Islamic Architecture

1. Buildings across Time, 4th Edition
Chapter Seven: Islamic Architecture
From its origins in seventh-century Arabia, Islam spread both eastward to
China and India and westward into Africa and the Iberian Peninsula. Its
converts were formidable warriors as well as merchants, scholars, and able
builders, learning from Byzantium and the legacy of ancient Mesopotamia,
Greece, and Rome.
Conversion of the Arabic tribes to Islam was accompanied by an intense
awakening of Arab fervor. By 661, Islamic armies had swept through what is
today Iran, Iraq, Israel, Syria, and Egypt, and then they 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.
By 1200, Islamic rulers governed a sprawling multi-cultural and international
community that led the world in science, mathematics, and the arts. Islamic
architecture includes the design of mosques, which vary across a wide
geographic span. Religious principles also impact the design of houses and
civic structures. Under the Ottoman Turks, they finally conquered
Constantinople in 1453.

2. Early Shrines and Palaces
Dome of the Rock
Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem, 687-
691: 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,
lies a small cave with a single
opening.

3. Early Shrines and Palaces
Dome of the Rock
Section axonometric of the Dome
of the Rock, showing the
sophisticated geometry involved
in its design: Two squares rotated
within the circumscribing circle
establish the locations of major
structural elements, and three
columns alternate with piers to
support the dome.

4. Early Shrines and Palaces
Dome of the Rock
https://www.youtube.com/w
atch?v=xv_TMHYuiHE

5. Early Shrines and Palaces
The Ka’ba
The general scheme employed at
the Dome of the Rock, that of a
central shrine, around which, the
faithful could circulate, was used
earlier at Mecca in rebuilding the
Ka’ba, the goal of Islamic
pilgrimage.
This cloth draped cubicle shrine
contains the Black Stone, believed
to have been given to Abraham by
the Angel Gabriel.
At the Haj, or annual pilgrimage,
the devout proceed seven times
around the Ka’ba, following the
sets of concentric rings set in the
pavement encircling the shrine.

6. Mosques
House of the Prophet, Medina
Reconstruction of the
House of the Prophet
in Medina, ca. 622, a
building which became
the prototype for the
mosque. Followers of
Mohammed
assembled in the open
courtyard to hear
sermons and
participate in group
prayer, functions that
become essential in
the design of a
mosque.

7. Mosques
House of the Prophet
Islamic worship requires
prayer five times a day, and
this prayer is practiced at
four levels of participation:
1. The individual or small
group
2. The neighborhood
congregation
3. The entire populace of a
small city
4. The whole Muslim
world
Islamic religious
architecture has developed
to accommodate the first
three levels of worship.

8. Mosques
The Great Mosque at Damascus
Plan of the
Great Mosque
at Damascus,
706-715.
The parts of a
mosque are:

9. Mosques
The Great Mosque at Damascus
Plan of the
Great Mosque
at Damascus,
706-715.
The parts of a
mosque are:
Minarets-
towers to
summon the
faithful to
prayer
Minaret
Minaret
Minaret Minaret

10. Mosques
The Great Mosque at Damascus
Plan of the
Great Mosque
at Damascus,
706-715.
The parts of a
mosque are:
Sahn-
An open
arcade court
Minaret
Minaret
Minaret Minaret
Sahn

11. Mosques
The Great Mosque at Damascus
Plan of the
Great Mosque
at Damascus,
706-715.
The parts of a
mosque are:
Haram-
A covered
prayer hall
Minaret
Minaret
Haram
Minaret
Sahn
Minaret
Haram

12. Mosques
The Great Mosque at Damascus
Plan of the
Great Mosque
at Damascus,
706-715.
The parts of a
mosque are:
Qibla-
Prayer wall
containing
niches, or
Mihrabs,
which indicate
the direction
of Mecca
Minaret
Minaret
Haram
Minaret
Sahn
Minaret
Haram
Qibla QiblaMihrabs

13. Mosques
The Great Mosque at Damascus
Plan of the
Great Mosque
at Damascus,
706-715.
The parts of a
mosque are:
In which
direction is
Mecca, in this
plan?
Minaret
Minaret
Haram
Minaret
Sahn
Minaret
Haram
Qibla QiblaMihrabs

14. Mosques
The Great Mosque at Córdoba
Plan of the Great
Mosque at Cordoba, 785
and enlarged in 833-988.
The haram (prayer hall)
evolved to have a much
more complex columnar
hall form than previously
seen.
Haram
Mirhab
Qibla
Minaret

15. Mosques
The Great Mosque at Córdoba
Plan of the Great
Mosque at Cordoba, 785
and enlarged in 833-988.
The haram (prayer hall)
evolved to have a much
more complex columnar
hall form than previously
seen.
In which direction is
Mecca, in this plan?
Haram
Mirhab
Qibla
Minaret

16. Mosques
The Great Mosque at Córdoba
In the haram of the Great Mosque at Cordoba, stacked arches are atop the columns, connecting
them, the lower arch being horseshoe-shaped and the upper one not quite semicircular. Both
arch levels are polychrome, composed of white stone voussoirs set alternately against red brick
ones.

17. Mosques
The Great Mosque at Córdoba
View of the vault above the mihrab in the Great Mosque at Cordoba. This vault also employs
interlaced arches in its construction.

18. Mosques
The Great Mosque at Córdoba
The vault above the
maqsura, a processional
area reserved for the
entourage of the caliph, or
religious leader, at the
Great Mosque at Cordoba.
Note the use of lobed
arches, polychrome
materials, and the
interlaced arched structure
of the dome.

19. Mosques
The Great Mosque at Córdoba
View of the Great Mosque at Cordoba from the minaret. Parallel rows of the ridge-and-valley
roofs cover the haram, and the foreground trees are growing in the sahn. A later Christian
church, the cathedral of Cordoba, was inserted inside the mosque.

20. Iwan Mosques
Friday Mosque in Isfahan (Iran)
Plan of the Friday Mosque in
Isfahan, 8th through 17th
centuries. This is the earliest
mosque, about which, we
have reliable archaeological
information. The Friday
mosque in Isfahan is an
example of the iwan mosque
form.

21. Iwan Mosques
Friday Mosque in Isfahan (Iran)
An iwan is a roofed or vaulted chamber open on one side, and
often facing the courtyard of a mosque.

22. Iwan Mosques
Friday Mosque in Isfahan (Iran)
In its final form, the Friday
Mosque in Isfahan evolved
into a four-iwan type, having
a large central courtyard
(sahn) bisected by cross-axes
established by the iwans.
Iwans

23. Iwan Mosques
Masjid-i-Shah, Isfahan (Iran)
Plan of the Masjid-i-Shah at
Isfahan, 1611 – ca. 1630. The
mosque sits at the top of the
public square. Entrance to the
mosque is centered in the
arcades defining the square,
but the axis turns to bring the
mosque properly into
alignment with Mecca.
Madrasas, or religious
schools, are located beside
the mosque.

24. Iwan Mosques
Masjid-i-Shah, Isfahan (Iran)
The bold arched iwan openings at Masjid-i-Shah are covered in stalactite-like muqarnas
vaults: ornamental curved wall surfaces with corbeled, concave elements that seems to
dissolve the material presence of the wall into facets that appear to hover in space.

25. Iwan Mosques
Friday Mosque at Fatehpur Sikri (India)
The Friday Mosque at Fatehpur Sikri, ca. 1568-71. The monumental gate that
leads to the vast sahn is on the southern side of the mosque, preceded by a
wide stairway, while the prayer hall is set to the west.

26. Iwan Mosques
Friday Mosque at Fatehpur Sikri (India)
A monumental flight of stairs is required to gain entrance to the mosque from
the southern side. It serves as a plinth (structural platform) for an impressive
arched gateway.

27. Iwan Mosques
Friday Mosque at Fatehpur Sikri (India)
The mosque has an immense sahn, measuring 312 feet by 387 feet.

28. Iwan Mosques
Friday Mosque at Fatehpur Sikri (India)
Jalil al-Din Akbar, the third Mughal emperor, who had Fatehpur Sikri constructed,
fused Islamic architectural forms (the pointed arch) with architectural detailing from
Hindu and Buddhist traditions already well-established in India.

29. Mosques: Koca Sinan
Sehzade Mosque, Istanbul
Sehzade Mosque in Istanbul, 1545-1548.
Sinan’s first major mosque, this building is
notable for its clearly articulated geometry
of squares. One square comprises the sahn
(courtyard), while the second defines the
domed haram (prayer hall) - Sinan often
designed mosques with a large dome over
the haram. Minarets are incorporated into
the corners where the squares join.
Section and plan of the Sehzade Mosque,
showing how Sinan has taken Hagia
Sophia’s theme of the central dome with
flanking semi-domes and expanded it into a
completely centralized design. The square
plan of the sahn matches the square
enclosed space of the haram.
Sahn Haram

30. Mosques: Koca Sinan
Sehzade Mosque, Istanbul
Associated with
the mosque are
the tomb of
Sehzade Mehmet,
a madrassa, a
hospice for the
infirm, a school,
and a
caravanserai, an
accommodation
and market for
foreign merchants.

31. Mosques: Koca Sinan
Mosque of Süleyman the Magnificent, Istanbul
The Mosque of Süleyman the Magnificent, Istanbul, 1545- 1548, is located within a vast complex
or Külliye containing the mosque and cemetery at the center, with four madrassas, a primary
school, a medical school, a caravanserai, a hospital, a community kitchen, a hospice, public
baths, and even a house for Sinan. It was located on the sloping side of a hill fronting on the
Golden Horn, the harbor of Constantinople.

32. Mosques: Koca Sinan
Mosque of Süleyman the Magnificent, Istanbul
The Mosque of Süleyman the Magnificent, Istanbul, 1545- 1548, is located within a vast complex
or Külliye containing the mosque and cemetery at the center, with four madrassas, a primary
school, a medical school, a caravanserai, a hospital, a community kitchen, a hospice, public
baths, and even a house for Sinan. It was located on the sloping side of a hill fronting on the
Golden Horn, the harbor of Constantinople.

33. Mosques: Koca Sinan
Selimiye Mosque, Edirne (Turkey)
Selimiye Mosque at Edirne,
1568-1575. Generally held to
be Sinan’s masterpiece, this
mosque is essentially a single
dome supported on eight great
piers and braced by external
buttresses. The minarets are
exceptionally tall and provided
with internal spiraling
staircases of considerable
geometric complexity.
Section of the Selimye
Mosque, above. Plan of the
Selimye Mosque and related
structures, below.

34. Mosques: Koca Sinan
Selimiye Mosque, Edirne (Turkey)

35. Tombs
Tomb of Ismail the Samanid, Bukhara (Uzbekistan)
The Tomb of Ismail the
Samanid, Bukhara ca. 900
is a cubelike mass with
inset cylindrical corners
housing a singled domed
chamber supported by
four squinch arches and
ringed by an upper
ambulatory.

36. Tombs
Tomb of Ismail the Samanid, Bukhara (Uzbekistan)
Squinch arch: a small arch, across an internal corner of a tower,
used to provide added support for a dome
Squinch
Arch
Pendentive

37. Mosques and Tombs
Taj Mahal, Agra (India)
The Taj Mahal at Agra, 1631-1647: One of the world’s best-known buildings, the famed
serenity of this marble tomb derives in part from its elegant design and its placement
in an appropriate landscape with plants and water.

38. Mosques and Tombs
Taj Mahal, Agra (India)
Site Plan of the Taj Mahal, showing
how the tomb (top) is set in a larger
landscape of square courts divided
into quarters by watercourses,
creating a nested hierarchy of axes
and cross-axes that allude to the
garden of paradise.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D
38DGQkE8eU

39. The Alhambra
Granada
Plan of the Alhambra at
Granada, 13th – 14th
centuries. This plan
shows what were
originally two separate
palaces, each organized
around a large courtyard.
In the center is the Patio
of Myrtle Trees and the
associated Hall of the
Ambassadors (which is
constructed on the
foundations of a
Comares Tower, a
military tower.) To the
right is the Patio of Lions.
Hall of
Ambassadors
Patio of Myrtle
Trees
Patio of
Lions
Hall of Two
Sisters

40. The Alhambra
Granada

41. The Alhambra
Granada
This view of the Patio of Myrtle Trees shows the reflecting pool and the Comares
Tower in the background. The delicacy and grace of late Islamic architecture in Spain is
evident in the arcade. The Alhambra was a royal citadel built above the city of
Granada.

42. The Alhambra
Granada
This view of the Patio of Lions shows the central fountain and the water channels
dividing the court into four quadrants. Elements that became important features in
Western architecture, such as polychromy, the pointed arch, and domes with
interlacing ribs, originated in mosque designs.

43. The Alhambra
Granada
The Alhambra gracefully integrates landscape with architecture.

44. The Alhambra
Granada
The Alhambra gracefully integrates landscape with architecture.

45. The Alhambra
Granada
The three-dimensional patterning of the muqarnas vault in the Hall of the Two Sisters
still relies on the elementary structural device of corbeling.

46. The Alhambra
Granada
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Owg6kj20Lv4