During the Ottoman period, from the tenth to the early fourteenth century AH, Jerusalem held a privileged position within the empire due to its historical and religious significance. Previous studies have largely examined restoration works technically or focused on Ottoman administrative and financial policies without relating them to physical evidence. This study therefore investigates the features and motivations of Ottoman urban development policy in Jerusalem and their manifestation in the city's physical fabric, particularly the Dome of the Rock. Using a historical-interpretive approach based on archival documents, waqf deeds, and architectural evidence, the study finds that Ottoman policy combined security, financial, and religious-legitimation objectives. Under Sultan Süleyman the Magnificent, the construction of a city wall with thirty-four towers and seven gates, financed by the royal treasury and royal family endowments, reflects the priority of securing the city alongside religious concerns. Likewise, the gradual replacement of the Dome of the Rock's exterior marble revetment with glazed tiles both protected the structure from climatic erosion and reshaped its visual identity. Comparison with the pre-Ottoman period indicates that these interventions constituted a deliberate, continuous policy of urban reconstruction rather than isolated measures. Overall, Ottoman urban development in Jerusalem was a purposeful integration of security, financial, and religious-legitimation considerations, most clearly manifested in the city's physical fabric and the Dome of the Rock.