** While an artwork from the Ottoman Empire, Hagia Sophia is found in Unit 3: Early Europe and Colonial Americas.  

Islamic Historical Background

Islamic art/architecture refers to all arts created in the lands where Islam was the dominant religion. Islam was founded by Muhammad (570-632 CE), a merchant from Mecca. In 610 CE, Muhammad had his first religious experience. After some self-doubt and introspection, he accepted his role as God's prophet. His recitations form the Qur'an. In 622, Muhammad fled Mecca with followers to Medina. He returned after battles from 625-630 and purged the Kaaba of all idols of pagan gods. In 632, Muhammad dies as the final prophet after Moses, Abraham, and Jesus.

Islam exists in two principal divisions: Shiite and Sunni.  Each is based on a differing claim of leadership after Muhammad's death.  

By the end of the Umayyad Dynasty in 750 CE, North Africa, the Middle East, and parts of Spain, India, and Central Asia were converted to Islam or under the control of the Islamic dynasties.  It expanded further with the Abbasid Caliphate, ruling from their capital in Baghdad.  After Baghdad was sacked in 1258, the Islamic world was split into East (South and Central Asia, Iran, Turkey) and the West (Near East and Arabic Peninsula, North Africa, parts of Sicily and Spain.)

Islamic art is intellectual, refined, and decorative; it contains no strong emotions and no pathos, but exhibits serene harmony.

There is an active tradition in many Islamic countries to avoid religious imagery whenever possible, even though the Qur'an does not ban images.  Some societies strictly adhere to the prohibition, others allow floral designs/animal motifs, and other disregard the ban.

All Islamic designs, no matter how complicated, were achieved with only a straightedge and a compass.  Islamic mathematicians were thinkers of the highest order and geometric forms reinforced their idea that the universe is based on logic and a clear design.  

Patterns radiate from a central point with any point being the start.  Patterns are not designed to fit a frame but rather to repeat until they reach the edge and then go beyond it.

Patronage comes from secular and religious rulers and the social elite.  Textiles, metalwork, and ceramics were produced for the art market both at home and abroad.  Calligraphy is one of the most popular art forms in the Islamic world.  Calligraphy is based on Arabic script and various in form depending on the period and region of its production.  Calligraphy is also considered to be the highest art form in the Islamic world as it was used to transmit the texts revealed from God to Muhammad.  

Calligraphers therefore were the most respected Islamic artists.  Many remained anonymous due to humble nature as artisans and followers of God.  By the 14th/15th centuries, writing examples were eventually signed or attributed to specific calligraphers.  Even royalty dabbled in calligraphy, raising the art form to new social heights.  Apprenticeships were exacting, making students master everything including the manufacture of ink and the correct posture for sitting while writing.

Arabesque - a flowing, intricate, and symmetrical pattern deriving from floral motifs.

Calligraphy - decorative or beautiful handwriting.

Charbagh - a rectangular garden in the Persian tradition that is based on the four gardens of Paradise mentioned in the Qur'an.

Imam - an Islamic leadership position; leads Muslims in prayer.

Iwan - a rectangular vaulted space in a Muslim building that is walled on three sides and open on the fourth.

Jali - perforated ornamental stone screens in Islamic art.

Kufic - a highly ornamental Islamic script.

Mihrab - a central niche in a mosque, which indicates the direction to Mecca.

Minaret - a tall, slender column used to call people to prayer.

Minbar - a pulpit from which sermons are given.

Mosque - a Muslim house of worship.

Muezzin - an Islamic official who calls people to prayer traditionally from a minaret.

Muqarna - a honeycomb-like decoration often applied in Islamic buildings to domes, niches, capitals, or vaults.  The surface resembles intricate stalactites.

Pyxis - a small cylinder-shaped container with a detachable lid used to contain cosmetics or jewelry.

Qibla - the direction toward Mecca, which Muslims face in prayer.

Qur'an - the Islamic sacred text, dictated to the Prophet Muhammad by the Angel Gabriel.

Sahn - a courtyard in Islamic architecture.

Shahnama - a long epic poem written by the Persian poet Firdawsi between c. 977 and 1010 CE; the national epic of Iran.

Squinch - the polygonal base of a dome that makes a transition from the round dome to a flat wall.

Tessellation - decoration using polygonal shapes with no gaps.