Islamic Architecture Aesthetics

Nina Ashley Bach

Nashwa Mahmoud
Ahmed Alshair
What are you going to learn today:

● What is Islamic Art?

● Introduction to Mosque Architecture

● Common Types of Mosque Architecture

● The chronological periods in the Islamic

world:

Early Period

Medieval Period

Late Period
What is Islamic Art?

● The term Islamic art describes all of the arts

that were produced in the lands where Islam
was the dominant religion or the religion of
those who ruled.

● Islamic art is not a monolithic style or

movement; it spans 1,300 years of history and
has geographic diversity.

● Islamic empires and dynasties controlled

territory from Spain to western China at
various points in history.
Islamic Art Theme and Components

Geometric Vegetal
Calligraphy
Motifs Motifs
Islamic Art Theme and Components:
Calligraphy
● The artistic practice of handwriting was the
main form of expression besides architecture.

● Calligraphy was more highly cultivated in

Islamic countries than anywhere outside of
China and Japan.

Kufi Farsi Naskh Diwani Thuluth

Islamic Art Theme and Components:
Calligraphy

Calligraphy as a decorative element

in Mosques and Buildings

Square kufic tilework in Yazd, Iran

From the Courtyard of the Süleymaniye Mosque in Istanbul, Turkey
Wazir Khan Mosque, Pakistan Alhambra Palace, Spain
Islamic Art Theme and Components:
Geometric motifs
● The geometric designs in Islamic art are often built on combinations of
repeated squares and circles.
● They may be overlapped and interlaced to form complex patterns,
including a wide variety of tessellations.
Alhambra Palace, Spain
Islamic Art Theme and Components:
Vegetal motifs
Vegetal patterns are patterns related to plants.

Plants appear in many forms in Islamic art,

ranging from single motifs to extended patterns,
and natural depictions of flowers to plant forms
which are complicated and heavily stylized.

The dome of the Sheikh

Lotfollah mosque, Iran

Wazir Khan Mosque, Pakistan

Introduction to Mosque Architecture
Common Features in mosques’
architecture
● The architecture of a mosque is shaped by the
regional traditions of the time and place where
it was built. As a result, style, layout, and
decoration can vary greatly.
● Because of the common function of the mosque
as a place of congregational prayer, certain
architectural features appear in mosques all
over the world, which are:
○ Sahn (Courtyard)
○ Mihrab (Niche)
○ Minaret (Tower)
○ Qubba (Dome)
○ Furnishings
 Qubba

Courtyard
Sahn (Courtyard)

Kairouan great
mosque courtyard,
Tunisia
Mihrab (Niche)

Lotfollah Mosque, Iran Cordoba Great Mosque, Spain Al Azhar Mosque, Egypt
Minaret (Tower)

Cathedral Mosque of Hazrat Hassan II Mosque, Medina Mosque,

Shah Mosque, Iran
Imam, Uzbekistan Morocco Saudi Arabia
Qubba (Dome)

The Blue Mosque, Turkey Kalyan Mosque, Uzbekistan

Furnishings (Decorative Elements): Hanging Lamps
Sultan Hassan Mosque, Egypt
Furnishings (Decorative Elements): Calligraphy

Bada Gumbad Mosque, India Wazir Khan Mosque, Pakistan Blue Mosque, Turkey
Common Types of Mosque Architecture
The Hypostyle mosque

The interior of the mosque features the forest of columns.

The great mosque of Cordoba, Spain

The Four-Iwan mosque
An iwan is a vaulted space that opens on one side to a courtyard. Four-iwan
mosques incorporate four iwans in their architectural plan.

The great mosque of Isfahan, Iran

The Centrally-Planned mosque
The layout of the mosque is more focused on the interior spaces
rather than the courtyard.

Mosque of Selim II, Turkey

Art History of The chronological
periods in the Islamic world

EARLY MEDIEVAL LATE

PERIOD PERIOD PERIOD
c. 640-900 C.E. c. 900-1517 C.E. c. 1517 –1924 C.E.
Art History of The chronological periods in the Islamic world

Early Period (c. 640-900 C.E.)

Birmingham Quran manuscript. Dated to between 568 and 645 CE

 Art History of The chronological periods in the Islamic world
Early Period (c. 640-900 C.E.)

The Umayyads The Abbasid

c. 661 - 749 C.E. c. 750 - 1258 C.E.

One of the earliest photos of Dome of The Rock in Jerusalem, Palestine. (Source: DailyMail)
The Umayyads (661–749 C.E.)
● The Umayyads are the first Islamic
dynasty, when Damascus became the
capital and the empire expanded West
and East.

● During the Umayyad reign, the main art

hub was in Syria due to:

○ Being the favoured land in the

Islamic empire.
○ Being the bridge between the East,
West, North and South, it could draw
a lot of inspiration from major
cultures that formed the Islamic
empire. Great Mosque of Damascus fountain
The Umayyads (661–749 C.E.)
● Umayyad art was the public expression of the glory of islamic emergence
that took over as a super power through its public and imperial role.

● This period also ensured the entry of classical art entering the stream of
Islamic art.

● There are constant copies of Umayyad prototypes by later generations due

to it being the first and most powerful of Islamic dynasties.

● They also recognized the propaganda dimension of buildings and symbolic

images which can still be seen in Islamic art today.

● Umayyad period also established the importance of applied ornament in

Islamic art (Geometric, floral and epigraphic).

● The Umayyad period really moulded the future development of Islamic art.
The Umayyads (661–749 C.E.)

● Responsible for the first great

monuments of Islamic art and
architecture, Umayyad rulers built:
○ The Dome of the Rock
in Jerusalem

○ The Great Mosque of Damascus

in Syria

○ The Great Mosque of Córdoba

in Spain

○ The Great Mosque of Kairouan

in Tunisia
The Umayyad Mosque - Syria
The Dome of the Rock

● It was built between 685 and 692 by Abd al-Malik, the most important
Umayyad caliph, as a religious focal point for his supporters.
The Dome of the Rock

“
The Dome of the Rock is a building of extraordinary
beauty, solidity, elegance, and singularity of shape. Both
outside and inside, the decoration is so magnificent and
the workmanship so surpassing as to defy description.
The greater part is covered with gold so that the eyes of
one who gazes on its beauties are dazzled by its
brilliance, now glowing like a mass of light,
“
now flashing like lightning.

Ibn Battuta
(14th century travel writer)
The Dome of the Rock

● The Dome is located on the Haram

al-Sharif, an enormous open-air
platform that now houses Al-Aqsa
mosque, madrasas and several other
religious buildings.
The Great Mosque of Damascus
● It was built by the Umayyad caliph, al-Walid II between 708 and 715 C.E.
The Great Mosque of Damascus
● It is considered to be one of the earliest surviving congregational mosques
in the world.

● Its location and organization were directly influenced by the temples and
the church that preceded it. It was built into the Roman temple wall and it
reuses older building materials in its walls, including a beam with a Greek
inscription that was originally part of the church.

● There is a massive dome and a transept to accommodate a large number

of worshippers. The façade of the transept facing the courtyard is
decorated on the exterior with rich mosaics.

● Here we see evidence of Christian architecture islamicized - typical

Christian basilica recasted to secure new lateral emphasis in keeping with
the needs of Islamic worship.
The Great Mosque of Damascus

Arches with acanthus

Mosaic, Great Mosque of Damascus, 8th century
motif in mosaic
Islamic Spain (Al-Andalus)
● Al-Andalus also known as Muslim Iberia
was a medieval Muslim territory and
cultural domain.

● In its early period, it included most of

Iberia (A peninsula located in the
southwest corner of Europe)

● Achievements in arts and science that

advanced Islamic and Western worlds
came from al-Andalus.

● It became a channel for cultural and

scientific exchange between the Islamic
and Christian worlds.
The Great Mosque of Cordoba

● It is one of the oldest structures still standing from the time Muslims ruled
Al-Andalus (Muslim Iberia) in the late 8th century.
The Great Mosque of Cordoba
● The building itself was expanded over two
hundred years.

● It is comprised of a large hypostyle prayer hall, a

courtyard with a fountain in the middle, an orange
grove, a covered walkway circling the courtyard,
and a minaret.
The Great Mosque of Cordoba:
Minaret and Exterior View
The Great Mosque of
Cordoba: Mihrab
● The mihrab is framed by an
exquisitely decorated arch behind
which is an unusually large space,
the size of a small room.

● Gold tesserae (small pieces of glass

with gold and color backing) create
a dazzling combination of dark
blues, reddish browns, yellows and
golds that form intricate
calligraphic bands and vegetal
motifs that adorn the arch.
The Great Mosque of Cordoba: Dome
● Above the mihrab, is an equally dazzling dome.
It is built of crisscrossing ribs that create
pointed arches all lavishly covered with gold
mosaic in a radial pattern.
The Great Mosque of Kairouan

It is an early example of a hypostyle mosque, the prayer hall is supported by rows

of columns and there is an open courtyard.
The Great Mosque of Kairouan: Dome
The dome is an architectural element borrowed from Roman and Byzantine
architecture. The small windows in the drum of the dome above the mihrab
space let natural light into what was an otherwise dim interior. The stone dome
is constructed of twenty four ribs that each have a small corbel at their base, so
the dome looks like a cut cantaloupe.
The Abbasid c. 750 - 1258 CE
● The Abbasid dynasty of caliphs succeeded the Umayyads.

● Abbasid period is generally regarded as the classical age of Islamic culture -

Visual arts, music and literature all flourished.

● In 762, the second Abbasid caliph, Al-Mansur transferred his capital from
Damascus to what we know as Baghdad today. Engineers, craftsmen and
artists from all parts of the Islamic world were assembled to build and
decorate the new capital.

● Difficult to discuss as there is no trace of the city of the Abbasid that

survives after the 1258 destruction by the Mongols.

● Fragments of abstract stucco decoration and figurative wall paintings reveal

the influence of Chinese and European as well as Persian art.
 Art History of The chronological periods in the Islamic world

Medieval Period (c. 900-1517 C.E.)

AlHambra Palace, Granada, Spain

The Alhambra
The Alhambra, an abbreviation of the Arabic: Qal’at Al-Hamra, or red fort, was
built by the Nasrid Dynasty (1232-1492), the last Muslims to rule in Spain.
Muhammad ibn Yusuf ibn Nasr (known as Muhammad I) founded the Nasrid
Dynasty and secured this region in 1237. He began construction of his court
complex, the Alhambra, on Sabika hill the following year.
AlHambra Palace, Granada, Spain
Plan of the Alhambra
1,730 m2 (1 mile2) of walls and thirty towers of
varying size enclose this city within a city.
Access was restricted to four main gates. The
Alhambra includes structures with three
distinct purposes:

● A residence for the ruler and close family.

● The citadel, Alcazaba barracks for the elite
guard who were responsible for the safety
of the complex.
● An area called medina (or city), near the
Puerta del Vino (Wine Gate), where court
officials lived and worked.
The Alhambra: Alcazaba
Alhambra: Three Palaces
The Alhambra's most celebrated structures
are the three original royal palaces:

● The Comares Palace

● The Palace of the Lions

● The Partal Palace

Each of which was built during 14th

century.

A large fourth palace was later begun by

the Christian ruler, Carlos V.
Alhambra: El Mexuar

● El Mexuar is an audience chamber near

the Comares tower at the northern
edge of the complex.

● It was built by Ismail I as a throne room,

but became a reception and meeting
hall when the palaces were expanded in
the 1330s.

● The room has complex geometric tile

dadoes and carved stucco panels that
give it a formality suitable for receiving
dignitaries.
Alhambra: El Mexuar
Alhambra: The Comares Palace
Behind El Mexuar stands the formal and
elaborate Comares façade set back from a
courtyard and fountain. The façade is built on a
raised three-stepped platform that might have
served as a kind of outdoor stage for the ruler.
Alhambra: The Comares Palace

● A dark winding passage beyond the

Comares façade leads to a covered patio
surrounding a large courtyard with a
pool, now known as the Court of the
Myrtles. This was the focal point of the
Comares Palace.

● The Alhambra’s largest tower, the

Comares Tower, contains the hall of the
ambassadors a throne room built by
Yusuf I (1333-1354).
Alhambra: The Comares Palace
The hall of the ambassadors

● The double arched windows illuminate

the room and provide breathtaking
views. Additional light is provided by
arched grille (lattice) windows set high
in the walls.

● At eye level, the walls are lavishly

decorated with tiles laid in intricate
geometric patterns. The remaining
surfaces are covered with intricately
carved stucco motifs organized in
bands and panels of curvilinear
patterns and calligraphy.
Alhambra: The Comares Palace
The hall of the ambassadors
Alhambra: Palace of the Lions

● It stands next to the Comares Palace.

The two structures were connected
after Granada fell to the Christians.

● Muhammad V built the Palace of the

Lions’ most celebrated feature in the
14th century, a fountain with a complex
hydraulic system consisting of a marble
basin on the backs of twelve carved
stone lions situated at the intersection
of two water channels that form a cross
in the rectilinear courtyard.
Alhambra: Palace of the Lions
Alhambra: Palace of the Lions
Alhambra: Palace of the Lions

● An arched covered patio encircles the

courtyard and displays fine stucco
carvings held up by a series of
slender columns.

● Two decorative pavilions protrude

into the courtyard on an East–West
axis (at the narrow sides of the
courtyard), accentuating the royal
spaces behind them.
Alhambra: Palace of the Lions
Muqarnas Chamber

● To the West, the Muqarnas

Chamber, may have functioned as
an antechamber and was near the
original entrance to the palace.

● It takes its name from the

intricately carved system of
brackets called "muqarnas" that
hold up the vaulted ceiling.
Alhambra: Palace of the Lions
Muqarnas
Muqarnas Chamber
Alhambra: Generalife

● The Nasrid rulers did not limit themselves to

building within the wall of the Alhambra.
One of the best preserved Nasrid estates,
just beyond the walls, is called Generalife
(from the Arabic, Jannat al-arif).

● The word jannat means paradise and by

association, garden, or a place of cultivation
which Generalife has in abundance.

● In one of the most spectacular Generalife

gardens, a long narrow patio is ornamented
with a water channel and two rows of water
fountains.
Alhambra: Generalife
The Great Mosque of Isfahan

● It is an example of a Four-Iwan mosque, Linking the four iwans at the

center is a large courtyard open to the air.

● Each iwan sports colorful tile decoration and muqarnas or traditional

Islamic cusped niches.
The Great Mosque of Isfahan

Muqarnas
The Great Mosque of Isfahan
Interior Dome Calligraphy
Art History of The chronological periods in the Islamic world

Late Period (c. 1517-1924 C.E.)

Taj Mahal, India

Hagia Sophia as a mosque

● In 1453, Constantinople was conquered

by the Ottoman Empire under Mehmed
the Conqueror, who ordered Hagia
Sophia, church of Orthodox Christianity
converted into a mosque.

● Islamic features then added such as the

mihrab, minbar, and four minarets.

● It remained a mosque until 1931 when it

was closed to the public for four years. It
was re-opened in 1935 as a museum.
Hagia Sophia as a mosque
Hagia Sophia as a mosque

Hagia Sophia as a mosque

Hagia Sophia as a mosque
Süleymaniye Mosque
● The Süleymaniye Mosque, was built on the order of
Sultan Süleyman (Süleyman the Magnificent), and
designed by the imperial architect Mimar Sinan.
Mimar Sinan

● He was the chief Ottoman architect and

civil engineer for sultans Suleiman the
Magnificent, Selim II, and Murad III.

● He was responsible for the construction of

more than 300 major structures.

● His masterpiece is the Selimiye Mosque in

Edirne, although his most famous work is
the Suleiman Mosque in Istanbul.

● Mimar Sinan's works are among the most

influential buildings in history.
Süleymaniye Mosque

● It has a courtyard with a central

fountain.

● At the four corners of the

courtyard are the four minarets.

● The four minarets with their

10 beautiful şerefes (balconies),
said to represent the fact that
Süleyman was the fourth of the
Ottoman sultans to rule the city.
Süleymaniye Mosque
Süleymaniye Mosque
The Blue Mosque
(Sultan Ahmed Mosque)

● The Sultan Ahmet Mosque

was completed in 1617 by
Sultan Ahmet I.

● The mosque was built on the

site of the palace of the
Byzantine emperors.

● It features two main sections:

a large unified prayer hall
crowned by the main dome
and a spacious courtyard.
The Blue Mosque
(Sultan Ahmed Mosque)

● It has an elegant composition

of ascending domes and six
slender "pencil" minarets.

● Four minarets are positioned

on the corners of the mosque
prayer hall while the other
two flank the external
corners of the courtyard.

● Each minaret has a series of

balconies adorning.
The Blue Mosque
(Sultan Ahmed Mosque)

In order to extend the prayer

space beyond the span of the
central dome, a series of
half-domes (semi-domes)
cascade outwards from the
center to ultimately join the
exterior walls of the mosque.
The Blue Mosque
(Sultan Ahmed Mosque)

● Inside the mosque,

the central dome rests on
delicate pendentives
(triangular segments of a
spherical surface).

● Central dome’s weight is

supported on four massive
fluted columns.

● The mihrab is made of finely

carved and sculptured marble.
The Blue Mosque (Sultan Ahmed Mosque)
The Blue Mosque
(Sultan Ahmed Mosque)

● Upper sections of the mosque are

painted in geometric bands and
organic medallions of bright red and
blue colors.

● More than 20,000 Iznik tiles rise from

the mid-sections of the mosque.

● Iznik tiles has traditional motifs on

them, such as cypress trees, tulips,
roses, and fruits.
Iznik Tiles in The Blue Mosque (Sultan Ahmed Mosque)
The Blue Mosque (Sultan Ahmed Mosque)

More than 200 windows

with Venetian stained
glass that pierce the
central dome, each of
the half-domes, and the
side walls.
The Taj Mahal
● It was built by Shah Jahan, who was the fifth ruler of the Mughal dynasty, for
his favorite wife, known as Mumtaz Mahal, as a permanent resting place for
her after she died.

● The white-marble mausoleum is flanked on either side by identical buildings

in red sandstone. One of these serves as a mosque, and the other, whose
exact function is unknown, provides architectural balance.
The Taj Mahal

● Entry to the Taj Mahal complex via the

forecourt, and through a monumental
gate of inlaid and highly decorated red
sandstone made for a first impression of
grand splendor and symmetry.

● Aligned along a long water channel

through this gate is the Taj set
majestically on a raised platform on the
north end. The rectangular complex
runs roughly 1860 feet on the
north-south axis, and 1000 feet on the
east-west axis.
The Taj Mahal

● The marble structure is topped by a

bulbous dome and surrounded by four
minarets of equal height.

● While minarets in Islamic architecture

are usually associated with mosques for
use by the muezzin who leads the call to
prayer here, they are not functional, but
ornamental, once again underscoring
the Mughal focus on structural balance
and harmony.
The Taj Mahal
The Taj Mahal: Interior
● The interior floor plan of the Taj
exhibits the eight levels principle,
alluding to the eight levels of paradise.

● The center of the main chamber holds

Mumtaz Mahal’s intricately decorated
marble cenotaph on a raised platform.

● The emperor’s cenotaph was laid

down beside hers after he died three
decades later, both are encased in an
octagon of exquisitely carved
white-marble screens.
The Taj Mahal
Quranic verses calligraphy inscribed
into the walls of the building. The
dominant theme of the carved imagery
is floral.
 Learn More!
Where can you find more information about Islamic Art near you?
Islamic Arts Museum Malaysia
Kuala Lumpur
Islamic Arts Museum Malaysia
Kuala Lumpur
Sabah Islamic Civilization Museum
Kota Kinabalu
Sabah Islamic Civilization Museum
Kota Kinabalu
Art of the Islamic world Online
Course
Khan Academy Website
Islamic art TODAY is more about revival of past islamic art
and architecture rather than forming a new style.

Tha
References

https://archnet.org/timelines/48/period/Umayya
d/year/661

https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/art-
history/art-islam

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mimar_Sinan