rise of islamic architecture
DESCRIPTION
Lecture notes and images for Tuesday June 18.TRANSCRIPT
Lecture 10: The Origins of Christian Architecture
✤ Europe and Islam✤ Early Christian architecture used the Roman basilicas and baths.
✤ War slowed Roman and Greek ideas in Europe.
✤ The complete city was a Roman and Greek gift to the world.
✤ The Islamic architects used Roman and Greek ideas and buildings.
✤ The Islamic architects used idea of nature and complexity in design.
✤ Vernacular design became Friday, June 14, 2013
Map of Florentia
Cardo and Decumanus
Friday, June 14, 2013
Date: 80 - 95 BC Architect:Marcus Agrippa
Pont du Gard, Nimes, France
Friday, June 14, 2013
Rome Aqueduct Diagram
Friday, June 14, 2013
Date: 497 BC - 312 AD
The Roman Forum, Rome
Friday, June 14, 2013
Roman Empire 400 AD
Friday, June 14, 2013
Date: 3C AD
Catacombs: Rome
Friday, June 14, 2013
Date: Early 3C AD
The Sanctuary of Mithras (beneath the church of San Clemente)
Friday, June 14, 2013
Date: 3C AD
Catacomb of San Priscilla: Rome
Friday, June 14, 2013
Date: 298 - 306 Architect: Constantine I
Baths of Diocletian : Santa Maria degli Angeli (Rome)
Friday, June 14, 2013
Date: 298 - 306 Architect: Constantine I
Baths of Diocletian : Santa Maria degli Angeli (Rome)
Friday, June 14, 2013
Date: 308 - 312 Architect: Constantine I
Baths of Diocletian : Santa Maria degli Angeli (Rome)
Friday, June 14, 2013
Date: 308 - 312 Architect: Constantine I
Baths of Diocletian : San Bernardo alle Terme (Rome)
Friday, June 14, 2013
Date: 308 - 312 Architect: Constantine I
Baths of Diocletian : Santa Maria degli Angeli (Rome)
Friday, June 14, 2013
Date: 308 - 312 Architect: Constantine I
Baths of Diocletian : Santa Maria degli Angeli (Rome)
Friday, June 14, 2013
Date: 308 - 312 Architect: Constantine I
Baths of Diocletian : Santa Maria degli Angeli (Rome)
Friday, June 14, 2013
Date: 308 - 312 Architect: Constantine I
Basilica Maxentius or Basilica Constantine : Rome
Friday, June 14, 2013
Date: 308 - 312 Architect: Constantine I
Basilica Maxentius or Basilica Constantine : Rome
Friday, June 14, 2013
Date: 308 - 312 Architect: Constantine I
Basilica Maxentius or Basilica Constantine : Rome
Friday, June 14, 2013
Date: 451 - 475 AD
Baptistery at Ravenna
Friday, June 14, 2013
Date: 562 AD Architect: Isidore of Miletus and Anthemius of Tralles
Hagia Sofia: Istanbul, Turkey
Friday, June 14, 2013
Date: 562 AD Architect: Isidore of Miletus and Anthemius of Tralles
Hagia Sofia: Istanbul, Turkey
Friday, June 14, 2013
Date: 360 AD Architect: Constantine I
Old St. Peter’s: Rome
Friday, June 14, 2013
Date: 360 AD Architect: Constantine I
Old St. Peter’s: Rome
Friday, June 14, 2013
Date: 360 AD Architect: Constantine I
Old St. Peter’s: Rome
Friday, June 14, 2013
Lecture 10: The Origins of Christian Architecture
✤ San Vitale
✤ Palantine Chapel
✤ Dome of the Rock
✤ The Great Mosque at Cordoba
✤ Alhambra
Friday, June 14, 2013
Date: 527 - 546 AD Architect: Unknown
San Vitale: Ravenna, Italy (Plan)
Friday, June 14, 2013
Date: 527 - 546 AD Architect: Unknown
San Vitale: Ravenna, Italy (Section)
Friday, June 14, 2013
Date: 527 - 546 AD Architect: Unknown
San Vitale: Ravenna, Italy
Friday, June 14, 2013
Date: 527 - 546 AD Architect: Unknown
San Vitale: Ravenna, Italy
Friday, June 14, 2013
Date: 527 - 546 AD Architect: Unknown
San Vitale: Ravenna, Italy
Friday, June 14, 2013
Date: 527 - 546 AD Architect: Unknown
San Vitale: Ravenna, Italy (Apse Mosaic)
Friday, June 14, 2013
Date: 527 - 546 AD Architect: Unknown
San Vitale: Ravenna, Italy (Apse Mosaic)
Friday, June 14, 2013
Date: 527 - 546 AD Architect: Unknown
San Vitale: Ravenna, Italy
Friday, June 14, 2013
Date: 796 - 804 AD Architect: Odo of Metz
Palantine Chapel
Friday, June 14, 2013
Date: 796 - 804 AD Architect: Odo of Metz
Palantine Chapel
Friday, June 14, 2013
Date: 796 - 804 AD Architect: Odo of Metz
Palantine Chapel
Friday, June 14, 2013
Date: 796 - 804 AD Architect: Odo of Metz
Palantine Chapel
Friday, June 14, 2013
Date: 796 - 804 AD Architect: Odo of Metz
Palantine Chapel
Friday, June 14, 2013
Date: 796 - 804 AD Architect: Odo of Metz
Palantine Chapel
Friday, June 14, 2013
Date: 796 - 804 AD Architect: Odo of Metz
Palantine Chapel
Friday, June 14, 2013
Date: 796 - 804 AD Architect: Odo of Metz
Palantine Chapel
Friday, June 14, 2013
Date: 796 - 804 AD Architect: Odo of Metz
Palantine Chapel
Friday, June 14, 2013
Roman Empire 400 AD
Friday, June 14, 2013
Map of Umayyad Dynasty 14 Century
Friday, June 14, 2013
Date: 691 AD Architect: Unknown
Dome of the Rock: Jerusalem, Israel
Friday, June 14, 2013
Date: 691 AD Architect: Unknown
Dome of the Rock: Jerusalem, Israel
Friday, June 14, 2013
Date: 691 AD Architect: Unknown
Dome of the Rock: Jerusalem, Israel
Friday, June 14, 2013
Date: 691 AD Architect: Unknown
Dome of the Rock: Jerusalem, Israel
Friday, June 14, 2013
Date: 691 AD Architect: Unknown
Dome of the Rock: Jerusalem, Israel
Friday, June 14, 2013
Date: 691 AD Architect: Unknown
Dome of the Rock: Jerusalem, Israel
Friday, June 14, 2013
Date: 691 AD Architect: Unknown
Dome of the Rock: Jerusalem, Israel
Friday, June 14, 2013
Date: 691 AD Architect: Unknown
Dome of the Rock: Jerusalem, Israel
Friday, June 14, 2013
Date: 691 AD Architect: Unknown
Dome of the Rock: Jerusalem, Israel
Friday, June 14, 2013
Date: 784 - 987 AD Architect: Unknown
The Great Mosque: Cordoba, Spain
Friday, June 14, 2013
Date: 784 - 987 AD Architect: Unknown
The Great Mosque: Cordoba, Spain
Friday, June 14, 2013
Date: 784 - 987 AD Architect: Unknown
The Great Mosque: Cordoba, Spain
Friday, June 14, 2013
Date: 784 - 987 AD Architect: Unknown
The Great Mosque: Cordoba, Spain
Friday, June 14, 2013
Date: 784 - 987 AD Architect: Unknown
The Great Mosque: Cordoba, Spain
Friday, June 14, 2013
Date: 784 - 987 AD Architect: Unknown
The Great Mosque: Cordoba, Spain
Friday, June 14, 2013
Date: 784 - 987 AD Architect: Unknown
The Great Mosque: Cordoba, Spain
Friday, June 14, 2013
Date: 784 - 987 AD Architect: Unknown
The Great Mosque: Cordoba, Spain
Friday, June 14, 2013
Date: 784 - 987 AD Architect: Unknown
The Great Mosque: Cordoba, Spain
Friday, June 14, 2013
Date: 784 - 987 AD Architect: Unknown
The Great Mosque: Cordoba, Spain
Friday, June 14, 2013
Date: 784 - 987 AD Architect: Unknown
The Great Mosque: Cordoba, Spain
Friday, June 14, 2013
Date: 784 - 987 AD Architect: Unknown
The Great Mosque: Cordoba, Spain
Friday, June 14, 2013
Date: 784 - 987 AD Architect: Unknown
The Great Mosque: Cordoba, Spain
Friday, June 14, 2013
Date: 784 - 987 AD Architect: Unknown
The Great Mosque: Cordoba, Spain
Friday, June 14, 2013
Date: 784 - 987 AD Architect: Unknown
The Great Mosque: Cordoba, Spain
Friday, June 14, 2013
Date: 14C AD Architect: Unknown
Alhambra: Granada, Spain
Friday, June 14, 2013
Date: 14C AD Architect: Unknown
Alhambra: Granada, Spain
Friday, June 14, 2013
Date: 14C AD Architect: Unknown
Alhambra: Granada, Spain (Complex Details)
Friday, June 14, 2013
Date: 14C AD Architect: Unknown
Alhambra: Granada, Spain
Friday, June 14, 2013
Date: 14C AD Architect: Unknown
Alhambra: Granada, Spain
Friday, June 14, 2013
Date: 14C AD Architect: Unknown
Alhambra: Granada, Spain
Friday, June 14, 2013
Date: 14C AD Architect: Unknown
Alhambra: Granada, Spain
Friday, June 14, 2013
Date: 14C AD Architect: Unknown
Alhambra: Granada, Spain
Friday, June 14, 2013
Date: 14C AD Architect: Unknown
Alhambra: Granada, Spain
Friday, June 14, 2013
Date: 14C AD Architect: Unknown
Alhambra: Granada, Spain
Friday, June 14, 2013
Date: 14C AD Architect: Unknown
Alhambra: Granada, Spain
Friday, June 14, 2013
Date: 14C AD Architect: Unknown
Alhambra: Granada, Spain
Friday, June 14, 2013
Date: 14C AD Architect: Unknown
Alhambra: Granada, Spain
Friday, June 14, 2013
Date: 14C AD Architect: Unknown
Alhambra: Granada, Spain
Friday, June 14, 2013
Date: 14C AD Architect: Unknown
Alhambra: Granada, Spain
Friday, June 14, 2013
Date: 10C AD Architect: Unknown
Alcazar: Seville, Spain
Friday, June 14, 2013
Date: 10C AD Architect: Unknown
Alcazar: Seville, Spain
Friday, June 14, 2013
The Palatine Chapel
is an Early Medieval chapel that is the remaining component of Charlemagne's Palace of Aachen. Although the palace no longer exists, the chapel has been incorporated into the Aachen Cathedral, Germany. It is the city's major landmark and the central monument of the Carolingian Renaissance. The chapel holds the remains of Charlemagne and was the site of coronations for 600 years.
History
Charlemagne began the construction of the Palatine Chapel around 792, along with the building of the rest of the palace structures.[1] It was consecrated in 805 by Pope Leo III in honor of the Virgin Mary. The building is a centrally planned, domed chapel. The east end had a square apse, and was originally flanked by two basilican structures, now lost but known through archaeology. The chapel was entered through a monumental atrium, to the west. The plan and decoration of the building combines elements of Classical, Byzantine and Pre-Romanesque, and opulent materials as the expression of a new royal house, ruled by Charlemagne.
The architect responsible, Odo of Metz, About him, we know nothing. The building he designed has a simple exterior and a complex interior, with a double shell octagonal dome resting on heavy piers, a two-story elevation, and elaborate revetment and decoration.
Structure
There is a sixteen-sided ambulatory with a gallery overhead encircling the central octagonal dome. The plan and decoration owe much to the sixth-century Basilica of San Vitale, Ravenna. Indeed Charlemagne visited Ravenna three times, the first in 787. In that year he wrote to Pope Hadrian I and requested "mosaic, marbles, and other materials from floors and walls" in Rome and Ravenna, for his palace.[2]
The construction, including barrel and groin vaults and an octagonal cloister-vault in the dome, reflects late Roman, or Pre-Romanesque, practices rather than the Byzantine techniques employed at San Vitale, and its plan simplifies the complex geometry of the Ravenna building. Multi-coloured marble veneer is used to create a sumptuous interior. The chapel makes use of ancient spolia, conceivably from Ravenna (Einhard claimed they were from Rome and Ravenna), as well as newly carved materials. The bronze decoration is of extraordinarily high quality, especially the doors with lions heads and the interior railings, with their Corinthian order columns and acanthus scrolls.
The dome was decorated originally with a fresco then later with mosaic. After a fire these have been replaced with a nineteenth-century reproduction, which has the same iconography as the original if not the stylistic qualities. It depicts the twenty-four elders of the Apocalypse bearing crowns and standing around the base of the dome. Above the main altar, and facing the royal throne, is an image of Christ in Majesty.[3] The upper gallery of the chapel was the royal space, with a special throne area for the king, then emperor, which let onto the liturgical space of the church and onto the atrium, outside, as well.
The main entrance is dominated by a westwork comprising the western facade including the entrance vestibule, rooms at one or more levels above, and one or more towers. These overlook the atrium of the church. The addition of a westwork to churches is one of the Carolingian contributions to Western architectural traditions.
The Great Mosque of Córdoba, in ecclesiastical terms the Catedral de Nuestra Señora de la Asunción (English: Cathedral of Our Lady of the Assumption), and known by the inhabitants of Córdoba as the Mezquita-Catedral (Mosque–Cathedral). It is located in the Andalusian city of Córdoba, Spain.
The site was originally a pagan temple, then a Visigothic Christian church, before the Umayyad Moors converted the building into a mosque and then built a new mosque on the site.[1] After the Spanish Reconquista, it became a Roman Catholic church, with a plateresque cathedral later inserted into the centre of the large Moorish building.
The building was begun around the year 600 as the Christian Visigothic church of St. Vincent.[9]
Traditionally, the mihrab of a mosque faces in the direction of Mecca; by facing the mihrab, worshipers pray towards Mecca. Mecca is east-southeast of the mosque, but the mihrab points south.[12]
The mosque underwent numerous subsequent changes: Abd ar-Rahman III ordered a new minaret, while Al-Hakam II, in 961, enlarged the building and enriched the mihrab. The last of the reforms was carried out by Al-Mansur Ibn Abi Aamir in 987. It was connected to the Caliph's palace by a raised walk-way, mosques within the palaces being the tradition for the Islamic rulers of all times. The Mezquita reached its current dimensions in 987 with the completion of the outer naves and courtyard.
Design
The Great Mosque of Córdoba exhibited features, and an architectural appearance, similar to the Great Mosque of Damascus,[16] therefore it is evident that it was used as a model by Abd ar-Rahman for the creation of the Great Mosque in Córdoba.
Features
The building is most notable for its arcaded hypostyle hall, with 856 columns of jasper, onyx, marble, and granite. These were made from pieces of the Roman temple which had occupied the site previously, as well as other destroyed Roman buildings, such as the Mérida amphitheatre. The double arches were a new introduction to architecture, permitting higher ceilings than would otherwise be possible with relatively low columns. The double arches consist of a lower horseshoe arch and an upper semi-circular arch. The famous alternating red and white voussoirs of the arches were inspired by those in the Dome of the Rock.[14] and also resemble those of the Aachen Cathedral, which were built almost at the same time. A centrally located honey-combed dome has blue tiles decorated with stars.
The mosque also has richly gilded prayer niches. The mihrab is a masterpiece of architectural art, with geometric and flowing designs of plants. Other prominent features were: an open court (sahn) surrounded by arcades, screens of wood, minarets, colourful mosaics, and windows of coloured glass.[14] The walls of the mosque had Quranic inscriptions written on them.
Layout
The mosque’s floor plan is seen to be parallel to some of the earliest mosques built from the very beginning of Islam.[13] It had a rectangular prayer hall with aisles arranged perpendicular to the qibla, the direction towards which Muslims pray.[17] The prayer hall was large in size, flat, with timber ceilings held up by arches of horseshoe-like appearance.[13]
Alhambra is a palace and fortress complex located in Granada, Andalusia, Spain. It was constructed during the mid 14th century by the Arab rulers of the Emirate of Granada in al-Andalus, occupying the top of the hill of the Assabica on the southeastern border of the city of Granada.
The Alhambra's Moorish palaces were built for the last Muslim Emirs in Spain and its court, of the Nasrid dynasty. After the Reconquista (reconquest) by the Reyes Católicos ("Catholic Monarchs") in 1492, some portions were used by the Christian rulers. The Palace of Charles V, built by Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor in 1527, was inserted in the Alhambra within the Nasrid fortifications. After being allowed to fall into disrepair for centuries, the Alhambra was "discovered" in the 19th century by European scholars and travelers, with restorations commencing. It is now one of Spain's major tourist attractions, exhibiting the country's most significant and well known Islamic architecture, together with 16th-century and later Christian building and garden interventions.
Despite long neglect, willful vandalism and some ill-judged restoration, the Alhambra endures as an atypical example of Muslim art in its final European stages, relatively uninfluenced by the direct Byzantine influences found in the Mezquita of Córdoba. The majority of the palace buildings are quadrangular in plan, with all the rooms opening on to a central court; and the whole reached its present size simply by the gradual addition of new quadrangles, designed on the same principle, though varying in dimensions, and connected with each other by smaller rooms and passages. The Alhambra was extended by the different Muslim rulers who lived in the complex. However, each new section that was added followed the consistent theme of "paradise on earth". Column arcades, fountains with running water, and reflecting pools were used to add to the aesthetic and functional complexity. In every case, the exterior was left plain and austere. Sun and wind were freely admitted. Blue, red, and a golden yellow, all somewhat faded through lapse of time and exposure, are the colors chiefly employed.
The decoration consists, as a rule, of stiff, conventional foliage, Arabic inscriptions, and geometrical patterns wrought into arabesques. Painted tiles are largely used as panelling for the walls. The palace complex is designed in the Mudéjar style which is characteristic of western elements reinterpreted into Islamic forms and widely popular during the Reconquista, the reconquest of the Iberian Peninsula from the Muslims by the Christian kingdoms.
the decorations within the palaces typified the remains of Moorish dominion within Spain and ushered in the last great period of Andalusian art in Granada. With little of the Byzantine influence of contemporary Abassid architecture,[1] artists endlessly reproduced the same forms and trends, creating a new style that developed over the course of the Nasrid Dynasty. The Nasrids used freely all the stylistic elements that had been created and developed during eight centuries of Muslim rule in the Peninsula, including the Calliphal horseshoe arch, the Almohad sebka (a grid of rhombuses), the Almoravid palm, and unique combinations of them, as well as innovations such as stilted arches and muqarnas (stalactite ceiling decorations). The isolation from the rest of Islam plus the commercial and political relationship with the Christian kingdoms also influenced building styles.
Columns and muqarnas appear in several chambers, and the interiors of numerous palaces are decorated with arabesques and calligraphy. The arabesques of the interior are ascribed to, among other sultans, Yusuf I, Mohammed V, and Ismail I, Sultan of Granada.
Mihrab indicates the direction towards mecca
The word mihrab originally had a non-religious meaning and simply denoted a special room in a house; a throne room in a palace, for example. The Fath al-Bari (p. 458), on the authority of others, suggests the mihrab is "the most honorable location of kings" and "the master of locations, the front and the most honorable." The Mosques in Islam (p. 13), in addition to Arabic sources, cites Theodor Nöldeke and others as having considered a mihrab to have originally signified a throne room.
Eventually, the niche came to be universally understood to identify the qibla wall, and so came to be adopted as a feature in other mosques. A sign was no longer necessary.
Today, Mihrabs vary in size, are usually ornately decorated and often designed to give the impression of an arched doorway or a passage to Mecca.
In exceptional cases, the mihrab does not follow the qibla direction. One example is the Mezquita of Córdoba, Spain that points south instead of southeast. Among the proposed explanations, there is the localization of the ancient Roman cardo street besides the old temple the Mezquita was built upon.
Muqarnas is a type of corbel employed as a decorative device in traditional Islamic and Persian architecture. The related mocárabe refers only to projecting elements that resemble stalactites, alveole.[1][2]
An architectural ornamentation reminiscent of stalactites, muqarnas developed around the middle of the 10th century in northeastern Iran and almost simultaneously — but seemingly independently — in central North Africa; they take the form of small pointed niches, stacked in tiers which project beyond lower tiers, commonly constructed of brick, stone, stucco, or wood, clad with painted tiles, wood, or plaster, and are typically applied to domes, pendentives, cornices, squinches and the undersides of arches and vaults.[1]
The earliest example of muqarnas are found near Samarra, Iraq, at the Sharaf al-Dawla Mausoleum, also known as Imam Dur Mausoleum, tomb of an Uqaylid Dynasty ruler.[3]
Examples can be found in the Alhambra in Granada, Spain, the Abbasid Palace in Baghdad, and the mausoleum of Sultan Qaitbay, Cairo, Egypt.[1] Large rectangular roofs with muqarnas-style decoration adorn the 12th century Cappella Palatina in Palermo, Sicily, and other important buildings in Norman Sicily.
Muqarnas display radial symmetry based upon N-gonal symmetry.[citation needed] The number of unique tiles possible is derived from N = N/2 - 1. Larger N values result in thinner muquarnas tiles. There are an unlimited number of muqarnas tile sets given the wide variety of tile profile design possibilities. Computer graphics and fabrication today allow the design and production of novel muqarnas compositions not found in the historical record.
The Kaaba is a cuboid-shaped building in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, and is the most sacred site in Islam.[2] The Quran states that the Kaaba was constructed by Abraham (Ibrahim in Arabic), and his son Ishmael (Ismaeel in Arabic), after the latter had settled in Arabia.[3] The building has a mosque built around it, the Masjid al-Haram. All Muslims around the world face the Kaaba during prayers, no matter where they are. This is called facing the Qiblah. Some non-Muslims think that Muslim worship the Kaaba but it's wrong concept, Kaaba is the direction for prayers.
Is a large masonry structure in the shape of a cuboid, it is made of granite quarried from nearby hills. Standing upon a 25 cm (10 in) marble base that projects outwards about 35 cm (14 in),[2] it is approximately 13.1 m (43 ft) high, with sides measuring 11.03 m (36.2 ft) by 12.86 m (42.2 ft).[6][7].
"the Black Stone", is located in the Kaaba's eastern corner. Its northern corner is known as the Ruknu l-ˤĪrāqī, "the Iraqi corner", its western as the Ruknu sh-Shāmī, "the Levantine corner", and its southern as Ruknu l-Yamanī "the Yemeni corner".[2][7] The four corners of the Kaaba roughly point toward the four cardinal directions of the compass.[2] Its major (long) axis is aligned with the rising of the star Canopus toward which its southern wall is directed, while its minor axis (its east-west facades) roughly align with the sunrise of summer solstice and the sunset of winter solstice.[8]
The Kaaba is covered by a black silk and gold curtain known as the kiswah, which is replaced annually during the Hajj pilgrimage.[10][11] Two-thirds of the way up is a band of gold embroidered Quranic text, including the Shahada, the Islamic declaration of faith.
The Dome of the Rock is a shrine located on the Temple Mount in the Old City of Jerusalem. The structure has been refurbished many times since its initial completion in 691 CE at the order of Umayyad Caliph Abd al-Malik. The site's significance stems from religious traditions regarding the rock, known as the Foundation Stone, at its heart.
Location, construction and dimensions
The Dome of the Rock is located at the visual center of a platform known as the Temple Mount. It was constructed on the site of the Second Jewish Temple, which was destroyed during the Roman Siege of Jerusalem in 70 CE. In 637 CE, Jerusalem surrendered to the Rashidun Caliphate army during the Muslim conquest of Syria.
The location of the Dome of the Rock was established as the site of the Islamic miracle of the Isra and Miraj by Caliph Omar ibn al Khattab, who was advised by his associate, Ka'ab al-Ahbar, a former Jewish rabbi who had converted to Islam, that Isra and Miraj took place at the site of the former Jewish Temples. The Dome of the Rock was erected between 689 and 691 CE. The names of the two engineers in charge of the project are given as Yazid Ibn Salam from Jerusalem and Raja Ibn Haywah from Baysan. Umayyad Caliph Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan who initiated construction of the Dome, hoped that it would “house the Muslims from cold and heat”[1] and intended the building to serve as a shrine for pilgrims and not as a mosque for public worship.[2]
Architect Frederick Catherwood was the first westerner known to have made detailed drawings of the Dome, which he accomplished during a six-week period in 1833.[3]Shlomo Dov Goitein of the Hebrew University states that the Dome of the Rock was intended to compete with the many fine buildings of worship of other religions. Goitein said:
The very form of a rotunda, given to the Qubbat as-Sakhra, although it was foreign to Islam, attempted to rival the many Christian domes of its time. The inscription decorating the interior clearly display a spirit of polemic against Christianity, while stressing at the same time Koranic doctrine that Jesus Christ was a true prophet... All this shows that rivalry with Christendom, together with the spirit of Islamic Mission to Christians, was at work at the creation of the famous Dome.[4][5]
The structure is basically octagonal. It comprises a wooden dome, approximately 20 m in diameter, which is mounted on an elevated drum consisting of a circle of 16 piers and columns.[2] Surrounding this circle is an octagonal arcade of 24 piers and columns. During his travels in Jerusalem, American writer Mark Twain wrote that:
Every where about the Mosque of Omar are portions of pillars, curiously wrought altars, and fragments of elegantly carved marble – precious remains of Solomon's Temple. These have been dug from all depths in the soil and rubbish of Mount Moriah, and the Muslims have always shown a disposition to preserve them with the utmost care.[6]
The outer side walls are made of porcelain[7] and mirror the octagonal design. They each measure approximately 60 feet (18 m) wide and 36 feet (11 m) high. Both the dome and the exterior walls contain many windows.[2]
The Dome
Exterior
The Dome is in the shape of a Byzantine martyrium, a structure intended for the housing and veneration of saintly relics, and is an excellent example of middle Byzantine art. During the reign of Suleiman the Magnificent the exterior of the Dome of the Rock was covered with Iznik tiles. The work took seven years. Haj Amin Al-Husseini, appointed Grand Mufti by the British, along with Yacoub Al Ghussein implemented restoration of Dome of the Rock and Al Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem.
In 1955, an extensive program of renovation was begun by the government of Jordan, with funds supplied by the Arab governments and Turkey. The work included replacement of large numbers of tiles dating back to the reign of Suleiman the Magnificent, which had become dislodged by heavy rain. In 1965, as part of this restoration, the dome was covered with a durable aluminum bronze alloy made in Italy, that replaced the lead exterior.[8] The restoration was completed in August 1964. In 1993, the golden dome covering was refurbished following a donation of $8.2 million by King Hussein of Jordan who sold one of his houses in London to fund the 80 kilograms of gold required.
Interior
The interior of the dome is lavishly decorated with mosaic, faience and marble, much of which was added several centuries after its completion. It also contains Qur'anic inscriptions. Sura Ya-Seen is inscribed across the top of the tile work and was commissioned in the 16th century by Suleiman the Magnificent. Al-Isra is inscribed above this.
According to Goitein, the inscriptions decorating the interior clearly display a spirit of polemic against Christianity, whilst stressing at the same time the Qur'anic doctrine that Jesus was a true prophet. The formula la sharika lahu 'God has no companion' is repeated five times, the verses from Sura Maryam 19:35–37, which strongly reaffirm Jesus' prophethood to God, are quoted together with the prayer: Allahumma salli ala rasulika wa'abdika 'Isa bin Maryam – "In the name of the One God (Allah) Pray for your Prophet and Servant Jesus son of Mary". He believes that this shows that rivalry with Christendom, together with the spirit of Muslim mission to the Christians, was at work at the time of construction.[4]
The Church of San Vitale — styled an "ecclesiastical basilica" in the Roman Catholic Church, though it is not of architectural basilica form — is a church in Ravenna, Italy, one of the most important examples of early Christian Byzantine Art and architecture in western Europe. The building is one of eight Ravenna structures inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List.
History
The church was begun by Bishop Ecclesius in 527, when Ravenna was under the rule of the Ostrogoths, and completed by the 27th Bishop of Ravenna, Maximian in 546 during the Byzantine Exarchate of Ravenna. The architect of this church is unknown.
The construction of the church was sponsored by a Greek banker, Julius Argentarius, of whom very little is known, except that he also sponsored the construction of the Basilica of Sant' Apollinare in Classe at around the same time. The final cost amounted to 26,000 solidi (gold pieces).[1]
Architecture
The church has an octagonal plan. The building combines Roman elements: the dome, shape of doorways, and stepped towers; with Byzantine elements: polygonal apse, capitals, and narrow bricks. The church is most famous for its wealth of Byzantine mosaics, the largest and best preserved outside of Constantinople. The church is of extreme importance in Byzantine art, as it is the only major church from the period of the Emperor Justinian I to survive virtually intact to the present day. Furthermore, it is thought to reflect the design of the Byzantine Imperial Palace Audience Chamber, of which nothing at all survives. The belltower has four bells, the tenor one dates to XVI century. According to legend, the church was erected on the site of the martyrdom of Saint Vitalis.[2] However, there is some confusion as to whether this is the Saint Vitalis of Milan, or the Saint Vitale whose body was discovered together with that of Saint Agricola, by Saint Ambrose in Bologna in 393.
Mosaic art
The central section is surrounded by two superposed ambulatories. The upper one, the matrimoneum, was reserved for married women. A series of mosaics in the lunettes above the triforia depict sacrifices from the Old Testament:[3] the story of Abraham and Melchizedek, and the Sacrifice of Isaac; the story of Moses and the Burning Bush, Jeremiah and Isaiah, representatives of the twelve tribes of Israel, and the story of Abel and Cain. A pair of angels, holding a medallion with a cross, crowns each lunette. On the side walls the corners, next to the mullioned windows, have mosaics of the Four Evangelists, under their symbols (angel, lion, ox and eagle), and dressed in white. Especially the portrayal of the lion is remarkable in its feral ferocity.The cross-ribbed vault in the presbytery is richly ornamented with mosaic festoons of leaves, fruit and flowers, converging on a crown encircling the Lamb of God. The crown is supported by four angels, and every surface is covered with a profusion of flowers, stars, birds and animals, including many peacocks. Above the arch, on both sides, two angels hold a disc and beside them a representation of the cities of Jerusalem and Bethlehem. They symbolize the human race (Jerusalem representing the Jews, and Bethlehem the Gentiles).
All these mosaics are executed in the Hellenistic-Roman tradition: lively and imaginative, with rich colors and a certain perspective, and with a vivid depiction of the landscape, plants and birds. They were finished when Ravenna was still under Gothic rule. The apse is flanked by two chapels, the prothesis and the diaconicon, typical for Byzantine architecture.
Inside, the intrados of the great triumphal arch is decorated with fifteen mosaic medallions, depicting Jesus Christ, the twelve Apostles and Saint Gervasius and Saint Protasius, the sons of Saint Vitale. The theophany was begun in 525 under bishop Ecclesius. It has a great gold fascia with twining flowers, birds, and horns of plenty. Jesus Christ appears, seated on a blue globe in the summit of the vault, robed in purple, with his right hand offering the martyr's crown to Saint Vitale. On the left, Bishop Ecclesius offers a model of the church.
The Great Mosque of Córdoba, in ecclesiastical terms the Catedral de Nuestra Señora de la Asunción (English: Cathedral of Our Lady of the Assumption), and known by the inhabitants of Córdoba as the Mezquita-Catedral (Mosque–Cathedral), is today a World Heritage Site and the cathedral of the Diocese of Córdoba. It is located in the Andalusian city of Córdoba, Spain.
The site was originally a pagan temple, then a Visigothic Christian church, before the Umayyad Moors converted the building into a mosque and then built a new mosque on the site.[1] After the Spanish Reconquista, it became a Roman Catholic church, with a plateresque cathedral later inserted into the centre of the large Moorish building. The Mezquita is regarded as the one of the most accomplished monuments of Islamic architecture. It was described by the poet Muhammad Iqbal:
The Great Mosque of Córdoba held a place of importance amongst the Islamic community of al-Andalus for three centuries. In Córdoba, the capital, the Great Mosque was seen as the heart and central focus.[13] Muhammad Iqbal described its hypostyle hall as having "countless pillars like rows of palm trees in the oases of Syria".[2] To the people of al-Andalus “the beauty of the mosque was so dazzling that it defied any description.”[14]
The main hall of the mosque was used for a variety of purposes. It served as a central hall for teaching and to manage law and order within al-Andalus during the rule of Abd ar-Rahman.[15]
The Great Mosque of Córdoba exhibited features, and an architectural appearance, similar to the Great Mosque of Damascus,[16] therefore it is evident that it was used as a model by Abd ar-Rahman for the creation of the Great Mosque in Córdoba.
Features
The building is most notable for its arcaded hypostyle hall, with 856 columns of jasper, onyx, marble, and granite. These were made from pieces of the Roman temple which had occupied the site previously, as well as other destroyed Roman buildings, such as the Mérida amphitheatre. The double arches were a new introduction to architecture, permitting higher ceilings than would otherwise be possible with relatively low columns. The double arches consist of a lower horseshoe arch and an upper semi-circular arch. The famous alternating red and white voussoirs of the arches were inspired by those in the Dome of the Rock.[14] and also resemble those of the Aachen Cathedral, which were built almost at the same time. A centrally located honey-combed dome has blue tiles decorated with stars.
The mosque also has richly gilded prayer niches. The mihrab is a masterpiece of architectural art, with geometric and flowing designs of plants. Other prominent features were: an open court (sahn) surrounded by arcades, screens of wood, minarets, colourful mosaics, and windows of coloured glass.[14] The walls of the mosque had Quranic inscriptions written on them.
Layout
The mosque’s floor plan is seen to be parallel to some of the earliest mosques built from the very beginning of Islam.[13] It had a rectangular prayer hall with aisles arranged perpendicular to the qibla, the direction towards which Muslims pray.[17] The prayer hall was large in size, flat, with timber ceilings held up by arches of horseshoe-like appearance.[13]
