History week 3

near east, technology, craftsmanship, locally, novel, traditional, modified, Umayyads, Abbasids, Dome of the Rock, congregational, mosques, secular, stuccoes, paintings, textual

ARCHITECTURE AND ARCHITECTURAL DECORATION The architecture and the architectural decoration of the central lands of the Muslim world during the first three centuries of its existence are the result of the encounter of the new Muslim faith and state with the ancient traditions of the _____ ____. These monuments had to be meaningful to the Arabs from Arabia as well as to the old settled population of the area and to reflect the needs and aspirations of the former and the competencies of the latter. Initially this art depended entirely on the _____ and _____ available _____ and it is only slowly and in rhythms which are almost impossible to reconstruct that techniques from one area were moved to another one, craftsmen drafted by powerful patrons, artisans established on their own in new areas of employment. Early Islamic civilization was both novel and traditional: 1) _____ in its search for intellectual, administrative, and cultural forms to fit new people and new ideas and attitudes; 2) _______ in seeking these forms in the world it conquered. Selective of its models, it combined them in an inventive way and slowly _____ them, thereby creating a basis for later Islamic developments. With their capital in Damascus and their numerous military campaigns against Byzantium, the ______ were mostly aware of the Christian past of the Near East, but they were also fully conscious of being rulers of a huge empire. The east — Iran and Central Asia — provided the conquerors with most of their booty and their most vivid impressions of a new and fascinating world. Settled in Iraq, a region of less significant pre-Islamic artistic wealth than the Mediterranean area, the ______ built on these Umayyad foundations without being restricted by local traditions of construction and craftsmanship. We shall return, at the end of the chapter, to a broad evaluation of Umayyad and Abbasid arts. Their architectural monuments can be divided into three functional groups: the unique _____ ___ ___ _____, the _____ and other _____, and _____ buildings, primarily palaces. Architectural decoration will, most of the time, be discussed with each building, with the one exception of Samarra's _____ and _____, which have from the very beginning been seen and published as separate categories and whose connection with the buildings from which they came is not always well established. A number of key monuments are more or less irretrievably lost: 1) the first mosques at Kufa, Basra, Fustat; 2) the second mosque at Madina; 3) the palace of the Umayyads in Damascus; 4) the original city of Baghdad and its palaces; 5) the secular buildings of Fustat in the ninth century; 6) most of the objects which belonged to the ruling princes and the new Arab aristocracy. Yet, altogether, over one hundred monuments still remain from these first centuries or can be easily reconstructed from _____ evidence. Almost all belong to the period after 690, following the end of a series of internecine struggles in the new Muslim empire.

Iwan, Taqkasra

Architecture influences prior to Islamic buildings: Hagia Sophia in istanbul 532 (Byzantine church now converted into a mosque) Thought to be one of the most impressive buildings in the world >Huge dome: is approached through a long axial passageway and windows in the top of the dome >The building is meant to bring together the sense of the earthly and the divine. Umayyad visual culture is comprised of Byzantine and Sassian influence Remains of Sassnian palace The _____ 540 (Iraq) ______= a vaulted opening onto a courtyard hellenic elements= the orders and classical facade

Sepulchr

Church of the Holy _____ and the Dome of the Rock The two churches are in each other's view (is directionally confrontational), we see the power of architecture as a symbol, show the sign of the liveliness of Islam, the victory of islam, and competing with other holy sites, it also showcases command of resources and craft

ka'ba

____: "The pivot of Islam;" the principle Islamic shrine and the goal of Muslim Pilgrimage. A cubical shrine in Mecca which is sacred to Muslims. Prior to Islam it had been a center of idol worship but tradition has it that Muhammad cleansed it of its polytheistic context and made it the focal point of Muslim religious practice. The cube is about 35 feet by 40 feet and 50 feet high. The Ka'ba is covered by a huge cloth (kiswa) and is only entered once a year at the time of Hajj. In the eastern corner of the Ka'ba is a black stone sitting about five feet off the ground.

hajj

____: A pilgrimage to Mecca, performed as a duty by Muslims

hypostyle

____: a flat-roofed structure supported by columns a hall whose roof is supported by columns

maqsura

____: screened area where the ruler sits (originally for his safety and anonymity) Enclosure in a mosque, situated near the mihrab and minbar, defined by a metal or timber screen, used by a ruler for purposes of protection and status

minaret

____: tower for the crier or MUEZZIN to call the faithful to worship 5 times a day

hypostyle

_____ having roof supported by pillars typically in several rows The 1 main mosque is the prophet home in media People come there and congregated The plan used in all homes in his era: rectangle or square building with open courtyard and covered portico Hypostyle "Many columns" Need space large enough to accommodate a community and create community center Most mosque in Arabic lands used variant of the basic hypostyle for the next few centuries Later used central plane mosque and 4 iwan mosque

kutba

_____- an imam's speech - including a sermon and a profession of allegiance by the Muslim community to its leader.

madrasas

_____: An Islamic theological college adjoining and often containing a mosque. A school or college, often founded through a waqf, designed to provide religious and legal education. Early madrasas were based on the combination of a mosque and a dormitory for students. It is thought that the earliest madrasas were Seljuk in the 11th C Iran. The four-iwan architectural plan in which each iwan represented one of the four orthodox schools of Islamic law was a result of the madrasa concept.

minbar

_____: In a Mosque (masjid), the pulpit on which an imam stands

imam

_____: a) a prayer leader in a mosque; b) a religiously guided political leader

hadith

_____: an orally transmitted saying of Mohammad or an account about his contemporaries. These transmissions both guide Muslims in their everyday life & form one of the important bases of Islamic law.

apadana

_____: construction whereby a flat roof rests directly on columns without intervening arches (see hypostyle)

waqf

_____: land or other income producing property dedicated in perpetuity to the upkeep and staffing of a pious institution.

maqsura

______ Screen which encloses the area of the MINBAR & MIHRAB "Maqsura area" or bay: A module of space Create a space often enclosed by a dome above it Most important space in the mosque Like the front of the church and it sanctifies the different architectural elements. It is a way of off setting the space. No one prays in the maqsura Enclosure in a mosque, situated near the mihrab and minbar, defined by a metal or timber screen, used by a ruler for purposes of protection and status In Islam the body is buried

muezzin

__: a servant of the mosque who leads the call to Friday service and the five daily prayers from one of the mosque's minarets.

mihrab

___: a semicircular wall niche that is set into the qibla wall of a mosque

no

Decorations: orientate, lots of vines and vegetal, flowly, symmetrical patterns, rhythm (articulates the architecture) Mosaics from Dome of the Rock and Byzantine church of Nativity (Bethlehem) -urn shape with vines twisting out came from looking at other churches -they left people (seen in Christian church) not figures -691 effort to move closer to aniconism -vegetal scrolls and motifs is player up the scroll looks like Sassian crown (wings), represent Islam's victory and depiction of paradise >It is not purely ornamental, there is creativity present To the East, the old Sasanian Empire of Persia imploded under pressure from the Arabs, but nevertheless provided winged crown motifs that can be found in the Dome of the Rock. Wall and ceiling mosaics became very popular in Late Antiquity and adorn many Byzantine churches, including San Vitale in Ravenna and Hagia Sophia in Constantinople. Thus, the use of mosaics reflects an artistic tie to the world of Late Antiquity. Late Antiquity is a period from about 300-800, when the Classical world dissolves and the Medieval period emerges. The mosaics in the Dome of the Rock contain ___ human figures or animals. While Islam does not prohibit the use of figurative art per se, it seems that in religious buildings, this proscription was upheld. Instead, we see vegetative scrolls and motifs, as well as vessels and winged crowns, which were worn by Sasanian kings. Thus, the iconography of the Dome of the Rock also includes the other major pre-Islamic civilization of the region, the Sasanian Empire, which the Arab armies had defeated.

Christian

Depiction of the Templum Domini on the reverse side of the seal of the Knights Templar -we see the dome and horses The Umayyads will fall and the Crusades wills start in Europe Jerusalem fell under _____ then Islam again Christian used the dome of the rock as a church and the mosque as a stable for horses

Dome

Dome fo the rock the dome and the roof slopes slightly to meet the drum The dome accentuate what is underneath it The drum has 16 windows in it to let in light The drum, arcades, columns, piers, and arches hold up the dome The ____ is 2 layers (interior and exterior shell) 20 meters tall Golden color on outside with mosaics on side (copper gilded with pure gold, was redone recently with Jordan and Saudi Arabia donated eighty kilograms of gold) Bismillah and Shahada Interior: lots of mosaics (wall, ceiling, etc) Mosaics was one the highest skills for a building and was very popular (influence of Byzantine) It accentuated the architecture (relationship between architecture and decoration) Inscription: 240 feet, circles around and talks about the majesty of Allah and Muhammad is the last prophet The inscription is similar to that of the coin One of the earliest surviving examples of verses from the Qur'an There is a reference to Jesus and Mary which rejection of the divinity of Christ and reaffirms Jesus; prophethood to God. It shows effort to reinforce message of Islam The bismillah (in the name of God, the merciful and compassionate), the phrase that starts each verse of the Qu'ran, and the shahada, the Islamic confession of faith, which states that there is only one God and Muhammad is his prophet, are also included in the inscription. The inscription also refers to Mary and Christ and proclaim that Christ was not divine but a prophet. Thus the inscription also proclaims some of the core values of the newly formed religion of Islam.

martyrium

Dome of the Rock Sits on a plateform Walls in 7th century stairs were added Octagonal (8 sided) Covered porticos Why this shape: 4 entrances that make a cross through the building, balance facade, symmetrical Has a timeless quality ("This is one of the most fantastic of all buildings. Its queerness and perfection lie in its shape... It is so amazing it captivates the eye... Both the inside and the outside are covered with many kinds of tiles of such beautiful make that the whole defies description. Any viewer's tongue will grow shorter trying to describe it." -Ibn Batuta 14th century) Circular plane: _________ or Ciburium -centralized plan/circular design -commemorative function: memorializes a person, object, or plane/ event -Emphatic function: draws attention to the importance of the center and any object, person, etc located there (the rock) example: Santa Constanza Rome 4th century (Byzantine in style). circle with a sarcophagus in the center

Miharb

Elements of the Mosque 5 Some of the elements were from the time of the prophet others develop over time. These elements are so traditional they are still used in modern Islamic religious building. The _____: prayer niche set in the qibla wall indicates the direction of Mecca Can be a niche or a room in the qilba Centralizing, to make the center more special and make it more interesting part of the wall (the qilba). Make the wall pretty and off set the wall to make it distinguishing. Some Sultans commission the mosque to have their tomb set behind the qilba to be close this scared place/area. Becomes a way to sanctifying the most holy place in the mosque

adhan

Islamic call to prayer Did the ______ exist during the Prophet's Lifetime? What about the minaret? Page from an Ottoman manuscript showing the first mu'adhdhin, Bilal, at Mecca

Damascus

Mosque of _____ Interior: decoration in marble and mosaics Similar mosaics to ones in Dome of the Rock (in visuals form and color, but what they represent is unusual) There are buildings and realistic trees 715 In the 19th c fire destroyed many mosaics Retailed architectural scenes with no people 1) representation of the empire? The great cities under the Umayyad empire 2) one up his dad 3) very serious and depth and space 4) tendency to represent of paradise, lofety chambers of paradise Qur'an: And those who believe, and do righteous deeds, We shall surely lodge them in lofty chambers of paradise, underneath which rivers flow, therein dwelling forever; This is paradise and those who fill these chambers of prayer will be able to go to this paradise (for being faithful) Dome of the Rock- more playful vegetal, imagery (things growing out of things) geometrical, floral designs still the same Color similar The crafts people (Byzantine) might be the same St. Stephen (Church in Jordan) we also see mosaics of buildings (so there was an existing traditions) See two saints and buildings, so they removed the saints and place in trees in the mosque

Abd al-Malik

Muh's rapture (Mi'raj) Glory to (Allah) Who did take His servant for a Journey by night from the Sacred Mosque to the farthest Mosque, whose precincts We did bless,- in order that We might show him some of Our Signs: for He is the One Who heareth and seeth (all things). Dome of the Rock: Umayyad Caliph ___ ______ started in 691 There was a lot of political strife, at one point they lost medina and mecca but got it back. Some believe he made it for victory established different a kind of the caliphate (empire), he started a postal service, and reformed coins to standardized his government Looking to synthetic way of thinking about the world, Byzantine and Sassan workers, engineers, and crafts people Start of Syncretic tradition ( union or attempted fusion of different religions, cultures, or philosophies) It cost 7 times more than the revenue of Egypt

Al-Aqsa

Muhammad's Rapture (Mi'raj) The Isra and Mi'raj (Arabic: الإسراء والمعراج‎, al-'Isrā' wal-Mi'rāj) are the two parts of a Night Journey that, according to Islam, the Islamic prophet Muhammad took during a single night around the year 621. Within Islam it signifies both a physical and spiritual journey.[1] The Quran surah al-Isra contains an outline account,[2] while greater detail is found in the hadith collections of the reports, teachings, deeds and sayings of Muhammad. In the accounts of the Isra', Muhammad is said to have traveled on the back of a winged mule-like white beast, called Buraq, to "the farthest mosque". By tradition this mosque, which came to represent the physical world, was identified as the _______ Mosque in Jerusalem. At the mosque, Muhammad is said to have led the other prophets in prayer. His subsequent ascent into the heavens came to be known as the Mi'raj. Muhammad's journey and ascent is marked as one of the most celebrated dates in the Islamic calendar.

al-Walid, alternative, Iraq, simple, qibla, house, treasury, social and political, hypostyle hall, apadanas, space, interior, multiplied

THE CONGREGATIONAL MOSQUE The development of the mosque as an architectural form began before the construction of the Dome of the Rock, but actual monuments remain only from the first years of the eighth century. At Madina, Jerusalem, and Damascus, 'Abd al-Malik's successor, ______ (705—15), established a typological model for many later mosques. Of these three, only the one at Damascus has remained relatively unmodified in plan and appearance; those in Madina and Jerusalem can be reconstructed, although at Jerusalem a number of chronological problems are not entirely resolved. But these imperial mosques were not the only type built in this period Archeological investigations, especially in Syria, Jordan, and Palestine, have brought to light ______ models demonstrating considerable flexibility in the creation of a space restricted to Muslims. A word must be said, however, about the first religious buildings of Islam in ____, even though most of our information on them is only textual. The best known are those at Basra (635, rebuilt in 665), Kufa (637, rebuilt 670), and Wasit (702) (the only one for which a partial archaeological record is available), all in newly founded Muslim towns. They were ______, consisting of a large, generally square, area with a deep portico signifying the _____ side and serving as a covered hall of prayer; eventually shallower porticoes were added to the other three sides of the enclosure, resulting in a central courtyard surrounded by porticoes. At first, the covered parts were set on supports taken from older buildings; later they rested on specially built columns or piers. The method of roofing is uncertain; there may at times have been vaults. According to prevalent understanding, this simple plan is based on that Of the mosque ____ of Muhammad in Madina, which would have become the model in newly founded cities. Although the double purpose of combined dwelling and place of worship was no longer possible of meaningful, these mosques were usually set next to the governor's palace and included within their boundaries a small structure serving as the ______ of the Muslim community (such structures have survived in Damascus and Hama, both in Syria). They were thus not only religious buildings but also the main ____ and _____ centres, as implied by the construct al-masjid al-jami, usually translated as congregational mosque. Each quarter of the town had its own small mosque or oratory, but we know nothing about their shape. The significance of the large Iraqi mosques goes beyond the mere fact that in form and function they probably imitated the Madinese house of the Prophet, for, primitive and simple as they were, they reintroduced the ______ __ into the Middle East as a characteristic architectural type. This was no conscious mutation of the Old models of Persian _____ (large halls with many columns), Roman fora, or Egyptian temples: 1) it arose rather from the combination of the need for large _____ in the newly created cities with the accidental prototype of Muhammad's house in Madina 2) and the availability of disused units of construction like columns. The most significant characteristics of the revived hypostyle are that it was generally connected with a vast ______ open space and that, at least in these initial stages, its components could be ______ at will.

Fustat, converted, Hama, Syria, egypt, maqsura, minaret, muezzin, Madina, holy, presence

THE CONGREGATIONAL MOSQUE Psrt 2 If these were the first steps of mosque architecture in Iraq, can we assume that the Muslims erected similar buildings in other newly founded towns, such as Fustat (old Cairo) in Egypt or Qayrawan in Tunisia, and in the cities occupied by the conquerors, in Syria or elsewhere? Our information here is much less secure. The early ______ mosque (641—42) was an entirely covered building, to which a presumably porticoed courtyard was added only in 673; otherwise its plan is unknown, although it was probably a simple variation of the colonnaded hall. Elsewhere — in Syria, Iran, and perhaps also Egypt —churches or other cultic buildings were _______ for the new faith. Frequently, however, the agreements by which cities accepted Islamic rule guaranteed the preservation of their private and religious buildings; thus in Jerusalem, the Islamic religious centre developed in an area not used by the Christian population. But in the case of ______, a church was converted into a mosque by the addition of a courtyard in front of it, and, through texts, we may infer the same development in other areas, particularly Iran. In Damascus the Muslims took over part of the ancient temenos (sacred enclosure) on which the Christian church of John the Baptist had been built. _____ and _____ provide the first examples of two features which, in different ways and to different degrees, were to play an important part in the history of the mosque. The first is the _____, a special enclosure reserved for the prince in the centre of the qibla wall of the sanctuary. Its origin and date of appearance are still uncertain, but it must have involved protection from assassination and separation of the caliph from his subjects-at It appeared only in the larger mosques and the earliest to have survived, in Qayrawan, is of the tenth century. The second feature, of equally obscure origin, became a Permanent feature of the Islamic landscape: the ______ (from Arabic manara). Its eventual function seems clear: from it the ______ called the faithful to prayer at appointed times. In later times, wherever Islam went, the minaret followed, almost everywhere taking the shape of a tall tower above the mosque and the city or village, with the obvious secondary function of making visible to all the presence of Muslims in any one community." No such construction existed in the Prophet's time, when Muhammad's muezzin Would call to prayer from the roof of a house, nor are they Ascertained in the early mosques of the newly created cities of Iraq. Probably there, as in many simple mosques for centuries to come, a small staircase was built to facilitate access to the roof. There is much discussion of the first appearance of the tall tower so characteristic of any Islamic landscape. Most literary sources, usually much later than the events they describe, indicate Syria or Egypt as the land of origin for the minaret. A recent study has established that the first minarets/towers were erected at the four corners of the mosque of _______ between 707 and 709. Their function and symbolic meaning were for the exclusive perception of Muslims. The minaret, then, spread slowly to other regions, very rarely before the ninth century, as in the mosques of Samarra to be discussed further on, and almost always adapted to local circumstances. Throughout its history the minaret maintained the double-edged meaning of a message of presence and visibility for Muslims and non-Muslims alike and as a sign of honouring something _____ for Muslims, Minaret, appeared wherever Muslims went, almost always drawing on local models for their forms. In Syria the square tower often used for hermits' cells gave rise to the characteristic square minaret which spread west to North Africa and Spain, and east to Iraq and Iran. Elsewhere other forms were created. Nevertheless, the emphasis given to minarets in faraway lands, as well as the inscriptions found on them, demonstrate that for many centuries — indeed — like the minarets of contemporary mosques built all over the non-Muslim world — they served also as a spectacular symbol of the ________ of Islam.

Dome of the Rock, Umayyads, Abbasid, hajj, Night Journey of the Prophet , heaven, location, decoration, Jerusalem, inscription, traditions, revelation, compete, Umayyad, hadith

THE DOME OF THE ROCK Completed in 691, the ______ __ __ _____ in Jerusalem is the earliest remaining Islamic monument, and in all probability the first major artistic endeavor of the ______. The reasons for its erection are not given in contemporary Itecary or epigraphic sources. Very early, ______ sources antagonistic to the Umayyads claimed that the caliph Abd al-Malik wanted to replace Mecca with Jerusalem and to divert the ritual pilgrimage known as the ____ to the Palestinian city. Although still found occasionally, this explanation is not acceptable for a variety of historical reasons. Eventually the Dome of the Rock became connected with the miraculous _____ ___ ___ ___ _______ to the Masjid al-Aqsa (the 'farthest mosque', Qur'an 17: 1) — generally presumed to be in Jerusalem, although the earliest evidence in our possession is not clear on this point — and with Muhammad's ascent _____ from the Rock. This is today the conception of the Muslim believer. In fact, however, the ______ of the mosque on Mount Moriah, traditionally accepted as the site of the Jewish Temple and associated with many other legends and historical events, its ______ of Byzantine and Sasanian crowns and jewels in the midst of vegetal motifs, its physical domination of the urban landscape of _______, its ______ with their many precisely chosen Qur'anic quotations, and a number of recently rediscovered early Muslim ______ suggest several purposes for the original Dome of the Rock: 1) to emphasize the victory of Islam that completes the _____ of the two other monotheistic faiths; 2) to _____ in splendour and munificence with the great Christian sanctuaries in Jerusalem and elsewhere; 3) to celebrate the ______ dynasty with a shrine containing Solomonic connotations through the representation of paradise-like trees and in recently published later accounts of the religious merits of Jerusalem. And, in very recent years, attention was brought to Traditions of the Prophet (______) which claimed that the rock was the place from which God left the Earth after creating it and returned to heaven. For a variety of theological reasons, these traditions were rejected in the ninth century, but they had been accepted earlier, at least by some, and they reflect an old, Christian and Jewish, sense of Jerusalem as the site where time will end, the Messiah come, the Resurrection and the Last Judgment begin. This messianic eschatology became part of Muslim piety and has always been associated with Jerusalem. Only after the full establishment of the Islamic state as the governing body of the area did these precise, ideologically laden, early aims fade away, to bc replaced by a more strictly pious and religious explanation probably derived from popular beliefs and practices.

al-Wali , Damascus, Muslim, mihrabs,

THE MOSQUES OF AL-WA LID We can best understand the mosques of _______ (r. 705—15) in the light of these earlier developments. His reign — the first to see the Islamic world secure in its conquest and without major internal troubles — was a period of great expansion east and west and of consolidation within the empire. A concern for prestige and the expression of newly acquired power led the caliph to build, at least in part, major mosques in Damascus (706), the capital of the empire, Madina (706—10), in which the Muslim state was first created, and Jerusalem (709--15), the holiest city taken by the Muslims. Because it still approximates its original state, we shall deal chiefly with the one in _______, even though the mosque of Madina was probably more important and has been most pertinently reconstructed. The mosque of Damascus is an entirely ______ composition" An earlier Roman temenos on the site determined its size (157 by 100 metres), its location, and the lower courses of some of its walls, as well as the position of the east and west entrances. A Roman triple gate on the south wall has recently been freed of the shops which had hidden it for decades. All other features date from al-Walid's time although a fire in 1893 destroyed much of the superstructure; the subsequent rebuilding was not entirely done in good taste and the very recent reconstructions have been much criticized. The mosque consists of a courtyard surrounded on three sides by porticoes on piers alternating with two columns; on the fourth side is the qibla. It has three wide aisles, Parallel to the southern wall, cut in the centre by a perpendicular (axial) nave over whose second bay rises a high dome, whose present appearance is most unfortunately modern, but whose supports can probably be assigned to the eleventh century. (It is not clear whether an earlier dome in the axial nave was in front of the qibla wall or on the site of the Present one.) The aisles have large monolithic columns taken from older buildings, surmounted by capitals, impost-blocks, and arches. Above the arches an additional small arcade lifted the gabled roof even higher. In the qibla wall are four niches known as _____, of which one is clearly modern. The date of the Others, symmetrically arranged with the central one right in the middle of the axial nave, is uncertain, and it is not likely that all three are Umayyad. The two minarets on the southern side of the building, largely based on-Roman corner towers, do possibly date from that period; the third, over the northern entrance, was built before 985, but it is not certain that it is al-Walid's. The small octagonal building on columns in the northwestern corner of the court, again Umayyad, was the Muslim community's symbolic or real treasury, traditionally kept in the main mosque of the town. Of the four entrances to the mosque — one on each side — the southern one, next to the axial nave, was reserved for the caliph and connected directly with the Umayyad palace. The nature of the entry from the courtyard to the sanctuary remains obscure. Today there are doors; the curtains reported by a fourteenth-century source may or may not have been the original arrangement.

Haram al-Sharif, arcade, central dome, mosaic, wood, bronze

The Dome of the Rock Part 2 The building is admirably located on an artificial platform, itself part of a huge area known today as the ___________ (the 'Noble Sacred Enclosure'), created in Herodian times. The platform is ascended by six flights of stairs, two on the southern and western sides, one on each of the other two. An _________ crowns each flight. Both stairs and arcades can be documented only from the tenth century onwards, and no information exists about access to the platform in Umayyad times. Not quite in the centre of the platform, the building has a large ____ _____ (about 20 metres in diameter and about 25 metres high) consisting of two wooden shells originally gilded on the outside and placed on a high drum pierced by sixteen windows in its upper part. It rests on a circular arcade of four piers and twelve columns; around the central part two ambulatories are separated by an octagonal arcade of eight piers and sixteen columns. The marble columns, together with most of the capitals, were taken from older buildings. The piers are of heavy stone masonry. A continuous band of tie-beams separates the capitals of the columns and the shafts of the piers from the spandrels. The sloping roof of the octagon abuts the drum of the dome just below the windows. Outside, each side of the octagon is divided into seven narrow vertical panels separated by pilasters. Five contain windows with double grilles dating from the sixteenth century; the original ones probably had marble tracery on the inside and ironwork on the outside. There are four entrances preceded by porches, one on each side of the cardinal points. Above the roof of the octagon runs a parapet. The building is richly decorated. The ______ which together with marble — adorned the outside were almost completely replaced in Ottoman times by magnificent Turkish tiles, but the interior decoration, while often repaired and at times replaced, has maintained a great deal of its original character. The walls and piers are covered with marble. Mosaics decorate the upper parts of the piers, the soffits and spandrels of the circular arcade, and both drums; only the latter show traces of extensive repair and restorations, which, however, did not alter significantly the nature of the designs. Marble now sheaths the inner spandrels and the soffits of the circular arcade as well as three friezes, one between the two drums, the other two above and below the windows of the outer wall. It is likely, however, that these areas were originally covered with mosaics, which — from the remaining decoration of the porch — one can surmise were also used on the vaults of the porches. The ceilings of the octagon and of the dome are Mamluk or Ottoman carved woodwork and stamped leather. The Umayyads probably used only ____, as we can conclude from other buildings. The tie-beams were covered with repoussé ______ plaques, Finally, we must imagine the thousands of lights which supplemented the meagre illumination from the windows, making the mosaics glitter like a diadem crowning a multitude of columns and marble faced piers around the somber mass of the black rock surmounted by the soaring void of the dome.

Late Antiquity, martyria, Byzantine church, Christian

The Dome of the Rock Part 3 In its major characteristics the Dome of the Rock follows the architectural practices of ___ _______ in its Christian version. It belongs to the category of centrally planned buildings known as _____ and, as has often been pointed out, bears a particularly close relationship to the great Christian sanctuaries of the Ascension and the Anastasis, to name only those in Jerusalem itself. Similarly, most of the techniques of construction — the arches on piers and columns, the wooden domes, the grilled windows, the masonry of stone and brick — as well as the carefully thought-out and intricate system of proportions also derive directly from _______ _______ architecture, perhaps quite specifically from local Palestinian practices. The same is true of the decoration. Although few examples remain, wall mosaics and marble facings were common in ____ sanctuaries The endless variations on vegetal subjects, from the realism of certain trees to highly conventionalized garlands and scrolls to all-over carpet-like patterns, are mostly related to the many mosaics of Christian times in Syria and Palestine. The same holds true for the decoration of the tiebeams (see below p. 60)

Wailing wall

____ ____: Jewish holy site in Jerusalem that is the only remaining portion of Solomon's temple From time of herod The original synagogue of Jerusalem and was destroyed by the Romans Haram esh-Sharif (Dome of the Rock) Means "noble sanctuary" Located on temple mount is where Abraham almost sacrificed his son and was stopped by an angel and the site where the temple of Solomon was located

significance, nature, relationship, composition, living, ornamental, insignia, defeated, Solomon's, Christian, Jewish

The Dome of the Rock Part 4 Yet it would be a mistake to consider all this a mere reuse of Byzantine techniques and themes. In addition to the fact that its _____ was not the same as that of its presumed ecclesiastical models, this first monument of the new Islamic culture departs in several areas from the traditions of the land in which it was built: 1) the ____ Of the mosaic decoration, 2) the ________ between architecture and decoration, 3) and the ________ of its elevation. The mosaic decoration, which has remained almost entirely in its original state on a huge area of about 280 square metres, does not contain a single _____ being, human or animal. Evidently the Muslims already felt that these would be inconsistent with the official expression of their faith, and they were selective about the artistic vocabulary offered by the lands they had conquered. However, the mosaics were not purely _______ in the sense that their purpose was not exclusively one of pleasing the eye. Thus, only the inner facings of the octagonal and circular arcades and the drums introduce jewels, crowns, and breastplates, many of which occur as the ______ of royal power in the Byzantine and Sasanian empires. Their position, added to the fact that no traditionally trained artists would willingly mix royal symbols with vegetal designs, indicates that these are the regalia of the princes _____ by Islam, suspended like trophies on the walls of a strictly Muslim building. It has also been possible to propose iconographic meanings for many other features of the mosaics. Thus, the trees, some realistic and others quite artificial, have been seen by some as recollections of _________ palace, which had been located somewhere in Jerusalem and whose brilliance was much enhanced in early medieval lore. Others have selected certain details of the rich decoration of the intrados of arches to detect the presence of _________ or ________ motives, or at least artisans. More cautious scholars prefer to emphasize the all-over effect of brilliance rather than specific details. Discussions and debates around the meaning of this decoration will continue, because of the astounding quality of the work and the absence of comparable monuments or of direct written information about them.

Writing, border, Christ, non-figural, non-realistic, shapes, anti-naturalistic, naturalistic, variety, design, repetition, architecture, decoration, adapted, Ka'ba, textile, textile

The Dome of the Rock Part 5 _____, in the form of a long mosaic inscription running below the ceiling of the octagons, appears with both decorative and symbolic significance, possibly the earliest known Instance in medieval art of this particular use of writing in a building. 1) It is decorative because it takes over the function of a _____ for the rest of the ornamentation. 2) And it is symbolic because, although barely visible from the ground, it Contains a carefully made selection of passages from the Qur'an dealing with _____ which do not contradict Christian doctrine. Thus, the inscription emphasizes the Muslim message in Christ's very city. Furthermore, the later caliph al-Ma'mun saw fit to substitute his own name for that of the founder, 'Abd al-Malik, thus showing his acceptance of the aims and purposes of the building. Unwilling to use the traditional figurative imagery derived from Antiquity, the Muslim world expressed its ideas in __________ terms. Alongside classical motifs the mosaics have palmettes, Wings, and composite flowers of Iranian origin. Thus the Umayyad empire drew upon features from the whole area it had conquered, amalgamating them to create an artistic vocabulary of its own. Finally, the mosaics of the Dome of the Rock introduced two decorative principles which would continue to develop in later Islamic art. 1) The first is the _______ use of realistic _______ and the ________ combination of ______ forms. When they felt a more brilliant decoration was needed, the artists did not hesitate, for instance, to transform the trunk of a tree into a bejewelled box. The possible combinations of forms and themes are limitless, without the restraints imposed by the naturalism of classical ornament. 2) The second principle is that of continuous ____. On close analysis, the mosaics of the -Of the Rock show comparatively few types of _____ — mainly the acanthus scroll, the garland, the vine scroll, the tree, and the rosette. Yet nowhere do we find exact _____. Certain differences are qualitative, apprentice reproduced the design of a master." But in most instances each variation within a theme represents an individual interpretation of some general principle of design. The social or psychological reasons for these variations remain unexplained. As far as future development is concerned, the most significant artistic feature of the Dome of the Rock is the establishment of a new relationship between _______ and _______. Until this time the Mediterranean had continued, albeit with modifications, the classical principle of decoration, especially ornamental decoration, as the servant of architecture, emphasizing certain parts of the building, but rarely suppressing the essential values of the construction itself. The builders of the Dome of the Rock, however, hid almost all of their clearly defined, classically based structure with brilliant marble and mosaic. Particularly striking in this respect is one of the soffits of the arches of the octagon. We see three bands of design, two of which take over one half of the surface, the remaining one the other half. However, the composition is asymmetrical, for the wider band is not in the centre but towards the inner side of the building, thus deliberately destroying the basic unity of the surface Furthermore, one motif, and one only, continues on to the vertical surface of the spandrel, thereby emphasizing one curve of the arch as against the other one. This does not mean that the mosaicists of the Dome of the Rock completely rejected the architecture they decorated: in using trees for high rectangular surfaces and scrolls for square ones, they certainly ______ their ornamental forms to the areas provided by the architects. But in the choice of many specific motifs (for instance, the rosettes on the soffits) as well as in the total covering of the available walls, they created an expensive shell around the structure which broke away from the traditions of the area. The Umayyads might have developed this taste on their own, or, as has been argued in the past, they were already under the influence of an Iranian fashion known through Sasanian stuccoes covering mud-brick walls. Perhaps they tried to recreate in the language of the Mediterranean the effects of the ______ in Mecca, covered on the outside with multicoloured textile hangings and filled inside with a huge number of idols and treasures, including paintings. The Dome of the Rock would represent the first step toward what will come to be called an Islamic aesthetic of the _____, or else it was an example of the many ways of visual expression being developed in Late Antique art since the time of Justianian in the sixth century.

Al-Walid

The Great Umayyad Mosque of Damascus Caliph _____ I, completed 715 Damascus is an old city like Jerusalem. Founded in the 3rd millennium BCE. It is the oldest, continuous inhabited city in the world (since copper age). Influenced by foreign groups for most of its history. Was conquered by the Egyptians, Syrians, Greeks, Romans, and one of the first sites Christianity spread to, Byzantines, Arabs, the moguls, etc have occupied Damascus. Syria has been dangerous place. Damascus becomes the capital of the Umayyads. Caliph Al-Walid I is son of Abd Al-Walid (made dome of the rock). Follows his father in using building to present the majesty of Islam. Trying to one up his father. Torn down Church of st. John, before that it was a temple of Jupiter, to build the mosque. History of architecture is filled with destruction and taking over the space. They reuse the columns from the temple of Jupiter. They demolished the church for the most part but keep some of the foot print. They had shift the prayer hall towards Mecca (Corinthian capitals were reused). Belief there is a shrine to saint John (his head). Al-Aqsa Mosque of Al-Walid -sets on the noble sanctuary in Jerusalem -changed so many times we can't study as his mosque The Prophet's House/Mosque ca. 622: Hypostyle Courtyard The Damascus Mosque ca. 710: T-Plan, Hypostyle Courtyard Is a specialized hypostyle. Finishes it in 715 Had been reused so much they shift the prayer hall to face Mecca Is inspired by the Muhammad's house (open courtyard) but is tweaked slightly Found rectangular shaped more effective >Courtyard (arcades: arches, columns, piers; clerestory), tripartite triumphal entrance to prayer hall >Hypostyle: Prayer hall >Decoration in marble & mosaic: Some original mosaics survive in the courtyard Church plan is long, rectangular form (basilica) The mosque is lateral, because people line up to pray towards mecca (more effective form) Both hypostyle: covered, courtyard, covered portico Called it a T-plan: t leads you to the minharb and maqsura, minbar. Becomes most common plan for the next several hundred years When it was built it could hold all male Muslims in the city of Damascus The caliph had his own entrances (there is 4 entrances). It has a treasury (to the side of the courtyard). (The head is supposable on the left hand side). The treasury was used to hold money, makes sense because part of being a muslims is giving donations. St. Stephen Church (Jordan) & Damascus Mosque mosaics: Cities of the Empire Damascus Mosque Mosaic panel & mosaics from a Byzantine Church- also cities

masjid, masjid jami', qiblia

The Mosque _______ (place of sujud/prayer) When Islam first started it doesn't dictate a building, prayer is necessary but doesn't need a mosque Doesn't need to be a formal building. Often have place in home to pray 5 times a day and meet the qualifications (wash hands and feet and pray towards Mecca) (Rocks show area, carpet, shoes off). Over time a collective places is created. This is a masjid jami. _______ _______ (collective or community mosque for Friday assembly & prayer) Al-Aqsa mosque, Jerusalem, entrance to prayer hall Establishing Direction in the Mosque: The _____ -wall faces mecca (a point of reference) which Muslisms pray towards Development of the Mosque: Early Form & Elements. The Courtyard house of the Prophet in Madina, mid. 7th C. House-mosque of the Prophet in Medina: Place for gathering the community Address (khutba) by the community leader (the Prophet or his successors). Established ca. 622. Requirements: Shade Orientation: first to Jerusalem then to Mecca (qibla) Type: open courtyard with covered area (develops into hypostyle-courtyard type) Elements: Visible location for the Prophet = raised seat = minbar in front & center Call to assembly & prayer = human voice = raised location (develops minaret) Courtyard-hypostyle mosque type covered area = meeting & prayer hall always 'oriented' to Mecca = qibla hall

Syria, plan, mihrab, tripartite division, axial nave, throne, organically, central, three-aisled, concave mihrab, Mecca, Prophet, stand, imam, Prophet, minbar, object, classical,

The Mosques of Al-Walid Part 2 Just as in the Dome of the Rock, practically all the elements of construction derive from the traditional architecture of _____. The innovations are two: the _____ and the introduction of the _____. The problem of creating a plan on a pre-established site was solved by the Umayyad architects as follows. They adopted Madina's basic order of a porticoed court with a deeper sanctuary, but, instead of transforming their sanctuary into a hypostyle hall on the pattern of the Iraqi mosques, they created a ______ ______, possibly under the impact of Christian churches, although the Danutscus aisles differ in being of equal width. But a more remarkable innovation, in plan as well as elevation, is the _____ ______. Its aesthetic significance in relieving the monotony of a facade 137 metres long is obvious enough; its historical importance is far greater. Creswell pointed out that it closely resembled a facade of the palace of Theodoric as represented on a well-known Ravenna mosaic. Sauvaget was the first to relate the axial nave in Damascus, as well as similar ones in Jerusalem and Madina, to Umayyad royal ceremonies, and to show that this architectural feature, which appeared first in what we may call Umayyad 'imperial' mosques and was to be frequently copied, originated in an attempt to emphasize the area reserved to the prince, and imitated a palace ______ room. Thus, the plan of the mosque of Damascus is important in two ways. 1) First, the arrangement is more _____ conceived than in the diffuse and additive mosques of Iraq, as it has a clearly defined _____ focus. 2) Second, its _______-______ sanctuary with axial nave and its proportions partly imposed by the Roman foundations became a standard model in Syria and elsewhere, although not for the other two mosques built by al-Walid, which were both hypostyle with many parallel aisles including a wider central one, leading to the qibla, and which had peculiar features pertaining to their sites. The mosque in Damascus also has the earliest remaining ______ _______. The philological and formal background of the mihrab is remarkably complicated: for the sake of clarity we shall consider only its common application to the mosque. It is generally understood today as a niche on the qibla wall of a mosque indicating the direction Of ______. But it is absent from all the earliest mosques; it is never visible from more than a fraction of the area of the building; and the whole plan of a mosque makes the direction of prayer so obvious that there is no need for so small a sign. Nor is It fully satisfactory to explain the mihrab as an abbreviated throne room, as has been suggested by Sauvaget, for it became almost immediately a fixture of all mosques, and eventually a common artistic motif on pious objects. In order to understand its original purpose, we should bear in mind two points. 1) To begin with, medieval writers generally agree that a concave mihrab first appeared at al-Walid's mosque in Madina, which replaced and embellished the ______'s own house/mosque. 2) Second, the mihrab there was set not in the middle but by the place where according to the Traditions the Prophet used to _____ when holding prayers. We can suggest then that its purpose was to symbolize the place where the first _____ (or leader of prayer) stood; that it began as a precise memorial in the ______'s mosque, and then, through the foundations of al-Walid, spread out to the whole Islamic world. Just as the office Of the successor of the Prophet had royal connotations, so did the mihrab; but only through its significance as a religious memorial could it have become accepted almost immediately in all religious buildings. The point is strengthened by comparing such immediate adoption with the development in Umayyad times of the ______, the pre-Islamic throne-chair used by the Prophet in Madina. Under the Umayyads the minbar began to appear in mosques other than the one in Madina, and it was clearly a symbol of authority. As such, its adoption was more fully controlled than in the case of the mihrab. It was often a movable _____ which did not properly belong in the religious institution, and for several centuries the existence of mosques with minbars was one of the criteria which distinguished a city or an administrative centre from a mere village The entirely different destiny of the mihrab suggests that, whatever its relationship with royal ceremonies in the mosque, its primary function was not royal but religious. The formal origin of the mihrab is certainly to be sought in the niche of _____ times, which through numerous modifications appeared as the haikal of Coptic churches, the setting for the Torah scrolls in synagogues, or simply as a frame for honoured statues. It is also related to the growth, still unsystematic, in the Umayyad period of a dome in front Of the central part of the qibla wall. Domes, of course, are well-known architectural means of honouring a holy place and, as such, already existed in pre-Islamic Arabia. The earliest reference we have to a dome in front of a mihrab is in the eighth-century mosque of Madina.

axial nave, concave mihrab, minbar, dome, royal, royalty, religious, adornment, mosaics, Constantinopolitan, vegetal, themes, buildings, representation, style, meaning, Objections, fullness, security, iconography,

The ____ ____, the ____ ____, the ____, and the ____ in front of the mihrab were destined to play an important part in the history of Islamic architecture. In Umayyad times their precise functions and purposes emerged from still rather obscure origins; more specifically, all of them appear together in the imperial mosques of al-Walid. They are difficult to interpret because they fulfilled an ambiguous role, and their varying functional and formal origins and destinies are not yet fully understood. Their ambiguity reflects that of the Umayyad mosques built by al-Walid. Just as these features which in Umayyad times can be related to _____ functions will tend more and more to acquire a religious meaning, similarly the mosque's significance as a place of worship grows in importance without its ever losing completely its function as a social and political centre. This ill-defined shift in emphasis explains the peculiar characteristic of the Umayyad mosque of the early eighth century: its architectural elements reflect both ______ and ______ concerns, the former more often creating specific forms and the latter the dimensions of their coming interpretation. While the architectural characteristics of the three mosques of al-Walid can be reconstructed on the basis of texts and archeological data, for their _______ we must rely almost entirely on the one at Damascus, which has preserved important parts of its original decoration. Like the Dome of the Rock, it had magnificently carved window grilles. The marble panelling on the lower part of its walls was renowned from the very beginning for the extraordinary beauty of its combinations, of which only a small and poorly reset fraction remains by the east gate. The most celebrated decorative element was, however, the ______ which originally covered most, if not all, of the walls in the porticoes, on the court facade, in the sanctuary, and perhaps even on the northern minaret. There are many literary references to these mosaics, but much uncertainty remains: we do not know, for instance, whether the many accounts of the importation of Byzantine mosaicists are true, or merely reflect the feeling that works of such quality doubtless are of __________ origin. Most scholars tend towards the first hypothesis. In spite of the disgraceful restorations which have affected sizeable segments of the original mosaics since the 1960s, large fragments can be identified everywhere in the courtyard, and drawings made shortly before the fire of 1893 record something of the sanctuary mosaics. In most instances, the motifs are ______, akin to those of the Dome of the Rock, although more realistic in their depiction of specific plants and with fewer mixtures of forms of different origins. Their greatest originality consists in the massive introduction of architectural _______. On the facade of the axial nave and on some of the spandrels of the northern and western porticoes, _______ of all types appear in the foliage. The best preserved of these compositions is the large (34-50 by 7.155 metres), richly framed panel on the wall Of the western protocol. In the foreground a number of small rivers flow into a body of water along which stand splendid tall trees, rather irregularly set, but providing a frame for a series of smaller architectural units remarkable for their thematic variety (small houses clustered around a church; vast piazzas surrounded by porticoes, stately palaces on the banks of a river) and for their stylistic differences (illusionistic techniques next to fantastic constructions of unrelated elements). These mosaics raise two questions. 1) The first is formal: how should one explain the coexistence of widely different manners of ______, and is there a _____ specific to them? Mosaicists and painters since the first century C. E. had availed themselves of all the different styles found on the Damascus walls; the apparent innovation of the artists working for the caliphs was to use them alongside each other. These artists, or their patrons, show a remarkable catholicity of taste, an interest in all available forms, whatever their date or original purpose. To an even greater extent than in the Dome of the Rock, the pre-Islamic models of the Damascus mosaics usually included human or animal forms. None is found here — which implies that the Muslim patrons imposed themes and manners of representation upon the mosaicists, whatever their country of origin. The large trees — although not the main subject matter and amazingly artificial in relation to the rest of the landscape may have fulfilled the formal function of figures in comparable older work. 2) The other question raised by the mosaics is that of their ______. Some later medieval writers saw in them images of all the towns in the world, and a few contemporary scholars have interpreted the remaining panel as the city of Damascus. Topographical representations are known in pre-Islamic art, and the Damascus mosaics — like those of the Dome of the Rock — could be explained simply as symbols of the Umayyad conquest. Or perhaps an ideal 'city of God' is intended, derived from classical and postclassical representations of paradise, but omitting all living things. The theme of an idealized landscape could be related to the setting of the Muslim paradise (for instance Qur'an 4: 57ff.); later indications suggest that mosque courts were at times compared to a paradise' and the most recent interpretations of the mosaics of Damascus have accepted their paradisiac meaning. _______ exist to every one of these explanations. Reference to specific cities throughout the building could hardly have led to the peculiar stylistic and iconographic inconsistencies of mixing precise depictions with artificial constructions, and to the appearance together of architectural units of such different character (towns, villages, single buildings) and on such different And, while a landscape with water and buildings could be understood as a representation of a Muslim paradise, the idea of illustrating the Holy Book at such an early date does not seem to coincide with the contemporary Muslim uses of the Qur'an. Instead, a combination of these explanations remains possible. Writing in the late tenth century, al-Muqaddasi, our earliest interpreter of the mosaics, pointed out that 'there is hardly a tree or a notable town that has not been pictured on these and a fourteenth-century author redefined the idea, including a precise identification of the Ka'ba. It is, therefore, valid to assume that there was an attempt to portray, within the confines of the imperial mosque, the _____ of the universe — cities even with their churches and surrounding nature — controlled by the Umayyad caliphs. But, at the same time, the golden background, the unreal and unspecific character of many of the compositions, the open ensembles of buildings as opposed to the walled cities of pre-Islamic models, and the centrally placed tall trees give these mosaics an idyllic and earthly feeling, which contradicts any attempt to identify actual cities. Instead one can suggest that the imperial theme of rule over the natural and human world has been idealized into the representation of a 'Golden Age' under the new faith and state in which a peaceful perfection has permeated all things' Thus, some fifteen years later, the mosaics Of Damascus recall those of Jerusalem, but, instead of being an assertion of victory, they reflect the newly acquired _____ of the Muslim empire. Their most striking feature is that whatever meaning they had does not seem either to have maintained itself within Islamic culture or to have spawned a clearly defined programme for mosques. They should possibly be understood as an attempt at an Islamic _________ which did not take roots because it was too closely related to the ways of Christian art. Mosaic decoration existed also in the other two mosques built by al-Walid, but no Umayyad work remains, although the much later mosaics on the drums of the Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem probably reflect Umayyad models. In spite Of some controversy around the subject, the wooden panels preserved from the ceiling of the same mosque, with their remarkably original variety of decorative motifs, are possibly Umayyad or slightly later. It should, finally, be mentioned that, during excavations carried out in Ramlah in Palestine, an early eighth-century mosaic floor was found with the representation of an arch over two columns which may or may not be a mihrab and with a fragment from, possibly, the Qur'an. The context of this floor, so different from most other examples of Umayyad mosaics, makes it almost impossible to explain without additional archaeological information.

Dome of the Rock

The _____ __ ___ _____ is the 1st monument It was the Islamics way of announcing themselves to the world It was built over the rock which Muslims believed Muhammad ascended to heaven from it is 1300 years old, one of the oldest Islamic monument It is located in Jerusalem (Al-Quds) which is a city of many layers of History It is the heart of the conflict between Israel (claims it as their capital) and Palestine The American embassy was moved to Jerusalem and other countries followed 24% Jews, 2% Christians, 64% Muslims In the old Byzantine mosaic map we see walls (build by Ottomans), urban development (streets and compact buildings), gates, earthy color tone, the area is hilly/rocky Map: the city is organized in quarters (Muslims, Christians, Armenian, Jews) and it seems to circle the mosque The 3 major monotheistic religions are confined in one area

dome, outside, geometric

The third original feature of the Dome of the Rock is the way in which the _____ itself juts out of the octagons. The effect is quite different from that of San Vitale in Ravenna, of the Holy Sepulchre, or of the palace church in Aachen with which the Dome of the Rock is frequently compared — justifiably so, if one looks at plan alone. The designer made the dome more significant from the ____ than from the inside, where it is in fact nearly invisible because of its height and the location of the Rock. It is as though the building has two messages: 1) one to proclaim to the rest of the city that Islam has sanctified anew the place of the Jewish Temple; 2) the other to convey the impression of a luxurious shrine for restricted and internal purposes. To accomplish these aims, the sponsors of the building (presumably the caliph 'Abd al-Malik and his entourage in Damascus), the engineers or supervisors in charge of the construction itself (Raja' ibn Hayweh and Yazid ibn Salam, presumably Arab Muslim functionaries of a new state or emissaries of the ruler), and the artisans who did the actual work (presumably local or imported Christians) simplified an existing architectural type to its purest _______ shape. Such minimal departures from exact geometry as exist serve a very specific visual purpose. Thus, the slight displacement of the columns of the octagon leads the gaze of anyone entering the building right through it and reveals each of its constituent parts. Set on a traditional holy site, and drawing on its Late Antique heritage for methods of construction and decoration, the Dome of the Rock created an entirely new combination of artistic conceptions to fulfil its purpose. It is a most splendid and singular achievement, a true work of architectural art.

heritage

The world _____ committee reaffirming that nothing in the present decision, which aims at the Safeguard of the authenticity, integrity and cultural heritage of the old city through this through some on both sides of its walls, shall in any way affect the relevant United Nations resolutions and decisions, in particular the relevant Security Council resolution on the legal status of Jerusalem. 1. deeply concerned by the persistence of the Israeli illegal excavation and works conducted by the Israeli occupation authorities in the extreme settler groups in the old city of Jerusalem on both sides of its walls and the failure of Jerusalem to cease such harmful interventions, request Israel to timely stop all such violations, in Conformity with its obligations under the provisions of related UNESCO conventions in recommendations. 2. regrets the damage caused by the Israeli security force on 30th October 2014 to the historic Gates and the windows of the Qibli mosque inside Al-Aqsa Mosque Al-HAram Al-Sharif, Which is a Muslim holy site of worship and an integral part of a world heritage site also deplores the Israelis decision to approve: the plan to build a two line cable car system in eastern Jerusalem, the plan to construct of the so-called "Liba House" project in the old city of Jerusalem, the demolishment and new construction of the so-called Strauss Building, in the project of the elevator in the Buraq Plaza (Western Wall), the digging of the Mumluk structure beneath the Buraq Plaza (Western Wall),The excavations and construction of new levels beneath the Buraq Plaza, and urges Israel, the occupying power, to Renounce the above-mentioned projects in Conformity with its obligation under the provision of related UNESCO conventions in recommendations particularly the Hague Convention For the protection of cultural property in the event of armed conflict of 1954 and its related protocols, as well as UNESCO decisions to particularly the world heritage committee decision 26 and 38COM7A.4

Mosque, physical, masjid, masjid-i jami, prayer, madrasas, khanaqahs,

______ [Arab. masjid]. Muslim house of prayer. Islam requires no _____ structure for valid prayer, which may be performed anywhere, and a minimal masjid ("place of prostration") may consist only of lines marked on the ground, but a building constructed especially for the purpose is preferred, in particular for congregational prayer at Friday noon, the principal weekly service. Such a building may be called a _____ or a jami (Turk. cami), from masjid al-jami (Pets. Masjid-i jami'; Urdu jåmi masjid), meaning "congregation mosque." This term is often rendered in English as "great mosque," or "Friday mosque," a translation of ______ ______, a Persian variant. The word masjid may also be applied to any place where ____ is appropriate, for example the Masjid al-Haram, the enclosed area around the Ka'ba in Mecca. Large buildings constructed for other religious purposes, such as ______ and ______, usually contain prayer-halls arranged like freestanding mosques. In cities throughout the Islamic world, the daily needs of the residents of particular quarters have been served by small mosques; they are often reduced versions of the major types of mosque that were most popular locally at the time of their construction. This article is concerned primarily with major structures built specifically for congregational prayer. (For further bibliography and information on mosques in other types of buildings, see KHANAQAH, KÜLLYE, MADRASA and MUSALLA; on the historical development of mosques, see ARHCITECTURE, on component parts of mosques, see MAQSURA, MIHRAB, MINARET and MINBAR; on particular buildings, see individual site-entries.)

Minbar

______: Stepped pulpit Used for delivering The Khutba (formal address) Used in prophet's time Ca. 629 (got up on a raised platform to address the community) What does it resemble? Originally only in Friday or Congregational Mosques: Masjid Jami' pl. Jawami' always next to the miharb The religious leader (Iman) leads prayer and give the Khutba Iman: community leader, does not interrupt the Qur'an, reads Qur'an, he guides prayer The top two steps is suppose to be left vacant, the space of the prophet The Iman does not go on these steps out of respect for Muhammad Minbar not for the usual place for mosque practicer Very orient pieces of architecture, very decorative

mosaic

______: an art medium characterized by the inlay of colored stones, glass, or tile, usually set in mortar.

masjid

______: literally a place of prostration," hence a mosque, whether a building set aside for prayer or a room or a space used for the purpose of praying.

Mayda'a

_______ Ablutions fountain Is the fountain that gives you the opportunity to wash your hands and feet before you go in to pray The fountain are gendered (man and woman used different fountains) In the courtyard In Egypt the Ablutions fountain was on the exterior of the mosque Courtyard (sahn) of Damascus Mosque, ca. 715

minaret

_______ (Minara, Mi'dhana) Tower-like structure, associated with mosques (the spire) Purpose? Visual marker of the mosque Original used to call followers to prayer (Someone go up the stairs 5 times a day and calls) NY mosque is modern (centralized plan) but has one Not there in the time of the prophet, it comes latter Damascus, ca. 715 CE A distinctive feature of mosque architecture, a tower from which the faithful are called to worship. Creates problems. Architecture used to weaponize politcal desires and wills. In areas with Muslim minorities the minaret is used to denial groups the rights to build a mosque Former buildings are repurposes the minaret can't be built

haram

_______: Arabic word generally referring to a sort of sanctuary. It is usually used to denote sanctuary of the mosque, specifically with reference to the Holy Mosques of Mecca and Medina and the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem

qibla

_________: the direction of Mecca; the wall in a Mosque toward which Muslims bow down to pray, the wall that faces toward Mecca