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The Prophet’s Mosque (622)
Prophet’s house, was the first mosque
Hypostyle hall and courtyard
In Medina, Prophet fled there to create a new polity
Was both the site of government and the place of worship
Originally small in size but later expanded
Used mud brick (not baked) structure
Minbar added 628
Expansion: 706-10 Caliph al Walid, dome changed light and shape of mihrab, hypostyle hall-dots in a grid plan and elevated ceilings
The Great Mosque (706-715)
Umayyad Damascus
Patron: Caliph al Walid
Was originally a Byzantine church and temple to Jupiter before it became a mosque, status of holiness matters but history of it doesn’t because it marked the shifts in power
Muslims and Christians coexisted in the site, took by force to establish power of Islam
Vine scrolls depicted with jewels, directly refers to sites in Damascus with imagery
Similar structure to Prophet’s mosque
Domes attached to administrative buildings instead of mosque portion, symbol of power
Walid I credited with first minbar
Issues arose of who should be allowed to use the minbar after Prophet’s death
The Dome of the Rock (691)
Jerusalem
Patron: Caliph Abd al-Malik
Among 3 holiest sites in Islam due to significance to all three Abrahamic religions
Oldest remaining extant Islamic building
Al-Aqsa mosque within the complex (gates named after Old Testament prophets)-could go from palace to mihrab through a passage
Octagonal plan allows structure to frame the rock, and people can circumambulate it
Night journey of Muhammad started from the rock, future sight of Divine Throne on Day of Judgement
Blue represents Ottoman aesthetics, reflective surfaces, glittering mosaics, and gold dome were still Umayyad aesthetics
Spolia of columns from old Christian sites
Bookmatching evokes feeling of waves + splendor of God’s creation of nature
Tesserae mosaics required craftsmanship- featuring Kufic which emphasized that God is the one and only (argued with Christian value of Holy Trinity which was too polytheistic in idea), Kufic was easier to write with due to geometric elements of the tesserae
Mosaics of vines and jewels were not direct symbolism but alluded to the prosperity and wealth of Islam + Umayyad caliphate
Mosque of al-Mansur (762)
Abbasid, Round City of Baghdad
Palace and mosque were in the center of the city, unclear if they were connected together
Great Mosque of Samarra (836-892)
Temporary Abbasid capital
Palatial architecture differed from mosques
Stucco panels for decor
Mosques created with the intention to be permanent for God, but palaces made for temporary rule and memory of who built them
Beveled style- arabesque style (geometric pseudo-vegetal forms)
Arch of Ctesiphon
Abbasid
Ruins were of great interest in medieval Islamic society
“Ancient tourism,” theme of passing quality of life
Inspired four Iwan plan of madrasas
Drawing on Sassanian culture
Madrasa al-Mustansiriyya
Abbasid, main intellectual center made it easier to create education opportunities
Students studied in multiple madrasas, had stipend for food/lodging
Islamic geometry expressed in architecture-intellectual glory, association and memory of geometry with Abbasids
Four Iwan plan
Learned law of Islam which gave students financial stability in the future
The Great Mosque of Cordoba
Umayyad Islamic West
Patrons contributed to expansion, built next to Christian churches
Al-Mansu, Abd- Al Rahman II, Abd al-Rahman III, Abd al Rahman, Al-Hallam II
Voussoirs, Spolia used to create arcades, hypostyle hall, horseshoe arch, double tiered arch, multi-lobed arch
Mosques enhanced in Spain to carry on legacy of Umayyad Syria, arches changed to trefoil arches which drew back to Syria as well
Maqsura for prince, courtyard with scent of orange trees
T-shape maqsura and mihrab combination
Enormous scale
Expensiveness of decoration such as gold was a symbol of power
Madinat al-Zahra
Umayyad palace, declaration of Umayyad caliphate
Expansion of palace onto the landscape, expression of power with agricultural gain in money
Horseshoe shape of arch became associated with Islamic West
“Rich Hall” Hall of Abd al-Rahman III (r. 912-961)
Majlis for gatherings/event locations-could be for smaller events or even princely ones
Combination of music and nature supposed to evoke ecstatic and emotional state
Disorientation of splendor and wonder, synesthesia
Great Mosque of Kairouan (670 AD)
Tunisia, under the Aghlabids late 9th C
Archetypal hypostyle hall courtyard plan
Monumental scale
Glistening with Abbasid lusterware tiles
Al-Azhar (The Radiant) Mosque
Fatimid
Presence of light of god emphasized through stained glass
Hypostyle, muqarnas introduced in 10th C, floriated kufic became attributed with Fatimids and used to reference ancestral lineage
989, endowed as a college and now a center for Sunni law (university)
Debate if whether or not it had minarettes
Fatimid dome, octagonal frame, 6-pointed star, stained glass in grills, carved stucco with emphasis of leaves often connected to floriated Kufic
Palace split by central artery, mosque in same city but not architecturally connected to palace, close to walkways and central location within community, palace built in the heart of city because caliph was heart of society
Musallah: designated prayer area for Ismaeli community
Pair of wooden doors designated for front of mosque
Ibn Tulun Mosque (876-879)
Located in Cairo
More associated with Abbasid legacy compared to Fatimid Al Azhar
Stucco, variety in patterns, visual cousins
Classified in three sections
No direct symbolism, poetic allusion
Qutb Minar (1193)
Delhi
Red sandstone, incorporated marble
Victory monument
Continuation of vertical fluting
Alaeddin Kaykubad Mosque (1150-1220)
Konya, Antalya
Fluted Minaret
Response to Iranian architecture style
Rum Seljuk
Seljuks in Anatolia open to figurative imagery
The Great Mosque of Isfahan
Iran, Sunni, but under Seljuks
Architecture of interior vs. exterior of space
Four Iwan plan
Pishtaq (front facing device of arch with tiles)
Omar Khayan’s mathematics were influential of structure
Star pattern done in tile in interior of dome
1088-9 North Dome added by vizier Taj al-Mulk
Brick was common material used in Iran
Huand Hatun Complex (1237-8)
Kayseri, Seljuk
Power structure for women as patrons (give birth to the next heir)
Courtyard is part of madrasa
Section with conical top is mausoleum
Ottoman minaret
Large dome signifies mosque, centrally planned and covered due to weather
Expressing power with provision of services such as pious endowments
Local principality
For intellectual and mercantile elite, multi purpose complexes
The Great Mosque of Tlemcen (1136)
Algeria, Almoravid
Courtyard shrinks, hypostyle hall expands
Relationship between interior and exterior of dome- celestial light, illumination, local architectural form, elaborate area of mihrab with highly decorated dome (marks something particular)
Cusped arches, more than one shape such as loved and horseshoe, larger scale
Non symmetrical plan
Paying allegiance to Abbasids
Kutubiyya (Bookseller’s) Mosque
Marrakech, Almohad
Built in two stages, 1146 and 1158
Corrected direction of Qibla wall
Sebka: cusped decoration on tower
T-shape plan elaborated
Less emphasis on decorative elements, returning to roots of Islam
Feats of engineering such as automatic minbar and maqsura screen
Square minaret, stone tower attributed to West Africa, tile, also seen in in Seljuk period typical of Andalusia
Cusped maqsura, stucco
