THE ISLAMIC WORLD

THE ISLAMIC WORLD 1500

Muhammad and his followers spread the beliefs and practices of Islam.

• At its peak, the Arab Empire extended west and north through Spain and into France.

• In the seventh century, a split in Islam created two groups, the Shiite and the Sunni

Muslims.

UMAYYAD SYRIA AND ABBASID IRAQ (661 – 1258)

DOME OF THE ROCK

Aerial view (looking east) of the Dome of the Rock, Jerusalem, 687-692.

The first great Islamic building was the Dome of the Rock, Jerusalem. Umayyad caliph Abd al-Malik (685-705) erected this monumental shrine as an architectural tribute to the triumph of Islam.

INTERIOR (DOME OF THE ROCK)

Dome of the Rock interior with its intricate display of Islamic mosaics. It is a dome central-plan structure descended from the Pantheon in Rome and Hagia Sophia in Constantinople, but it more closely resembles the octagonal San Vitale in Ravenna.

ISLAMIC SPAIN (756 – 1492)

GREAT MOSQUE OF CÓRDOBA

The jewel of the capital at Córdoba was its Great Mosque, begun in 784 by Abd al-Rahman I and enlarged several times during the 9th and 10th centuries. This mosque Córdoba Mezquita eventually became one of the largest mosques in the Islamic West.

Detail of the upper zones of the east gate of the Mezquita (Great Mosque),

Córdoba , Spain, 961-965.

The new gates to the complex feature intricate surface patterns of overlapping horseshoe-shaped and multi-lobed arches.

ISLAMIC EGYPT (909-1517)

Dish with Arabic proverb, from Nishapur, Iran, 10th century. Painted and glazed earthenware, 1′-2 1/2″ diameter.

Musée du Louvre, Paris. It states that knowledge, although bitter at first taste, is ultimately sweeter than honey.

Mosque lamp of Sayf al-Din Tuquztimur, from Egypt, 1340. Glass with enamel decoration, 1′-1″ high. British Mueseum, London.

The enamel decoration of this glass mosque lamp includes a quotation from the Koran comparing God’s light with the light in a lamp. The burning wick dramatically illuminated the sacred verse.

Muhammad IBN AL-Zayn, basin (Baptistére de Saint Louis), from Egypt, ca. 1300. Brass, inlaid with gold and silver, 8-3/4″ high. Musée du Louvre, Paris.

Canteen with episodes from the life of Jesus, from Syria, ca. 140-1250. Brass, inlaid wih silver, 1′-2 1/2″ high. Freer Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.

This canteen is a luxurious version of the “pilgram flasks” Christian visitors to the Holy Land often carried back to Europe. Four inscription in Arabic promise eternal glory, secure life, perfect prosperity, and increasing good luck to the canteen’s unnamed owner, who must have been a Christian, not only because of the type of object but especially the choice of scenes engraved into the canteen.

TIMURID AND SAFAVID IRAN AND CENTRAL ASIA (1370-1732)

BIHZAD, Seduction of Yusuf, folio 52 verso of the Bustan of Sultan Husayn Mayqaara, from Herat, Afghanistan, 1488. Ink and color on paper , 11-7/8″x 8-5/8″.

This page displays vivid color, intricate decorative detailing and a brilliant balance between two-dimensional patterning and perspective. According to tale, Zulaykha lured Yusuf into her place and led him through seven rooms, locking each door behind him. In the last room she threw herself at Yusuf, but he resisted and was able to flee when the seven doors opened miraculously.

OTTOMAN TURKEY (1281-1924)

SINAN, Mosque of Selim II, Edirne, Turkey, 1568-1575.

The Ottomans deleveloped a new type of mosque with a dome-covered aquare prayer hall. The dome of Sinan’s Mosque of Selim II is taller than Hagia Sophia’s and is an engineering triumph.