On-line reflection 3: The Abbasids of Baghdad

Lecture 3

The Unifying Principles of Islamic Architecture: Ikhlas (Sincerity & Integrity) & 'IIm (Knowledge) 

The Abbasids of Baghdad

Architecture with Ikhlas : Sincerity & Integrity

Architectural expression of submissions /in the way of God:
i. Architecturally translate - Union of - sincerity and purity thru- design motivation - to build - within conformity to God’s will:

Architecture - expression- sincerity to God/Allah:
i. Space construct – absence of Human imaginary & idols – all portraiture of rusul/prophet/divine messenger, nabi-in/ apostle, anbiya/companions, awliya/saints/muslims scholars- r avoid (prevent idolatrous worship + as respect – their matchless ability)
ii. Art xconsist images but sublime silence- contemplation - projecting soul thru’ geometric subtraction-nature: d prominent role of maths – sacred nature of Islamic arch. inseparable fr- nature of Quranic rev.

                         

Features

Brighten - abstract rigid architecture of a garden w. untrammelled nature and flowing water – a taste of paradise- describe by Qur’an: “gardens through which running waters flow.“: enclosed gardens – enhanced-full-length pools of water - aided - nature of Light: - reflection, spatial reversal, refraction & transformation of light rays 

Integration of Mathematics: -embodiment of geometric proportion, harmony, balance 
Domestic living spaces - arranged around- gardened courtyard    


One of the sacred buildings that accomplished 'Ikhlas' is Aljaferia Palace, Zaragoza, Spain

Architecture as Pursuit of ‘Ilm: Knowledge

In islamic world, Knowledge is the light of truth. 

1. Architecture of Inscriptions – Calligraphy- Arabic language – sacred
   language - celebrate aesthetic –scripts across Islamic world- visible form -
   reveal ilm’ & wisdom word of Quran thru’: precise , sacred, geometrical laws:- dominates Islamic aesthetic & successful - Islamic Art
   
2. Architecture of light as expression, illuminating effects of sun rays & moon light- reveal intricacy - wall inscription or ornamentation- moving point source nature of sunlight, adds - individuality - everyone's sensory experience of architectural spaces 
   
3. Architecture as pursuit of Knowledge- practiced calligraphy – xonly cultivate good handwriting- considered - sign of adab & - discipline the soul + refreshes hearts 

Wall inscriptions detail, Alhambra , Granada, Spain    

Quranic Inscriptions on the minaret of Jam, Ghor Province, western Afghanistan

ABBASIDS PERIOD ARCHITECTURE

The great changes of the Abbasid era can be characterized as at the same time political, geo-political and cultural. The new period starts with the destruction of the Umayyad ruling family and its substitution by the Abbasids; it shifts the location of central power to the Mesopotamian area, and results in a corresponding displacement of the influence of classical and Byzantine artistic and cultural standards in favor of Persian and local Mesopotamian models.

In architecture, the building types created in the Umayyad period are fused with Eastern traditions. The rectangular hypostile plan of the Umayyad mosque, for instance, is retained but the materials and methods of construction, as well as some structural forms and the massive scale of the new mosques and palaces are related to the Mesopotamian heritage.

Al-Ukhaidir Fortress, Iraq

Spiral minaret of the Great Mosque of Samarra

Under the Abbasid caliphate (750–1258), which succeeded the Umayyads (661–750) in 750, the focal point of Islamic political and cultural life shifted eastward from Syria to Iraq, where, in 762, Baghdad, the circular City of Peace (madinat al-salam), was founded as the new capital. The Abbasids later also established another city north of Baghdad, called Samarra’ (an abbreviation of the sentence "He who sees it rejoices"), which replaced the capital for a brief period (836–83). The first three centuries of Abbasid rule were a golden age in which Baghdad and Samarra’ functioned as the cultural and commercial capitals of the Islamic world. During this period, a distinctive style emerged and new techniques were developed that spread throughout the Muslim realm and greatly influenced Islamic art and architecture.

Typical features of the more important buildings included massive round piers and smaller engaged columns. 9th century Abbasid architecture had foliate decorations on arches, pendant vaults, muqarnas vaults and polychrome interlaced spandrels that became identified as typical of "Islamic" architecture, although these forms may have their origins in Sassanian architecture. Thus the fronting arch of the Arch of Ctesiphon was once decorated with a lobed molding, a form copied in the palace of al-Ukhaidar.

The three types of stucco developed in Samarra were quickly imitated elsewhere, and remained common in the Islamic world for centuries. The Tulinids in Egypt built copies of Abbasid buildings on Cairo. The Ahmad ibn Tulun Mosque, built in Fustat near Cairo in 876-879, combines Umayyad and Abbasid structural and decorative features. It is the only mosque outside Iraq to have a spiral minaret.

The layout of the Fatimid city of Al-Mansuriya in Ifriqiya founded in 946 was circular, perhaps in imitation of Baghdad. The choice of layout may have been a deliberate challenge to the Abbasid Caliphate. The Fatimid architecture of Ifriqiya and Egypt followed Abbasid styles, as shown by the Great Mosque of Mahdiyaand the Azhar Mosque in Cairo. Even Umayyad buildings of the Iberian peninsula show Abbasid influence. Nine-domed mosques have been found in Spain, Tunisia, Egypt and Central Asia. More recent buildings sometimes follow Abassid architectural styles, such as the 19th century Hamoudi Mosque in Djibouti.

(information borrowed from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abbasid_architecture)