Comprehensive Study Notes – Islamic Art, History & Architecture

Publication & Resource Context

• Educational packet titled “Art of the Islamic World – A Resource for Educators” edited by Maryam D. Ekhtiar & Claire Moore, \text{© 2012} The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
• Funded by The Olayan Group; additional aid from NYC Department of Cultural Affairs.
• ISBNs: 978\text{-}1\text{-}58839\text{-}482\text{-}8 (Met Museum) & 978\text{-}0\text{-}300\text{-}19181\text{-}3 (Yale UP).
• Photography credits span Museum studio and numerous specialists (Walter B. Denny, Jonathan M. Bloom, Sheila S. Blair, etc.).
• Cover objects:
– Front: Mihrab, Isfahan, Iran, \text{a.h. 755 / a.d. 1354–55}.
– Inside flap: Patti Cadby Birch Moroccan Court, Met, 2011.
– Back: Planispheric astrolabe by Muhammad Zaman al-Munajjim al-Asturlabi, Iran, \text{a.h. 1065 / a.d. 1654–55}.

Master Chronology of Islamic Empires & Dynasties

(Regions shift; dates indicate rule span.)
• Sasanian Empire – Iran/Central Asia: 224–636
• Byzantine Empire – Eastern Mediterranean: \text{c. 330–1453}
• Umayyad Caliphate – Damascus-based: 661–750
• Spanish Umayyads (Umayyad Emirate/Caliphate of Córdoba) – Andalusia/Maghrib: 756–1031
• Abbasid Caliphate – Baghdad: 750–1258
• Samanids – Persia/Central Asia: 819–1005
• Seljuqs of Iran: \text{c. 1040–1196}
• Almoravids \text{c. 1062–1147} & Almohads 1130–1269 – Maghrib/Andalusia.
• Seljuqs of Rum – Anatolia: 1081–1307
• Ilkhanids (Mongol khanate) – Iran/Caucasus: 1206–1353
• Nasrid Kingdom – Granada: 1232–1492
• Mamluks – Egypt/Levant/Arabia: 1250–1517
• Timurid Empire – Iran/Central Asia: 1307–1507
• Ottoman Empire – Anatolia/Balkans/Levant/North Africa: 1299–1923
• Safavid Empire – Iran/Caucasus: 1501–1722
• Mughal Empire – Indian subcontinent: 1526–1858

Unit 1 – Islam & Religious Art

Foundational Tenets & Early History

• Islam begins with first Qur’ānic revelation to Prophet Muhammad near Mecca, 7^{\text{th}} century.
• Emerged in polytheistic Arabia; core creed: strict monotheism (tawḥīd).
• Rapid expansion enabled by Sasanian collapse & Byzantine weakness; within \approx100 yrs after Muhammad’s death, caliphs rule Spain → Pakistan.

The Five Pillars

  1. Shahāda (Profession of Faith) – “Lā ilāha illā Allāh, Muḥammad rasūlu ’Llāh.” Visible on architecture/objects.
  2. Ṣalāt (Prayer) – 5 set times daily facing Mecca; dawn–noon–mid-afternoon–sunset–night. Friday congregational ṣalāt (men required, women optional). Example: Fig. 1 Mughal prince prays barefoot on mat echoing a miḥrāb arch.
  3. Zakāt (Almsgiving) – fixed charitable tax; rulers sponsor public works (mosques, hospitals, fountains).
  4. Ṣawm (Fasting in Ramaḍān) – daylight abstention; commemorates first revelation; fosters empathy for needy.
  5. Ḥajj (Pilgrimage) – once in lifetime if able; rites at Ka‘ba (circumambulation 7 times, Safā-Marwa run, stoning of devil). Fig. 2 mid-16^{\text{th}}-c. Ottoman Futūḥ al-Ḥaramayn folio shows schematic of sanctuary w/ 6 minarets & lamp-lined arcades.

Muhammad’s Biography Highlights

• Born Mecca \approx570 CE into Quraysh merchant clan.
• Employed by & married wealthy widow Khadīja.
• First revelation via Archangel Jibrīl at Mt. Ḥirā, age \approx40.
• Monotheistic preaching angers Quraysh; protection lost after deaths of Khadīja & uncle Abū Ṭālib.
• Hijra 622 CE to Yathrib (Medina); marks year 1 AH (Hijrī calendar).
• Conquest of Mecca; destruction of idols; establishment of Islam.
• Isrāʾ & Miʿrāj (Night Journey) – Buraq-borne trip Mecca→Jerusalem→Heaven & Hell; only human to witness both realms while alive.

The Qur’ān

• Revealed over 23 years; compiled after Prophet’s death.
• Structure: 114 sūras ordered by decreasing length; opening sūra Fātiḥa.
• Often divided into 30 equal juz’ for recitation.
• Each sūra (except one) begins with Basmala – “Bismi ’Llāh al-Raḥmān al-Raḥīm.” Phrase adorns myriad objects.
• Acknowledges earlier “People of the Book” (Jews & Christians). Historically fosters tolerance under Muslim rule.

The Written Word & Calligraphy

• Arabic regarded as literal language of God; recitation ideally in original Arabic.
• Exalted Qur’ānic status → calligraphy = highest art; lavish manuscripts placed on carved wooden raḥla stands.

Mosque: Form & Function

• Etymology: Arabic masjid = “place of prostration.” Prototype: Muhammad’s mud-brick house (Medina).

Core Architectural Elements

• Qibla Wall – faces Ka‘ba.
• Miḥrāb – niche in qibla; ornate, inscribed.
• Minbar – stepped pulpit right of miḥrāb; wood/stone carving (Fig. 3 Ibn Tūlūn minbar).
• Minaret – tower for adhān; aural & visual symbol (Sultan Ahmed Mosque has 6).
• Ṣahn (Courtyard) – includes fountain for wuḍūʾ ablutions; water evokes four rivers of Paradise.

Cultural Roles

• Friday congregational hub; center of education, intellectual life.
• Decoration avoids figural imagery; favors geometry, vegetal arabesque, calligraphy – symbolic of Paradise.
• Regional diversity: Egyptian hypostyle (Ibn Tūlūn, Fig. 4), Iranian four-iwān (Shah Mosque, Fig. 5), Ottoman centralized domed plans (Fig. 6).

Unit 2 – Arabic Script & Calligraphy

Sacred & Linguistic Significance

• Qur’ān codified under Caliph ʿUthmān (between 644–656 CE).
• Diacritical vowel marks devised to safeguard correct recitation.

Calligraphy as High Art

• Appears on architecture, ceramics, carpets, glass, metalwork, manuscripts.
• Script choice depends on audience, content, object form.
– Qur’ān: bold, majestic (kufic, muḥaqqaq).
– Poetry: fluid, lyrical (nastaʿlīq).
– Royal decrees: complex, forgery-proof (ṭawqīʿ, riqāʿ).

Script Families

Kufic & Variations (Fig. 11)

• Angular, horizontal; earliest Qur’āns & architectural friezes.
• Floriated Kufic: letters interwoven w/ leaves, vines – pottery, metalwork.
• Knotted/Plaited Kufic: interlaced loops – stone/brick ornament.

Proportional Cursive Scripts (The Six Pens) (Figs. 12–13)

Define letters by counts of rhombic dots; scalable yet proportionate.
• Naskh – book hand, tiles.
• Thuluth – monumental, architectural inscriptions, metalwork.
• Muḥaqqaq – large Qur’āns, portals.
• Rayḥānī – chancery edicts/architecture.
• Ṭawqīʿ – diplomas, edicts, large inscriptions.
• Riqāʿ – correspondence, administrative docs.

Regional Scripts (Fig. 14)

• Nastaʿlīq – coined in Iran/Central Asia; “hanging” letters for poetry, albums, textiles; popular in Mughal & Ottoman courts.
• Maghribī – rounded forms, extended horizontal stroke; prevalent in Spain & North Africa Qur’āns.

Calligrapher’s Training & Tools

• Years-long apprenticeship, model copying; ijāza (license) marks mastery.
• Many rulers (e.g., Ottoman Sultans) were practitioners; elite women occasionally trained.
• Qalam (reed pen) – cut to precise nib width/angle.
• Inks from soot, gall, gum Arabic; paper supplanted parchment after 8^{\text{th}} c. Chinese transmission.
• Implements (shears, knives, inkwells, pen-boxes) often luxuriously inlaid or jeweled.

Unit 3 – Geometric Design in Islamic Art

Origins & Evolution

• Builds on Byzantine & Sasanian precedents; early Muslims abstracted & re-contextualized motifs.
• Preference for non-figural decoration in religious/public spaces spurred full-surface geometric coverage, unlike earlier border-only usage (compare Roman mosaic Fig. 15).
• Textile culture also informed desire for all-over pattern.
• Mathematicians met artisans, transferring theoretical geometry into practical patterning.

Construction Principles

• Instruments: compass (circle) & straightedge (line).
• Patterns derived from repeated basic polygons over a tessellated grid (equilateral triangle, square, hexagon, etc.).

Key Characteristics

  1. Repetition & Infinity – grid implies pattern extends beyond frame.
  2. Symmetry – mirroring & rotational repetition create harmony.
  3. Two-Dimensionality – minimal shading; occasionally interlaced layers produce virtual depth.
    • Calligraphy dubbed “geometry of the line” for similar proportional logic.

Unit 5 – Courtly Splendor

Concept of the Royal Workshop

• Court patronage supplied wealth, materials, & skilled artists; facilitated cross-medium influences (textiles ↔ ceramics ↔ manuscripts).

Chapter 1: Islamic Spain

Spanish Umayyad Period (756–1031)

• Army of Arabs/Berbers lands 711; territory called al-Andalus.
• Prince ʿAbd al-Raḥmān I escapes Abbasid overthrow, establishes Córdoba capital echoing Damascus; builds Great Mosque.
• ʿAbd al-Raḥmān III (912–961) proclaims caliphate; constructs palace-city Madinat al-Zahraʾ (936–940) – marble colonnades, vegetal/gemetric carvings (Fig. 21 Salon Rico).
• Luxury ivories, Qur’āns, textiles exported as diplomatic gifts; city destroyed 1010 Berber revolt → objects dispersed to Europe.

• Fragmented taifa states invite Almoravids then Almohads for aid; shared artistic vocabulary across Maghrib-Andalus.

Nasrid Kingdom (1232–1492)

• Last Muslim realm in Iberia; capital Granada.
• Palace-fortress Alhambra (Arabic ḥamrāʾ ― “the Red”) rises around pre-existing citadel; hallmark Nasrid style:
– Slender marble columns
– Horseshoe & multifoil arches
– Carved stucco muqarnas (honeycomb cells)
– Epigraphic & geometric tile mosaic
– Chahar-bāgh (four-part) gardens; fountain-lined Court of the Lions (Fig. 22).
• “Moorish” idiom adopted by Christian rulers (e.g., Alcázar of Seville) & later global architecture.
• 1492 Reconquista ends Nasrid rule; Christians conserve & repurpose Alhambra; export of Andalusian forms to Renaissance Europe (e.g., Met’s 16^{\text{th}}-c. Spanish painted ceiling).

Chapter 2: The Ottoman Court

Imperial Trajectory

• Founded by Osman Gazi 1299–1324; name Ottomano → Ottoman.
• Conquests knit Balkans, Anatolia, Levant, Egypt, North Africa.
• Mehmet II captures Constantinople 1453, renames Istanbul; major patron.
• Süleyman I “the Magnificent” 1520–1566 elevates law (Kanuni) & arts; successors Selim II & Murad III continue patronage from Topkapı Palace (Fig. 25; construction begun 1459).
• Empire peaks late 17^{\text{th}} c. (see map) then gradually declines; 1923 republic under Atatürk replaces dynasty.

Ethical, Philosophical, & Practical Implications

• Calligraphy’s sanctity promotes literacy & a portable, text-centered piety across linguistic frontiers.
• Geometric abstraction offers universal aesthetic transcending ethnicity, aligning with aniconism & conceptual infinity of God.
• Court art demonstrates power projection, diplomacy, and synthesis of multicultural motifs—illustrating how art legitimizes rule.
• Mosques’ communal functions underscore Islam’s integration of worship, welfare (zakāt), education, and governance.

Numerical / Statistical Key Points (LaTeX Notation)

• Timeline spans \text{200 CE} \rightarrow \text{1900 CE}.
• Qur’ān: 114 sūras; 30 juz’; revealed over 23 yrs.
• Five daily prayers, Seven tawāf circuits, Twelve days ḥajj gathering (8th–12th Dhū al-Ḥijja).
• Miʿrāj route: Earth \rightarrow 7 heavens.
• Ottoman empire reaches >5\,000\,000\,\text{km}^2 (late 17^{\text{th}} c.).

Cross-Unit Connections

• Proportional geometry underlies both calligraphy (Six Pens) & ornament (geometric tessellations).
• Royal patronage links to architectural innovation (mosques, palaces) and portable luxury arts; dynastic shifts redirect artistic centers (Damascus → Córdoba → Granada; Tabriz → Isfahan; Bursa → Istanbul).
• Use of Arabic script bridges multi-ethnic empires (Ottoman Turkish, Persian, Urdu).

Real-World Relevance

• Surviving monuments (Ibn Tūlūn Mosque, Alhambra, Topkapı) are UNESCO sites, informing conservation science & tourism economies.
• Geometric design principles inspire contemporary art, algorithmic design, and STEM education integrating cultural literacy.
• Calligraphic practice remains living heritage, taught globally and adapted to digital typography.