THE ISLAMIC WORLD GARDNER CHAPTER 13-1 PP. 341-349

THE ISLAMIC WORLD - BACKGROUND Religion of Islam arose among the peoples of the Arabian Peninsula in the 7th century ISLAM = Arabic word meaning “submission to God” Arabs were desert nomads and caravan merchants -> on the margins of the Byzantine and Persian empires In a little over one century Islam and the Arabs conquer the Middle East, Egypt, Persia, N. Africa, and moved into Spain -> in 732 Charles Martell stops the Muslim advance in France Sophisticated culture is established w/Arab scholars making great contributions in math, astronomy, medicine, and the natural sciences

EARLY ISLAMIC ART Like Islam itself, Islamic art spread rapidly eastward and westward from the lands of the ancient Near East In the Middle East and N. Africa Islamic art replace Late Antique art From the Iberian Peninsula Islamic art will influence Western medieval art South Asia will also be center of Islamic art in the early centuries of Islamic history the political and cultural center of the Muslim world is the Fertile Crescent

ISLAMIC ARCHITECTURE – THE DOME OF THE ROCK Aerial view of the Dome of the Rock, Jerusalem, 687-692 The first great Islamic is the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem A domed octagon resembling San Vitale in Ravenna -> double-shelled wooden dome sixty feet across & seventy-five feet high dominates the elevation as to reduce the octagon to function merely as its base Tiling now replaces the original mosaic on exterior ->vivid, colorful patterning that wraps the walls like a textile is typical of Islamic ornamentation. The interior’s rich mosaic ornament has been preserved and provides insight into how the exterior was once decorated. Sacred rock where Adam was buried, Abraham nearly sacrificed Isaac, Temple of Jerusalem was located, and Muhammad ascended to heaven

MUHAMMAD AND ISLAM MUHAMMAD = founder of Islam Born in the city of Mecca -> received revelations from God/Allah in 610 Muhammad is forced to flee Mecca and escape to Medina in 622 = “the Hijra” Eight years later Muhammad conquers and converts Mecca -> the symbolic center of the Islamic world is Mecca -> the Kaaba/the cube Essential meaning of Islam is acceptance and submission to Allah’s will THE KORAN = Islam’s sacred book THE FIVE PILLARS OF WISDOM 1. faith in one God, Allah 2. pray 5 times a day facing Mecca 3. give alms to the poor 4. fast during the month of Ramadan 5. once in a lifetime make pilgrimage to Mecca

GREAT MOSQUE, DAMASCUS Aerial view of the Great Mosque, Damascus, Syria, 706- 715 The UMMAYADS (r. 661-750) were the first Islamic dynasty and ruled from their capital in Damascus CALIPH = “successors” -> title of the Muslim rulers Great Mosque owes much to Roman and Early Christian architecture -> builders incorporate stone blocks, columns and capitals from earlier structures Pier arcades like Roman aqueducts frame the courtyard Minarets -> two at southern corners and one at the northern side Grand prayer hall -> taller than the rest of structure -> façade with pediment and arches -> façade faces courtyard like a Roman forum temple

Figure 13-4 Detail of a mosaic in the courtyard arcade of the Great Mosque, Damascus, Syria, 706–715. Islamic mosaics avoid any zoomorphic forms = no people or animals

THE MOSQUE The QIBLA the direction (towards Mecca) Muslims face while praying -- is important. The IMAM, or leader of a collective worship, stands on a stepped pulpit known as a MINBAR near the qibla wall which faces Mecca Another key feature is the MIHRAB , a semicircular niche usually set into the qibla wall, often with a dome over the bay in front of it. In some mosques, the mihrab is preceded by a screened area called the maqsura, an area reserved for the ruler or his representative. The MINARET where the muezzin sends the call to prayer out to worshippers, is perhaps the most recognizable feature of Islamic architecture. The essential features of a mosque might be modeled after the Prophet’s house in Medina Muslim religious architecture is closely related to Muslim prayer, an obligation laid down in the Quran for all Muslims Prayer as a private act requires neither prescribed ceremony nor a special locale. But prayer is also a communal act and the mosque developed with that in mind. All mosques, wherever they are built and whatever their plan, are oriented/facing towards Mecca and the faithful worship facing the qibla wall thus facing Meccas

UMAYYAD PALACE, MSHATTA Frieze of the Umayyad palace, Mshatta, Jordan, ca. 740-750, limestone, 16 ½ feet tall Long stone frieze richly carved w/geometric, plant and animal motifs -> but, no animals appear on the exterior wall of the palace’s mosque

Figure 13-5 Plan of the Umayyad palace, Mshatta, Jordan, ca. 740–750 [Key: 1. Entrance gate; 2. Mosque; 3. Small courtyard; 4. Large courtyard; 5. Audience hall.] The fortified palace at Mshatta resembled Diocletian’s palace at Split and incorporated the amenities of Roman baths but also housed a mosque in which the caliph could worship five times daily

BAGHDAD In 750 ABBASIDS overthrew the Umayyad caliphs -> capital is moved from Damascus to Baghdad For nearly 3 centuries Baghdad is the hub of Arab power and Islamic culture

GREAT MOSQUE, KAIROUAN Aerial view of the Great Mosque, Kairouan, Tunisia, ca. 836-875 Hypostyle mosque resembling the plan of Muhammad’s house in Medina Tall tower in front is a minaret Two domes on hypostyle hall -> the first is over the entrance bay -> the second is over the bay the fronts the mihrab set into the qibla wall

Plan of the Great Mosque, Kairouan, Tunisia, ca. 836–875 Plan of the Great Mosque, Kairouan, Tunisia, ca. 836–875. One of the finest hypostyle mosques, still in use today. The precinct takes the form of a slightly askew parallelogram of huge scale, some 450 feet by 260 feet.

MALWIYA MINARET, SAMARRA Malwiya Minaret, Great Mosque, Samarra, Iraq, 848-852 Minarets can take a variety of forms -> unique spiral Malwiya (snail shell) Minaret is 165 feet tall Stepped spiral ramp Suffered some damage in the during the Iraqi insurgency in 2005

SAMANID MAUSOLEUM, BUKHARA Mausoleum of the Samanids, Bukhara, Uzbekistan, early 10th century Samanid dynasty ruled the Eastern realms of the Abbasid Empire -> mostly independent but pledged loyalty to the Caliph in Baghdad Monumental tombs were virtually unknown in the early Islamic period -> this is one of the oldest and first examples Constructed of baked bricks -> dome on cube structure -> half round engaged columns -> squinches support the dome

GREAT MOSQUE, CORDOBA Prayer hall of the Great Mosque, Cordoba, Spain, 8th to 10th centuries Unique system of double tiered arches -> lower arches are horseshoe shaped

Interior of the Mosque -> hypostyle prayer hall with some of the 36 piers and 514 columns The Spanish Umayyad dynasty lasted almost three centuries became the center of a brilliant culture rivaling that of the Abbasids in Baghdad & exerted major influence on the civilization of the Christian West. The jewel of the capital at Cordoba was the mosque which was expanded in the late 900s & became the largest in the Islamic West. The mosaicists & the tessserae were brought to Spain from Constantinople by the caliph.

Exterior view Mosque of Córdoba Moorish Portal: Arabesque above portal, South side of the Mezquita The pointed arch and multilobed arches are characteristic of mosques.

Maqsura of the Great Mosque, Cordoba, Spain, 961-965 MAQSURA = area of the mosque reserved for the caliph -> at Cordoba it connected to his palace by a corridor in the qibla wall Highly decorative, multilobed arches

Dome in front of the mihrab of the Great Mosque, Cordoba, Spain, 961-965 Dome rests on an octagonal base of arctuated squinches -> crisscrossing ribs form an intricate decorative pattern Byzantine artists fashioned the mosaic ornament

Dome in front of the mihrab of the Great Mosque, Córdoba, Spain, 961–965.