History of Architecture 03

Ar. Mark Kevin V. Lingan, uap

 The Historical Timeline of Architecture

Egyptian Byzantine

Pre-Historic Greek Roman Early Christian

Near East Islamic

 ISLAMIC ARCHITECTURE

Islam as a Religion • Believers demonstrate submission to

God by serving God, following his
commands, and rejecting polytheism.
Etymology
ISLAMIC
INDIAN • Islam is the verbal noun that means
CHINESE
"submission" or "surrender".
JAPANESE
KOREAN
BURMA • Muslim, the word for an adherent of
THAILAND
CAMBODIA Islam, is the active participle of the same
INDONESIA verb form, and means "one who submits"
AMERICAN
20th CENTURY
or "one who surrenders".
 ISLAMIC ARCHITECTURE
Background & History: The Spread of “Recite: In the name of thy Lord who
Belief created, Created man from a clot of
blood.” (Quran 96:1-2)

• Islam was founded by the Prophet • Mohammed proclaimed Allah as the one
Muhammad. true god and rejected the idol worship of
Mecca, and Khadijah, his wife, was
• Mecca, the original site of Kaabah Mohammed first convert to Islam.
(shrine of ancient origins), became an
important center of 6th century trade with • Earlier generations of European scholars
such powers as the Sassanians believed that conversions to Islam were
(Iranians), Byzantines, and Ethiopians. made at the point of the sword, and that
conquered peoples were given the choice
of conversion or death.
• About the year 590, Muhammad, then in
his twenties, entered the service of a • The expansion of the Arab Empire in the
merchant widow named Khadijah and years following Muhammad's death led to
later on married her. the creation of caliphates (political-
religious successor to the Islamic
• In his forties, he began to retire to Prophet), occupying a vast geographical
meditate in a cave on Mount Hira, just area and conversion to Islam was
ISLAMIC
INDIAN
outside Mecca, where the first of the boosted by missionary activities
CHINESE great events of Islam took place. particularly those of Imams, who easily
JAPANESE
KOREAN intermingled with local populace to
BURMA • One day, as he was sitting in the cave, propagate the religious teachings
THAILAND he heard a voice, later identified as that
CAMBODIA
INDONESIA of the Angel Gabriel, which ordered him
AMERICAN to:
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 ISLAMIC ARCHITECTURE
• Trading played an important role in the • Islam upholds that God is one and
spread of Islam in several parts of the incomparable and that the purpose of
world, the Atlantic, and Pacific Regions, existence is to worship God.
notably southeast Asia.
• Muslims consider the Quran as it to be
• Islam is a Abrahamic monotheistic both the unaltered and the final
religion articulated by the Quran, a text revelation of God.
considered by its adherents to be the
verbatim word of God (Allāh), and, for the • Religious concepts and practices include
vast majority of adherents, by the the five pillars of Islam, which are
teachings and normative example (called obligatory acts of worship, and following
the sunnah, composed of accounts Islamic law, which touches on virtually
(called hadith) of Muhammad (c. 570–8 every aspect of life and society, from
June 632 CE). banking and welfare to the status of
women and the environment.
• It is the world's second-largest religion
and the fastest-growing major religion in • Five Pillars of Islam (core beliefs and
the world, with over 1.7 billion followers practices of the religion & religious)
or 23% of the global population, known
as Muslims. • Profession of Faith (shahada)
- to declare one’s faith in God
ISLAMIC
INDIAN • Muslims believe that Islam is the original, and belief in Muhammad
CHINESE complete and universal version of a • Prayer (Salat)
JAPANESE
KOREAN primordial faith that was revealed many - to pray five times a day
BURMA times before through prophets including • Alms (Zakat)
THAILAND
CAMBODIA
Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, and - to give to those in need
INDONESIA Jesus. • Fasting (sawm)
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• Pilgrimage (hajj)
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 ISLAMIC ARCHITECTURE
Precedents of Islam

“An architectural continuity that ran parallel with the history of western architecture
from the second century BC” (Fletcher, 1996)
 ISLAMIC ARCHITECTURE
• No other architectural style is designated • The incursions (raids) of the Seleucids
by concordance with a religion. (Alexander’s Generals) halted an
evolution of native styles for several
• Islamic Architecture may be seen as the hundreds of years in the Iranian Plateau
one great product of two streams of (formerly Persia) until the time of Christ.
development – Mediterranean, and
South Central Asia (Middle East). • Parthian dynasty (Ancient Iran’s Political
and Cultural power) focused a
• Mediterranean – Greek Architecture nationalism that allowed the East to
rising in Periclean Athens to an confront the West militarily with thrust
extraordinary level of perfection, and counterthrust across Asia Minor
and echoed and repeated in the followed by incursions of Roman into
west for ages. Mesopotamia and Persia.

• South Central Asia – Achamaenid • Trade routes traversed the regions

(1st Persian Empire) traditions carrying skilled men and slaves between
culminating in the great royal opposing Empires and an important
palace of Persepolis demonstrate a channel of influence arose in a new and
powerful and separate evolutionary pervasive religion – Christianity
pattern of trabeated building.
ISLAMIC • Great royal palaces and buildings
INDIAN demonstrated an architectural revolution
CHINESE
JAPANESE
which provided a basis for much that
KOREAN followed in the Architecture of Islam (the
BURMA
THAILAND
dome and iwan).
CAMBODIA
INDONESIA
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 ISLAMIC ARCHITECTURE
Islam as an Architectural Style • Domes were frequently constructed of
brick plastered externally and internally,
I. Influences or of stone (India).

Geographical Influence • In Spain, brick and plaster were the

principal materials responsible for the
• Islamic / Saracenic architecture differs peculiar decorative surface treatment.
from many other styles in being the
product of a religion which had no • In Northern and Central India, marble
special country. and red sandstone were available, and a
more monumental type was evolved,
Note: The term Saracen was that richness in surface decoration being
employed by the Greeks and Romans for obtained by the inlay of precious stones.
the tribes occupying the deserts west of
the Euphrates. It was derived from the Climatic Influence
Arabic term “Sahra” meaning desert. It was
a name given to the followers of • The buildings, being for the most part in
Mohammad. Eastern or Southern climates have small
openings, and no large entrances or
Geological Influence window surfaces, although a special
ISLAMIC treatment of monumental entrance
INDIAN • As the geological formation differed in gateways was evolved in India
CHINESE
JAPANESE
each country, local materials and
KOREAN methods of building were employed, and
BURMA marble, stone, brick, plaster and wood
THAILAND
CAMBODIA were all employed.
INDONESIA
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 ISLAMIC ARCHITECTURE
Religious Influence Social and Political Influence

• In Syria, Persia, Egypt, North Africa and • The war of conquest by which Islam was
Spain, independent Caliphs reigned, to subjugate the world bears an
accentuating the differences of style. important relation to the evolution of the
style.
• Intricate form of geometrical surface
decoration known as Arabesques were • Each Caliph being a spiritual and
employed, and was partly influenced by temporal ruler was responsible for the
Byzantine art. many religious buildings erected

• For the Muslims, the present was • Architecture was continually receiving an
everything, and such a condition often impetus because of the building of new
helped to the erection of non-permanent capitals, and consequent on the change
buildings decorated with pleasing forms of dynasties.
and colors with poor materials such as
plaster. However, Local conditions and • The position of women in the social
variety of temperament affected such system influenced the planning and
treatment (e.g Egyptian tombs were design of palaces and houses, in
permanent) consequence of the isolation of the
ISLAMIC
harem (domestic space reserved for
INDIAN • The Muslims separate the sexes, and for wives, or concubines, and female
CHINESE
JAPANESE
royal personalities, separate tomb servants in a Muslim household)
KOREAN houses were often designed.
BURMA
THAILAND
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 ISLAMIC ARCHITECTURE
Historical Influence • Persia was conquered from A.D. 632-
651. Saracenic architecture of that
• Syria was conquered by the Saracens country was then largely founded on and
A.D. 632-639. influenced by the architecture of the
Sassanian empire (1st Persian Emmpire)
• Egypt fell in 638 (A.D. 226-641)

• North Africa was brought under • In Turkey, Constantinople was conquered

subjection between the years A.D. 647- in A.D. 1453 by the Seljuk Turks. This
709, marks the period of Byzantine influence
on later Saracenic architecture. Hagia
• Spain was overrun by the Moors in A.D. Sophia, the great Byzantine cathedral, is
710-713, and the independent Caliphate henceforth the motif of the style.
of Cordova was established. Spain was
later divided into four small kingdoms • The Indian States began to fall into the
namely: Seville, Granada, Toledo and hands of Islamic invaders in A.D. 1000.
Valentia, which were gradually
recovered by the Christians in 14th and • The Mogul Empire (1526-1857) was
15th Centuries. founded by Babar, who consolidated the
Muslim Empire by the gradual absorption
• Sicily was occupied by the Moors in the of small kingdoms. The Capital was then
ISLAMIC
INDIAN
eighth century ; they grafted their style transferred from Delhi to Agra, and Shah
CHINESE on to the Christian architecture. Sicily Jahan (1628-1658) erected buildings in
JAPANESE
KOREAN
was recaptured by the Christians in North India, forming splendid memorials
BURMA 1090. of the Mogul dynasty as the "Taj Mahal"
THAILAND
CAMBODIA and the "Pearl Mosque" at Agra.
INDONESIA
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 ISLAMIC ARCHITECTURE
II. Construction Methodologies & • Decorative marble slabs and grilles, plate
Techniques traceries, and mosaics were common in
most buildings.
“lslamic architecture, is a product of a major
historic event - the rapid conquest of diverse • Most masonry structures of importance
territories by people with no architectural were in arched, vaulted, or domed forms
tradition and the conquest synthesis of styles continuing the Byzantine and Roman
under one philosophy but in many different forms of building traditions.
circumstances.” (Salvan, 1986)
• Voussoirs were used for curved shapes
• Brick-making and walling in mud brick
were almost universal in alluvial plains.
and interlocking voussoirs guarded
against earthquake.
• The “art” of selecting and quarrying were
well established in the stone-bearing • Cements, plasters, and stucco (plaster
areas. decoration) were used for bas-relief
carvings, and the highly decorative
• Marble was generally available usually in muqarnas technique employed in domes,
trades and used for most parts of a vaults, and arches.
building.

ISLAMIC
• Lime and gypsum were generally used for
INDIAN mortars and plasters.
CHINESE
JAPANESE
KOREAN
• Areas with rich variety of building stones
BURMA have suspended roofs and floors of stone
THAILAND
planks, stone window shutters, and
CAMBODIA
INDONESIA interlocking stone rings used to structurally
AMERICAN tie in the haunches of stone domes.
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 ISLAMIC ARCHITECTURE
• Colored external surfaces were achieved • Wood-working techniques and wood
first with mosaic but later on medieval engineering were used in the earlier
potters produced brilliant colors in glazed period for the construction of roofs, and
earthenware. domes.

• The Architecture of Islam must be seen

primarily as a matter of arcuated
masonry construction in which its
artisans achieved the highest levels of
finish and invention

• The presence of earthquake in most part

of the Muslim world gave particular
importance to the inventive skills of
masons and resulted in the employment
of specialized structural techniques.

• The construction techniques used to

• Complex patterns were achieved in the meet climatic conditions contributed
earlier times by making or cutting to the significantly to the character of the
ISLAMIC necessary shapes tiles of a single color. building – small window openings, thick
INDIAN walls, wind scoops.
CHINESE th
JAPANESE
• In 15 Century a method of firing was
KOREAN developed which enabled tiles of regular
BURMA
THAILAND
size to be produced which bears a
CAMBODIA painted pattern.
INDONESIA
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 ISLAMIC ARCHITECTURE
Architectural Character

Generally Islamic Architecture is:

• Warrior like
• Masculine
• Demands submission
• Reflects missionary and
militaristic devotion to Allah
• Sublte tranquility (e.g. White
Mosque, Djerba, Tunisia)
White Mosque, Djerba, Tunisia
The style have:

• Varied nature
• Religious influence with local
architecture of a place.

Notable Characteristic features / Elements:

ISLAMIC
INDIAN
• Pointed Arch • Geometric Patters
CHINESE • Horseshoe Arch • Multi-centered
JAPANESE
KOREAN
• Calligraphy tracery
BURMA Blue Mosque, Mazar e Sharif, North Afghanistan • Colored Tiles • Trefoil
THAILAND
CAMBODIA
• Floral Patterns • Multi-foil
INDONESIA • Onion Shaped • Minaret
AMERICAN Domes (Qubba) • Water
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 ISLAMIC ARCHITECTURE
Pointed Arch Calligraphy

Horseshoe Arch
Colored Tiles
and
Floral Patterns

ISLAMIC
INDIAN
CHINESE
JAPANESE
KOREAN
BURMA
THAILAND
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 ISLAMIC ARCHITECTURE
Geometric Patterns Trefoil

Multi-centered Tracery Multi-foil

ISLAMIC
INDIAN
CHINESE
JAPANESE
KOREAN
BURMA
THAILAND
CAMBODIA
INDONESIA
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 ISLAMIC ARCHITECTURE
Minaret • Islamic architecture was influenced by
Roman, Byzantine and all other lands
which the Muslims conquered in the 7th
and 8th centuries.

• Islamic Architecture was also influenced

by Chinese and Indian architecture as
Islam spread to Southeast Asia.

Principal Islamic Architectural

Typologies:

• Mosque
• Palace
Water • Dwelling Houses
• Tomb
• Fort
• Garden

• Islamic architecture is derived and used

ISLAMIC for other buildings such as public baths,
INDIAN
and fountains.
CHINESE
JAPANESE
KOREAN
BURMA
THAILAND
CAMBODIA
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 ISLAMIC ARCHITECTURE
Mosque Three Common Types of Mosque
Planning
• Masjid – Arabic word for mosque
1. Hypostyle Mosque
• Are more internal than external in their
architecture, thus resembling the • Inspired by the house of Prophet
Egyptian temples. Muhammad which was the first worship
place of Muslims.
• Mosques have elaborate domes,
minarets, and prayer halls, in varying
styles of architecture.

• Serves as a place where Muslims can

come together

• Place of prostration - believers bow their

heads to the ground in veneration to God
and as part of a well-defined ritual of
prayer as an expression of their faith.

Three Types of Mosque:

ISLAMIC
INDIAN
CHINESE
JAPANESE
• Famimasjid (Friday Mosque) –
KOREAN public worship
• Madrasa (Collegiate Mosque)
BURMA
THAILAND
CAMBODIA
INDONESIA
• Tomb Mosque (e.g. Taj Majal) Diagram reconstruction of the Prophet's House,
AMERICAN Medina, Saudi Arabia
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 ISLAMIC ARCHITECTURE
Example of Hypostyle Mosque

The Great Mosque of Kairouan

• The mosque was built in the ninth

century by Ziyadat Allah

• The mosque was built on a former

Byzantine site, and the architects
repurposed older materials, such as the
columns—a decision that was both Sahn (Courtyard) and minaret, Great Mosque of
practical and a powerful assertion of the Kairouan, Tunisia, c. 836-75
Islamic conquest of Byzantine lands. • The hypostyle plan’s characteristic forest
of columns was used in different
• It is a large, rectangular stone mosque mosques to great effect.
with a hypostyle (supported by columns)
hall and a large inner sahn (courtyard). The Great Mosque of Cordoba, Spain

• The three-tiered minaret is in a style

known as the Syrian bell-tower, and may
have originally been based on the form
ISLAMIC
INDIAN of ancient Roman lighthouses.
CHINESE
JAPANESE
KOREAN • The interior of the mosque features the
BURMA forest of columns that has come to
THAILAND
CAMBODIA
define the hypostyle type.
INDONESIA
AMERICAN Interior of the Great Mosque of Cordoba, Spain, 8th-
20th CENTURY 10th centuries
 ISLAMIC ARCHITECTURE
2. The Four-iwan Mosque Example of Four-iwan Mosque

Iwan - a vaulted space that opens on one The Great Mosque of Isfahan
side to a courtyard.
• The mosque began its life as a hypostyle
• Emerged in the 11th Century in Iran mosque, but was modified by the Seljuqs
of Iran after their conquest of the city of
• The iwan developed in pre-Islamic Iran Isfahan in the 11th century.
where it was used in monumental and
imperial architecture.

• Strongly associated with Persian

architecture, the iwan continued to be
used in monumental architecture in the
Islamic era.

• Became widespread in the 12th century,

has maintained its popularity to the
present.

• In this type of mosque the qibla (direction

ISLAMIC that a muslim should face when praying)
INDIAN iwan, which faces Mecca, is often the
CHINESE
JAPANESE
largest and most ornately decorated.
KOREAN
BURMA • The four-iwan plan would become the new
THAILAND
CAMBODIA plan for mosques all over the Islamic word
INDONESIA replacing the hypostyle mosque in many Plan of the Great Mosque of Isfahan, Iran, showing
AMERICAN
20th CENTURY
places. iwans opening onto the sahn (court)
 ISLAMIC ARCHITECTURE
3. The Centrally-planned Mosque

• Invented by the Ottoman Empire

Architects who were strongly influenced
by Hagia Sophia in Istanbul, the greatest
of all Byzantine churches and one that
features a monumental central dome high
over its large nave.

Example of Centrally-planned Mosque

Mosque of Selim II
View of three (of four) Iwans, Great Mosque of Isfahan,
Iran, 11th - 17th centuries, looking toward the south
(qibla) iwan

ISLAMIC
INDIAN
CHINESE • Considered as the masterpiece of the
JAPANESE
KOREAN
greatest Ottoman, Mimar Sinan & the
BURMA greatest masterpiece of Ottoman
THAILAND
Architecture. It represents a culmination
CAMBODIA
INDONESIA of years of experimentation with the
AMERICAN
Iwan, Great Mosque of Isfahan, Iran centrally-planned Ottoman mosque.
20th CENTURY
 ISLAMIC ARCHITECTURE
Other Types of Mosque in different parts
of the World

ISLAMIC
INDIAN
CHINESE
JAPANESE
KOREAN
BURMA
THAILAND
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 ISLAMIC ARCHITECTURE
Parts of a Mosque (Exterior)

• Minaret

• A slim tower which is a distinctive

traditional feature of a mosque.

• Varies in height, style, and number.

Minarets may be square, round, or
octagonal and are usually covered
with a pointed roof

• They were originally used as a high

point from which to make the call to
prayer

• Was primarily a visual beacon

indicating Muslim community or as
in the Arabian sanctuaries of Mecca
and Medina as possible location of a
ISLAMIC
holy place.
INDIAN
CHINESE • Considered the place from which the
JAPANESE
KOREAN faithful are called to prayer by a
BURMA muezzin
THAILAND
CAMBODIA
INDONESIA • Serves as a powerful visual
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reminder of the presence of Islam.
 ISLAMIC ARCHITECTURE
• Dome (Qubba)

• Many mosques are decorated with a

dome rooftop, particularly in the
Middle East.

• The interior of a dome is usually

highly decorated with floral,
geometric and other Patterns

• Symbol of Heaven with God at the

center.

• Locus (place) of the Divine Throne,

passive to the intellect, maternal in
gender and sublimely times in form.

ISLAMIC
INDIAN
CHINESE
JAPANESE
KOREAN
BURMA
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 ISLAMIC ARCHITECTURE
• Cupola • Courtyard (Sahn)

• A light structure on a dome or roof, • Most traditional mosques have a

serving as a belfry, lantern, or large central sahn, which is
belvedere surrounded by a riwaq or arcade on
all sides.
• Lantern
• Consists of a dome-shaped or • In traditional Islamic design,
quadrilateral-shaped ornamental residences and neighborhoods can
structure located on top of a have private sahns.
larger roof or dome, often used
as a lookout or to admit light
and provide ventilation.

ISLAMIC
INDIAN
CHINESE
JAPANESE
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 ISLAMIC ARCHITECTURE
• Fountain (Fawwara or Meda) • Iwan

• Located at the center of sahn for the • Vaulted hall or space, walled on
purpose of ablution (ritual washing three sides, with one end entirely
and spiritual purification before open.
prayer)
• Trademark of the Sassanian
• Regarded curative for ills of both Architecture of Persia, later adopted
body and Spirit in Islamic architecture.

• Also the town's main water supply • Usually decorated with calligraphy
bands, glazed tilework, and
geometric designs.

• The formal gateway to the iwan is

called pishtaq, a Persian term for a
portal projecting from the facade of a
building.

ISLAMIC
INDIAN
CHINESE
JAPANESE
KOREAN
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• Riwaq / Liwanat Parts of Mosque (Interior)

• A colonnaded or arcaded hall of the • Prayer Hall (Musalla)

mosque.
• Bare; no furniture is needed; large
• Often serves as the transition space open space.
between interior and outdoor
spaces. • Few chairs or benches to assist
elderly or disabled worshippers who
• it provides shade and adjustment to have difficulty with mobility.
sunlight in hot climates, and cover
from rain in any locale. • Along the walls and pillars of the
prayer hall, there are usually
bookshelves to hold copies of the
Quran, wooden book stands (rihal),
other religious reading material, and
individual prayer rugs.

ISLAMIC
INDIAN
CHINESE
JAPANESE
KOREAN
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• Pulpit (Minbar) • Mihrab

• Stands next to mihrab which dates • Most decorated part of the building,
back to the Prophet Muhammad. most often with lamps symbolizing
the divine presence and the
universality of the Muslim message

ISLAMIC
INDIAN
CHINESE
JAPANESE
KOREAN
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• Dikka Examples of Mosques

• Raised platform from which the Masjid Al-Haram

respondents (qadi) repeat the ritual
postures of the imam and speak the
responses so that the stages of
prayer may be transmitted to larger
congregations.

• Qibla

• Direction of the prayer which

ISLAMIC
commemorates the presence of the
INDIAN Prophet.
CHINESE
JAPANESE
KOREAN • Muslims all praying towards the
BURMA
same point is traditionally
THAILAND
CAMBODIA considered to symbolize the unity of • Known as the Sacred Mosque, and the
INDONESIA all Muslims worldwide, under Sharia Grand Mosque or Great Mosque of
AMERICAN
20th CENTURY (Law of God). Mecca, it is the most sacred site in Islam
 ISLAMIC ARCHITECTURE
• It is the largest mosque in the world and
surrounds Islam's holiest place, the
Kaaba, in the city of Mecca, Saudi
Arabia.

• The current structure covers an area of

356,800 square metres (88.2 acres)
including the outdoor and indoor praying
spaces and is open at all times.

• It serves as the common direction

towards which Muslims pray, and is the
primary destination for pilgrimages.

• The Haram is the focal point of the Hajj

• It is also referred as Al Kaaba Al

Musharrafah (The Holy Kaaba), a
building at the center of Islam's most
sacred mosque.
ISLAMIC
INDIAN
CHINESE
JAPANESE
KOREAN
BURMA
THAILAND
CAMBODIA
INDONESIA • It is considered the "House of Allah"
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ISLAMIC
INDIAN
CHINESE
JAPANESE
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 ISLAMIC ARCHITECTURE
• Wherever they are in the world, Muslims
are expected to face the Kaaba when
performing salat (prayer).

• During the Hajj and Umrah, Muslims are

to go around the Kaaba 7 times (most
sacred site in Islam), in a
counterclockwise direction.

• The circling is believed to demonstrate

the unity of the believers in the worship
of the One God, as they move in
harmony together around the Kaaba,
while pleading to God.

ISLAMIC
INDIAN
CHINESE
JAPANESE
KOREAN
BURMA
THAILAND
FLOOR PLAN OF THE KAABA
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• Kiswa is a black silk and gold curtain
• Black Stone is the eastern cornerstone of
which is replaced annually during the
the Kaaba, the ancient stone building
Hajj pilgrimage.
located in the center of the Grand
Mosque in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. It is
• Two-thirds of the way up is a band of
revered by Muslims as an Islamic relic
goldembroidered Quranic text, including
which, according to Muslim tradition,
the Shahada, the Islamic declaration of
dates back to the time of Adam and Eve
faith.

• The building is opened twice a year for a

ceremony known as "the cleaning of the
Kaaba.“

• Washing of the Kaaba is done twice a

year with a mixture made from the
Zamzam water, Taif rosewater and
expensive Oud oil that is traditionally
used in Arabian perfumes

ISLAMIC
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Jawatha Mosque Great Mosque of Kufa

• located in the village of Al-Kilabiyah, • Also known as the Masjid-al-Azam

about 12 km northeast of Hofuf, Al-Ahsa, located in Kūfa, Iraq, built in the 7th
Saudi Arabia. century, is one of the earliest mosques in
the world.
• It was the earliest mosque built in east
Arabia and most of the original structure
is in ruins.

• The site is still used for prayer

ISLAMIC
INDIAN
CHINESE
JAPANESE
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Great Mosque of Samarra Umayyad Mosque

• A ninth-century mosque located

in • It is also known as the Great Mosque of
Samarra, Iraq. Damascus, located in the old city of
Damascus (Syria), is one of the largest
• The mosque was commissioned in 848 and oldest mosques in the world.
and completed in 851 by the Abbasid
caliph Al- Mutawakkil who reigned (in • It is considered by some Muslims to be
Samarra) from 847 until 861. the fourth-holiest place in Islam

• The Great Mosque of Samarra was, for a

time, the largest mosque in the world; its
minaret, the Malwiya Tower, is a spiraling
cone 52 meters high and 33 meters wide
with a spiral ramp.

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Great Mosque of Kairouan Shah Mosque

• It is one of the most important mosques • It is regarded as one of the masterpieces

in Tunisia, situated in the UNESCO of Iranian architecture and an excellent
World Heritage town of Kairouan. example of Islamic era architecture of
Iran
• The mosque is spread over a surface
area of 9,000 square meters and it is one • Its construction began in 1611, and its
of the oldest places of worship in the splendor is mainly due to the beauty of
Islamic world its seven-color mosaic tiles and
calligraphic inscriptions.
• The Mosque of Uqba is one of the
masterpieces of both architecture and • a huge structure, said to contain 18
Islamic art. million bricks and 475,000 tiles, having
cost the Shah 60,000 tomans to build.
• The university, consisting of scholars
who taught in the mosque, was a center
of education both in Islamic thought and
in the secular sciences

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Al-Zaytuna Mosque Dome of the Rock

• The mosque is the oldest in the Capital of • a shrine located on the Temple Mount in
Tunisia and covers an area of 5,000 the Old City of Jerusalem. The Dome of
square meters (1.2 acres) with nine the Rock is in its core one of the oldest
entrances. extant works of Islamic Architecture

• It has 160 authentic columns brought • It was initially completed in 691 CE, built
originally from the ruins of the old city of on the site of the Roman temple of Jupiter
Carthage. Capitolinus

• The mosque is known to host one of the • The original dome collapsed in 1016 and
first and greatest universities in the was rebuilt in 1021.
history of Islam.
• According to some Islamic scholars, the
rock is the spot from which the Islamic
prophet Muhammad ascended to Heaven
accompanied by the angel Gabriel.

• The Dome of the Rock has inspired the

architecture of a number of buildings.
ISLAMIC
INDIAN These include the octagonal Church of St.
CHINESE Giacomo in Italy, the Mausoleum of
JAPANESE
KOREAN
Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent in
BURMA Istanbul, the octagonal Moorish Revival
THAILAND
style Rumbach Street Synagogue in
CAMBODIA
INDONESIA Budapest, and the New Synagogue in
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Palace Dwelling Houses

• Complexity in plan and design is traced from • Planned with interior courts on to which the
Islamic rituals and beliefs principal rooms face.

• Separation of Sexes required living quarters • The windows towards the street are small
for men and women: and strongly barred in the lower stories,
those to the upper stories being often
• Harem – Wives, Concubines, and ornamented with lattice work
female servants
• Special regard is paid to privacy in the
• Dar – Men’s apartment planning of the corridors and in the isolation
of the harem or women's apartments.
• Selamuk – Men’s guest quarter
• There is generally a principal court,
• Considered to be a seat for learning, approached from the entrance, in which is
armories, and barracks placed a summer-house and fountain.

• Elements adapted from Mosques were • Plain outside, but have the ornamentation
employed (e.g. Domes, Minarets, lavished on the porticos, walls, and
Arabesque Ornamentation) pavements, of the interior.

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Islamic Gardens
Types of Islamic Garden
• Islamic Garden is a cool place of rest and
reflection, and a reminder of paradise. • Charbagh is a Persian-style garden
layout.
• The Qur'an has many references to
gardens, and the garden is used as an • The quadrilateral garden is divided
earthly analogue for the life in paradise by walkways or flowing water into
which is promised to believers four smaller parts

Elements of an Islamic garden: • Bustan was the garden of the inner court
of a house, a formal garden with pools
• Water – fountains, pools, and flowing and water channels.
watercourses and the greenery.
• Jannah was an orchard with palms,
• Walls or screens which make the oranges, and vines irrigated by canals.
garden an enclosed rectangle,
mysterious and private. • Rawdah referred in particular to the
vegetable garden that produced foods for
• A lay-out in harmonious symmetry, the cooks.
using beautiful geometric shapes for
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pools, paths, pavilions or flowerbeds
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Charbagh Jannah

Bustan Rawdah

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• Surface ornament in various planes, known
Islamic Ornamentation as "superposed“

• Chiefly surface ornament, bounded by flat • In these designs endless variety is obtained
planes, and regulated, as far as motif was by the joining together of straight and curved
concerned, by the rules of the Koran, lines, forming geometric figures of all
which prohibited the copying of natural conceivable forms.
objects
• The straight lines never forming a right angle
• Muslims were led to evolve and perfect a at their junction.
scheme of decoration in which the science
of geometry was an important factor. • Arabesque (Arabian-like)

• They covered their buildings with • Surface decorations based on rhythmic

geometric intertwining designs, which, in linear patterns of scrolling and interlacing
addition, they treated with gorgeous foliage, tendrils, and mathematically
complicated, elaborate geometric and
coloring in red, white, blue, silver, and
interlace patterns whether in plaster or
gold, producing a most brilliant fretted
painted tiles.
surface, or “ carpet-like“ effect.
• Stalactite decoration
Types of Islamic Ornaments
ISLAMIC • Primarily used to form the pendentives of
INDIAN • Mnemonic ornament (Calligraphic domes, and was afterwards used
CHINESE Inscriptions) decoratively in door-heads, capitals, and on
JAPANESE
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Koran, worked into decorative panels,
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Types of Arches Other forms of Islamic Architecture

Ottoman Architecture (1299 – 1922)

Ottoman Empire

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• Also known as the Turkish Empire,
KOREAN Ottoman Turkey, was an empire founded
BURMA at the end of the thirteenth century in
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• After 1354 the Ottomans crossed into • The Empire's defeat and the occupation
Europe, and with the conquest of the of part of its territory by the Allied Powers
Balkans (South-Eastern Europeans) the in the aftermath of World War I resulted in
Ottoman Beylik was transformed into a its partitioning and the loss of its Middle
transcontinental empire Eastern territories, which were divided
between the United Kingdom and France.
• The Ottomans ended the Byzantine
Empire with the 1453 conquest of • The successful Turkish War of
Constantinople by Mehmed the Independence against the occupying
Conqueror Allies led to the emergence of the
Republic of Turkey in the Anatolian
• During the 16th and 17th centuries, at the heartland and the abolition of the
height of its power under the reign of Ottoman monarchy and caliphate
Suleiman the Magnificent, the Ottoman
Empire was a multinational, multilingual Ottoman Architecture
empire controlling much of Southeast
Europe, Western Asia, the Caucasus, • It is the architecture of the Ottoman
North Africa, and the Horn of Africa Empire which emerged in Bursa and
Edirne in 14th and 15th centuries.
• With Constantinople as its capital and
ISLAMIC
control of lands around the • The architecture of the empire developed
INDIAN Mediterranean basin, the Ottoman from the earlier Seljuk architecture and
CHINESE
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Empire was at the center of interactions was influenced by the Byzantine
KOREAN between the Eastern and Western worlds architecture, Armenian architecture,
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for six centuries. Iranian as well as Islamic Mamluk
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• For almost 400 years Byzantine
• Overall, Ottoman architecture has been
architectural artifacts such as the church
described as Byzantine architecture
of Hagia Sophia served as models for
synthesized with architectural traditions
many of the Ottoman mosques.
of the Mediterranean and the Middle
East.

Examples of Ottoman Architecture

Grand Mosque of Bursa

• Built in the Seljuk style, it was ordered by

the Ottoman Sultan Bayezid I and built
between 1396 and 1399.

• Ottomans mastered the technique of

building vast inner spaces confined by
seemingly weightless yet massive
domes, and achieving perfect harmony
between inner and outer spaces, as well
ISLAMIC as articulated light and shadow.
INDIAN
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JAPANESE • The mosque was transformed from being
KOREAN a cramped and dark chamber with
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• The mosque has 20 domes and 2 Sultan Ahmed Mosque
minarets.

• It is the largest mosque in Bursa and a

landmark of early Ottoman architecture
which used many elements from the
Seljuk architecture.

• Inside the mosque there are 192

monumental wall inscriptions written by
the famous Ottoman calligraphers of that
period.

• The mosque has one of the greatest

examples of Islamic calligraphy in the • Located in Istanbul, Turkey, The Blue
world. Mosque, as it is popularly known, was
constructed between 1609 and 1616
during the rule of Ahmed I.

• Magnificent hand-painted blue tiles adorn

ISLAMIC
the mosque’s interior walls, and at night
INDIAN the mosque is bathed in blue as lights
CHINESE
frame the mosque's five main domes, six
JAPANESE
KOREAN minarets and eight secondary domes.
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• The design is the culmination of two
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Moorish Architecture

• The architectural tradition of the Moorish

cultures in the Maghreb (North-West
Africa) and Iberian (South-Western
Europe) Peninsula.

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Elements of Moorish Architecture Examples of Moorish Architecture

• Muqarnas Mosque-Cathedral of Cordoba

• Horseshoe Arches
• Voussoirs • Also known as the Great Mosque of
• Domes Córdoba whose ecclesiastical name is the
Cathedral of Our Lady of the Assumption, is
• Crenellated Arches
the Catholic cathedral of the Diocese of
• Lancet arches Córdoba dedicated to the Assumption of the
• Ogee arche Virgin Mary and located in the Spanish
• Courtyards region of Andalusia.
• Decorative tile works
• The structure is regarded as one of the most
accomplished monuments of Moorish
architecture.

• When Muslims conquered Spain in 711, the

church was first divided into Muslim and
Christian halves.

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Alhambra

• A palace and fortress complex located in

Granada, Andalusia, Spain.

• It was originally constructed as a small

fortress in AD 889 on the remains of
Roman fortifications, and then largely
ignored until its ruins were renovated and
rebuilt in the mid-13th century by the
Moorish emir Mohammed ben Al-Ahmar
of the Emirate of Granada, who built its
current palace and walls.

• It was converted into a royal palace in

1333 by Yusuf I, Sultan of Granada.

• Alhambra evolved organically over a

period of several centuries from the
ancient hilltop fortress defined by a
narrow promontory carved by the river
ISLAMIC
Daro and overlooking the Vega or Plain of
INDIAN Granada as it descends from the Sierra
CHINESE
Nevada
JAPANESE
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strongholds in its threefold arrangement
INDONESIA as a castle, a palace and a residential
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Mughal Architecture Mughal Architecture

Moghul Empire • an architectural style developed by the

Mughals in the 16th, 17th and 18th
• It was an empire in the Indian centuries throughout the ever changing
subcontinent, established and ruled by a extent of their empire in Medieval India.
Muslim dynasty of Chagatai Turco-
Mongol origin from Central Asia. • It was an amalgam (mixture or blend) of
Islamic, Persian, Turkic and Indian
• The dynasty though ethnically Turco- architecture.
Mongol, was Persianate in terms of
culture. • Mughal buildings have a uniform pattern
of structure and character, including:
• The Mughal empire extended over large
parts of the Indian subcontinent and • large bulbous domes
Afghanistan. • slender minarets at the corners
• massive halls
• The empire was the second largest to • large vaulted gateways
have existed in the Indian subcontinent, • delicate ornamentation.
spanning 4 million square kilometers at
ISLAMIC its zenith. • Examples of the style can be found in
INDIAN India, Afghanistan, Bangladesh and
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Pakistan.
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Examples of Moghal Architecture Wazir Khan Mosque

Cheraman Juma Mosque • A Mughal era mosque in the city of Lahore,

• capital of the Pakistani province of Punjab.
• A mosque in Methala, Kodungallur Taluk,
Thrissur District in the Indian state of • The mosque was commissioned during the
Kerala. • reign of the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan
in 1634 C.E., and completed in 1642.
• Built in 629 AD, it is the first mosque in
India • Considered to be the most ornately
decorated Mughal-era mosque because of
• It was built by Malik Deenar, an Arab its intricate faience tile work known as
propagator of Islam and a follower and kashi-kari, as well as its interior surfaces
that are almost entirely embellished with
contemporary of Islamic Prophet
elaborate Mughal-era frescoes.
Muhammad.

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Jama Masjid Taj Mahal

• Also known as the Jama Masjid of Delhi,

is one of the largest mosques in India.

• It was built by Mughal emperor Shah

Jahan between 1644 and 1656 at a cost
of 1 million rupees, and was inaugurated
by an imam from Bukhara (Uzbekistan)

• The mosque was completed in 1656 AD

with three great gates, four towers and
two 40m high minarets constructed of
strips of red sandstone and white marble • It is an ivory-white marble mausoleum on
the south bank of the Yamuna river in the
Indian city of Agra.

• It was commissioned in 1632 by the

Mughal emperor, Shah Jahan (reigned
1628–1658), to house the tomb of his
ISLAMIC
favorite wife, Mumtaz Mahal.
INDIAN
CHINESE
JAPANESE • The tomb is the centerpiece of a 17-
KOREAN hectare (42-acre) complex, which
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includes a mosque and a guest house,
CAMBODIA and is set in formal gardens bounded on
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• Construction of the mausoleum was
essentially completed in 1643 but work
continued on other phases of the project
for another 10 years.

• The construction project employed some

20,000 artisans under the guidance of a
board of architects led by the court
architect to the emperor, Ustad Ahmad
Lahauri.

• Constructed using materials from all over

India and Asia. It is believed over 1,000
elephants were used to transport building
materials.

• The translucent white marble was

brought from Makrana, Rajasthan, the
jasper from Punjab, jade and crystal from
China. The turquoise was from Tibet and
ISLAMIC
the Lapis lazuli from Afghanistan, while
INDIAN the sapphire came from Sri Lanka and
CHINESE
the carnelian from Arabia.
JAPANESE
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semi-precious stones were inlaid into the
INDONESIA white marble.
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Islamic Architecture in East and South- Niujie Mosque
East Asia
• It is the oldest mosque in Beijing.
China
• It was first built in 996 during the Liao
Great Mosque of Xi’an Dynasty and was reconstructed as well
as enlarged under the Kangxi Emperor
• It is the oldest and mosque in China (r. 1661-1722) of the Qing Dynasty.

• The majority of the mosque was built • The local Muslim community
during the early Ming dynasty. constructed the mosque using
traditional Chinese architecture, with the
• It now houses more than twenty buildings exception that it displays Arabic
in its five courtyards, and covers 12,000 calligraphy in the interior.
square meters.

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Id Kah Mosque Indonesia

• It is the largest mosque in China. Demak Great Mosque

• Every Friday, it houses nearly 10,000 • It is one of the oldest mosques in

worshippers and may accommodate up Indonesia, located in the center town of
to 20,000. Demak, Central Java Indonesia.

• The mosque was built by Saqsiz Mirza in • The mosque is a classic example of a
ca. 1442 (although it incorporated older • traditional Javanese mosque.
structures dating back to 996) and covers
16,800 square meters. • Unlike mosques in the Middle East it is
built from timber.

• Rather than a dome, which did not

appear on Indonesian mosques until the
19th century, the roof is tiered and
supported by four saka guru teak pillars

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Menara Kudus Mosque Malaysia

• It is located in Kudus in the Indonesian Kampung Laut Mosque

province of Central Java.
• It is the oldest surviving mosque in Malaysia,
• Dating from 1549, it is one of the oldest built around the early 18th century.
mosques in Indonesia, built at the time of
• It is located in Jalan Kuala Krai Nilam Puri,
Islam's spread through Java.
Kelantan.
• It preserves pre-Islamic architectural • Its style is largely typical of local traditional
forms such as old Javanese split architecture, and climate-appropriate, similar
doorways, ancient Hindu-Buddhist to local houses in the area.
influenced Majapahit-style red brickwork,
and a three tiered pyramidal roof • The original mosque had a basic
architectural style, structure with four pillars
and had palm fronds for the roof.

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