Islamic Art Quiz 2

Madinat al-Zahra

• Palace-city 4 miles west of Cordoba, begun ca 936 CE under 'Abd al-Rahman III

• composed of terraced platforms enclosed by retaining walls

• Buildings for government ceremony and administration, residential quarters

• Gardens, pavilions, pools, orchards

• Topography enhanced in calculated ways through manmade interventions such as terraces, retaining walls, etc

• Middle terrace/upper garden divided into quadrants

• Upper terrace contained military headquarters, residences of palace officials, service areas, ceremonial entrance portico, and the caliph's private palace (Dar al-Mulk)

Salon Rico

• Magnificent reception hall in the Madinat al-Zahra with aisles divided by horseshoe arches, decorated with vegetal patterns and marble dado panels that were all once brightly painted

Mirador

In the Madinat al-Zahra, the elevated position that offers views of the plain below, leading towards a river (mirador = viewing area)

pyxis

small cylindrical container for storing objects

Casket

Floriated Kufic

Shi’a

Minority of Muslims. Muhammad's successor must be related to him by blood

Sunni

Majority of Muslims. Muhammad's successor should be elected by consensus

Cairo

Capital of the Fatimids established north of Fustat. Initially a fortified caliphal city with palaces and mosques

• Square plan - enclosed by massive baked-brick walls

• At the center is a parade ground with palaces on either side

• Founded by the general Jawhar as part of Fatimid plans to expand control over North Africa under the caliph al-Mu'izz

Fustat

city that was the center of local and international trade between the Red Sea and Mediterranean. Multidenominational community. Originally founded in 642 CE. ibn Tulun’s capital in Egypt

Ifriqiya, Tunisia

Place where Fatimid rule began in 908

Cairo Geniza

• exceptional insight into cultural life of North Africa and Eastern Mediterranean in 10th-13th centuries

  • Geniza: storeroom in a synagogue used for preserving documents

Keel arch

Pointed arch with flat sides

Rock crystal

Ewer

Salient

Square bases that encased minarets at the mosque of al-Hakim

Muqarnas

form of decorative vaulting in which the surface of the vault or dome is subdivided into niche-like cells

Squinch

Musallah

enclosed space just outside city walls, designed for the male community to gather at the end of Ramadan for the ceremony of breaking the fast

Vizier

Ahmad ibn Tulun

governor of Egypt for the Abbasids. Took control of the region's finances, conquered Syria with his army and established an independent dynasty

General Jawhar

Founded Cairo as part of Fatimid plans to expand control over North Africa under the caliph al-Mu’izz

Al-Mu’izz

Founded Cairo in 969 near Fustat, the old administrative center of Egypt

Mosque of Ibn Tulun

Heavily influenced by Samarra, shown by the spiral minaret

Mosque of al-Azhar

• Al-Azhar means the most radiant. Founded by Jawhar and located slightly south of the Eastern Palace

• t-shape plan with a hypostyle structure that has 5 aisles parallel to the qibla wall

• Central aisle leading to the mihrab distinguished visually from other aisles; roof supported by arches

• Columns and capitals in the prayer hall were spolia

Mosque of al-Hakim

• Built outside Cairo city walls by the fifth Fatimid caliph, al-Aziz. Completed under his son

• t-shape plan (ultimately descended from Abbasid mosques in Samarra)

• Central aisle leading to mihrab is slightly taller than flanking aisles and has a clerestory level that lets light in

• Has north corner minarets as well as a central projecting entrance

  • Square bases surrounded by cylindrical shafts with lanterns at the top and inscriptions, emulated the minarets found in Mecca

• Exterior walls and façade were smooth cut and dressed stone while the interior is baked brick covered by plaster

• Carved vegetal ornament and inscriptions in both cut stone and carved plaster

Mosque of al-Aqmar

• carved stone façade with tripartite keel-shaped portals, muqarnas vaults, and inscriptions

• Floor plan due to the existing street pattern and the need to meet the qibla orientation

• Central medallion of the façade inscribed with the names of Muhammad and Ali

• Façade has tripartite arrangement with the entire surface treated as a series of keel-shaped ridges

  • Keel arch: pointed arch with flat sides

• Formal similarities with mihrabs. Sections with muqarnas (stellate/honeycomb) vaults

Cappella Palatina, Palermo, Sicily

Fatimids

• Arab political and religious dynasty that emerged in Tunisia and came to rule much of North Africa and Egypt

• Absolute theocracy: caliph simultaneously head of state and head of the religious community

• Isma'ili Shi'is who rejected the Abbasid caliph

• Minority Shi'a sect ruling over a majority Sunni population

• Key concern of the rulers was the conversion of Sunni population to Isma'ili Shi'ism

Seljuks

• Turkic dynasty of obscure Central Asian nomadic origin, defeated Ghaznavids in 1040 CE

  • Ghaznavids: Persianized Turkic dynasty

• Ruled from late 10th-12th centuries over parts of Iran, Afghanistan, and Transoxiana

  • Transoxiana: region in Central Asia between the Amu Darya river and the Syr Darya river

Rum

refers to Rome and the Roman Byzantine past of the region

Anatolia

refers to modern-day Turkey

Sufi

Islamic mysticism

Mina’i ware

type of enameled polychrome pottery, associated with Kashan in Iran, produced during 12-13th century

Fritware

Inlay

Pishtaq

• rectangular frame around an arched opening, usually associated with an iwan

Malik Shah (r. 1072-92)

Taj al-Mulk

Nizam al-Mulk

Battle of Manzikert, 1071

Seljuk victory over Byzantine forces

Great Mosque of Isfahan, 11th-12th

• Original hypostyle mosques founded around 771 CCE.

• Rebuilt in late 11th century under Seljuk rule: two Iwans and domed chambers added

• By the 12th century two more iwans were added, making it a four iwan mosque surrounded by hypostyle prayer halls

• Prayer halls subdivided into smaller bays topped by a dome, which creates a ripple effect when seen from above

• First example of the Persian four-iwan plan mosque

Ribat-i Sharaf carevanserai, 12th

Four-iwan plan also used for secular architecture

• Also mostly made of bricks in the construction and the patterns. Geometric designs created

• Entrance is a pishtaq: rectangular frame around an arched opening, usually associated with an iwan

• Brickwork gets more and more complex as time goes on

Gonbad-i Qabus, early 11th From the ground to the base of the roof is 37 meters, with the conical top adding 18 meters

• Roughly circular other than the flanged buttresses that jut out around the central tower

• Very simple exterior with no glazed decoration or geometric brickwork. There are small brick inscriptions that name the patron

Tower Mausolea, Kharraqan, 1067 and 1093

• Notable for very elaborate decorative brickwork on their exteriors

• Have very similar, almost identical, forms with an octagonal structure and a dome. Originally had double shell domes, but the outer dome is largely lost

• Double shell domes significantly reduce the weight of a dome

• Hazar-baf: repeating patterns of decorative brickwork on an exterior

Tomb of Sultan Ahmed Sanjar, 1157

• Ahmed Sanjar is the last of the Seljuk rulers to rule as the "Great Seljuk" king

• Greatly admired in its time and used as a model for later tombs of rulers

• Niches in the upper gallery resemble mihrabs

• Interior of the dome has coloristic effects and geometric designs added in painted plaster. Was originally gilded as well on the patterns

Minaret of Jam, 1173

• Victory monument/lighthouse - we don't know much about it. We know the date due to the turquoise glazed inscription band

• Likely built to commemorate a conquest of the regions. Quite tall at 65 meters high

• Extremely intricate and detailed brick/terracotta decoration on the entire exterior in geometric patterns

• Interior has a spiral staircase to the top

Mina’i bowl depicting a battle, 13th

Mina’i bowl with courtly and astrological motifs, late 12th-early 13th

Ewer with astrological scenes, 1180-1210

Bobrinsky Bucket, 1163

• Three different inscriptions in Persian and Arabic: one gives names of patron, intended recipient (a merchant), and artists

• Other inscriptions are generic well-wishes

• Motifs of feasting, warriors on horseback, etc. Formally exclusive to princely objects, now used as generic motifs

• Overall objects showcases the patron and recipient's taste and wealth, as well as the artists' technical skill

• Inscription and motifs originally had complete silver inlay, only some is now left

Madrasa

religious school for teaching Islamic law and other subjects

• Sultan han Caravanserai, built 1299, Seljuks

• Muqarnas vaulting used above the main entryway.

• Constructed in between two major Seljuk trade cities on a highly-traveled route

• Madrasa al Mutansiriyya, 1227-34. Seljuks

• Madrasas would teach all four types of Islamic law in Sunni beliefs

• Brick is the primary material for the structure and decoration/accents

• Iranian tradition and influence makes its way into Mesopotamia due to the traveling of artists as the Mongols approached Islamic regions

• Mausoleum of Zimmurud Khatun, 1200, Bhagdad, Seljuk

• Tomb to the mother of one of the Abbasid caliphs

• Lower portion of the tomb is an octagon, typical of the region at the time. Top half is an almost beehive conical structure made of muqarnas

• Some holes are left in the muqarnas to let light inside the space

• Maqamat of al-Hariri: Al-Hariri of Basra (1054-1122): Arab government official under the Seljuks, poet and scholar

• Maqamat of al-Hariri is a collection of 50 anecdotes told by a character named al-Harith, a somewhat gullible traveling merchant

• As he travels, al-Haririth keeps encountering the trickster Abu Zayd who excels at giving speeches and astounding crowds with his rhetorical wit and mastery of the Arabic language and poetic forms

• Enormously popular in the medieval period, with hundreds of copies produced in Egypt, Syria, and Iraq

Ayyubid

dynasty founded by Salah al-Din (r. 1169-93) who overthrew the Fatimids; they controlled Egypt, Syria, and western Arabia from 1171-1260.

Mamluk

• means slave or owned

• Turkic military slaves taken by the Ayyubids in the mid-13th century to form elite corps of soldiers

• Christian or pagan boys purchased at young age; received military and Islamic education, trained to become elite force of horsemen and fighters

• Brought up in the barracks of the citadel of Cairo in Egypt

• After training, enslaved people in these royal barracks were manumitted and given responsibilities in the governing hierarchy

Waqf, waqfiyya

money, property established in trust for a pious foundation

Khanqah

building for Sufi gatherings and lodging for travelers

Iqta’

• Amirs who were assigned to provinces were allotted income-generating parcels of land (iqta'); amirs kept a portion of this income and shared the rest with their personal corps of mamluks

Ablaq

• term for alternating light and dark stone or marble inlay

Barka

Saladin r. 1169-93

first Ayyubid ruler. military leader, retook Jerusalem from European Crusaders in 1187

• Created many military fortifications and introduced the first madrasas into Egypt

Sultan Baybars I r. 1260-77

first mamluk sultan

Sultan Qala’un r. 1280-90

Ally of Baybars I, builder of a large funerary complex in Cairo. Mamluk

Sultan al-Nasir Muhammad r. 1239-1341

significant patron of art and architecture. Concluded peace treaty with Ilkhanid (Mongol) dynasty of Iran and expanded cultural and commercial contact. Mamluk

Baybars al-Jashankir r. 1309-1310

Briefly a regent for Sultan al-Nasir, also built a funerary complex. Mamluk

Battle of 'Ain Jalut

where the Mamluk forces defeated the Mongols. Legitimized the rule and power of the Mamluks

• Tomb complex of Sultan Quala’un 1285. Mamluk

• Has antique columns, a Pseudo-Gothic façade (based on Crusader buildings), horseshoe arches (western Islamic - Spain), a Mihrab in the madrasa with glass mosaic (Syrian style), and a tomb chamber modelled after the Dome of the Rock (Jerusalem)

• Striped marble architecture modeled after Syrian architecture such as the Great Mosque of Damascus

• Ablaq: term for alternating light and dark stone or marble inlay

• Mihrab decorated with detailed glass mosaic and marble panels greatly influenced by Umayyad Syrian architecture

• Inscriptions indicate that the lamp was made for the sultan's tomb in Cairo. Mamluk

• Many Mamluk architectural patrons commissioned enameled glass lamps for decoration of their sites, as the craft flourished in Cairo

• Enamel produced by grinding up glass to produce a powder, binding it together into a paste/paint, and applying the paint to an already blown glass vessel which is then put over a flame again

• Such basins were used primarily for washing, in conjunction with a pitcher that also had elaborate decoration. Mamluk

• For handwashing before means mainly, would have been part of a fancy dining set

• Usage of niello: black inlay on metalwork

Ilkhanid

Genghis Khan

Mongol ruler who unites and conquers much of Eastern and Central Asia in the late 12th-early 13 centuries

Ghazan Khan

The Ilkhanid ruler who converted to Islam in 1294

Hulegu

r. 1256-65 the founder of the Ilkhanate in Persia

Uljaytu (Olijaitu)

r. 1304-17. Constructed the Sultaniyya

Tabriz, Iran

Ordu

Mongol group they would travel and live in

Takht-i Sulaiman, Iran

• Was lavishly decorated with tiles and stucco, especially the North Iwan/Palace Hall and West iwan complex

• Stucco used for muqarnas decoration; many stucco walls also painted. A large amount of tile fragments survive that were used to decorate interior and exterior walls

Sultaniyya, Iran

Lajvardina

• technique of overglaze painted fritware: monochrome glaze of turquoise, cobalt blue, or white is painted with black, red, and/or white enamel and highlights of gold

  • Lajvardina is from the Persian word for lapis lazuli

  • Usually flowing lines as decorations, almost plant-like

Hazar baf

technique of brock decoration on top of the structural layer, transitioned into glazed color decoration.

Rashid al-Din

minister/vizier to Ghazan Khan

Simurgh