Part 11 Inar 223 Renaissance Nineteenth Cnetury

8/13/2019 Part 11 Inar 223 Renaissance Nineteenth Cnetury

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Yldz, Islamic Architecture and Art 93

HISTORY OF ART AND ARCHITECTURE I

(From Prehistory to the end of Gothic)

Part 11: Islamic ArchitectureFrom its Rise to the end of Medieval Ages

The word Islamic, as applied to art, refers to those people who have grown and lived underrulers who professed the faith of Islam or in cultures and societies which have been stronglyinfluenced by the modes of life and thought characteristic of Islam. But Islamic, unlikeChristian, refers not only to a faith but also to a whole culture, since- at least in theory- theseparation of the realm of Ceasar from that of God is not applicable to Islam. Also unlikeChristianity, Islam did not develop first as the faith of a few, increasing in numbers of itsadherents under the shadow of a huge state alien to it. Rather, these developments took placeslowly during the 7thand 8thcenturies.

In 622 A.D., the year of the Hijra (Hijret or Hagira), when Mohamed left Medina (originallyMadina al-Nabi), the town of the Prophet, ancient Yathrib the first Islamic state, a handfulfollowers from the mercantile cities of Arabia constituted almost all the Muslims, and the privatehouse of the Prophet was their only centre. But by 750 Arab Muslim armies had penetrated intosouthern France, crossed the Oxus and the Jazartes, and reached the Indus. The first Islamicdynasty, the Ummayads, had come and gone. New cities had been created in North Africa,Egypt, and Iraq. The Dome of the Rock has been built in Jerusalem, while also in Jerusalem, as

well as Damascus, Madina and many other cities of the Near East, great mosques had beenerected as gathering places for prayer as well as to strengthen the political and social ties whichbound the faithful together. Dozens of splendid palaces had been scattered throughout the landsof the Fertile Crescent. In other words Islamic art did not slowly evolve form the meeting of a

new faith and of a new state with whatever older traditions prevailed in the areas in which thestate ruled; it came forth as a suddenly as the faith and the state, for, whatever influences may


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have been at work in the building and decoration of early Islamic monuments, their characteristicis that they were built for Muslims, to serve purposes which did not exist in quite the same waybefore Islam.

In order to understand this art and the forms it created as well as the way it went about creating

them, it is necessary to investigate first whether the Arabs who conquered so vast an area broughtany specific tradition with them; second, whether the new faith imposed certain attitudes or ruleswhich found artistic expression; and finally, what major artistic movements the Muslimsencountered in the lands they took over.

Key Of the Kaba, Louvre Museum.


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Early Islamic Period

Mohammads AchievementsBorn in c. 570 in

c. 622 Muhammad flees from Mecca to Medina (the Hagira or Hijret)He became political and spiritual leader.622-632 Muslim expansion on the greater part of Arabia peninsula and his spiritual and temporalleadership in Medina.632: Conquered Mecca.632: Death of Mohammad.Historical Landmarksc. 622 Muhammad Flees from Mecca to Medina (the Hagira or Hijret)

632 Muhammad led the 1stIslamic pilgrimage (HAJ) to Kaba in Mecca (The ancient shrineassociated with Abraham, who is believed to be ancestors of the Arabs).

632 Death of Muhammad

In 622 C.E. Muhammadhad been forced to leave Mecca and seek refuge in Medina. Thisdeparture, or emigration is called the "hejira" and marks the inception of the Muslim calendar. He

was accompanied in exile by a large number of Meccan supporters and assited on his arrival inMedina by many of the farming community there, who became known as the "Helpers" or"ansari". Eight years later Muhammad's Medinan helpers assisted him to regain control of Mecca,and many of the Meccans converted to Islam. Shortly before his death in 632, Muhammadundertook a final farewell pilgrimage to Medina and on 16th March, halfway between the twocities, at Qadir Khum, Muhammad is said to have taken his son-in-law and cousin, 'Ali ibn Abi

Taleb, by the hand and said in front of all those present "Everyone whose patron I am, also has

'Ali as a patron". However following Muhammad's death in 632 C.E. there appears to have beena general consensus in settling the succession or Caliphate on his uncle,Abu Bekr, who had beenone of the original party of emigrants, however, this was not without opposition from the "ansari"

who felt that they were being overlooked. After two year Abu Bekr was succeeded by Omar,another of those who had fled with Muhammad who greatly extended the area under Islam, notleast by defeating the Persian Army at Nihavand in 642. In 644 C.E. six Companions ofMuhammad including his son-in-law, 'Ali, elected the third Caliph, Osman. This marked the startof the ascendancy of the Ummayad clan, because Osman was a member of this Meccanaristocracy which had formerly been responsible for Muhammad's persecution and expulsion.

This, and his tendency to appoint members of his clan to the most important positions, led to hisassassination by a consortium of discontented fellow exiles and "ansari" in 656, and the

appointment in Medina of 'Ali. His appointment was resisted by the Ummayads and in the endled to a pitched battle on the 9th December 656 C.E. outside Basra, known as the Battle of theCamel, in which Muhammad's widow,Ayesha, who had declared herself against her son-in-law,

was taken prisoner and sent under armed guard to Medina.

The Visual Artsc. 622 He initiated the practice of praying towards Mecca.Early worship places: rather simple with no ornamentHis house: mud-brick, with palm logs as columns, and palms leaves coated with mud forpartitions and roofing, with smaller rooms for poor people opening into the courtyard.

Islamic Teaching of MohammadIslamic teaching is based on the word of God!


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There was no need for aesthetic theory.There was no need for didactic images.Islam is a complete and comprehensive guide for the inner and outer life of an individual.Islam is a direct relation between individual and God, without the intercession of saints inheaven or meditation of priests on the earth.

Mohammad is not a divine being.His mission is to save his fellowmen by instructing them to be faithful and true citizens.Mohammad respected other religions but rejected Holy Trinity of the Christians.He considered all believers as equal.He was a social and religious reformer.His teachings dominated by the concept of the last judgment which would determine eternalsalvation or damnations: heaven or hell.

Five Pillars of Islamic ReligionPraying five times a dayFeasting during Ramazan month

Abstinence from strong drinks (alcohol) and some food (pork)Zekat (almsgiving)Pilgrimage to Mecca once in lifetimeFaithful observance of moral code of Koran.

Early Islamic Art & Architecture

The Visual Artsc. 690 Dome of the Rock, Jerusalemc. 730 Qasr al-Hayr al Gharbi

Historical Landmarks

634-64 Muslim expansion through NearEast and into India (Punjab)658 Umayyad dynasty in Damascus670 Muslim expansion into north Africa


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Caliphate PeriodsUnder the four elected Caliphs who succeeded Mohammad as temporal spiritual leaders theterritories of Islamic world enlarged632-34 Abu Bakr (Ebubekir)

634-44 Omer644-56 Osman656-61 Ali

Islamic ExpansionIn 647: Iraq, Palestine, Syria, Egypt, Iran, Cyrenaica and TripolitaniaIn 649: Indus Valley (Today Pakistan)670: North West Africa710: Spain, Pyreneesia as far as Poitiers in France

Islam first spread in the Near East and southern shores of the Mediterranean in the 7thcentury.The earliest dominant culture in the area was Hellenized Orient, Roman and Byzantine.

So, from 7thcentury onwards the patrons of Islamic art will be a new style originating with theexisting Asian, Hellenism and Roman traditions and within a short time a new style will be arisen

which will be in conflict with this existing styles .

Character of Early Islamic Art & ArchitectureThere is a strong desire to find artistic forms to embody their own beliefs.It is a religious art entirely without any holy imagesVisual symbols are avoided.Inscriptions are the only religious elements in Islamic art. But they are just the art of signs andnot of symbols or images.

Islamic CalligraphyCalligraphy is more highly cultivated in Islam than anywhere outside China and Japan, and itdetermined more than just the fluid linearity of Islamic decoration.

Early Mosques (Figure 1 and 2)In places where there is no building suitable for congregation, simple mosques were arranged:A space surrounded by a fence with no roof sufficed the need of the praying.Mosque at Kufa in Iraq (638): (Figure 3)

A large square two rows of columns set up to form a covered collonade facing towards Meccaand a ditch to mark off its boundary.

Figure 1 Figure 2 Figure 3 Figure 4

Mohammads House in Medina.Figure 4There were 9 small rooms built on the outer side of the east wall.It was a largely open square of some sixty six meters per side. It was essentially large and almost

empty enclosed space. The enclosing walls were plain.


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Along the inner wall facing the qiblawas the zulla(shaded space: a double row of palm trunkscarrying a roof of palm leaves. This was large enough to accommodate 100 people duringpraying).Three gates were simple little openings in the wall.Although it was a house, in fact it served as a political focus as well as a center for the

community.

Kaba:The house of God which is located in Mecca. Muslims face the Kaba when they prayand this is the direction to which mihrabs point. It was Ibrahim (Abraham) and his son Ismail

who rebuilt the Kaba as ordered by God. The Quran tells us that God ordered Ibrahim to

build a sanctuary at a specific spot in Bacca (XXII:26), another name for Mecca. Ibrahim and

Ismail were told that it should be a cube and around a celestial stone, which was preserved

nearby a hill in Mecca and then given to Ibrahim by an Angel. This black stone was kept at

the eastern corner of the Kaba. God then informed Ibrahim to institute the rite of pilgrimage

to Mecca.

The Ummayad (Emevis) Architecture and Art

The Umayyads (Emevis): 650-750The first dynasty of Islam which was founded by Muawiyya ibn Abu Sufyan (r. 661-80 A.D.),who was the governor of Syria after the Syrian conquest. He came to rule the entire Muslimworld from his capital Damascus, which became a main cultural center of the Muslim world.Muawiyya used the already existing Byzantium base of shipyards to build a strong Arab navy.

The greatest caliphs of the Umayyads were Muawiya, Abd al-Malik (r. 685-705 A.D.), Umar ibnAbd al-Aziz (r. 717-20 A.D.) and Hisham (r. 724-744 A.D). Their caliphate fell in 750 A.D.because of the opposition of the Arab tribes in Iraq and others in Medina. They were overthrownby a revolution that began in Khurasan, led by Abu Muslim who gained the caliphate for the

Abbasids. Most of the Umayyads were killed during these happenings, one of those who survivedwas Abd al-Rahman who fled to North Africa and reinstituted the Umayyads in Spain. Theirarchitecture was heavily influenced by Byzantine norms. Caliph Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan builtthe dome of the Rock in Jerusalem, in 691 A.D., the first monument in Islam. Its plan is derivedfrom Byzantine mausolea and its decoration, the mosaic on its inner walls, are classical ininspiration. Umayyad caliphs built several desert palaces, all similar to Roman forts. The bath atQusayr Amra is the typical Roman bath. The mural paintings adorning its walls are all ofByzantine inspiration. The mosaic floors in Khirbat al-Mafjar are yet another classical influence.Other influences from the east played a role, but not as strong as those of Byzantium. The faadeof Qasr al-Hayr al-Gharbi shows Sasanian influences on the sculpted figures.The Umayyads (Emevis) and their Art and Architecture 650-750

The Dome of the RockEarly Congregational MosquesThe Mosques of al-WalidSecular BuildingsThe Decorative ArtsUmmayad (Emevis) Architecture and ArtThe Umayyads (Emevis) and their Art and Architecture 650-750The Dome of the RockEarly Congregational MosquesThe Mosques of al-WalidSecular Buildings

The Decorative Arts


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Dome of the Rock: (Figures 1, 2, 3) (built in 685)Built near the site of the temple of Solomon at the command of caliph Abd al Malik, of the firstdynasty of Islam Umayyads. It was conceived as a special sanctuary. Not as a mosque. Jewsbelieve it to be the tomb of Adam and also as the place where Abraham prepared to sacrificeIsaac.

According to Moslem tradition it was the place form which Muhammad ascended into heavenon the night journey described in the Koran.An octagon with two concentric ambulatories surrounding a central space covered by a dome.Early seventh decoration included panels of curiously coloured marble cladding piers and walls,sheets of gilded metal worked in relief and mosaics of glass and mother of pearl with flowers andleaf motifs surrounding vases and crowns.Inscriptions from the Koran specifically to the Christians: The Messiah Jesus Son of Mary isonly an apostle of God, and His Word which he conveyed into Mary, and a Sprit proceedingfrom Him! Believe therefore in God and his apostles and say not Three Divinity. It will be betterfor you. God is only one God. Far be it form his glory that He should have a Son!

Figure 1 Figure 2 Figure 3

The Great Mosque, DamascusBuilt between 706 and 715 by Abd al-Maliks son and successor Caliph al-Walid in Damascus,

then the capital of Islam. (Figures 4-10)It had a great influence of the further Islamic architecture.

The site was a rectangular walled temenosor precinct of a pagan temple, which had been converted

into a Christian church in the late 4thcent.The site was adopted as an early open-air mosque when Damascus was conquered for 70 years.In 705 al-Walid demolished it and started building the largest mosque in Islam.It still retains the original fabric of a Roman wall with its four corner towers.

Figure 4 Figure 5 Figure 6 Figure 7

Figure 8 Figure 9 Figure 10


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Yldz, Islamic Architecture and Art100

Abbasid Period in Islamic Architecture and Art

This second major Muslim dynasty took their name from their ancestor, al-Abbas ibn Abd al-Mutallib,who was the Prophet's uncle. After succeeding the Umayyads in 749 A.D., they ruled for the next 500years, although in reality their effective power declined after around 900 A.D. The Abbasids moved thecapital from Damascus to Baghdad, building al-Mansur's famous round city in 762 A.D. It was during thereign of Harun al-Rashid (r. 786-809 A.D.) that the Abbasid caliphate reached its peak, a time ofprosperity, peace and communal unity. After that, the decline started, with clashes between the populationand troops stimulating the construction of Samarra in 865 A.D. as a city for the troops. In 945 A.D. theBuwayhids replaced Abbasid power in Iran and Iraq, although they continued to be the nominal caliphs.By the time of the Mongol occupation of Baghdad in 1258 A.D. their reign was completely reduced tobeing a mere figurehead. Abbasid architecture was influenced by Sassanian, Central Asian, and latertwelfth and thirteenth century A.D. Saljuk prototypes. Despite the breadth of the Abbasid territories, themajority of remaining monuments are in the Abbasid homeland of Iraq. Abbasid architecture is noted forthe vastness of the scale used for their cities, as well as the Samarra stucco decoration that spread andcontinued to be used elsewhere for a long time.

The Abbasid Tradition (750-950): there is a significant production in every field during these periods,mainly in these areas:Architecture and Architectural DecorationThe Decorative ArtsThe Art of the BookPainting

Important Points about the AbbasidsAbbasids dynasty of caliphs succeeded the Umayyads.They descend from Abbas, an uncle of the prophet.Abbasid period will be nearly 500 years. It is the classical age of the Islamic cultureArabic is the legal and religious language Revival of sciences, particularly the revival of the Greek culture Literature, science: revival of Greek culture but also under the influence of Greek, India and China.Initiated optics and astronomy studies Power slowly passed to the official of other ethnic origin.Courts of the Caliphs Court of the caliphs is now living an extreme aristocratic life. Rich, huge palaces and mosques were thesymbol of their political leadership. Haroun al- Rashid Omer Hayyam: poet and mathematician.Arabic numerals derived from Islam from India.

Abbasid Cities Caliphs erected several administrative centers in the vicinity of Kufa, in southern Iraq.They were called al-Hashimiya


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These were royal residences, which included building of the royal families, officers, a garrison forprotection, shops, and the royal palace and the mosque in the center of the city.They had the khadre, throne room, on the upper floor.These administrative centers had multistory buildings. The other citizens lived outside the city. Also, the military center was outside the walls. The first one of these was Dar al-Imara ([also called City of Peace], begun in 762) at Mevr built by Abu

Muslim. It consisted of a domed chamber 82 feet tall with four doors leading into as many iwans, (each90 by 40 feet), which in turn led into four square sahns. Such radial symmetry is mirrored in several laterAbbasid palaces at Samarra. Nothing remained of al-Mansurs famous circular city of Bagdad.

City of Bagdad

Madina al Salam (Bagdad), the round city

Abbasid caliph al Mansur begun construction of his new capital Baghdad, in the same circular plan asmentioned above. His intention was to make Bagdad to symbolize the universal rule of the Moslem world.Two sets of mud brick walls and four axial gates protected a ring of residences and government offices. In the open space in the center is the caliphs palace and the adjacent mosque. City founded on a circular grid.Astrologers determined the date of the foundation of the buildings. Circumference: 16,000 cubits* (5 miles/8 kilometers). (*1 cubit:15 inches/ 38 cm. sq. )

Mosque 200 cubits sq. Palace: 400 cubits sq.; Throne room (20 cubits) in the center of the palace.The walls were pierced by gates: Khorosan Gate on the northeast; Basra Gate on the southeast; Kufa Gate on the southwest; DamascusGate on the northwest From each of these gates are led avenues lined with shops towards the center of the city. There is an outer ring for the residence of the caliphs family, staff and servants.An inner ring housed the arsenal, treasury, and government offices. On the innermost ring is a esplanade on which rest the police station, Friday mosque and caliphspalace.The citizens lived outside the city walls.

Other Abbasid Cities and Residences: Samarra (founded in 836) by the Caliph Al-Mutasim. Second Abbasid capital on Tigris. The town was constructed in haste, largely in unbaked brick on aregular plan, being extended northward along the east bank of the river. The city was built at three stages.Thus it shows three distinct styles of architecture and decoration. Mosques at Samarra was the largest ever built Built by one of the sons of Harun al Rashid Decorated with stucco decoration including figurative wall paintings Harem as an embellishment of aristocratic life.Art as vanity Minaret exists Mosque of Samarra: 240x156 meter sq; capable to accommodate 100,000 people; 216 brick piers thatsupported the roof survived; The ceiling was flat; Minaret, spiral shaped.


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The Mosque of Isfahan from 840Like all Friday mosques founded throughout the Abbasid empire, the original mosque at Isfahan was a

rectangular hypostyle building, with a large central court surrounded by arcades, In the 10thcentury, theBuyids lined the courtyard with a new row of polylobed columns; in 1086/87 a dome chamber was added

in the prayer hall in front of the mihrab, in the early 12thcentury four iwanswere added around the court.

Dar al-Imara and Mosque of Ibn Tulun, Fustat (Cairo) 876-879Plan of Mosque of Ibn Tulun CairoAhmad Ibn Tulun, second semi-independent governor of Egypt.

Rectangular walls enclose a courtyard, surrounded on three sides by a compound in which stands,almost on axis, a minaret enwrapped by a spiral ramp. The plan of the minaret is now, however,square. The arcade of the mosque is double on three sides and is carried on piers, while a similarmultiple arcade forms the prayer space on the kiblawall. The building complex has a fountain in themiddle of the courtyard.

Though it is smaller than the earlier mosque of Samarra, it is a large building, which retains its originalform despite several restorations.

Construction is in brick, faced with stucco in which friezes are incised. The modification of the basicCorinthian capital to the colonnettes of the arcade piers, the vine-leaf friezes and the intricategeometric window grilles, indicated a high level of architectural development. The admixture ofseveral different styles is an indication of craftsmen form different parts of Near East, particularlyform Samarra ot Egypt.

Other Significant Mosque:

Kairouan, Great Mosque (836, 862, 873) Susa, The Great Mosque, (850).


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Tombs

Qubbat al-Salaybihab (plan) Qubbat al-Salaybihab

Qubbat al-Salaybihab:This is the oldest monument tomb in the history of Islamic architecture. Theinner and outer octagons are open on all four sides and never had doors. This derived form the Koranicinjunction that the tomb of a believer should be open to the sky. This type of tomb is called canopy tomb,which may be square or octagonal provided it has portals on at least three or more sides. The source ofdesign is certainly the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem, with an intermediary model being the fountain atKhirbat al-Mafjar.

Decoration:In many Abbasid cities, the architectural decoration elements show three phases in thedevelopment of the ornamentation style into abstract motifs:The first is consisting of carved and precise, fresh, lively and Hellenistic inspiration. The second ismodeled and transitional. And the third is wholly a new style, which had been synthesized in whichpowerful repetition of abstract mould forms supplemented the previous naturalism. The carved marbledados, carved and gilded timber roofs, was elaborately painted in fresco, all had been diffused sincecraftsmen and artists from Persia, Byzantine Empire, Africa come together to work in the buildings.

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Part 11 Inar 223 Renaissance Nineteenth Cnetury