|
Architecture 170A |
Next Lecture |
|
||
|
Jerusalem Domascus Kairouan Samarra Isfahan Cordoba |
|
Islam: the invention of a new religious architecture I. Birth of Islam in in the teachings of Muhammed (c 570-632). Earlier Arabian worship of live rock shrine, the Ka'ba, Mecca (Saudi Arabia), enshrined in Islam. Faithful face this direction when they kneel five times a day in prayer and hope to make the annual pilgrimage (haj) to it once in their lifetime. Pilgrims circumambulate it. II. The Umayyad Caliphate (theocratic empire): Architecture as legitimacy in the holy city of Jerusalem (Israel): the Dome of the Rock, c 685-92, built by Caliph Abd al-Malik on the site of Herod's Temple. Centralized form of a Christian martyria built around sacred rock: decorated with Byzantine mosaics and with religious inscriptions. Great Mosque, Damascus (Syria), 706-15, built by Caliph al-Walid on site formerly occupied by first a Roman Temple and then a Christian cathedral and decorated with mosaics executed by Byzantine craftsmen. Great or Friday mosques intended to hold the city's entire male population of believers for Friday worship. Walled rectangle around a court faced with arcades. Principal interior hypostyle hall facing the quibla wall oriented towards Mecca. Minbar or pulpit from which imam preaches sermons. III. Regional development of the Great Mosque: Great Mosque, Qairawan (Tunisia), c 836, built by Berber emir Ziyadet Allah: minaret (tower) from which faithful are called to prayer; reused Roman columns (spoilia); mihrab niche in quibla wall. Great Mosque, Samarra (Iraq), 848-52, erected by Caliph al-Mutawakkil: spiral minaret inspired by "Tower of Babel." Great Mosque, Isfahan (Iran), begun 1073: iwans (arched openings) in center of each courtyard facade; brick piers; domes supported on sqinches. Great Mosque, Cordoba (Spain), 786-987, sponsored by a succession of Umayyid rulers: local antecedents of horseshoe arches, double arcading of hypostyle hall, and chapel-like scale of mihrab. early example of the water channels that will become characteristic of Islamic gardening in arid climates. IV. Islamic-influenced
synagogue: “Santa Maria la Blanca,” c 1205, Toledo
(Spain), built by Joseph ben Meir ben Shoshan. Mosque-like plan and
details (horse-shoe arches) shared with the society’s dominant religion. |
