History of Architecture: Islamic Architecture

HISTORY
Islam originated in Arabia. In 610 the
angel Gabriel is said to have appeared to
Mohammed in Mecca and expounded the
revelation of God, or Allah.
These revelations were collected into a
holy book, the Qur’an, which expressed in
Arabic the message of Islam, a word
signifying submission to the will of Allah.

By 661 Islamic armies had swept through what
is today Iran, Iraq, Israel, Syria, and Egypt, and
they then moved across the North African
coast to enter Spain in 711.
From Spain they pushed northward into
France, where forces led by Charles Martel
stopped their European expansion in 732 at
the battle of Tours. Islamic settlers remained in
central and southern Spain until 1492,
however, and their armies continued to batter
the southern border of the Byzantine Empire
until they finally conquered Constantinople in
1453.

Through trade, Islamic dynasties made contact with
China and India, where their religion would
eventually take root.
With military conquest came economic, social, and
cultural dominance as Islamic customs and the
Arabic language replaced surviving Roman
practices.
The heady mix of learned men from Islamic and
Jewish traditions, sometimes joined by Christian
theologians, contributed to a highly productive era in
the arts and sciences from the ninth through
sixteenth centuries.

SOCIETY
• Tribal groups
• Public life was reserved for men (women had a
secondary role - for domestic and agricultural work)
• Christians and Jews ("people of the book“) were
given the freedom of worship and self-government
• Many of the conquered cities were already centers
of learning
• Muslims translated into Arabic many scholarly
writings from Greek, Persian and Indian
• Rulers and scholars were interested in
mathematics, astronomy, geography, medicine,
philosophy and science

RELIGION
• Complete philosophy of life and government
• One god Allah, Muhammad is the prophet
• Faith is held to be Allah's will for creation
• Acceptance of the transitory nature of earthly life
• Personal humility
• Abhorrence of image worship
KORAN
• Muhammad wrote down the words of angels who
brought him messages from Allah
• After his death, these accounts were compiled
into a holy book
• Speaks of the power of Allah, to accept his will
and to praise him

ISLAM’S FIVE BASIC TRUTHS or DUTIES
• To believe on the oneness of God, and that
Mohammed was the messenger of God;
• To pray five times daily;
• To fast from sunrise to sunset during the month
of Ramadan
• To give alms to the poor;
• and To make at least one pilgrimage to
Mecca, wealth and permitting.
*Also jihad or holy war is sometimes added as a pillar
to spread the faith and defend it from attack

ISLAMIC ARCHITECTURE
• Islamic architecture comprises the architectural styles of buildings
associated with Islam.
• Encompasses both secular and religious styles from the early history
of Islam to the present day.
• Islamic architecture was influenced by:
Roman
Byzantine
Persian
Mesopotamian
and all other lands which the Muslims conquered in the
seventh and eighth centuries.
• In the east, it was also influenced by Chinese and Indian architecture
as Islam spread to Southeast Asia.

• it developed distinct characteristics in
the form of buildings, and the decoration
of surfaces with Islamic calligraphy and
geometric and interlace patterned
ornament.
• New architectural elements like
cylindrical minarets, pointed arch,
muqarnas, arabesque, multifoil were
invented.

• The principal Islamic architectural types
for large or public buildings are: the
Mosque, the Tomb, the Palace and the
Fort.
• From these four types, the vocabulary of
Islamic architecture is derived and used
for other buildings such as public baths,
fountains and domestic architecture.

From the eighth to the 11th century, Islamic
architectural styles were influenced by two
different ancient traditions:
1. Greco-Roman tradition:
In particular, the regions of the newly
conquered Byzantine Empire (Southwestern
Anatolia, Syria, Egypt and the Maghreb)
supplied architects, masons, mosaicists and other
craftsmen to the new Islamic rulers.
These artisans were trained in Byzantine
architecture and decorative arts, and continued
building and decorating in Byzantine style, which
had developed out of Hellenistic and ancient
Roman architecture.
INFLUENCES
2. Eastern tradition:
Mesopotamia and Persia, despite adopting
elements of Hellenistic and Roman representative
style, retained their independent architectural
traditions, which derived from Sasanian
architecture and its predecessors.

INFLUENCES
Some features caused by The transition process between late Antiquity, or post-
classical, and Islamic architecture:
1. The existence of a linear development within the Islamic architecture;
2. the existence of an inter- and intracultural hierarchy of styles;
3. questions of cultural authenticity and its delineation
The Umayyads played a crucial role in this process of transforming and thereby enriching the
existing architectural traditions, or, in a more general sense, of the visual culture of the nascent
Islamic society.

ARCHITECTURAL CHARACTERISTICS
Some characteristics of Islamic architecture were inherited from pre-Islamic architecture
of that region while some characteristics like:
minarets,
muqarnas,
arabesque,
Islamic geometric pattern,
pointed arch,
multifoil arch,
onion dome ,
and pointed dome developed later.

MINARET
Minaret is a type of tower typically built
into or adjacent to mosques. Minarets
serve multiple purposes. While they
provide a visual focal point, they are
generally used for the Muslim call to
prayer (adhan). The basic form of a
minaret includes a base, shaft, a cap
and head. They are generally a tall
spire with a conical or onion-shaped
crown.
Different types of Minaret.
1. Iraq 2. Morocco 3. Turkey
4. India, 5. Egypt 6. Asia.

MUQARNAS
• The architectural element of muqarnas
developed in northeastern Iran and the
Maghreb around the middle of the 10th
century.
• The ornament is created by the
geometric subdivision of a vaulting
structure into miniature, superimposed
pointed-arch substructures, also known
as "honeycomb", or "stalactite" vaults.
• Made from different materials like stone,
brick, wood or stucco, its use in
architecture spread over the entire
Islamic world. In the Islamic West,
muqarnas are also used to adorn the
outside of a dome, cupola, or similar
structure, while in the East is more
limited to the interior face of a vault.
The muqarna of a mosque in Bukhara, Uzbekistan

ARABESQUE
The arabesque is a form of artistic
decoration consisting of "surface
decorations based on rhythmic linear
patterns of scrolling and interlacing foliage,
tendrils" or plain lines, often combined with
other elements.
Foliate ornament, used in the Islamic world,
typically using leaves, derived from stylized
half-palmettes, which were combined with
spiraling stems

ISLAMIC GEOMETRIC PATTERN
• Islamic decoration, which tends to
avoid using figurative images, makes
frequent use of geometric patterns
which have developed over the
centuries.
• The geometric designs in Islamic art
are often built on combinations of
repeated squares and circles, which
may be overlapped and interlaced, as
can arabesques (with which they are
often combined), to form intricate and
complex patterns, including a wide
variety of tessellations. These may
constitute the entire decoration, may
form a framework for floral or
calligraphic embellishments, or may
retreat into the background around
other motifs.

ARCHES
The horseshoe arch became a popular
feature in Islamic structures. Some
suggest the Muslims acquired this from
the Visigoths in Spain but they may
have obtained it from Syria and Persia
where the horseshoe arch had been in
use by the Byzantines.
In Moorish architecture, the curvature
of the horseshoe arch is much more
accentuated. Furthermore, alternating
colors were added to accentuate the
effect of its shape.

Other characteristics:
Paradise garden
Afif-Abad Garden, Shiraz
Gardens and water have for many centuries
played an essential role in Islamic culture, and
are often compared to the garden of Paradise.
Large Paradise gardens are also found at the
Taj Mahal (Agra), and at Humayun's Tomb
(New Delhi), in India; the Shalimar Gardens
(Lahore, Pakistan) or at the Alhambra and
Generalife in Granada, Spain

Courtyard (Sehan)
The traditional Islamic courtyard, a sehan
(Arabic: ‫صحن‬ ), is found in secular and religious
structures.
The Great Mosque of Kairouan, with a large courtyard
(sehan) surrounded by arcades, Kairouan, Tunisia

Courtyard (Sehan) functions:
1. When within a residence or other secular
building is a private courtyard and walled
garden. It is used for: the aesthetics of plants,
water, architectural elements, and natural light;
for cooler space with fountains and shade, and
source of breezes into the structure, during
summer heat; and a protected and proscribed
place where the women of the house need not
be covered in the hijab clothing traditionally
necessary in public.
2. A sehan—courtyard is in within almost every
mosque in Islamic architecture. The courtyards
are open to the sky and surrounded on all sides
by structures with halls and rooms, and often a
shaded semi-open arcade. Sehans usually
feature a centrally positioned ritual cleansing
pool under an open domed pavilion called a
howz. A mosque courtyard is used for
performing ablutions, and a 'patio' for rest or
gathering.

Vaulting
• Umayyad diaphragm arches and barrel vaults
Umayyad period buildings show a
mixture of ancient Roman and
Persian architectural traditions.
Diaphragm arches with linteled
ceilings made of wood or stone
beams, or, alternatively, with barrel
vaults, were known in the Levant
since the classical and Nabatean
period.

Vaulting
• Spain (al-Andaluz)
The double-arched system of
arcades of the Mosque–Cathedral of
Córdoba is generally considered to
be derived from Roman aqueducts
like the nearby aqueduct of Los
Milagros. Columns are connected
by horseshoe arches, and support
pillars of brickwork, which are in
turn interconnected by semicircular
arches supporting the flat
timberwork ceiling.
Arcades of the Mosque–Cathedral of Córdoba

Vaulting
• Spain (al-Andaluz)
Arcades of the Aljafería of Zaragoza

Vaulting
• Squinches
The system of squinches, which is
a construction filling in the upper
angles of a square room so as to
form a base to receive an octagonal
or spherical dome, was already
known in Sasanian architecture.
Squinches may be formed by
masonry built out from the angle in
corbelled courses, by filling the
corner with a vise placed
diagonally, or by building an arch or
a number of corbelled arches
diagonally across the corner. Dome of the Fire temple of Harpak in Abyaneh

ARCHITECTURAL FORMS
• Notable Islamic architectural types include the early Abbasid
buildings, T-Type mosques, and the central-dome mosques of
Anatolia.
• Arab-plan or hypostyle mosques are the earliest type of
mosques, pioneered under the Umayyad Dynasty. These
mosques are square or rectangular in plan with an enclosed
courtyard and a covered prayer hall.
• The Ottomans introduced central dome mosques in the 15th
century and have a large dome centered over the prayer hall.
In addition to having one large dome at the center, there are
often smaller domes that exist off-center over the prayer hall
or throughout the rest of the mosque, where prayer is not
performed. This style was heavily influenced by the Byzantine
religious architecture with its use of large central domes.
The interior of the Mezquita in Córdoba, Spain
A sample of modern Islamic architecture - The mosque of
international conferences center in Isfahan, Iran

SPECIFIC ARCHITECTURAL ELEMENTS
Islamic architecture may be identified with the following design
elements, which were inherited from the first mosque buildings
(originally a feature of the Masjid al-Nabawi).
Al-Masjid an-Nabawī (622 ad)
Location: Medina, Hejaz, Saudi Arabia
• Minarets or towers
• Iwan - rectangular hall or space
• Mihrab or prayer niche on an inside wall indicating
the direction to Mecca.
• Domes and Cupolas
• Pishtaq is the formal gateway to the iwan
• Balconies are a common feature of Islamic domestic
architecture due to the warm climates in most
countries
• Capitals are the upper part or crowing feature of a
column or pilaster.

ISLAMIC STRUCTURES: EARLY SHRINES AND PALACES
• DOME OF THE ROCK (687-91)
Profile
- Located in the Old City of Jerusalem
- Ordered to be constructed by Umayyad Caliph Abd al-Malik
- The original dome collapsed in 1015 and was rebuilt in 1022-23.
- Style : Umayyad , Abbasid, Ottoman
- Earliest archaeologically-attested religious structure to be built by a
Muslim ruler and the building’s inscriptions contain the earliest
epigraphic proclamations of Islam and of prophet Muhammad.
- Structure is basically octagonal
- Capped by a dome, approximately 20m (66ft), mounted on an
elevated drum standing on 16 supports (4 tiers and 12 columns)

Its location on Mount Moriah was sacred to
the Jews, both as the site on which Abraham
had offered his son Isaac as a sacrifice to the
Lord and as the location of Solomon’s Temple.
Muslims honored it for Abraham’s presence,
but also venerated it as the place from which
Mohammed ascended in his night journey to
paradise.

At the center of the Dome of the Rock is a rock, under
which is a small cave with a single opening. The
shrine is carefully positioned around this rock, the
domed central portion enclosing the rock and a
concentric aisle permitting circumambulation.
The building’s form was probably derived from
Christian precedent. Constantine’s Church of the Holy
Sepulcher in Jerusalem had featured a similar
rotunda, and there were many centrally planned
domed churches throughout the Byzantine world.
Unlike most Byzantine domes, however, the structure
here is of wood.

EARLY SHRINES AND PALACES
• QUSAYR AMRA (711-715)
Profile
- Best known of the desert castles located in present-day
eastern Jordan
- It was built by Walid Ibn Yazid , the future Umayyad
caliph Walid II.
- Considered one of the most important examples of early
Islamic art and architecture.
- Located in Zarqa Governorate , Jordan
- The building is actually the remnant of a larger complex
that included an actual castle, meant as a royal retreat.
- Made up of limestone and basalt.
- The northern block, two stories high, features a triple-
vaulted ceiling over the main entrance on the east
façade. The western wings feature smaller vaults or
domes.
- It has a reception hall, throne apse, baths, Apodterium
(changing room), Tepidarium (warm bath), Caldarium
(hot bath),

• QUSAYR AMRA (711-715)
Fresco of a bathing woman Fresco of “Six Kings”, one of the most well
known frescoes in Qasr Amra

• MSHATTA PALACE (Construction started 743-744 CE )
- The ruins of Qasr Mushatta consist of a square
enclosure, surrounded by an outer wall comprising 25
towers. Its internal space is divided into three equal
longitudinal strips, of which just the central one was
completed to some degree.
- This central strip contains three major elements: on its
southern side is what K. A. C. Creswell called the
"Gateway Block", followed by the large central
courtyard, which leads northwards to the reception hall
wing.

• MSHATTA PALACE (Construction started 743-744 CE )
- The ruins of Qasr Mushatta consist of a square enclosure,
surrounded by an outer wall comprising 25 towers. Its internal
space is divided into three equal longitudinal strips, of which
just the central one was completed to some degree.
- This central strip contains three major elements: on its southern
side is what K. A. C. Creswell called the "Gateway Block",
followed by the large central courtyard, which leads northwards
to the reception hall wing.

ISLAMIC STRUCTURES: MOSQUES
Great Mosque of Kairouan
• also known as the Mosque of Uqba
• one of the most impressive and largest
Islamic monuments in North Africa
• Established by the Arab general Uqba ibn
Nafi in the year 50 AH (670AD/CE) at the
founding of the city of Kairouan
Interior view of the hypostyle prayer hall in the Mosque of
Uqba (Great Mosque of Kairouan)

Umayyad Mosque
• also known as the Great Mosque of Damascus
• located in the old city of Damascus, is one of the largest and oldest mosques in the world.
• he mosque was built on the site of a Christian basilica dedicated to John the Baptist (Yahya), honored as a prophet by
Christians and Muslims.
• The mosque is also believed by Muslims to be the place where Jesus (Isa) will return at the End of Days.
• The Umayyad Mosque holds great significance to Shia and Sunni Muslims, as this was the destination of the ladies and children
of the family of Muhammad, made to walk here from Iraq, following the Battle of Karbala.

Great Mosque of Mecca, Saudi Arabia
• also known as the Haram Mosque (The Sacred
Mosque)
• a mosque that surrounds the Kaaba in the city of
Mecca, in the Hejazi region of Saudi Arabia.
• It is a site of pilgrimage for the Hajj, which every
Muslim must do at least once in their lives if able, and
is also the main phase for the ʿUmrah, the lesser
pilgrimage that can be undertaken any time of the
year.
• The Great Mosque includes other important significant
sites, including the Black Stone, the Zamzam Well,
Maqam Ibrahim, and the hills of Safa and Marwa.

Sultan Ahmed Mosque, Istanbul (1616)
• also known as the Blue Mosque
• a historic mosque located in Istanbul, Turkey.
• a functioning mosque, while also attracting large
numbers of tourist visitors.
• constructed between 1609 and 1616 during the rule of
Ahmed I.
• Its Külliye contains Ahmed's tomb, a madrasah and a
hospice. Hand-painted blue tiles adorn the mosque’s
interior walls, and at night the mosque is bathed in blue
as lights frame the mosque’s five main domes, six
minarets and eight secondary domes.
• It sits next to the Hagia Sophia, another popular tourist
site.

Badshahi Masjid
• is a Mughal era masjid in Lahore, capital of the
Pakistani province of Punjab
• is the largest, and last, of the grand imperial masjid
built by the Mughals
• was built by Emperor Aurangzeb in 1671, with
construction of the masjid lasting for two years until
1673.
• is decorated with carved red sandstone with marble
inlay.

Shah Mosque
• also known as the New Abbasi Mosque (Masjed-e
Jadid-e Abbasi) or Royal Mosque
• is a mosque located in Isfahan, Iran.
• It was built during the Safavid dynasty under the order
of Shah Abbas I of Iran. It became known as the Imam
Mosque after the Iranian Revolution.
• Its construction began in 1611, and its splendour is
mainly due to the beauty of its seven-colour mosaic
tiles and calligraphic inscriptions.
• The mosque is depicted on the reverse of the Iranian
20,000 rials banknote.
• Architect(s) : Ali Akbar Isfahani
• Length: 100m
• Width: 130m
• Height (max): 56m with golden shaft
• Minaret(s): 4
• Minaret height : 48 m

Al-Aqsa Mosque (705 CE)
• located in the Old City of Jerusalem, is the third
holiest site in Islam.
• Muslims believe that Muhammad was
transported from the Sacred Mosque in Mecca to
al-Aqsa during the Night Journey.
• Al-Masjid al-Aqsa translates from Arabic into
English as "the farthest mosque". The name
refers to a chapter of the Quran called Al-Isrā’
(Arabic: ‫اء‬َ‫إـر‬‫س‬ِ ‫إ‬‫ٱْل‬ )," The Night Journey"), in which it
is said that Muhammad travelled from Mecca to
"the farthest mosque", and then up to Heaven on
a heavenly creature called al-Burāq ash-Sharīf

Quba Mosque (1986), Medina, Saudi Arabia Mosque-Madrassa of Sultan Hassan (1363), Cairo

ISLAMIC STRUCTURES: TOMBS (MAZAR)
Blue Mosque (Mazar-i-Sharif)
• The Blue Mosque is a mosque
located in the center of Mazar-i-
Sharif, Afghanistan.
• The Seljuq dynasty sultan Ahmed
Sanjar built the first known shrine
at this location.
• one of the reputed burial places of
Ali, cousin and son-in law of
Muhammad.
• Also known as “Tomb of the
Exalted”

ISLAMIC STRUCTURES: TOMBS (MAZAR)
Imam Reza shrine, Mashhad, Iran
• is a complex which contains the
mausoleum of Imam Reza, the
eighth Imam of Twelver Shiites.
• It is the largest mosque in the world
by area.
• The shrine itself covers an area of
267,079m2 while the seven
courtyards which surround it cover
an area of 331,578m2 - totaling
598,657 m2 (6,443,890 sq ft).

MODERN ISLAMIC STRUCTURES
Faisal Mosque
• is a mosque in Islamabad, Pakistan.
• It is located on the foothills of Margalla
Hills in Islamabad. This mosque
features a contemporary design
consisting of eight sides of concrete
shell and is inspired by a Bedouin tent.
• Architect(s): Vedat Dalokay
• Style: Contemporary Islamic
• Date established: 1987
• The Faisal Mosque can accommodate
about 300,000 worshippers. Each of
the Mosque's four minarets are 79 m
(259 ft) high (the tallest minarets in
South Asia) and measure 10×10
metres in circumference.
• Aga Khan Award for Architecture was
awarded to the architect for this
mosque project

Hassan II Mosque
• a mosque in Casablanca, Morocco. It is the largest mosque in Africa,
and the 10th largest in the world.
• Its minaret is the world's second tallest minaret at 210 metres (689 ft).
• Completed in 1993, it was designed by Michel Pinseau and built by
Bouygues.
• A maximum of 105,000 worshippers can gather together for prayer:
25,000 inside the mosque hall and another 80,000 on the mosque's
outside ground

Cologne Central Mosque
• is a building commissioned by German
Muslims of the Organization DITIB for
a large, representative
Zentralmoschee (central mosque) in
Cologne, Germany.
• The mosque is designed in non-
Ottoman architectural style, with glass
walls, two minarets and a dome.
• Architect(s): Paul Böhm
• Type: Mosque
• Style: Modern

Arab World Institute
• Architect: Jean Nouvel + Architecture
Studio + Gilbert Lezenes + Pierre
Soria
• Year: 1981-1987
• Location: Rue Des Fossés Saint
Bernard S/N, Paris, France
• This project is a result of funds from both the League of
Arab States and the French government.
• It was the recipient of the 1989 Aga Khan Award for
Architectural Excellence.
• Within the museum are objects from the Arab world ranging
from before Islam through into the twentieth century.

Louvre Abu Dhabi
• The Louvre Abu Dhabi is an art and
civilization museum, located in Abu
Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. The
museum was inaugurated on 8
November 2017
• The architect for the building is Jean
Nouvel and the engineers are
BuroHappold Engineering.
• The museum is designed as a
"seemingly floating dome structure"; its
web-patterned dome allowing the sun
to filter through. The overall effect is
meant to represent "rays of sunlight
passing through date palm fronds in an
oasis.

SOME CONTEMPORARY MUSLIM ARCHITECTS
Zaha Mohammad Hadid
(31 October 1950 – 31 March 2016)
Iraqi–British architect
first woman to receive the Pritzker
Architecture Prize, in 2004
Vedat Ali Dalokay
(November 10, 1927 – March 21,
1991)
was a renowned Turkish architect
and a former mayor of Ankara
Designed the Faisal Masjid
Bashirul Haq
born 24 June 1942
is a Bangladeshi architect, planner
and educator.
Aga Khan Award for Architecture
Three times nominated

History of Architecture: Islamic Architecture

Recomendados

Recomendados

Más contenido relacionado

La actualidad más candente

La actualidad más candente (20)

Similar a History of Architecture: Islamic Architecture

Similar a History of Architecture: Islamic Architecture (20)

Último

Último (20)

History of Architecture: Islamic Architecture

Notas del editor