City of Al- Rafiqa , Syria - Islamic Arts And Architecture

Baghdad was not the only city founded by Caliph Al-Mansur. He also developed a site in northern Syria on the east bank of the Euphrates River. The area had been settled in classical times, but in 772, as part of the program of border Extention, Al- Mansur founded a settlement known as al-Rafiqa.

Al-Rafiqa was modeled after the round city of Baghdad, and the surviving fortifications confirm this statement. Al- Mansur commissioned his son and successor  Al-Mahdi to oversee the construction of this city. Later additions such as outer walls were carried under Al-Mahdi son Harun ur Rashid. The place served as a garrison town for his Khorasanian Persian army on the border with Byzantine Empire to protect Abassids Territories. it was also suited at the crossroads of important caravan routes at the confluence of the river Euphrates with the river Khabur.

https://go.fiverr.com/visit/?bta=876286&brand=fiverrcpa&landingPage=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.fiverr.com%2Fsearch%2Fgigs%3Fquery%3Dcontent%2520creator%26source%3Dtop-bar%26ref_ctx_id%3D93ac3a38288333bf223b665334e686d2%26search_in%3Deverywhere%26search-autocomplete-original-term%3Dcontent%2520creator

In plan, Al-Rafiqa consists of a closed horseshoe-shaped area 1.3 km wide. It was protected by a massive wall, nearly 5 km long and fortified by 132 defensive round towers, as well as an outer wall and a moat. 3 gates led to the interior, the small western gate, the bulky northern gate, and the gate located on the southeastern corner of the city wall known as Baghdad gate, In the center of La-Rafiqa stood a large Friday Mosque, built to serve the garrison of soldiers from Khorasan. Its massive mud bricks wall were faced with baked brick. The interior courtyard was surrounded by hypostyle halls carried on brick piers. The prayer hall on the Qibla side was 3 bays deep, while those on the other3 side of the court were only 2 bays deep.

Raqqa, together with al-Rafiqa, formed the largest urban entity in Syria. It is hardly surprising, therefore, that Harun al-Rashid, who disliked Baghdad, transferred his residence there in 796, and it remained his base until 808. During his 12 years of residence, he not only added to the city's fortifications but also constructed an impressive palace quarter to the north. Covering almost 10 square km, it included 20 large palace complexes. The largest of them, set in the center, measured about 1150x980 feet. it can be identified with Harun's residence.

Stay Connected for more. Thank you!

Architectural Features and Influences of Umayyad - Arts and Architecture

 Materials :

Umayyad architecture represents the birth of the first Islamic architecture tradition, one that adapted features from the Sassanian and Byzantine empires.

The Umayyad's used stone extensively in their architecture as this material is abundant in great Syri, where most of their surviving buildings are located.

They used stone in their architecture as this material

Brick is also used frequently, often in the combination with stone.

Mosaics are used widely as a surface cover for both floors and walls.

Mosaics are used widely in Umayad's Architecture

Stucco is used as a decorative material and becoming particularly widespread during the later Umayyad period.

Stucco is used as a decorative material 

Wood is used as a construction material for roofs and domes, and also as a decorative material for elements such as doors and panels.

Wood is used as a construction material

Reused Roman and Byzantine elements, such as column shafts and capitals, are commonly incorporated into Umayyad buildings.

Architectural Features :

In general terms, Islamic Architecture can be classified into two categories:

Religious Architecture

Secular Architecture.

Religious Architecture :

Mosques :

The Mosque for obvious reason lies at the very heart of Islamic Architecture. It is a symbol of faith.

The symbolic role was understood by Muslims at a very early stage and played an important part in the creation.

The First Mosque in Islam was the courtyard of the Prophet's house in Madina, with no architectural features.

Early Mosques built by Muslum as their empire was expanding were simple.

The general plan consists of a large courtyard by arched porticoes, with more aisles or arcades on the side facing Mecca / Qibla.

The great mosque of Damsusc followed the same plan of the Prophet PBUH mosque and became the prototype of many mosques built in various parts of the Islamic world.

The minaret, mihrab, and minbar make their first appearance in the religious architecture of the period.

The arch in Umayyad architecture is primarily round in shape, which becomes predominant in later periods.

 

Secular Architecture :

Whereas the functions of the religious buildings of early Islam could not have existed without the new faith, the functions of secular Muslim architecture have a priori no specifically Islamic character.

stay connected for more informative blogs.

 

Academic Achievements of Abassids

 

Abu Jafar Al-Mansur, the second Abbasid Caliph, was a very learned person of his time who showed great interest in the development of scientific learning. The famous scholar of his age was Imam Abu Hanifa, Ibn Ishaq, Imam Malik, Abu Amr Abd Al-Rehman Ibn Amr, And Sufyan Al-Thawri. The most popular scholar of his time was Abdullah Ibn Muqaffa.

Under the Abbasids, higher education in science was carried out on an individual basis rather than the establishment of institutions of higher learning. Afterward, they Sponsered observatories and hospitals in different parts of the caliphate. Most of the scholars were celebrated for their standing in different disciplines and their achievements in more than one science. Within a short time Muslim philosophers, mathematicians, physicians, geographers, alchemists, botanists had worked throughout the caliphate and achieved the amazing accomplishment of uncovering the vast intellectual heritage received from the earlier civilizations.

The 5th caliph of the Abbasid Dynasty, Harun al-Rashid is remembered as one of history's greatest patrons of the arts and sciences. Under his rule, Baghdad became the world's most important center of science, philosophy, medicine, and education. The massive size of the caliphate meant that it had contact and shared borders with many distant empires, so scholars at Baghdad could collect, translate and expand upon the knowledge of the other civilizations, such as the Egyptians, Persians, Indians, Chinese, Greeks, Romans, and Byzantines.

The successors of Harun al- Rashid, especially his son al- Ma'mun continued his policies of supporting artists, scientists, and scholars. Al- Mamun founded the Bayt al Hikma, the house of wisdom in Baghdad. At the house of wisdom, important ideas from around the world came together. The introduction of Indian numerals, which have become standard in Islamic and Western worlds, greatly aided in mathematics and scientific discovery.

Scholars such as Al- Kindi revolutionized mathematics and synthesized Greek philosophy with Islamic thought. Al- Biruni and Abu Nasar Mansur among many other scholars made important contributions to geometry and astronomy. Ibn Musa, expanding upon Greek mathematical concepts, developed Algebra which is derived from his landmark textbook Kitab al Jabar wal Muqabala. Ibn al- Haytham made important contributions to the fields of optics.

Medicine:

Medicine in medieval Islam was an area of science that advanced particularly during the Abbasids region. During the 9th century, Baghdad contained over 800 doctors, and great discoveries in the understanding of anatomy and disease were made. Famous Persian scientists produced thesis and worked that summarized the vast amount of knowledge that scientists had accumulated, and was very influential through their encyclopedias. 

Astronomy :

Astronomy was advanced by Al- Battani, who improved the precision of the measurement of precession of the earth axis. The astrolabe, though originally developed by greeks, was developed further by  Islamic astronomers and engineers, and subsequently brought to medieval  Europe.

Al Chemist :

Muslim alchemists influenced medieval European alchemists, particularly the writings attributed to Jabir Ibn Haiyan. A number of chemical processes were developed in the Muslim world and then spread to Europe.

Agriculture :

A number of very practical innovations took place, especially in the field of agriculture. Improved methods of irrigation allowed more land to be cultivated. Crops and farming techniques were adopted from neighboring cultures. Rice, cotton, and sugar were taken from India, citrus food from China, and sorghum from Africa. 

Literature :

The best-known fiction from the Islamic world was The Book of Thousand and One Nights. The original concept is derived from pre-Islamic Iranian with reliance on Indian elements. It also includes stories from the rest of the Middle-Eastern and North African nations. 

Arabic poetry reached its greatest highest in the Abbasid era. A famous example of Arabic poetry on romance was Layla and Majnu. which further developed mainly by Iranians. Azerbaijan and other poets in Persian, Turkish, and other Turk languages dating back to the Umayyad era in the 7th century.

Small Mosques And Tombs - Abbasids

 Although popular, the hypostyle mosque was not the only type of mosque built during this period. At Nayriz in Iran, for example, the prayer all of the mosque consists of a single barrel vault, open at the end, a type of space known as Iwan. Iwan has been used for centuries in Iranian architecture, but no earlier mosques incorporating them are known. 

Single barrel Vault

The early date of the Nayriz mosque is suggested by an inscription in the mihrab which mentions that the mosque had been built in 973/974, repaired in 1067/68, and repaired again in 1164/65. some scholar believes that small, domed cubes also served as a mosque in early Islamic Iran. The updated doomed mosques at Yazd-i Khwast and Qurwa, for example, maybe older buildings that have been converted into mosques.

Yazd-i Khwast and Qurwa

In addition to Friday mosques meant to serve the entire community, there was also a smaller mosque built to serve smaller segments. At Siraf, for example, at least 10 small mosques, ranging in size between 320 and 1100 square feet, were found in residential quarters of the site. Most of these were simple rectangular structures entered through a yard divided by an arcade that supported the roof. Three of them are staircase minaret, an early type known from the Umayyad period.

From archeological evidence, the most widespread type of small mosque was a square structure with four internal columns and piers supporting nine domes. This type is found from Spain to central Asia. One of the best examples of nine domed mosques is found at Balkh. The building is square and measures 66 feet on each side. The walls are built of baked brick, but all of the nine domes they originally supported have fallen. The glory of the building is its decoration.

Other buildings erected in the provinces during this period were tombs, which are known from textual sources and monumental remains. Tombs were also built for local rulers. The earliest complete example to survive is the tomb of Samanids at Bukhara. Tombs were also erected in Egypt.

The Nine Domes Mosque - Arts and Architecture Under Abbasids

The Nine domed mosques, located on the western edge of Thakur Dighi, built-in 925, locally is considered to have belonged to the ancient kings of Khan Jahan Ali's style of Khalifatabad, Baggerhat, Bangladesh. However, local tradition has it that the building belonged to one of Khan Jahan's officials who lived near the same bank of the Thakurdighi bank. The mosque is located less than half a mile from the southwest of the Khan Jahan Ali Tomb-Complex. Depending on the style of construction the date of construction can be estimated to be in the middle of the fifteenth century. The mosque is a square mosque of the Sultanate type; that is, a square building is crowned with nine houses. 

The small mosque is lined with nine low-rise buildings, which are supported by four small stone pillars. It has arched penetration in all but the western facade. The western wall or qibla wall has three mihrabs, the middle being very large. The chain-and-bell terra cotta motifs adorn the center of each mihrab. The circular towers are lined with eight molding belts and the outer walls have long vertical panels ending at the pointed arches under the curved cornice.

The mosque is a 60'4 "x 60'4" square outside while the inside has a 39'6 "x 39'6" square design. The building is a single room, the interior of which is divided into nine equal grid roofs with nine country houses. The east, north, and south facades have three arched openings in the prayer hall. There are three mihrabs, each facing three doors east and the middle half of the qibla wall shown west from floor to ceiling. In style, this type is known as the construction of Khan Jahan Ali, which is found mainly in the southern and western part of Bangladesh.

The square building is lined with circular towers in a large corner. These bells end at the level of the parapet walls and are bound in the traditional manner of the Bengali Sultanate. The facades are lined with curvilinear cornices of the pre-Mughal type. The exterior façades have a clear brick texture with a framed opening built with horizontal lines of terracotta designs. All the doors are almost the same width while the middle ones are slightly higher. There are three types of terracotta mihrabs on the qibla wall; the middle is slightly larger than the sides. All three mihrabs are adorned with numerous cut arches and terracotta details.

The mosque was restored and renovated by the Department of Archeology, Bangladesh, and is now a protected monument.

Art of ottoman Empire - Before & After 1600 BC

 

Before 1600 BC

At its inception in the early fourteenth century, the Osmanli or Ottoman Empire was one of many empires that emerged as a result of the dissolution of the Seljuq sultanate in Anatolia and subsequent instability caused by the Mongol empire. The dictatorial Ottoman Empire, bordering the Islamic world, gradually absorbed the Byzantine territories of Anatolia and the Balkans. In 1453, this expansion led to the Ottoman ban on Constantinople, the capital of Eastern Christendom. With the defeat of the Mamluk empire in 1517, the Ottomans ruled over the most powerful empire in the Islamic world. In the middle of the sixteenth century, the continued military success in the region from Central Europe to the Indian Ocean gave the Ottomans the status of world power.

In the arts, there is a shortage of material that existed from the earliest Ottoman period, but it is clear from the surviving buildings that Byzantine, Mamluk, and Persian cultures combined to form the vocabulary of Ottoman art. Significant changes have taken place with the establishment of new capital in the Byzantine region of Constantinople. After the victory, Hagia Sophia, a large Byzantine church, was converted to Islam and became a source of encouragement to Ottoman architects. Mehmet II ) regarded the city as the center of his growing empire and embarked on a grand reconstruction program. He sent two palaces (The Old and the New, later Topkapi, palaces) and a Muslim church (Mehmetiye, which later became the Fatih complex), which included religious, educational, social, and commercial activities. In his commissions, Mehmet drew Turkish, Persian, and Byzantine artistic expressions.  He was interested in development in western Europe. Ottoman, Iranian, and European artists and scholars flocked to Mehmet's courtroom, making him one of the greatest Renaissance emperors of his time.

Under Mehmet's successors, his eclectic style, reflecting a mixed Ottoman heritage, was gradually incorporated into Ottoman art vocabulary. Further expansion of the area brought some additions to this vocabulary. Most importantly, the defeat of the Safavids in the war in eastern Anatolia (1514) and the addition of the Mamluks in Syria, Egypt, and the Holy Cities of Islam (Mecca and Medina) in the Ottoman Empire under Selim I, led to an increase in the presence of Iranian and Arab artists and scholars in the Ottoman court.

Süleyman's reign often referred to as the "Golden Age," was characterized by expansion, trade, and economic growth, as well as a cultural and artistic activity. Süleyman's years saw the rise of Ottoman art and culture. Among the major achievements of this period were the temples and religious buildings built by Sinan, one of the most famous Muslim architects. Hundreds of public buildings were designed and built throughout the Ottoman Empire, contributing to the spread of Ottoman culture. In the period following Süleyman's death, construction and artwork resumed under the support of the royal family and the ruling class. Commissions continue outside the state capital, with many sacred foundations established throughout the state.

By the end of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, progress was being made in all fields of art, where architecture, calligraphy, hand painting, textiles, and pottery were of paramount importance. Apart from Istanbul, various cities in the provinces are also considered major centers of the arts and commerce: Znik was famous for its pottery, Bursa for silk and textiles, Cairo for carpet production, and Baghdad for its art. Ottoman observation has had a profound effect on the various regions under its control. Aside from local diversity, the legacy of 16th-century Ottoman art is still evident in monuments from the Balkans to the Caucasus, from Algeria to Baghdad, and the Crimea to Yemen, including signature objects such as celestial houses, small pencils - standing minarets, and standing courts with home arches.

After 1600 BC :

At the beginning of the seventeenth century, both the production of Ottoman literature and architecture remained traditional. The court scriptorium went on to publish its own series of used documents - biographies, travel accounts, genealogies, and geographical locations - many of which were displayed or illuminated. The Ahmet I Mosque in Istanbul (1609-16), also known as the "Blue Mosque" due to the internal system of tiles, continues in the vocabulary of Sinan's great artist (c. 1500-1588).

Later in the century, the weak Ottoman economy began to undermine the arts. The influx of gold and silver from the New World has caused inflation and the treasury to dwindle without a victory in the war and the spoils to fill the coffers. The Sultans were forced to reduce the number of artists hired in Nakkaşhane (royal scriptorium) to ten from over 120 during the reign of Süleyman the Magnificent (r. 1520-66), and for many years did not increase the prices they paid for pottery, paintings, and carpets. It has been more profitable for artists to produce open market items than to be tied to workshops in low-paying courts, and sultans had to pass orders forcing them to complete state commissions. One of the arts that maintained a high level of quality was calligraphy. Hafiz Osman was the ruler of this period, a teacher of Sultan Mustafa II  and his son, Sultan Ahmet III.

Under Ahmet III art has been revived. He built a new library at Topkapi Palace and authorized the Surname (Book of Festivals, ca. 1720, Topkapi A.3593), recording the circumcision of his four sons as recorded by the poet Vehbi. These paintings depict ceremonies and processions on the streets of Istanbul and were completed under the direction of the artist Levni (who died in 1732), whose work is known from a set of photographs collected in ‘vellum’ (Topkapi H.2164). While his style was traditional, other artists of his time were deeply influenced by European literature and recordings that began to spread throughout the Ottoman world.

Ahmet's reign is also known as the Tulip Age. The popularity of this flower is reflected in the new floral decoration that has changed the saz style of decorating with beaded leaves and cloud belts that have reflected Ottoman art for many years, and are found in fabrics, light, and decorative architecture. The construction of this period is shown in a large fountain built by Ahmet III outside the gate overlooking the Topkapi palace. Ambassadors sent to Paris and Vienna brought other changes in their interpretation of the Baroque buildings in Versailles and Fontainebleau, but many Baroque-inspired palaces built during Ahmet's reign were destroyed by a revolt that forced him to resign in 1730. The first building to survive was the Nuru Osmaniye Mosque (1748-55), which was started by Mahmud I and completed by Osman III. Its glorious decoration, beautiful composition, and carvings of vegetables are a hallmark of a style that dates back to the nineteenth century.

Stay connected for more Informative blogs. Thankyou!

Architecture of Ottoman

 

The great tradition of Ottoman architecture, founded in the 16th century, was derived from two main sources. One was the complex development of new types of construction that took place throughout Anatolia, especially in Manisa, Iznik, Bursa, and Selçuk in the 14th and early 15th centuries. In addition to the usual mosques, mausoleums, and madrasahs, many buildings called tekke were built to houses and other holy men living together. Itkeke was usually assembled in a mosque or cemetery. The whole complex at that time was called külliye. All these buildings continued to build a central, centralized structure, built by the Seljuqs in Anatolia. Another source of Ottoman architecture is Christian art. Byzantine culture, especially as it was incorporated into Hagia Sophia, became a major source of encouragement. Byzantine influence comes from elements such as stones and bricks used together or in the use of circular dome construction. Also influential in the arts were the early Ottoman allies they had with Italy. Thus, in a number of military bases in Bursa, Tur., There is a similarity in style to the exterior design and windows, gates, and roof elements found in Italian architecture. A distinctive feature of Ottoman architecture is that it originated in Islamic and European cultures and, therefore, was part of both.

The apogee of the Ottoman architecture was found in a large series of külliyes and the still dominant mosques in Istanbul: Fatih külliye (1463-70), Bayezid Mosque (after 1491), Selim Mosque (1522), Sehzade külliye (1548), and Süleyman külliye (after 1550). Sehzade and Süleyman külliyes were built by Sinan, a great Ottoman architect, whose masterpiece is the Selim Mosque in Edirne, Tur. (1569-75). All of these structures show complete clarity and logic in planning and ascent; every part is considered in relation to everything, and each element of construction has acquired a sequential function incomplete formation. Any unnecessary items have been removed. This ease of design in the late 15th and 16th centuries is often the result of the fact that the Sinan and many Ottoman builders were first trained as military engineers. Everything in these buildings was under a beautiful central dome. The low-rise type of downhill, vaults, and ascending ridges lead the eye up and down the outside of the building. Minarets, thin and bulky, incorporate an external structure, while the open space of the surrounding courts prevents the building from being swallowed up by the surrounding city. This Ottoman art is seen as the ultimate culmination of two great traditions: the artistic and aesthetic tradition that has been native to Istanbul since the founding of the Byzantine church of Hagia Sophia in the 6th century and another Islamic tradition of the empire up to the 10th century.

While mosques and külliyes are the most important monuments of Ottoman architecture, important landmarks are erected: baths, caravans, and especially the great palace of Topkapi Saray in Istanbul, where 300 years of royalty are kept in its beautiful communities, halls, and fountains.