 15th-century architect
B) A 10th-century geographer
C) A 12th-century king
D) A 19th-century Orientalist
A) A 10th-century scholar
B) A 19th-century American Orientalist
C) A 12th-century geographer
D) A 15th-century caliph
- 64. According to historical writers and Orientalists, what does the term Masjid al-Aqsa refer to?
A) Only the silver-domed building
B) The underground water reservoirs
C) The southern wall only
D) The entire esplanade plaza
- 65. What alternative name is used for the entire esplanade plaza besides Al Aqsa?
A) Al-Masjid al-Haram
B) Jabal al-Tur
C) Al-Buraq Plaza
D) Temple Mount or Haram al-Sharif
- 66. What does Haram al-Sharif translate to?
A) Noble Sanctuary
B) Blessed Courtyard
C) Highest Palace
D) Sacred Garden
- 67. What did al-Muqaddasi refer to the southern building as?
A) Al-Qibli
B) Maqsurah
C) Al Mughattâ
D) Pushish
- 68. What does the term 'Al Mughattâ' mean?
A) The covered-part
B) The noble plaza
C) The furthest mosque
D) The southern sanctuary
- 69. What Persian word did Nasir Khusraw use to refer to the southern building?
A) Sahn
B) Pushish
C) Gumbad
D) Farash
- 70. What linguistic device does the text mention when describing Nasir Khusraw's use of 'Maqsurah'?
A) An architectural hyperbole
B) A part-for-the-whole synecdoche
C) A geographical metaphor
D) A literal translation
- 71. What is the Arabic term for Qibli Chapel given in the text?
A) Haram al-Qibli
B) Muṣallā al-Qiblī
C) Masjid al-Quds
D) Jāmiʿ al-Sharif
- 72. The Jerusalem Islamic Waqf is part of which government?
A) The Jordanian government
B) The Egyptian government
C) The Palestinian government
D) The Turkish government
- 73. Which international organization is mentioned as using the name 'Qibli'?
A) European Union Parliament
B) United Nations Security Council
C) United States State Department
D) NATO
- 74. Which cultural and educational international organization uses the term 'Qibli'?
A) UNESCO
B) WHO
C) UNICEF
D) IMF
- 75. What color is the dome of the congregational mosque building?
A) Blue
B) Silver
C) Green
D) Gold
- 76. How many minarets are mentioned as part of the Haram al-Sharif area?
A) Seven
B) Six
C) Four
D) Two
- 77. Which Abbasid caliph rebuilt the mosque in 758?
A) Al-Mansur
B) Al-Walid I
C) Al-Mahdi
D) Abd al-Malik
- 78. Which caliph expanded the mosque in 780 to consist of fifteen aisles and a central dome?
A) Al-Zahir
B) Saladin
C) Al-Mansur
D) Al-Mahdi
- 79. In what year did an earthquake destroy the mosque for the second time mentioned in the text?
A) 1033
B) 746
C) 1099
D) 1187
- 80. Which Fatimid caliph rebuilt the mosque after the 1033 earthquake?
A) Al-Zahir
B) Abd al-Malik
C) Mu'awiya I
D) Al-Mahdi
- 81. What did the Crusaders use the mosque for after capturing it in 1099?
A) A palace
B) A market
C) A stable
D) A library
- 82. Who began the expansion of the enclosure where the mosque is located in 20 BCE?
A) Emperor Justinian
B) Robert Hamilton
C) Zachi Dvira
D) King Herod the Great
- 83. What structure occupied the present site of the mosque during the late Second Temple period?
A) The Nea Church
B) The Royal Stoa
C) The Second Jewish Temple
D) An Umayyad palace
- 84. By whom was the Royal Stoa destroyed in 70 CE?
A) King Herod the Great
B) Robert Hamilton
C) Emperor Justinian
D) The Romans
- 85. What was the Nea Church dedicated to?
A) The Second Jewish Temple
B) The God-bearing Virgin Mary
C) Haram al-Sharif
D) King Herod the Great
- 86. In what year was the Nea Church consecrated?
A) 1973
B) 543
C) 70
D) 20
- 87. When was the reexamination of the wooden beams that gave dates in the Byzantine period conducted?
A) 1973
B) 20 BCE
C) The 2010s
D) The 1930s
- 88. Who uncovered portions of a multicolor mosaic floor with geometric patterns during excavations in the 1930s?
A) Zachi Dvira
B) Robert Hamilton
C) Baruch
D) Di Cesare
- 89. Who considers the mosaic floors uncovered in the 1930s to be from the pre-Islamic Byzantine period?
A) Zachi Dvira
B) Di Cesare
C) Herod the Great
D) Robert Hamilton
- 90. Which dynasty generally exhibited little interest in Jerusalem according to the text?
A) The Umayyads
B) The Fatimids
C) The Abbasids
D) The Seljuks
- 91. Who provided the first known written description of a renovation of the al-Aqsa Mosque?
A) Mujir al-Din
B) al-Muqaddasi
C) Nasir Khusraw
D) Shelomo Dov Goitein
- 92. According to al-Muqaddasi, how many doors did the Aqsa mosque have?
A) Fifteen
B) Seven
C) Eleven
D) Twenty-six
- 93. Which Abbasid caliph ordered a bronze portal for the mosque's interior?
A) al-Zahir
B) al-Mahdi
C) al-Mansur
D) al-Ma'mun
- 94. What year did the Egypt-based Fatimid Caliphate conquer Palestine?
A) 758
B) 1081
C) 970
D) 1033
- 95. During whose reign was the Fatimid reconstruction of the mosque completed in 1065?
A) Atsiz
B) al-Mahdi
C) al-Mustansir
D) al-Zahir
- 96. To how many aisles was the mosque reduced during the Fatimid reconstruction?
A) Fifteen
B) Nine
C) Seven
D) Twenty-six
- 97. What does the drum mosaic in the mosque depict?
A) Geometric calligraphy
B) A luxurious garden
C) A battle scene
D) Navigational star charts
- 98. Which Quranic event is linked by a gold inscription atop the Fatimid arch?
A) The building of the Kaaba
B) The creation of Adam
C) The parting of the sea
D) Muhammad's Night Journey
- 99. Who visited the mosque in 1047 and described its measurements and interior?
A) Nasir Khusraw
B) al-Muqaddasi
C) Grabar
D) Shelomo Dov Goitein
- 100. Which Turkish mercenary was invited by the Fatimid governor to rein in Bedouin tribes in 1071?
A) Atsiz
B) al-Zahir
C) Abd Allah ibn Tahir
D) al-Mustansir
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