(5) Islamic World: Notable Art and Architecture

Both Religious and Non-Religious

670 - Great Mosque of Kairouan (All Facts)

• Constructed and completed during the Aghlabid Dynasty

692 - Dome of the Rock (All Facts)

• Known in Arabic as the “Qubat al-Sakrah,” it was constructed during the reign of Abd al-Malik of the Umayyad Caliphate

• It was the first such shrine to be constructed on the orders of an Islamic leader

• It commemorates the “binding of Isaac” and the ascent to heaven of the Prophet Mohammed, both of which supposedly took place at the site on which it was built

• It is an octagonal building, notable for its harmonious proportions and the namesake object covering it

  • The walls and namesake object are similarly covered with glass mosaics and inlaid with gold

715 - Great Mosque of Damascus (All Facts)

• Built during the reign of al-Walid of the Umayyad Caliphate

785 - Great Mosque of Cordoba (All Facts)

• Built during the reign of Abd al-Rahman of the Umayyad Emirate of Cordoba

  • Expansions were added until 990

• Features naves which use elegant star vaulting

  • The whole was intricately decorated with colored marbles and precious stones

851 - Great Mosque of Samarra / Malwiyya Mosque (All Facts)

• Built during the reign of Al-Mutasim of the Abbasid Caliphate

• Built in order to attract the recently-converted Turkic Muslims to the new town to get them away from Baghdad

• At the time of its construction, it was the world’s largest mosque

• The constructional and geometric skills of Islam can be seen in its spiral ramped minaret

879 - Mosque of Ibn Tulun (All Facts)

• Built during the reign of the namesake first ruler of the Tulunid Dynasty of independent Egypt during the Abbasid Caliphate

• It was / is located in Fustat / Cairo

900s - Samanid Mausoleum (All Facts)

• Built during the reign of the Samanid Empire

972 - Al-Azhar Mosque (All Facts)

• Built in Cairo during the reign of Al-Mu'izz li-Din Allah of the Fatimid Caliphate

• Served as both a mosque, a university, and a palace

• It became the center of Muslim learning in the world

University of Baghdad (All Facts)

University of Cordoba (All Facts)

University of Cairo (All Facts)

University of Bukhara (All Facts)