The Islamic World

The Koran and Calligraphy Muslims were strict iconoclasts. However, calligraphy held a place of honor. Recreating the Koran’s sacred words in the most beautiful way human hands could summon was the mark of the truly faithful. Arabic script predates Islam.

The Dome of the Rock The first great Islamic building, it was built in Jerusalem when Muslims captured the city from the Byzantines in 638. It holds significance to both Christians, Muslims, and Jews as the purported burial site of Adam and the spot where Abraham prepared to sacrifice Isaac. Its design shares traditions with the Pantheon, Hagia Sophia, and San Vitale. The enormous dome sits on an octagonal building.

The Great Mosque in Damascus is an excellent example of a traditional mosque layout. The hypostyle hall, flanked by columns, allows for a large courtyard used for daily prayer facing Mecca. The interiors had mosaics with rich plant life themes. Representations of zoomorphic forms were considered taboo.

Minarets were towers around a mosque used to call the faithful to worship. This Malwiya Minaret shares characteristics with the Mesopotamian ziggurat.

Islamic Spain 756-1492 The Muslim Umayyad dynasty was established in Cordoba, Spain when Adb- al-Rahman I escaped the massacre of his clan. The Great Mosque at Cordoba was known for its horseshoe and multilobed arches, as well as its mosaic- clad domes resting on arcuated squinches.

The Alhambra is a huge palace-fortress in Granada The Alhambra is a huge palace-fortress in Granada. It was preserved as a trophy by the Christian victors who took the city in 1492. The most well known structure in the Alhambra is the Palace of the Lions, which gets its name from the 12 free standing marble lion fountain found in its colonnaded courtyard. With its lavishly stuccoed walls, multi-lobed arches, lush gardens, and luxurious carpets, it was meant to conjure images of paradise.

Islamic Egypt 909-1571 Egyptian Muslims had their capital at Cairo. The Mausoleum of Sultan Hasan is the most significant structure of that time. The mausoleum is a madrasa (place of study dedicated to Islamic law) complex, housing four madrasas, mausoleum, orphanage, hospital, mosque, shops, and baths. It is an example of the popular four-iwan style found in Iranian mosques.

Egyptian Muslims were skilled in luxury arts Egyptian Muslims were skilled in luxury arts. This enameled lamp would hang from a chain from the mosque ceiling. Inside would be a glass container with oil and a wick. Cursive Arabic calligraphy shows a Koranic verse comparing the light in the candle with God’s light.

Islamic Central Asia 1370-1732 This dynasty ruled Iran, Afghanistan and Persia. The famous Persian painter Bihzad illustrated the sultan’s copy of Bustan (an epic poem). Here Yusuf (Joseph) is being seduced by Potiphar’s wife. This artist would later influence Indian and South Asian art through his apprentices.

Glazed tilework reached its peak in this time, with carefully cut glazed tile covering almost every surface of Muslim architecture. A mihrab is a niche in a wall of a mosque at the point nearest toward Mecca. The congregation would face the mihrab to pray. This mihrab from the Madrasa Imami in Iran shows perfect aesthetic union between Islamic calligraphy art and abstract ornamentation. The surface is very much like a woven textile, only constructed from precisely cut tile.

Ottoman Turkey 1281-1924 The Ottoman Empire captures Byzantine Constantinople in 1453. The Ottomans perfect the domed central plan mosque. The Mosque of Selim has a dome higher than the Hagia Sophia’s.