ABSTRACT
This chapter determines the areas of Muslim settlement in the city in the Umayyad period. It examines the early years of Muslim rule, followed by the Umayyad period, identifying the Muslim building projects on the Masjid al-Aqsa compound. The invading Muslim armies conquered Palestine in the course of the mid-630's. The Muslim invaders established their military camp on the Mount of Olives to the east of the city and Umar ibn al-Khattabis said to have prayed in a mosque there. Jerusalem was the third holiest city for Muslims, after Mecca and Medina, and as such the city witnessed major construction under the Umayyads. Determining from archaeology where Muslims lived in Jerusalem in the Umayyad period requires the ability to identify the religious affiliations of the inhabitants. The various Christian churches in Jerusalem stayed in use throughout the Umayyad period and into the early Abbasid period.
