Christianity and Islam are two of the most widespread religions in the world. Both religions, once founded, were not accepted by the people of the time and faced great resistance. Early Islamic art and early Christian art are both historically significant because they are both similar in some ways. The oldest architecture and the first such structure of the Muslims is the Dome of the Rock located in Jerusalem. When Muslims conquered the city of Jerusalem, they needed a place (mosque) to worship and offer their prayers in congregation. At the same time, they also wanted to build a monument that would show the success of Muslims and their religion, Islam. Likewise, Christians built their churches and monuments to show their influence and selected sites that were ancient pagan temples and catacombs to build their churches. The Muslims had already conquered Syria and the Byzantines and so used their plans to build the Dome of the Rock. The Santa Costanza was built in Rome, Italy in 360 c. It was erected for Constantine's daughter, but was later transformed into a memorial church. Researchers now claim that the Santa Costanza was originally built for Helina, Constantine's sister. These two structures are similar in function and used the central plane to focus on the center. Looking at the two structures, the Dome of the Rock and the Santa Costanza, the viewer can understand that the two are similar in that they both have circular domes. The most notable difference between the two structures is that of shape, exterior appearance and design. Santa Costanza now seems simple, in the sense that it is not decorated from the outside like...... middle of paper .......html (accessed April 22, 2014). Ettinghausen, Richard, Oleg Grabar, and Sheila Blair. The art and architecture of Islam 650-1250. Harmondsworth, Middlesex, England: Penguin Books, 1987. Fazio, Michael W., Marian Moffett and Lawrence Wodehouse. A global history of architecture. 2nd ed. Boston: McGraw-Hill, 2008. Glancey, Jonathan. The history of architecture. London: Dorling Kindersley, 2000. Glancey, Jonathan. Architecture. London: DK, 2006. Hillenbrand, Robert. “The birth of Islamic art: the Umayyads.” In Islamic art and architecture. Holberton, Paul. The world of architecture. New York: Crescent Books:, 1988. “Images of Santa Costanza, Rome.” Images of Santa Costanza, Rome. http://www.bluffton.edu/~sullivanm/italy/rome/costanza/costanza.html (accessed April 21, 2014). Krautheimer, Richard. Early Christian and Byzantine architecture. Baltimore: books about penguins, 1965.