Chapter 10: Islamic Art

Arabesque

a style which employs flowers, fruit, foliage, animal or figure outlines in an interlaced pattern

Assemblage

art work constructed from existing objects

Blind Arcade

a series of arches in relief , with blocked openings

Caliph

ruler of the Muslim community

Calligraphy

/beautiful writing”  or ornamental writing as a decorative art

Voussoir

a wedge-shaped stone used in building an arch

Visigoth

a nomadic tribe of Germanic peoples who conquered territories during the decline of the Roman Empire

Umayyad

major caliphate dynasty which ruled after the death of Muhammad

Maqsura

an enclosure in a mosque in front of the mihrab designed for protection and prestige

Qarina

bilateral symmetry along a central axis, favored by Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan

Islam

a religion begun by Mohammed, with belief in one god, Allah, whose revelations he received beginning in 610AD. Believers must submit to the will of Allah and are called Muslims

Koran (Quran

  the sacred book of Islam

Madrasa

an Islamic school

Qibla

the wall in a mosque which faces Mecca and houses the mihrab niche

Mecca

the birth place of Mohammed and a place of pilgrimage

Minaret  

a tower from which the muezzin calls the faithful to prayer

Moorish

a combination of Spanish and North African architecture

Tessarae

  used in mosaics, small of stone or glass in cement

Mosque

Muslim place of worship

Muezzin

  a holly man who calls Muslims to prayer

Muslim

   believer in Islam

Ottomans

Turkish people who converted to Islam, conquered Constantinople and changed the name to Istanbul

Kaaba

The most sacred site in Islam, it is the direction to which all Muslims pray

Jali Screen

an intricate stone screen used in Mughal Indian architecture

Nasrid

the last ruling Muslim dynasty in Spain

Chahar Bagh

a four-part garden plan used to represent the garden of paradise in architectural settings

Mamluk

Former Slave-Soldier dynasty which ruled in Egypt and Syria 1250-1517