<P> The structure was basically octagonal . It comprised a wooden dome, approximately 20 m (66 ft) in diameter, which was mounted on an elevated drum consisting of a circle of 16 piers and columns . Surrounding this circle was an octagonal arcade of 24 piers and columns . </P> <P> The building was severely damaged by earthquakes in 808 and again in 846 . The dome collapsed in an earthquake in 1015 and was rebuilt in 1022--23 . The mosaics on the drum were repaired in 1027--28 . </P> <P> For centuries Christian pilgrims were able to come and experience the Temple Mount, but escalating violence against pilgrims to Jerusalem (Al - Hakim bi-Amr Allah, who ordered the destruction of the Holy Sepulchre, was an example) instigated the Crusades . The Crusaders captured Jerusalem in 1099 and the Dome of the Rock was given to the Augustinians, who turned it into a church, while the Al - Aqsa Mosque became a royal palace . The Knights Templar, active from c. 1119, identified the Dome of the Rock as the site of the Temple of Solomon and set up their headquarters in the Al - Aqsa Mosque adjacent to the Dome for much of the 12th century . The Templum Domini, as they called the Dome of the Rock, featured on the official seals of the Order's Grand Masters (such as Everard des Barres and Renaud de Vichiers), and soon became the architectural model for round Templar churches across Europe . </P> <P> Jerusalem was recaptured by Saladin on 2 October 1187, and the Dome of the Rock was reconsecrated as a Muslim shrine . The cross on top of the dome was replaced by a crescent, and a wooden screen was placed around the rock below . Saladin's nephew al - Malik al - Mu'azzam Isa carried out other restorations within the building, and added the porch to the Al - Aqsa Mosque . </P>

Who is buried in the dome of the rock