AP Art History
Chapter 13:
In Praise of Allah –
The Art of the Islamic World
Chronology: 570-1600
570-700
Birth of Muhammad: ca. 570
Muhammad’s 1st revelation: 610
Muhammad’s flight to Medina (Hijra):
622
Death of Muhammad in Median: 632
Muslims capture Jerusalem: 638
Muslim conquest of Lower Egypt: 642
Umayyad Caliphate established: 661
700-800
Muslim armies enter Spain: 711
Charles Martel defeats Muslims at Poitiers:
732
Abbasid Caliphate established: 750
Umayyad Caliphate established in Spain: 756
Abbasids found Baghdad: 762
800-900
1000-1100
Fall of Umayyad Caliphate in Spain:1031
Seljuk Dynasty estab. In Iran: 1038
First Crusade Captures Jerusalem: 1099
1100-1200
Saladin founds Ayyubid Dynasty in
Egypt: 1171
Saladin captures Jerusalem from
Crusaders: 1187
1200-1300
Sultanate of Delhi estab. 1206
Nasrid Dynasty estab. At Granada: 1230
Mamluk Dynasty estab. In Egypt: 1250
Mongols sack Baghdad: 1258
Ottoman Empire founded: 1281
1300-1500
Ottomans capture Constantinople: 1453
Fall of Granada to the Christians: 1492
Samanid Dynasty estab. in Transoxiana: 819
1500-1600
900-1000
Safavid Dynasty estab. In Iran: 1501
Mughal Dynasty estab. In India: 1526
Ottomans Capture Baghdad: 1534
Fatimid Dynasty established in Egypt: 909
Fatimids found Cairo: 969
The Islamic World
Dome of the Rock, Jerusalem
687-692
Detail of Dome of the Rock,
Interior
Aerial view of the Great Mosque, Damascus, Syria
706-715
Detail of a mosaic in the
Courtyard arcade of the
Great Mosque, Damascus
Plan of the Umayyad palace,
Mshatta, Jordan,
ca. 740-750
Aerial view of the Great Mosque,
Kairouan, Tunisia,
ca. 836-873
Plan of the Great Mosque,
Kairouan, Tunisia
Malwiya minaret of the Great Mosque,
Samarra, Iraq,
848-852
Mausoleum of the Samanids,
Bukhara, Ubekistan
early 10th century
Alternate view
Prayer hall of the Great Mosque,
Cordoba, Spain,
8th to 10th centuries
Exterior View
Maqsura of the Great Mosque,
Cordoba, Spain,
961-965
Dome in the front of the mihrab
Of the Great Mosque,
Cordoba, Spain,
961-965
Confronting lions and palm tree, fragment of textile
near Bukhara, Ubekistan,
8th century
Sulayman, Ewer in the form of a bird,
796
Koran page with beginning of surah 18, al-Kahif (The Cave)
9th or early 10th century
Muqarnas dome,
Hall of the Two Sisters,
Alhambra palace,
Granada, Spain,
1354-1391
Madrasa-mosque-mausoleum complex of Sultan Hassan
Cairo, Egypt,
begun 1356
Mihrab of the Sanctuary Liwan (interior) of Sultan Hassan Mosque
Sinan, Mosque of Selim II,
Edirne, Turkey,
1568-1575
Sinan, interior of the
Mosque of Selim II
Aerial view of the Great Mosque,
Isfahan, Iran
11th to 17th centuries
Detail
Winter prayer hall of the Shahi (Imam) Mosque,
Isfahan, Iran,
1611-1638
Mihrab from the Madrasa Imami,
Isfahan, Iran,
ca. 1354
Maqsud of Kashan,
Carpet from the funerary mosque of
Shaykh ali-Din,
Ardabil, Iran,
1540
Muhammad Ibn ali-Zayn, basin
from Egypt,
ca. 1300
Canteen with episodes of the life of Christ,
From Syria,
ca. 1240-1250
Comparison Section
Study the reproductions of the following buildings: Hagia Sophia (Figs. 12-3 to 12-5),
The Mosque of Cordoba (Figs. 13-11 to 13-13), and the Pantheon (Fig. 10-48). Compare
The lighting effects created by each and describe the means used to achieve such effects.
Hagia Sophia (alt. view)
Mosque of Cordoba (13-11)
Pantheon (alt. view)
Compare the treatment of the figures on the Islamic basin shown in Fig. 13-29
with the Roman horseman shown in the Roman relief (Fig. 10-58), the Roman
Sarcophagus (Fig. 10-71), and the Byzantine Barberini ivory (Fig. 12-1). What
compositional devices does each artist use and how does each organize multiple
figures and depict them? Which do you like best? Why?
Roman horsemen (Fig. 10-58)
Islamic basin (Fig. 13-29)
Roman Sarcophagus (Fig. 10-58)
Barberini Ivory (Fig. 12-1)