Islamic architecture

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Islamic architecture
Selimiye Mosque (Edirne, Turkey
)

Islamic architecture comprises the architectural styles of buildings associated with Islam. It encompasses both secular and religious styles from the early history of Islam to the present day. The Islamic world encompasses a wide geographic area historically ranging from western Africa and Europe to eastern Asia. Certain commonalities are shared by Islamic architectural styles across all these regions, but over time different regions developed their own styles according to local materials and techniques, local dynasties and patrons, different regional centers of artistic production, and sometimes different religious affiliations.[1][2]

Early Islamic architecture was influenced by

sabils, commercial buildings (e.g. caravanserais and bazaars), and military fortifications.[2]

Early history (up to 10th century)

Origins

Mosque of the Prophet, standing on the site of Muhammad's first mosque in Medina. The present-day building is the result of many reconstructions and expansions up to modern times.[9]

The

Mosque of the Prophet (al-Masjid an-Nabawi).[10][9] It is usually described as his house, but may have been designed to serve as a community center from the beginning.[10] It consisted of a simple courtyard structure built in unbaked brick, with a rectangular, almost square, floor plan measuring about 53 by 56 meters.[10][11] A shaded portico supported by palm trunks stood on the north side of the courtyard, in the direction of prayer (the qibla), which was initially towards Jerusalem. When the qibla was changed to face towards Mecca in 624, a similar portico was added on the south side, facing towards that city.[10] Muhammad and his family lived in separate rooms attached to the mosque, and Muhammad himself was buried in one of these rooms upon his death in 632.[10] Over the rest of the 7th century and in the 8th century the mosque was repeatedly expanded to include a large flat-roofed prayer hall supported by columns (a hypostyle hall) with a central courtyard.[10] It became one of the main models for the early mosques built elsewhere.[10][11] Scholars generally agree that aside from Muhammad's mosque/house, the architecture of the Arabian Peninsula seems to have had only a limited role in the formulation of later Islamic architecture.[12][13][14][15]

Prior to the start of the

al-Hira (in present-day Iraq), and the Ghassanids, who were clients of the Byzantines and protected their eastern borders.[16] These two Arab dynasties were significant patrons of architecture in their respective regions.[16] Their architecture is not well understood due to the scarcity of identifiable remains today, but they borrowed and adapted the architecture of their Byzantine and Sasanian suzerains.[17][18] Some of their buildings are known from archeology or historical texts, such as the Lakhmid palaces of Khawarnaq and al-Sadir in al-Hira, a Ghassanid church with mosaic decoration at Nitil (near Madaba), and a Ghassanid audience hall incorporated into the later Umayyad rural residence at ar-Rusafa.[16][19][20] The culture and architecture of the Lakhmids and Ghassanids probably played a subsequent role in transmitting and filtering the architectural traditions of the Sasanian and the Byzantine/Roman worlds to the later Arab Islamic dynasties who established their political centers in the same regions.[21][22][23]

When the early Arab-Muslim conquests spread out from the Arabian Peninsula in the 7th century and advanced across the Middle East and North Africa, new garrison cities were established in the conquered territories, such as Fustat in Egypt and Kufa in present-day Iraq. The central congregational mosques of these cities were built in the hypostyle format.[10] In other cities, especially in Syria, new mosques were established by converting or occupying parts of existing churches in existing cities, as for example in Damascus and Hama.[10] These early mosques had no minaret, although small shelters may have been constructed on the roofs to protect the muezzin while issuing the call to prayer.[24]

Umayyad era

The Umayyad-era Mshatta Facade, from a palace near Amman, now in the Pergamon Museum in Berlin. The decoration displays Byzantine and Sasanian influences.[25]

The Umayyad Caliphate (661–750) combined elements of Byzantine architecture and Sasanian architecture, but Umayyad architecture introduced new combinations of these styles.[26] The reuse of elements from classical Roman and Byzantine art was still widely evident because political power and patronage was centered in Syria, a former Roman/Byzantine province.[27] Some former Ghassanid structures also appear to have been reused and modified during this period.[28] However, a significant amount of experimentation occurred as Umayyad patrons recruited craftsmen from across the empire and architects were allowed, or even encouraged, to mix elements from different artistic traditions and to disregard traditional conventions and restraints.[27] Partly as a result of this, Umayyad architecture is distinguished by the extent and variety of decoration, including mosaics, wall painting, sculpture and carved reliefs.[29][27] While figural scenes were notably present in monuments like Qusayr 'Amra, non-figural decoration and more abstract scenes became highly favoured, especially in religious architecture.[30][27] The Umayyad period thus played a crucial role in transforming and enriching existing architectural traditions during the formation of early Islamic society's visual culture.[31]

Great Mosque of Damascus
(early 8th century)

The Umayyads were the first to add the

Al-Aqsa Mosque on the Al-Aqsa compound, also in Jerusalem, was also rebuilt by al-Walid I, replacing an earlier simple structure built around 670.[10] A number of palaces from this period have also partially survived or have been excavated in modern times.[27][29] The horseshoe arch appears for the first time in Umayyad architecture, later to evolve to its most advanced form in al-Andalus (Iberian Peninsula).[33]

The Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem (late 7th century, with later renovations)

The Dome of the Rock has a centralized floor plan with an octagonal layout. This was most likely modeled on earlier Byzantine martyria in the region that had a similar form, such as the Church of the Kathisma.[34][35] Despite the religious and historical importance of the Dome of the Rock, its layout did not frequently serve as a model for major Islamic monuments after it.[27] In hypostyle mosques, the Umayyads introduced the tradition of making the "nave" or aisle in front of the mihrab wider than the others, dividing the prayer room along its central axis.[32] This innovation was probably inspired by the layout of existing Christian basilicas in the region.[32][36] Both the al-Aqsa Mosque and the Great Mosque of Damascus feature a hypostyle hall in this fashion, with a dome above the space in front of the mihrab, and both were influential in the design of later mosques elsewhere.[10] The Dome of the Rock and the Umayyad Mosque are also notable for their extensive program of mosaic decoration that drew on late Antique motifs and craftsmanship.[37][38][31][35] However, mosaic decoration eventually fell out of fashion in Islamic architecture.[27]

Abbasid era

Interior of the al-Ukhaidir Palace (c. 775) in Iraq, one of the earliest surviving examples of Abbasid architecture[39]

The Abbasid architecture of the Abbasid Caliphate (750–1513) was particularly influenced by Sasanian architecture, which in turn featured elements present since ancient Mesopotamia.[40][39] Other influences such as ancient Soghdian architecture in Central Asia have also been noted.[40] This was partly a result of the caliphate's political center shifting further east to the new capital of Baghdad, in present-day Iraq.[39] The Abbasids also built other capital cities, such as Samarra in the 9th century, which is now a major archeological site that has provided numerous insights into the evolution of Islamic art and architecture during this time.[41][39] During the Abbasid Caliphate's golden years in the 8th and 9th centuries, its great power and unity allowed architectural fashions and innovations to spread quickly to other areas of the Islamic world under its influence.[42]

Panel of stucco decoration from Abbasid Samarra (9th century), Iraq, exemplifying the "beveled" style that employed more abstract motifs.[43]

Features from the late Umayyad period, such as vaulting, carved stucco, and painted wall decoration, were continued and elaborated in the Abbasid period.[39] The four-centred arch, a more sophisticated form of the pointed arch, is first attested during the Abbasid period in monuments at Samarra, such as the Qasr al-Ashiq palace,[44][39] and became widely used in some regions at later periods.[45] Samarra also saw the appearance of new decorative styles, particularly in stucco and plasterwork, which rendered the earlier vegetal motifs of late antique traditions into more abstract and stylized forms, as exemplified by the so-called "beveled" style. These decorative techniques quickly spread to other regions where stucco decoration played a prominent role.[46]

The walls and minaret of the Great Mosque of Samarra built by the Abbasids in the 9th century

Abbasid mosques all followed the courtyard plan with hypostyle halls. The earliest was the mosque that Caliph al-Mansur built in Baghdad (since destroyed). The Great Mosque of Samarra built by al-Mutawakkil measured 256 by 139 metres (840 by 456 ft), had a flat wooden roof supported by columns, and was decorated with marble panels and glass mosaics.[47] The prayer hall of the Abu Dulaf Mosque at Samarra had arcades on rectangular brick piers running at right angles to the qibla wall. Both of the Samarra mosques have spiral minarets, the only examples in Iraq.[47] A mosque at Balkh in what is now Afghanistan was about 20 by 20 metres (66 by 66 ft) square, with three rows of three square bays, supporting nine vaulted domes.[48]

While the origins of the minaret are uncertain, it is believed that the first true minarets appeared in this period.[49][24] Several of the Abbasid mosques built in the early ninth century had minaret towers which stood at the northern ends of the building, opposite the central mihrab. Among the most famous of these is the Malwiyya minaret, a stand-alone tower with a "spiral" form built for the Great Mosque of Samarra.[50]

Early regional styles

Great Mosque of Córdoba, added to the mosque by al-Hakam II
(late 10th century)

After the overthrow of the Umayyad Caliphate in 750 by the Abbasids, a new branch of the

Qarawiyyin and Andalusiyyin mosques in Fez (present-day Morocco) demonstrate the prevalence of the same stylistic elements across the region.[53]

After its initial apogee of power, the Abbasid Caliphate became partly fragmented into regional states in the 9th century which were formally obedient to the caliphs in Baghdad but were de facto independent.[54] The Aghlabids in Ifriqiya (roughly modern-day Tunisia) were notable patrons of architecture themselves, responsible for rebuilding both the Great Mosque of Kairouan (originally founded by Uqba ibn Nafi in 670) and the Zaytuna Mosque of Tunis in much of their current forms, as well as for building numerous other structures in the region.[55][56] In Egypt, Ahmad ibn Tulun established a short-lived dynasty, the Tulunids, and built himself a new capital (Al-Qata'i) and a new congregational mosque, known as the Ibn Tulun Mosque, which was completed in 879. It was strongly influenced by Abbasid architecture in Samarra and remains one of the most notable and best-preserved examples of 9th-century architecture from the Abbasid Caliphate.[57]

The Samanid Mausoleum in Bukhara (10th century), built entirely of brick, is one of the oldest monumental tombs in the Islamic world.[58]

In Iran and Central Asia, a number of other local and regional dynasties held sway prior to the arrival of the

Tomb of the Samanids in Bukhara (before 943).[61][59]

Bab al-Futuh in Cairo, one of the gates built by the Fatimid vizier Badr al-Jamali (11th century)

In the 10th century, the

Ismaili Shi'a branch of Islam. Other notable monuments include the large Mosque of al-Hakim (founded in 990 under al-'Aziz but completed around 1013 under al-Hakim), the small Aqmar Mosque (1125) with its richly-decorated street façade, and the domed Mashhad of Sayyida Ruqayya (1133), notable for its mihrab of elaborately-carved stucco.[62] Under the powerful vizier Badr al-Jamali (r. 1073–1094), the city walls were rebuilt in stone along with several monumental gates, three of which have survived to the present-day: Bab al-Futuh, Bab al-Nasr, and Bab Zuweila).[63][62]

Characteristics

Gardens

Shalamar Gardens, a Mughal paradise garden in Lahore, Pakistan

Gardens and water have for many centuries played an essential role in Islamic culture, and are often compared to the garden of

Persian prince Cyrus the Younger, who shows the Greek his "Paradise at Sardis".[64] The classical form of the Persian Paradise garden, or the charbagh
, comprises a rectangular irrigated space with elevated pathways, which divide the garden into four sections of equal size:

One of the hallmarks of Persian gardens is the four-part garden laid out with axial paths that intersect at the garden's centre. This highly structured geometrical scheme, called the chahar bagh, became a powerful metaphor for the organization and domestication of the landscape, itself a symbol of political territory.[65]

A Charbagh from Achaemenid time has been identified in the archaeological excavations at

Shalimar Gardens (Lahore, Pakistan) or at the Alhambra and Generalife in Granada, Spain.[67]

Courtyards

The sahn (courtyard) and minaret of the Great Mosque of Kairouan, Tunisia

In the architecture of the Muslim world courtyards are found in secular and religious structures.

  1. Residences and other secular buildings typically contain a central private courtyard or walled garden. This was also called the wast ad-dar ("middle of the house") in Arabic. The tradition of courtyard houses was already widespread in the ancient Mediterranean world and Middle East, as seen in Greco-Roman houses (e.g. the Roman domus). The use of this space included the aesthetic effects of plants and water, the penetration of natural light, allowing breezes and air circulation into the structure during summer heat, as a cooler space with water and shade, and as a protected and proscribed place where the women of the house need not be covered in the hijab clothing traditionally necessary in public.[68][69]
  1. A ṣaḥn (Arabic: صحن) is the formal courtyard found in almost every mosque in Islamic architecture. The courtyards are open to the sky and surrounded on all sides by structures with halls and rooms, and often a shaded semi-open arcade riwaq. A mosque courtyard is used for performing ablutions and as a patio for rest or gathering. Sahns usually feature a central pool or fountain to aid with ablutions, sometimes sheltered under an open domed pavilion.[10][70][71] Historically, because of the warm Mediterranean and Middle Eastern climates, the courtyard also served to accommodate larger numbers of worshippers during Friday prayers.[72]

Hypostyle hall

A

Tarikhaneh Mosque in Iran, dating back to the eighth century.[67]

Some scholars refer to the early hypostyle mosque with courtyard as the "Arab plan" or "Arab-type" mosque.[72][10] Such mosques were constructed mostly under the Umayyad and Abbasid dynasties; subsequently, however, the simplicity of this type of plan limited the opportunities for further development, and as a result, these mosques gradually fell out of popularity in some regions.[72]

Vaulting

In Islamic buildings, vaulting follows two distinct architectural styles: While Umayyad architecture in the west continues Syrian traditions of the sixth and seventh century, eastern Islamic architecture was mainly influenced by Sasanian styles and forms.

Umayyad diaphragm arches and barrel vaults

Qusayr 'Amra in Jordan

In their

Qasr Amra.[73]

Iwans

An iwan in the Jameh Mosque of Isfahan

An iwan is a hall that is walled on three sides and open on one side.[74][75] It is typically covered by a vault although this can vary.[75] This feature was present in Sasanian architecture, though its exact origins are older and still debated.[75] It was later incorporated into Islamic architecture. Its usage became more common and widespread under the Seljuks in the 10th century.[74] Iwans were used in a variety of ways and arranged in varying positions in relation to the rest of the building. They are found in many types of buildings including mosques, madrasas, palaces, and caravanserais. A common layout is the

four-iwan plan
.

The related

Domes

Domes in Iran and Central Asia

Because of its long history of building and re-building, spanning the time from the

Abbasids to the Qajar dynasty, and its excellent state of conservation, the Jameh Mosque of Isfahan provides an overview over the experiments Islamic architects conducted with complicated vaulting structures.[78]

The system of squinches, which is a construction filling in the upper angles of a square room so as to form a base to receive an octagonal or spherical dome, was already known in Sasanian architecture.[79] The spherical triangles of the squinches were split up into further subdivisions or systems of niches, resulting in a complex interplay of supporting structures forming an ornamental spatial pattern which hides the weight of the structure.

The tradition of double-shelled brick domes in Iran has been traced back to the 11th century.[80][81] At the beginning of the 15th century, major Timurid monuments like the Gur-i Amir Mausoleum and the Bibi Khanum Mosque (both completed around 1404) were notable in their use of large double-shelled domes. These domes were composed of an inner shell which was visible from the interior and a larger outer shell, visible from the exterior and often of a slightly different shape. The Gur-i Amir Mausoleum's dome, the oldest one to have survived to the present day, features an exterior ribbed profile with a band of muqarnas around its drum.[82] However, domes of this shape and style were likely constructed earlier, as evidenced by the Sultaniyya Mausoleum in Cairo, which was built earlier in the 1350s and appears to have copied this same design from the Iranian tradition.[80]

The "non-radial rib vault", an architectural form of ribbed vaults with a superimposed spherical dome, is the characteristic architectural vault form of the Islamic East. From its beginnings in the Jameh Mosque of Isfahan, this form of vault was used in a sequence of important buildings up to the period of Safavid architecture. Its main characteristics are:[78]

  • four intersecting ribs, at times redoubled and intersected to form an eight-pointed star;
  • the omission of a transition zone between the vault and the supporting structure;
  • a central dome or roof lantern on top of the ribbed vault.

While intersecting pairs of ribs from the main decorative feature of

Ālī Qāpū in Isfahan.[78]

Domes in South Asia

The use of domes in South Asia started with the establishment of

Delhi sultanate in 1204 CE. Unlike Ottoman domes, and even more so than Persian domes, domes in South Asia tend to be more bulbous.[84] Many monumental Mughal domes were also double-shelled and derived from the Iranian tradition. The design of the Tomb of Humayun (completed around 1571–72), including its double-shelled dome, suggests that its architects were familiar with Timurid monuments in Samarqand.[85] The central dome of the Taj Mahal likewise features a bulbous profile and a double-shelled construction.[86]

Ribbed domes in Al-Andalus and the Maghreb

Ribbed dome in front of the mihrab in the Mosque–Cathedral of Córdoba, added in the 10th century

The Great Mosque of Córdoba in Al-Andalus was initially built with a system of double-arched arcades supporting the flat timberwork ceiling. The columns of the arcades are connected by horseshoe arches which support brick pillars, which are in turn interconnected by semicircular arches.[87]: 40–42  This arcade system was copied during the mosque's subsequent expansions, but the expansion by al-Hakam II after 961 also introduced a series of ornate ribbed domes.[88] Three domes span the vaults in front of the mihrab wall while another one covers an area now known by its Spanish name, the Capilla de Villaviciosa, located several bays before the mihrab. In sections which now supporting these domes, additional supporting structures were needed to bear the thrust of the cupolas. The architects solved this problem by the construction of intersecting arches.[89][90] The domes themselves are built with eight intersecting stone ribs. Rather than meeting in the centre of the dome, the ribs intersect one another off-center, leaving the central space to be occupied by a smaller cupola. For the domes in front of the mihrab, the ribs form an eight-pointed star and an octagonal cupola in the centre. For the dome over the Capilla de Villaviciosa, the ribs leave a central square space between them, with an octagonal cupola added over this.[90][91]

The ribbed domes of the Mosque-Cathedral of Córdoba served as models for later mosque buildings in the Islamic West of Al-Andalus and the Maghreb. At around 1000 AD, the

Almoravids founded in 1082, has twelve slender ribs, the shell between the ribs is filled with filigree stucco work.[90]

Ottoman domes

Sultan Ahmed Mosque

Based on the model of pre-existing Byzantine domes, Ottoman architecture developed a specific form of monumental, representative building: wide central domes with huge diameters were erected on top of a centre-plan building. Despite their enormous weight, the domes appear virtually weightless. Some of the most elaborate domed buildings have been constructed by the Ottoman architect Mimar Sinan.

When the Ottomans

Roman domes, and thus are not visible from within the building.[94] In the dome of the Hagia Sophia, the ribs and shell of the dome unite in a central medallion at the apex of the dome, the upper ends of the ribs being integrated into the shell; shell and ribs form one single structural entity. In later Byzantine buildings, like the Kalenderhane Mosque, the Eski Imaret Mosque (formerly the Monastery of Christ Pantepoptes) or the Pantokrator Monastery (today Zeyrek Mosque), the central medallion of the apex and the ribs of the dome became separate structural elements: the ribs are more pronounced and connect to the central medallion, which also stands out more pronouncedly, so that the entire construction gives the impression as if ribs and medallion are separate from, and underpin, the proper shell of the dome.[95] Elaborately decorated ceilings and dome interiors draw influence from Near Eastern and Mediterranean architectural decoration while also serving as explicit and symbolic representations of the heavens. These dome shaped architectural features could be seen at the early Islamic palaces such as Qusayr ῾amra (c.712–15) and Khirbat al-mafjar (c.724–43).[96]

Mimar Sinan solved the structural issues of the Hagia Sophia dome by constructing a system of centrally symmetric pillars with flanking semi-domes, as exemplified by the design of the Süleymaniye Mosque (four pillars with two flanking shield walls and two semi-domes, 1550–1557), the Rüstem Pasha Mosque (eight pillars with four diagonal semi-domes, 1561–1563), and the Selimiye Mosque in Edirne (eight pillars with four diagonal semi-domes, 1567/8–1574/5). In the history of architecture, the structure of the Selimiye Mosque has no precedent. All elements of the building are subordinate to its great dome.[97][98][99]

Balconies and screens

Balconies are a common feature of Islamic domestic architecture due to the warm climates in most countries. One of the mosque recognizable types is the mashrabiya, a wooden lattice screen which projects from the side of a building and which protected privacy by allowed those inside to look outside without being visible from outside.[100][101] Another type of lattice screen, not restricted to balconies, is the jali, which is common to Indo-Islamic architecture and is made of perforated stone.[102] Other examples of balconies and related structures include the jharokha in Rajasthani and Indo-Islamic architecture and the mirador, a Spanish term applied to a balcony or lookout pavilion in Andalusi palaces like the Alhambra.[103] Balconies also became an architectural element inside some mosques, such as the hünkâr mahfili in Ottoman mosques, a separate and protected space where the sultan could perform his prayers (similar to a maqsura). A similar feature is also found in the Bara Gunbad complex (late 15th century) in Delhi.[103]

Ornamentation

As a common feature, Islamic architecture makes use of specific ornamental forms, including mathematically complicated, elaborate geometric patterns, floral motifs like the arabesque, and elaborate calligraphic inscriptions. The geometric or floral, interlaced forms, taken together, constitute an infinitely repeated pattern that extends beyond the visible material world.[104] Figural motifs, such as animals, humans, and imaginary creatures, have a rich tradition in Islamic art, though they generally more stylized than naturalistic.[105] However, because of the religious taboo on figural representations, non-figural decoration remained more dominant overall and figural motifs were generally excluded from religious buildings entirely.[2][106]

The importance of the written word in Islam ensured that epigraphic or calligraphic decoration played a prominent role in architecture.

oneness of God (e.g. Qur'an 112), and the role of Muhammad as the "Seal of the Prophets", which have been interpreted as an attempt to announce the rejection of the Christian concept of the Holy Trinity and to proclaim the triumph of Islam over Christianity and Judaism.[109][110][111] Additionally, foundation inscriptions on buildings commonly indicate its founder or patron, the date of its construction, the name of the reigning sovereign, and other information.[107]

These decorative motifs are expressed in a range of mediums, including stone carving, brickwork, carved stucco, tilework, paint, glass mosaics, marble or stone paneling, and stained glass windows.[107] Capitals, the upper part or crowing feature of a column, serve as a transition piece and are often decoratively carved. They range greatly in design and shape in Islamic Architecture. Early Islamic buildings in Iran featured "Persian" type capitals which included designs of bulls heads, while Mediterranean structures displayed a more classical influence.[112]

Muqarnas

Muqarnas is a three-dimensional sculpted motif created by the geometric subdivision of a vaulting structure into miniature, superimposed pointed-arch substructures or niches, also known as "honeycomb" or "stalactite" vaults.[113] They can be made from different materials like stone, brick, wood or stucco. The earliest monuments to make use of this feature date from the 11th century and are found in Iraq, North Africa, Iran, Central Asia, and Upper Egypt. This apparently near-simultaneous development in distant regions of the Islamic world has led to multiple scholarly theories about their origin and spread, with one current theory proposing that they originated in one region at least a century earlier and then spread from there.[113] Some of the earliest surviving examples preserved in situ are tripartite squinches used as transitional elements for domes and semi-domes, such as at the Arab-Ata Mausoleum (977–978) in Tim (Uzbekistan), the Gunbad-i Qabus (1006–1007) in northeastern Iran, and the Duvazdah Imam Mausoleum (1037–1038) in Yazd.[113] From the 12th century onward its usage became common across the Islamic world and different local styles developed over time. In addition to serving as squinches and pendentives, muqarnas was also employed to decorate cornices, portals, mihrabs, windows, arches, and entire domes.[113]

Other elements of religious architecture

Qibla orientation

The qiblah (قِـبْـلَـة) is the direction in which Mecca is from any given location, towards which Muslims face during prayers. Within Islamic architecture it is a major component of both the features and the orientation of the building itself.[115] Mosques and religious structures are built to have one side aligned with this direction, usually marked by a visual feature called a mihrab. The layout of some Muslim cities may have also been influenced by this orientation.[115] In practice, however, the qibla alignments of mosques built in different periods and locations do not all point to the same place.[115] This is due to discrepancies in the calculations of the Islamic scientists in the past who determined where Mecca was from their individual locations. Scholars note that these differences come about for a multitude of reasons, such as some misunderstanding the meaning of qibla itself, the fact that the geographic coordinates of the past do not line up with the coordinates of today, and that the determination of this direction was more an astronomical calculation, rather than a mathematical one. Early mosques were constructed according to either the calculations of what direction qibla was approximately, or with the mihrab facing south, as that was the direction that Muhammad was facing when he prayed in Medina, which is a city directly north of Mecca.[115]

Mihrab

The mihrab is a niche or alcove, typically concave, set into the qibla wall (the wall standing in the direction of prayer) of a mosque or other prayer space. It symbolized and indicated the direction of the qibla to worshippers. It also acquired ritual and ceremonial importance over time, and its shape was even used as a symbol on some coinage.[116][117] The very first mosques did not have mihrabs; the first known concave mihrab niche was the one added to the Prophet's Mosque in Medina by Caliph al-Walid I in 706 or 707.[116][32] In later mosques the mihrab evolved to become the usual focus of architectural decoration in the building. The details of its shape and materials varied from region to region.[117] In congregational mosques, the mihrab was usually flanked by a minbar (pulpit), and some historical mosques also included a nearby maqsura (a protected space for the ruler during prayers).

  • Mihrab of the Great Mosque of Cordoba (10th century)
    Mihrab of the Great Mosque of Cordoba (10th century)
  • Stucco-carved mihrab of Uljaytu at the Jameh Mosque of Isfahan (early 14th century)
    Stucco-carved mihrab of Uljaytu at the Jameh Mosque of Isfahan (early 14th century)
  • Mihrab of the Mosque-Madrasa of Sultan Hasan in Cairo (14th century)
    Mihrab of the
    Mosque-Madrasa of Sultan Hasan
    in Cairo (14th century)
  • Ottoman mihrab with Iznik tiles in the Rüstem Pasha Mosque, Istanbul (16th century)
    Ottoman mihrab with Iznik tiles in the Rüstem Pasha Mosque, Istanbul (16th century)
  • Mihrab of the Jama Masjid in Delhi (mid-17th century)
    Mihrab of the Jama Masjid in Delhi (mid-17th century)

Minaret

The minaret is a tower that traditionally accompanies a mosque building. Its formal function is to provide a vantage point from which the call to prayer, or

adhān, is made. The call to prayer is issued five times each day: dawn, noon, mid-afternoon, sunset, and night. In most modern mosques, the adhān is made directly from the prayer hall and broadcast via microphone to a speaker system on the minaret.[118]

The origin of the minaret and its initial functions are not clearly known and have long been a topic of scholarly discussion.[119][120] The earliest mosques lacked minarets, and the call to prayer was often performed from smaller tower structures.[121][122][123] The early Muslim community of Medina gave the call to prayer from the doorway or the roof of the house of Muhammad, which doubled as a place for prayer.[124] The first confirmed minarets in the form of towers date from the early 9th century under Abbasid rule and they did not become a standard feature of mosques until the 11th century.[125][126] These first minaret towers were placed in the middle of the wall opposite the qibla wall.[127] Among them, the minaret of the Great Mosque of Kairouan in Tunisia, dating from 836, is one of the oldest surviving minarets in the world and the oldest in North Africa.[24][126][128] It has the shape of a massive tower with a square base, three levels of decreasing widths, and a total height of 31.5 meters.[129][130]

Minarets have had various forms (in general round, squared, spiral or octagonal) depending on the period and architectural tradition. The number of minarets by mosques is not fixed; originally one minaret would accompany each mosque, but some architectural styles can include multiple minarets.[131]

Towns and cities

Urban and nomadic life according to Ibn Khaldun

During its history, the society of the pre-modern Islamic world was dominated by two important social contexts,

caliphs. Bedouins, being the nomadic inhabitants of the steppe and the desert, are interconnected by strong bonds of asabiyyah and firm religious beliefs. These bonds tend to slacken in urban communities over some generations. In parallel, by losing their asabiyyah, the townspeople also lose the power to defend themselves, and fall victims to more aggressive tribes which may destroy the city and set up a new ruling dynasty, which over time is subject to the same weakening of power again.[132]

Experiments with various ideal city models

The antique concept of the architecture of a metropolis is based on a structure of main and smaller roads running through the entire city, and dividing it into quarters. The streets are oriented towards public buildings like a palace, temple, or a public square. Two main roads, (

decumanus) cross each other at right angles in the center of the city. A few cities were founded during the early Islamic Umayyad Caliphate, the outlines of which were based on the Ancient Roman concept of the ideal city. An example of a city planned according to such concepts was excavated at Anjar in Lebanon.[133] Donald Whitcomb argues that the early Muslim conquests initiated a conscious attempt to recreate specific morphological features characteristic of earlier western and southwestern Arabian cities.[134]

The Arab elite of the early Islam were city dwellers of Mecca, Medina, Ta’if and the highly urbanized society of Yemen whose Arabian traditions contributed to the urban development of the early Islamic cities.[135][136] Outside Arabia, the early military encampments of Kufa, Basra, Fustat, and Kairouan were rapidly transformed into permanent foundations and planned cities. One of the traditions contributing to the early Islamic city was the south Arabian city, such as Sana’a, to which type Mecca and Fustat belonged.[137] Two urban types based on social organization have been proposed by Walter Dostal. The first is called the San'a-formation, developed from a market center and inhabited by groups of the same tribe with social differentiation based on his "farmer-craftsman" technological specializations. The second urban type is the Tarim-formation, in which quarter organization reflects the social structure of a multi-tribal settlement.[138]

Transformation of conquered towns

More often than founding new cities, the new Islamic rulers took over existing towns, and transformed them according to the needs of the new Islamic society. This process of transformation proved to be decisive for the development of the traditional Islamic city, or Medina.[139] The principle of arranging buildings is known as "horizontal spread". Residencies and public buildings as well as private housing tend to be laid out separately, and are not directly related to each other architectonically. Archaeological excavations at the city of Jerash, the Gerasa of Antiquity, have revealed how the Umayyads have transformed the city plan.[140]

Urban morphology of the Medina

The architecture of the "oriental"-Islamic town is based on cultural and sociological concepts which differ from those of European cities. In both cultures, a distinction is made between the areas used by the rulers and their government and administration, public places of everyday common life, and the areas of private life. While the structures and concepts of European towns originated from a sociological struggle to gain basic rights of freedom—or town privileges—from political or religious authorities during the Middle Ages, an Islamic town or city is fundamentally influenced by the preservation of the unity of secular and religious life throughout time.[141]

In a medina, palaces and residences as well as public places like

hospital complexes and private living spaces rather coexist alongside each other. The buildings tend to be more inwardly oriented, and are separated from the surrounding "outside" either by walls or by the hierarchical ordering of the streets, or both. Streets tend to lead from public main roads to cul-de-sac byroads and onwards into more private plots, and then end there. There are no, or very few, internal connections between different quarters of the city. In order to move from one quarter to the next, one has to go back to the main road again.[141]

Within a city quarter, byroads lead towards individual building complexes or clusters of houses. The individual house is frequently also oriented towards an inner

facades. Thus, the spatial structure of a medina essentially reflects the ancient nomadic tradition of living in a family group or tribe, held together by asabiyya, strictly separated from the "outside". In general, the morphology of an Islamic medina is granting—or denying—access according to the basic concept of hierarchical degrees of privacy. The inhabitants move from public space to the living quarters of their tribe, and onwards to their family home. Within a family house, there are again to be found common and separate spaces, the latter, and most private, usually reserved for women and children. In the end, only the family heads have free and unlimited access to all rooms and areas of their private home, as opposed to the more European concept of interconnecting different spaces for free and easy access. The hierarchy of privacy thus guides and structurizes the entire social life in a medina, from the caliph down to his most humble subject, from the town to the house.[142]

Frontier fortresses and towns

Mosque in Qasr al-Hallabat
Entrance courtyard of Qasr al-Hallabat

Misr, ribat

In the frontier area of the Arabic expansion, military forts (misr, Pl. أَمْـصَـار, amṣār), or ribāṭ (رِبَـاط, fortress) were founded. The structure and function of a misr is similar to an ancient Roman Colonia.[143] Like a frontier colony, the fortress served as a base for further conquests. Arabian military forts of this type were frequently built in the vicinity of an older town from Antiquity or from Byzantine times. They frequently were of square format.[144]

Rather than maintaining their original purpose to serve as a military base, many amṣār developed into urbane and administrative centers. In particular, this happened in the case of the Iraqi cities of Kufa and Basra, which became known as al-miṣrān ("the [two] forts"), but also with Fustat and Kairouan in North Africa.

Qaṣr

Qaṣr (قَصْـر; pl. قصور, quṣūr) means palace, castle or (frontier) fort. Fortresses from Late Antiquity often continued to be in use, while their function changed during time. Some quṣūr were already used as Castra during Roman times, and were part of the fortifications of the North African limes. Already during the Ancient Roman times, castra did not only serve as fortifications, but also as markets and meeting points for the tribes living beyond the border.

Smaller quṣūr are found in modern

Qasr Al-Kharanah is one of the earliest known Desert castles
, its architectural form clearly demonstrates the influence of Sasanian architecture.

According to a hypothesis developed by

Client politics, of mutual interdependence and support.[148] After the Umayyad conquest, the quṣūr lost their original function and were either abandoned or continued to serve as local market places and meeting points until the 10th century.[145] Another type of Islamic fortress is the Qalat
.

Influences

Greco-Roman and Sasanian influences

Early Islamic architecture was influenced by two different ancient traditions:

  1. Greco-Roman tradition: In particular, the regions of the newly conquered Byzantine Empire (Southwestern Anatolia, Syria, Egypt and the Maghreb) supplied architects, masons, mosaicists and other craftsmen to the new Islamic rulers. These artisans were trained in Byzantine architecture and decorative arts, and continued building and decorating in Byzantine style, which had developed out of Hellenistic and ancient Roman architecture.[67]
  2. Eastern tradition: Mesopotamia and Persia, despite adopting elements of Hellenistic and Roman representative style, retained their independent architectural traditions, which derived from Sasanian architecture and its predecessors.[67]

The transition process between late Antiquity, or post-classical, and Islamic architecture is exemplified by archaeologic findings in North Syria and Palestine, the Bilad al-Sham (Levant region) of the Umayyad and Abbasid Caliphates. In this region, late antique, or Christian, architectural traditions merged with the pre-Islamic Arabian heritage of the conquerors.[149]

Arabian

References on Islamic architecture generally agree that pre-Islamic architecture in the Arabian Peninsula had only limited influence on the development of Islamic architecture, at least by comparison with the influences of existing architectural traditions in the conquered territories beyond the peninsula.[14][13][12][15] In western scholarship, a traditional assumption was that the Arabs of the early 7th century, at the time of Muhammad, were nomadic pastoralists who did not have strong architectural traditions. Thanks to more recent studies and archeological investigations, this view has since been revised and is now considered obsolete.[150][151] According to scholar Beatrice Saint Laurent, early academic investigations into the history of Islamic monumental architecture led to the "flawed view that saw the roots of an Early Islamic monumental architecture and art solely in the traditions of the conquered regions".[152] Scholars now agree that a rich architectural tradition also preceded the appearance of Islam in Arabia and the first Islamic monuments.[153][154]

The major architectural contribution that took place in Arabia during the early Islamic period was the development of a distinctive Muslim mosque.[155] The hypostyle mosque constructed by Muhammad in Medina served as a model for early mosque design throughout the Islamic world.[10] Umayyad religious architecture was the earliest expression of Islamic art on a grand scale[156] and the Umayyad Mosque of Damascus reproduced the hypostyle model at a monumental scale.[157] Moreover, the Umayyads did not come from a cultural void and were aware of their own Arabian cultural history.[158][159] Some scholars suggest they sought to continue the pre-Islamic Arabian architectural tradition of building tall palaces to symbolize the ruler's power.[160]

Regional styles (after the 10th century)

Great Seljuks and early Turkic dynasties

Turkic peoples began moving into the Middle East from the 8th century onward and, after converting to Islam, became major political and military forces in the region. The first major Turkic dynasty was the Ghaznavids, who ruled from Ghazna in present-day Afghanistan and adopted a Persianate culture. In the second half of the 12th century the Ghurids, of uncertain ethnic origin, replaced them as the major power in the region from northern India to the edge of the Caspian Sea.[161][162] Among the most remarkable monuments of these two dynasties are a number of ornate brick towers and minarets that have survived as stand-alone structures and whose exact functions are unclear. They include the Tower of Mas'ud III near Ghazna (early 12th century) and the Minaret of Jam built by the Ghurids (late 12th century).[163][164] Around the same time, between the late 10th century and the early 13th century, the Turkic

Uzgen (present-day Kyrgyzstan) from the second half of the 12th century.[165]

Dome in the Jameh Mosque of Isfahan, Iran, added in 1088–89 by Seljuk vizier Taj al-Mulk

More significant was the arrival of the Seljuk Turks and the formation of the

Khorasan, respectively.[170][171][172] The Seljuks also continued to build "tower tombs", an Iranian building type from earlier periods, such as the Toghrul Tower built in Rayy (south of present-day Tehran) in 1139. More innovative, however, was the introduction of mausoleums with a square or polygonal floor plan, which later became a common form of monumental tombs. Early examples of this are the two Kharraqan Mausoleums (1068 and 1093) near Qazvin (northern Iran), which have octagonal forms, and the large Mausoleum of Sanjar (c. 1127) in Merv (present-day Turkmenistan), which has a square base.[173]

After the decline of the Great Seljuks in the late 12th century various Turkic dynasties formed smaller states and empires. A branch of the Seljuk dynasty ruled a Sultanate in Anatolia (also known as the Anatolian Seljuks), the Zengids and Artuqids ruled in Northern Mesopotomia (known as the Jazira) and nearby regions, and the Khwarazmian Empire ruled over Iran and Central Asia until the Mongol invasions of the 13th century.[162]

Iran and Central Asia

One type of mosque attested during the early period of Sulayhid and Rasulid rule consisted of a large cubic chamber with one entrance, which had antecedents in the pre-Islamic temple architecture of the region.[264][266] Another type consisted of a rectangular chamber with a transverse orientation, with multiple entrances and supporting columns inside, sometimes preceded by a courtyard.[264] The hypostyle mosque with courtyard, common elsewhere, was comparatively rare in early Islamic Yemen.[264] The Great Mosque of Sanaa, origiinally commissioned by the Umayyad caliph al-Walid (r. 705–15) and reconstructed at later times, was one of the few mosques of this type in the region.[264][266] The mosque's decoration reflects Yemeni techniques of carved and painted wood, carved stone, and carved stucco.[268]

Central dome of the Ashrafiyya Mosque in Ta'izz (circa 1397)

The Ayyubids introduced domed mosque types as well as Sunni-syle madrasas to the region, but none of their buildings in Yemen have survived. The Rasulids who followed them (13th–15th centuries) were prolific patrons of architecture and perpetuated these new building types, influenced by their political links with Egypt.[264][269] During the same period, the Zaydi imams in northern Yemen were buried in richly-decorated domed tombs.[269] With the advent of Ottoman rule in Yemen after 1538, Rasulid-style architecture continued to be the local norm in Sunni-controlled areas, but elements of Ottoman architecture began to be introduced in the late 16th century.[266]

Shibam, an example of a historic fortified village

Yemen is also notable for its historic tower-houses, built on two or more floors. These houses vary in form and materials from region to region. They are typically built of mud (rammed earth or sun-dried mud-brick), stone, or a combination of both, with timber used for roofs and floors.[267][270] While these structures are repaired and restored over time, this architectural style has remained generally unchanged for hundreds of years.[267] The old city of Sanaa, a UNESCO World Heritage Site today, contains many examples.[268][271] Some villages and towns, such as Rada'a, were built around a fortified citadel (e.g. the Citadel of Rada'a), others were encircled by a high mud-brick wall (e.g. Shibam), and some were built so that the houses themselves formed an outer wall along the perimeter (e.g. Khawlan).[270]

Indian subcontinent

The Taj Mahal in Agra (1632–1647),[272] the most famous building of Mughal architecture

Islamization in the region during the 14th and 15th centuries resulted in the emergence of a more distinctive Indo-Islamic style around this time, as exemplified by the monuments built under the Tughluq dynasty and other local states. Among other features, this style made increased use of arches, vaulted spaces, domes, and water features, while also integrating them with indigenous Indian architectural elements.[275] In the northwestern part of the subcontinent, some notable examples from this period include the Tomb of Rukn-i Alam in Multan and the congregational mosque of Ahmedabad (1423), the latter of which is a particularly harmonious example of Islamic and indigenous Indian elements combined in one building.[275][276]

The best known style of Indo-Islamic architecture is

Tomb of Humayun. The most famous is the Taj Mahal in Agra, completed in 1648 by emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his wife Mumtaz Mahal who died while giving birth to their 14th child. The Taj Mahal is completely symmetrical except for Shah Jahan's sarcophagus, which is placed off center in the crypt room below the main floor. This symmetry extended to the building of an entire mirror mosque in black marble to complement the Mecca-facing mosque placed to the west of the main structure. Another slightly later imperial mausoleum is the Bibi Ka Maqbara in Aurangabad (1678) which was commissioned by the sixth Mughal emperor, Aurangzeb, in memory of his wife.[280]

The Mughals also built monumental palaces and mosques. A famous example of the charbagh style of Mughal garden is the Shalimar Gardens in Lahore, where the domeless Tomb of Jahangir is also located. The Red Fort in Delhi and the Agra Fort are huge castle-like fortified palaces, and the abandoned city of Fatehpur Sikri, 26 miles (42 km) west of Agra, was built for Akbar in the late 16th century.[281] Major mosques built by Mughal emperors and their family include the Jama Masjid (Friday Mosque) in Delhi, the Badshahi Mosque in Lahore, and other mosques of similar form which were often built near or within other imperial complexes. Even the Mughal nobility were able to build relatively major monuments, as with the example of the Wazir Khan Mosque in Lahore (1635), built by Wazir Khan when he was governor of the Punjab under Shah Jahan.[278][282] In the later Mughal period some local governors became semi-autonomous, prompting them to build their own monuments and embellish their own regional capitals with highly-creative local styles of architecture. The Bara Imambara complex (c. 1780) built by Asaf al-Dawla in Lucknow is an example of this.[283]

The

do-chala roof tradition for mausoleums in North India.[291]

Malay-Indonesian

Demak Mosque One of the oldest surviving mosques in Indonesia.[296]

Islam spread gradually in the

beduk. The minaret of the Menara Kudus Mosque is a great example of Malay-Indonesian architecture. Malay-Indonesian mosque architecture also features strong influence from the Middle Eastern architecture styles.[297] This style of architecture can be found on the design of mosques in Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines and Thailand
. Today, with increasing Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca, Malay-Indonesian mosques are developing a more standard, international style, with a dome and minaret.

Indonesia

The oldest surviving mosque in Indonesia is the

Sultanate of Cirebon, Cirebon. The palace complex contains a chronogram which can be read as the Saka equivalent of 1454 CE. Early Islamic palaces retain many features of pre-Islamic architecture which is apparent in the gates or drum towers. The Kasepuhan Palace was probably begun in the late pre-Islamic period and continued to grow during the Hinduism-to-Islam transitional period. The complex contains clues to the stages of the process of the gradual changes as Islam become incorporated into Indonesian architecture. Two of the Hindu features adopted into Islam in the palace is the two types of gateways - the split portal (candi bentar
) which provides access to the public audience pavilion and the lintel gate (paduraksa) which leads to the frontcourt.

Malaysia

The original mosque in Malaysia had a basic architectural style and structure: with four pillars for the foundation and palm fronds for the roof. In Malacca, the architectural design is a cross between local Malay, Indian and Chinese architecture. Traditionally, the minaret resembles a pagoda with the style of "Balai Nobat". An ancient cemetery also usually lies next to the mosque is where some notable preachers and missionaries are buried.

  • Masjid Kampung Laut
    Masjid Kampung Laut
  • Masjid Zahir
    Masjid Zahir
  • Kampung Hulu Mosque
  • Sultan Alaeddin Royal Mosque
    Sultan Alaeddin Royal Mosque
  • Paloh Mosque
    Paloh Mosque

Chinese

The Great Mosque of Xi'an, China

As in other regions, Chinese Islamic architecture reflects local architecture in its style. Some Chinese mosques, especially in eastern China, resemble traditional

Chinese temples, with flared Buddhist-style roofs and minarets resembling pagodas. In western China, mosques resemble those of the Middle East, with slender minarets, arches, and domed roofs. In northwest China, the Chinese Hui built their mosques in a combination of eastern and western styles. The mosques are set in walled courtyards entered through archways and they feature flared roofs, miniature domes, and minarets.[299]

The first Chinese mosque was established in the seventh century during the Tang dynasty in Xi'an. The Great Mosque of Xi'an, whose current buildings date from the Ming dynasty, does not replicate many of the features often associated with traditional mosques. Instead, it follows traditional Chinese architecture.[299]

Volga Tatar

Lithuanian Tatars, whose mosque architecture was influenced by the Kazan (Volga) Tatars.[301] Another type of mosque, with a domed roof and a minaret standing above the entrance, appeared in the mid-19th century.[300]

Sahel and West Africa

Great Mosque of Djenné in Mali (c. 1907), a large mud-brick building in "Neo-Sudanese" style[302]
Chinguetti Mosque in Mauritania (13th century), built of sandstone with a flat wooden roof[303]

In West Africa, Muslim merchants played a vital role in the western Sahel region since the 9th century through trans-Saharan trade networks.[304] While the Islamic architecture of this region shares a certain style, a wide variety of materials and local styles are evident across this wide geographic range.[304][305] A variety of possible influences on this architecture have been suggested. North African and Andalusi architecture to the north may have been one of these,[306] with the existence of square minarets possibly reflecting the influence of the Great Mosque of Kairouan.[304] More local or indigenous pagan cultures may have also been an influence in the later Islamic architecture of the region.[306] In the more arid western Sahara and northern Sahel regions, stone predominates as a building material and is often associated with Berber cultures. In the southern Sahel and savannah regions mud-brick and rammed earth are the main material and is now associated with the most monumental examples of West African Islamic architecture. In some places, like Timbuktu and Oualata, both building materials are used together, with stone constructions either covered or bound with a mud plaster.[307]

The earliest mosques discovered in sub-Saharan Africa are at

Awdaghust.[308] Both mosques are dated generally between the 9th and 14th centuries. The mosque of Kumbi Saleh appears to have gone through multiple construction phases from the 10th century to the early 14th century.[308] At Kumbi Saleh, locals lived in domed-shaped dwellings in the king's section of the city, surrounded by a great enclosure. Traders lived in stone houses in a section which possessed 12 beautiful mosques (as described by Al-Bakri), one centered on Friday prayer.[309] The king is said to have owned several mansions, one of which was 66 feet long, 42 feet wide, contained seven rooms, was two stories high, and had a staircase; with the walls and chambers filled with sculpture and painting.[310]

Grand Mosque of Bobo-Dioulasso in Burkina Faso (built 18171832, with later renovations)[311]
Sankore Mosque in Timbuktu (16th century with later renovations)[312]

As Islamization progressed across the region, more variations developed in mosque architecture, including the adoption of traditional local forms not previously associated with Islamic architecture.

Sankoré Mosque (established in the 14th-15th centuries[313] and rebuilt in the 16th century, with later additions[312]), had a tapering minaret and a prayer hall with rows of arches.[304] The presence of tapering minarets may also reflect cultural contacts with M'zab region to the north,[304] while decoration found at Timbuktu may reflect contacts with Berber communities in what is now Mauritania.[314] In the earthen (mud) architecture of the region, Andrew Petersen distinguishes two main styles: a "western" style that may have its roots in Djenné (present-day Mali), and an "eastern" style associated with Hausa architecture that may have its roots in Kano (present-day Nigeria).[315] The eastern or Hausa style is generally more plain on the exterior of buildings, but is characterized by diverse interior decoration and the much greater use of wood.[315] Mosques often have prayer halls with pillars supporting flat or slightly domed roofs of wood and mud.[304][316] An exceptional example is the 19th-century Great Mosque of Zaria (present-day Nigeria), which has parabolic arches and a roof of shallow domes.[304][317] The western or "Sudan" style is characterized by more elaborate and decorated exterior façades whose compositions emphasize verticality. They have tapering buttresses with cone-shaped summits, mosques have a large tower over the mihrab, and wooden stakes (toron) are often embedded in the walls used for scaffolding but possibly also for some symbolic purpose.[315]

The "circular" mosque of Dinguiraye in Guinea, first built in 1850, a hybrid of traditional mosque and local hut architecture[318] (photo circa 1900)

More hybrid styles also arose further south and on the edge of Islamized areas.[304] In the Fouta Djallon region, in the Guinea Highlands, mosques were built with a traditional rectangular or square layout, but then covered by a huge conical thatched roof which protects from the rain. This type of roof was an existing feature of the traditional circular huts inhabited by the locals, re-adapted to cover new rectangular mosques when the mostly Muslim Fula people settled the region in the 18th century.[319][315] A good example is the Friday mosque of Dinguiraye in Guinea, built in 1850 (with later restorations). Many others are attested in the same region overlapping with southern Senegal, western Mali, and Burkina Faso.[318]

During the French colonial occupation of the Sahel, French engineers and architects had a role in popularizing a "Neo-Sudanese" style based on local traditional architecture but emphasizing symmetry and monumentality.[315][304][302] The Great Mosque of Djenné, which was previously established in the 14th century but demolished in the early 19th century,[304] was rebuilt in 1906–1907 under the direction of Ismaila Traoré and with guidance from French engineers.[302][315] Now the largest earthen building in sub-Saharan Africa, it served as a model for the new style and for other mosques in the region, including the Grand Mosque of Mopti built by the French administration in 1935.[302][315] Other 20th-century and more recent mosques in West Africa have tended to replicate a more generic style similar to that of modern Egypt.[304]

Somali

Almnara Tower in Mogadishu, Somalia
Fakr ad-Din Mosque
in Mogadishu

The spread of Islam in the early medieval era of

mosques were built on the ruins of older structures, a practice that would continue over and over again throughout the following centuries.[320] Concordant with the ancient presence of Islam in the Horn of Africa region, mosques in Somalia are some of the oldest on the entire continent. One architectural feature that made Somali mosques distinct from other mosques in Africa were minarets
.

For centuries, Arba Rukun (1269), the Friday mosque of

Islamic world
.

domes
and square plans.

In modern times

Faisal Mosque at Islamabad, Pakistan designed by Vedat Dalokay.
Museum of Islamic Art at Doha, Qatar designed by I. M. Pei.

In modern times, the architecture of Islamic buildings, not just religious ones, has gone through some changes. The new architectural style doesn't stick with the same fundamental aspects that were seen in the past, but mosques for the most part still feature the same parts—the miḥrāb (مِـحْـرَاب), the minarets,

four-iwan plan, and the pishtaq. A difference to note is the appearance of mosques without domes, as in the past mosques for the most part all had them, but these new dome-less mosques seem to follow a function over form design, and are created by those not of the Islamic faith, in most cases. The influence of Islam still pervades the style of creation itself, and provides a 'conceptual framework',[322] for the making of a building that exemplifies the styles and beliefs of Islam. It has also been influenced by the now meeting of many different cultures, such as European styles meeting Islamic styles, leading to Islamic architects incorporating features of other architectural and cultural styles.[323]

Urban design and Islam

Urban design and the tradition of Islamic styled architecture have begun to combine to form a new 'neo-Islamic' style, where the efficiency of the urban style meshes with the spirituality and aesthetic characteristics of Islamic styles.[324] Islamic Architecture in itself is a style that showcases the values, and the culture of Islam, but in modern times sticking to tradition is falling out of practice, so a combination style formed. Examples showing this are places such as the Marrakesh Menara Airport, the Islamic Cultural Center and Museum of Tolerance, Masjid Permata Qolbu, the concept for The Vanishing Mosque, and the Mazar-e-Quaid. All of these buildings show the influence of Islam over them, but also the movements of things like minimalism which are rising to popularity in the architectural field. Designers that use the aspects of both modern styles and the Islamic styles found a way to have the Western-inspired modernism[324] with the classical cultural aspects of Islamic architecture. This concept though brings up the controversy of the identity of the Islamic community, of the traditional Islamic community, within a space that doesn't follow the way they knew it.[325]

Debates on status as a style of architecture

There are some who also debate whether Islamic Architecture can truly be called a style, as the religious aspect is seen as separate and having no bearing on the architectural style,[322] while on the other side people also argue that the newfound trend and divergence from the style of old Islamic Architecture is what is causing the style to lose its status. There are scholars that also believe that the distinguishing features of the Islamic Architecture style were not necessarily found within the architecture, but were rather environmental markers, such as the sounds of prayer, the city around it, the events that occurred there.[326] The example given is that we can only truly know that a building is a mosque by what happens there, rather than by visual cues.[326] Specific features that are notably related to Islamic Architecture – the Mihrab, the Minaret, and the Gate[326] – are seen in multiple locations and do not always serve the same use, and symbolism for being Islamic in nature is seen to be demonstrated more culturally than it is architecturally. Islamic Architecture is also sometimes referred to as a 'hidden architecture', one that doesn't necessarily show the physical traits of the style, rather it is something that is experienced.[327]

Contemporary Muslim architects

Connections and deeper meanings

Islamic geometric patterns in Saint Petersburg, Russia

Difficulty forming connections

Islamic architecture is a neglected subject within historical studies of world architecture. Many scholars that study historical architecture often gloss over, if not completely ignore Islamic structures. This is caused by multiple elements, one being that there are little historic literary works that express an Islamic architect's motives with their structures.[328][329] Due to the wide geographic range of the Islamic religion, there is a large variation between thousands of existing mosques with little consistency between them. Lastly, since it is against the Islamic faith to idolize earthly beings, any depictions of earthly beings lack religious connection. These characteristics combine to make it difficult for historians to form symbolic connections from architecture in Islamic places of worship.[329] Some authors have attempted to ascribe mystical or mathematical symbolisms to various aspects Islamic architecture. However, while these symbolic meanings may be plausible for certain specific buildings, they are not necessarily applicable to the rest of Islamic architecture.[330]

Religious and societal connections

Unlike Christianity, Islam does not sensationalize living beings because it is viewed as a conflict with the Qur'an. From an Islamic viewpoint, anything created by God is under his order and thus should not be idolized.[328] This leaves typical religious Western symbols out of the picture, and replaces them with an emphasis on complex geometrical shapes and patterns.[328]

There are several aspects of Islamic architecture that to modern knowledge lack a symbolic religious meaning, but there are connections that do exist. A repeated and significant motif in mosques is calligraphy. Calligraphy plays a huge role in delivering religious connections through artistic design.[328] Calligraphy, in a mosque setting, is specifically used to reference excerpts from both the Qur'an and Muhammad's teachings. These references are one of the few religious connections architects include within their work.[328][329]

Status and hierarchy

Islamic architecture varies vastly across the world. Specifically, some mosques have different goals and intentions than others. These intentions often highlighted religious and social hierarchies within the mosque. Mosques are designed to have the least significant portions of the layout closest to the entrance, as people move deeper into the building more significant religious areas are revealed.[329] Hierarchy is also present because certain Islamic architects are tasked to design specifically for the presence of royalty, although in Islamic belief all Muslims in the mosque are equal. Designated locations had been carefully chosen in the mosque to highlight an individual's position in society. This emphasis could be made by being within view to all attendees, by being placed in the focal point of artistry, or with a maqsurah.[331]

Maintaining a sociological hierarchy within a mosque would typically represent a recognition by a higher being aware of a delegation of power. This hierarchy does exist but not with any sort of religious message as Hillenbrand points out, "in neither case is this hierarchy employed for especially portentous ends."[332] Hierarchy exists in the church in different forms, but is meant for purely functional purposes.[328]

Structural intentions

Deeper meanings in Islamic architecture often take form as functional purposes. For example, mosques are built around the idea that it should not just be a place of mesmerizing aesthetics, but a place where the aesthetics' fluidity guide the person into proper worship.[328]

A key feature of the mosque is the mihrab, a universal part of any Islamic place of worship.[331] The mihrab is easily identifiable through a receding wall and a gable overhead often consisting of intricate patterns. Upon entering, the most crucial religious function the architecture of the mosque serves to deliver is the qibla.[328] The qibla is necessary for proper Islamic worship, and is revealed through architectural means.[333]

Threats and conservation

Some prominent examples of Islamic architecture, like the

Syrian Civil War and other wars in the Middle East.[334]

See also

  • Archnet
    , database of Islamic architecture
  • Gozo Farmhouse
  • Turbah
  • Well House

References

Citations

  1. ^ .
  2. ^ a b c Bloom & Blair 2009, "Architecture".
  3. ^ Petersen 1996, p. 295: "As the Arabs did not have an architectural tradition suited to the needs of a great empire, they adopted the building methods of the defeated Sassanian and Byzantine empires. Because they ruled from Syria, Byzantine influence was stronger, although Sassanian elements became increasingly important."
  4. ^ Ettinghausen, Grabar & Jenkins-Madina 2001, p. 7.
  5. . Although Syria remained the center of the Islamic empire for less than 90 years, its role in the development of Islamic architecture was crucial. The region's own ancient civilization, unified and transformed by Hellenization and overlaid with Roman and Christian elements, provided the basis for the new architectural style. The forms and conventions of Classical architecture were better understood in Syria than in the lands further east, and as a result some of the vocabulary of Umayyad architecture—of column and capital, pointed arch and dome, rib and vault—is familiar to a Western observer. These traditions declined in importance, however, as Muslim builders began to adopt the architectural styles of the newly conquered lands to the east—in Mesopotamia, Iran, Central Asia and even India. (...) The Abbasid dynasty of caliphs, founded in 749, ruled most of the Islamic lands from capital cities in Iraq during a golden age that lasted at least until the end of the 9th century. New styles of architecture were characterized by forms, techniques and motifs of Iraqi and Iranian origin. Some features of these styles, such as brick vaults and stucco renderings, had already appeared in buildings erected late in the Umayyad period (661–c. 750; see §III above), but they became increasingly widespread as a result of the power and prestige of the Abbasid court. In the Islamic lands around the Mediterranean, Late Antique traditions of stone construction roofed with wood continued, although new techniques and styles were eventually introduced from Iraq.
  6. . At this stage of scholarly knowledge, however, it is probably fair to say that Islam's Arabian past, essential for understanding the faith and its practices, and the Arabic language and its literature, is not as important for the forms used by Islamic art as the immensely richer world, from the Atlantic Ocean to Central Asia, taken over by Islam in the 7th and 8th centuries. Even later, after centuries of independent growth, new conquests in Anatolia or India continued to bring new local themes and ideas into the mainstream of Islamic art.
  7. ^ Flood & Necipoğlu 2017, p. 30, Frameworks of Islamic Art and Architectural History: Concepts, Approaches, and Historiographies: "Thus, it is increasingly being recognized that the mutual Roman–Byzantine architectural heritage of the Mediterranean, which had played an important role in the formation of early Islamic art, continued to mediate the shared histories of European and Islamic art long after the medieval period."
  8. ^ Bloom & Blair 2009, Ch.s "Architecture", "Ornament and pattern".
  9. ^ a b Bloom & Blair 2009, Medina
  10. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Bloom & Blair 2009, Mosque
  11. ^ a b Petersen 1996, pp. 195–197.
  12. ^ . With the partial and possibly controversial exception of Muhammad's house, it is a question largely of moods and attitudes; forms and motifs came almost exclusively from the lands conquered by Islam.
  13. ^ . Because Islam originated in western Arabia, scholars have looked to the architecture of that region for clues to understanding the earliest Islamic architecture. Overall, the results have been disappointing, for with the exception of the simple structure of the Kaʿba and a few other sites—such as the Ghumdān castle in South Arabia and the structures of Khawarnaq and Sadīr in North Arabia, buildings whose fame may have exceeded their architectural merit—Arabia does not seem to have possessed an important architectural tradition and was not a significant source for the development of Islamic architecture.
  14. ^ . During the lifetime of the Prophet Muhammad (d. 632) and the rule of his immediate successors (632–61), the caliphs Abu Bakr, ῾Umar, ῾Uthman and ῾Ali, the political center of the Islamic world remained in western Arabia, in the cities of Mecca and Medina. However, because the capital of the new Islamic empire was moved to Syria immediately after the end of this period, the contribution of the building traditions of these two cities, and of pre-Islamic Arabia in general, to the development of Islamic architecture was limited. Only the Ka῾ba, the pre-Islamic sanctuary at Mecca that became the focus for Muslim prayer and pilgrimage, and the combined residence and mosque that the Prophet built in Medina seem to have made any impact.
  15. ^ . Altogether, the Arabian past seems to have played a relatively small role in the development of Islamic art, especially if forms are considered exclusively. Its importance was greater in the collective memories it created and in the Arabic vocabulary for visual identification it provided for future generations. It is, of course, true that the vast peninsula has not been as well investigated as it should be and that surprises may well await archeologists in the future. At this stage of scholarly knowledge, however, it is probably fair to say that Islam's Arabian past, essential for understanding the faith and its practices, and the Arabic language and its literature, is not as important for the forms used by Islamic art as the immensely richer world, from the Atlantic Ocean to Central Asia, taken over by Islam in the 7th and 8th centuries. Even later, after centuries of independent growth, new conquests in Anatolia or India continued to bring new local themes and ideas into the mainstream of Islamic art.
  16. ^ a b c Hattstein & Delius 2011, p. 36.
  17. ^ Shahîd 1995a, pp. 401–403.
  18. ^ Flood & Necipoğlu 2017, p. 58.
  19. ^ Shahîd 1995b, pp. 277–280.
  20. ^ Shahîd 1995a, p. 334.
  21. ^ Shahîd 1995a, pp. 391, 402.
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  100. ^ Bloom & Blair 2009, "Balconies in Islamic Architecture" "Wooden balconies projecting at upper levels and constructed with latticed screens to ensure privacy but allow air circulation were a feature of Islamic domestic architecture in many countries, and specific types developed in particular areas over time, such as the wooden screen known as mashrabiya in Egypt and the shanashil in Iraq"
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  120. ^ Bloom 2013, Chapter 1: The History of Scholarship and the Nature of the Problem.
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  127. ^ Bloom 2013, p. 73-75.
  128. ^ Bloom 2013, p. 75.
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  133. . The Muslim conquest initiated a conscious attempt to recreate specific morphological features that constituted an urban pattern characteristic of western and south-western Arabian culture. The institutional components of this south Arabian city were adapted to the religious, administrative and commercial needs of the new Islamic polity, a transformation that set a trajectory for medieval cities throughout the Middle East (and perhaps even Europe of the early Middle Ages). Thus an Arabian concept of urbanism lies at the foundation of the early Islamic city; the existence of a distinctive 'Islamic city' from the beginnings of Islam begins to take form with specific archaeological characteristics. This hypothesis is derived from 'Aqaba and other urban plans and can be tested on other sites in Arabia and the Levant.
  134. ^ Museum With No Frontiers (2000). The Umayyads: The rise of Islamic art. Arab Institute for Research and Publishing. p. 102. This is a reminder that the new masters of Syria and Palestine were not cameleers and pastoralists of nomadic origin. They were city dwellers of Mecca, Medina, Tayma, Ta'if and Duma.
  135. ^ Walmsley, A (2007). Early Islamic Syria: An Archaeological Assessment. Bristol Classical Press. p. 83. Especially significant is the identification of a major Arab Islamic contribution to the urban history of Syria-Palestine that originated in pre-Islamic practices in the Arabian Peninsula. The towns were, accordingly, not the product of a solitary lineal process carried forward from late antique Syria-Palestine
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  151. ^ St. Laurent, B (2020). "From Arabia to Bilad al-Sham: : Muawiya's Development of an Infrastructure and Monumental Architecture of Early Umayyad Statehood". Journal of Islamic Archaeology: 153–186. This perspective led to a flawed view that saw the roots of an Early Islamic monumental architecture and art solely in the traditions of the conquered regions, notably the Byzantium and Sasanian Iran. Thankfully this picture is changing with recent studies in textual re-evaluation, history, art history and archaeology that reveal strong traditions of architecture in the pre-Islamic period.
  152. ^ Flood & Necipoğlu 2017, p. 84: "The foundations of the "new" Islamic art were painting, sculpture, and above all architecture, and all of these were well established in the cultural life of the peninsula."
  153. JSTOR 1523172
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  154. ^ Ettinghausen, R; Grabar, O; Jenkins-Madina, M. Islamic art and architecture 650-1250. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press. p. 5. As far as later architecture is concerned, the major contribution of early Islam in Arabia was the development of a specifically Muslim masjid
  155. ^ George, A; Marsham, A (2018). Power, Patronage, and Memory in Early Islam: Perspectives on Umayyad Elites. New York, NY : Oxford University Press. p. 52.
  156. ^ Akkach, Samer. Cosmology and architecture in premodern islam an architectural reading of mystical ideas. State University of New York Press, Albany. pp. 194–195. It is clear that many subsequent mosques, including the early great Umayyad mosque of Damascus that was first to reproduce the Prophet's model at a monumental scale
  157. ^ Rabbat, N (2003). Dialogic Dimension of Umayyad Art. Anthropology and Aesthetics, 43, 78–94. p. 80. Seldom emphasized however, is that the Umayyads did not come from a cultural void... They also cultivated a genuine culture with deep roots in the pre-Islamic heritage of the vast area they shared with other Arabs inside and outside Arabia
  158. ^ Flood & Necipoğlu 2017, p. 84: "It was decisive for the future that the Umayyad caliphs were to some extent aware of their own cultural history." "The glory of the Himyarite kings (singular tubbaʿ ) was remembered, according to the Kitab al-Tijan fi muluk Himyar (The Book of Crowns on the Kings of Himyar) by Ibn Hisham (d. c. 833), as the "immediate predecessor and pattern of the Umayyads" (Retsö 2005–2006: 232). Perhaps their palaces were distant forerunners of the Umayyad palaces of Syria, such as that at Qasr al-Hayr al-Gharbi"
  159. ^ Bloom & Blair 2009, p. 98 "the palace of Muawiya...shows that the early Umayyad palaces continued the pre-Islamic Arabian tradition of tall palaces to signifying the ruler's power."
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Sources

Further reading

External links