Islamic Architecture

• A. Context and Building Types

• B. Historic periods
• C. Examples
 Islamic Architecture

• Islamic Architecture

• Also known as ( Saracenic Architecture)

• Saracen = Sahara = desert

• It differs from other styles in being the

product of a religion rather than a
country.
 Islamic Architecture

• The Religion

• Islam –surrender or submission

• Muslim –is the one who submits
• A religion taught by the prophet Mohammed
• There are between 0.9 and 1.3 billion
Muslims, making Islam the second-largest
religion in the world, after Christianity
 Islamic Architecture

• Mohammed was an Arab who was born in

Mecca in AD 570

• He believed that he had been sent to destroy

the idol of heathen Arabs and to teach them
to worship God

• They do not regard Muhammad as the

founder of a new religion, but as the restorer
of the original monotheistic faith of Abraham,
Moses, Jesus, and other prophets
 Islamic Architecture

• Islam includes many religious practices.

Adherents are generally required to
observe the Five Pillars of Islam, which
are five duties that unite Muslims into a
community.
• In addition to the Five Pillars, Islamic
law (Sharia) has developed a tradition
of rulings that touch on virtually all
aspects of life and society.
 Islamic Architecture

• One basic Dogma –“there is one God, Allah and

Mohamed is his prophet”-The shahadah–one of the
5 pillars

• One basic requirement –“submission to the

omnipotent will of Allah”

• Almost all Muslims belong to one of two major

denominations, the Sunni and Shi'a

• The tradition encompasses everything from practical

matters like dietary laws and banking to practices like
jihad
 Islamic Architecture

• The practical requirements are expressed in

a daily way of life (the pillars):

• Prayer/Salat–5 times a day

• Fasting or Ramadan –1 month per year –9th
month
• Paying taxes to support the poor –Zakat–2
and half %
• Pilgrimage (the Hajj) -to Mecca once in
lifetime, commanded in Koran
 Islamic Architecture

• The building enshrines these daily lives.

• The Koran–the holy book of the Muslims

• The reading is in Arabic

• Muslims believe that Mohamed is the last of the prophets.

• The Hejira 622 –the flight of Mohamed from Mecca to Medina

due to opposition to his teaching opposing polytheism

• 630 –Return and conquest of Mecca

 Islamic Architecture

• Leaders/Officials

• Under Allah was the Caliph who occupied Mohamed’s Place

• 3 Officials:

• the Muezzin–who calls the faithful to prayer

• the khatib–who preaches and leads prayer in the Mosque

• the Imam–the paid official who represents the caliph.

• Amir–administrative officer

• Sultan–Civil and military leader

 Islamic Architecture

• All worshipers have equal rights to

prayer
• No sanctuary, no sacrificial ritual
• Decorations: Geometrical patterns,
writings and plant forms.
 Islamic Architecture

• Building Types
• The Mosque ( Masjid)

• Place of prostration
• Main religious building
 Islamic Architecture

• It housed no deity, commemorated no

historic event, contained no sanctuary
• The ritual requirements were simple:
• A wall to indicate the direction of Mecca
(the Quibla Wall) and
• an area in which the faithful assemble
Islamic Architecture
 Islamic Architecture

• Essential feature
• 1. The Minaret–a tall tower
with stairs leading up to one
or more balconies from
which the faithful are called
to prayer by the Muezzin
• (5 times)
• it can be round or square. It
can be 1,2,4,6 or 7 in
number
 Islamic Architecture

• 2. The Court–for the congregation

• 3. The Mihrab–An arched niche in the
mosque indicating the direction of
prayer
• Mecca where Mohamed was born.
 Islamic Architecture

• Focal point of decoration –indicate the

holy city

• The quibla wall is found in front of the

Mihrab.
 Islamic Architecture

• 4. The Minbar
• a pulpit to the right of the mihrab
• Recalls the three steps from which
Mohammed addressed his followers
• A railed enclosure for the caliph
 Islamic Architecture

• 5. The fountain or the ablution pool

(hauz)
• For ceremonial washing before prayer.
 Islamic Architecture

• 6. The Arcades

• With small doors and windows prevailed

because of the fierce heat of the sun.

• The pointed arch was used as a symbol of

faith

• Formed of two segments of a circle or as a

four centered arch.
Islamic Architecture

• Pointed arch

• Ogee arch
Islamic Architecture

• Horse shoe arch

• Scalloped arch
Islamic Architecture

• Stalactite patterned
decoration
 Islamic Architecture

• Historical Periods

• After Mohammed died in AD 632

• Abu Bakr was elected as Caliph
• He and his successors encouraged
Jihad –or holy war
• Within 100 years they build an empire
which stretched from northern Spain to
India.
 Islamic Architecture

• Arabia –origin 630

• Syrian –(632 –639 AD)
• Egypt –638 AD
• N. Africa –AD 647 –709
• Spain –710 AD
• India –AD 1000
• Turkey –1299 AD
 Islamic Architecture

• Historical periods
• 1. Rise of empire (632–750)
• 2. Golden Age (750–1258)
• 3. Ottomans and Mughals(1258–1918)
• 4. Modern times (1918–present)
 Islamic Architecture
Examples

• Dome of the Rock, Jerusalem

• Umayyad Mosque, Damascus

• Great Mosque of Samarra, Iraq

• The great mosque, Cordora, Spain

• Great mosque of Isfahan, Iran

• the Alhambra, Granada, Spain

• Jami Masjid of Ahmedabad

• The Tajmahal, Agra, India

• Madrasahal-Firdus, Aleppo
 Islamic Architecture

• 1. Dome of the Rock,

Jerusalem

• The oldest Islamic

building to have
survived intact in its
original form.

• Completed in 692, it
encloses a huge rock
at its center, the
highest point of mount
Moriah–prophet
Mohammed ascended
to heaven at the end of
his Isra (night Journey)
to Jerusalem.
 Islamic Architecture

• The site was first

consecrated by the
Israelites who build the
first and the Second
temple (Solomon and
Zerubabel) –destroyed
by the Romans in 70
AD
• Then emperor Hadrian
built a temple to Jupiter
which was later
consecrated as a
catholic church by the
crusaders.
 Islamic Architecture

• The new mosque

which is Byzantine in
conception can be
entered on all four
points of the compass
• The dome reaches
20m across the rock
and is borne on a
drum that rests on a
double system of
pillars and columns.
 Islamic Architecture

• The dome and the

drum are not of brick
or stone but of wood
• The dome is covered
with golden copper-
alloy plates and the
drum with shimmering
mosaic patterns
 Islamic Architecture

• Mosaic
covered
exterior wall
 Islamic Architecture

• Distant
overview
showing
general
context
 Islamic Architecture

• 2. Umayyad Mosque,
Damascus –709-15
AD

• The Arabs adopted

numbering systems
from the Indians, skills
in construction from the
Persians, skills in
vaulting from the
Byzantines, skills in
masonry from the
Armenians.
 Islamic Architecture

• The center of this

learning was
Damascus
• The mosque was
built on a religious
site dating back to
ancient Aramaic
temple dedicated to
the god Hadad.
• The Romans built a
temple on it which
was transformed to
a church in the
4thc.
 Islamic Architecture

• The plan of the mosque

is a 97x156m rectangle
with 3 gates that
connect the building to
the city. The mosque is
defined by three halls
that run parallel to the
qibla wall
• The location of the
mihrab is enhanced by
an octagonal 36m high
Nisr Dome (dome of
the Eagle)
• The building was richly
outfitted with marble
paneling and mosaic.
 Islamic Architecture

• 3. Great Mosque of
Samarra, Iraq

• 156x240m –for centuries

it was the largest mosque
in the world.

• 16 door ways that fed into

the vast interior.

• On the inside there were

4 hypostyle structure (one
prayer hall and three
porticos) arranged around
a large courtyard.
 Islamic Architecture

• Great Mosque
of Samarra,
Iraq
 Islamic Architecture

• The minaret is a
free standing
element placed on
axis in front of the
principal North
entrance.
• It had a helicoidal
shape that reached
50m to the summit,
with an external
staircase.
The great mosque, Cordoba, Spain

4. The great
mosque,
Cordoba,
Spain
• 785
• 833-988
 The great mosque, Cordoba, Spain

• AD 786
• A center of Islam
in the west
• 128 x 170m
• 19 aisles
running N-S, is
approached
from the open
court by 19
bronze doors
The great mosque, Cordoba, Spain

• Colonnades are
in 2 heights
formed of
colored
columns of
varying designs
(1200 in
number)
• 9m in height –
remarkable for
horse shoe
arches
The great mosque, Cordoba, Spain

• Columns
sometimes 3
superimposed
tiers of
Saracemic
arches all
lighted by
innumerable
hanging lamps
• Floor –glowing
mosaic
• Roof of mihrab–
brilliant glass
and gold
 The great mosque, Cordoba, Spain

• Interior
The great mosque, Cordoba, Spain
• Interior
The great mosque, Cordoba, Spain

Facade
 Great Mosque of Isfahan, Iran

• 5. Great mosque
of Isfahan, Iran
• The building was
the result of
numerous
architectural
transformations
• The mosque was a
conventional
courtyard mosque,
typical of early
mosques
 Great Mosque of Isfahan, Iran

• Quibla iwan of the

Friday Mosque,
Isfahan, Iran

• Iwan’s use of
Muqarnas vaults
 Great Mosque of Isfahan, Iran

• Beginning 870 it
was thoroughly
revised. the
central space
was reduced
somewhat by
the addition of a
new façade and
an elegant
quibla dome
was built.
 Great Mosque of Isfahan, Iran

• In the time of sultan

Sanjar(1096-1157)
four iwans (large
vaulted halls serving
as an entrance
portals and opening
on to a court yard )
were added to the
court yard
• In 1350s buildings
were added to the
outer flanks of the
structure, a madrasa
was added to the
western flank, etc.
• The iwans are not
identical
 Islamic Architecture

• Coloured tile
• Intricate design
• Adjusted to the
complexity of
niches
 Islamic Architecture

• Blue mosque
mosaic
• Ceramic tiles –
blue and green
tones
• Features roses,
tulips and other
floral motifs
 Islamic Architecture

• Turkish
ceramic
tiles