ARCHITECTURE OF THE

ISLAMIC PERIOD..

Technical SystemsMunicipal
Buildings
The Nilometer of Rodaan expression of the importance given to
buildings related to agriculture..
Like the Mesopotamian sovereigns, the Egyptian Caliphs were also
dependent on agricultural yield for their prosperity. This Subterranean
SQUARE WELL DEMOSTRATED A GREAT DEAL OF SCIENTIFIC
PROGRESS AS MUCH AS ARCHITECTUTALSENSE.
The building went down 12 mts in 3 sections, each narrower than the
other and ended in a stairway to the base of the well from where began
tunnels leading to the Nile.
In the centre of the well was an octagonal calibrated column, the numbers
on which indicated the depth of the Nile and thus was a method of
evaluating the taxes on the rural population.
The technique based on the principle of communicating vessels was
a product of the joint effort by architect Ahmad al Hasib and celebrated
mathematician al- Farghani..

The Nilometer was built in dressed Ashlar. The polygonal column

is held in place by a beam covered in Kufic script. This building is
indicative of the muslim rulers desire to continue the scientific
traditions of the ancient Egyptians.

Irrigation Systems.

The city of Hamas on the river Orontes

has put the river to good use. To
provide an original method of irrigation.
Arab engineers built enormous wooden
water wheels, driven by the current and
fitted with scoops.
These fed aqueducts more than ten m
high which then took water out to the
countryside.

The MADRASAS.
Popularised by the Ayyubid dynasty with a zeal for spreading the
Sunni doctrine were built Koranic schools the MADRASAS.
This building typology made use of two forms, typical of Persian
architectureTHE IWAN A LARGE COVERED AREA WITH A
MAINLY OPEN FACADE USUALLY CONSTRUCTED AT THE EDGE
OF A COURTYARD and the stalactites..ornamental motifs bordering
cornices, emphasising friezes decorating capitals and columns and
cupolas.
The place for theologians and jurists built in brick allowed for stability
during Earthquakes frequent in these areas.

The austerity is
perhaps because in
the true sense, it is
a retreat.

The Madrasa al Firdaus was a massive rectangular building with tall outer
bare walls, symmetrical in plan. This austere exterior belies the grand
organisation inside.
The grandness of the interior is a link to the idea of promised paradise.

The symmetrical
rectangular plan is set
around a central
courtyard with porticoes
on to which an IWAN
used for teaching
opens.
1. Principal entrance
2. Porticoes
3. Courtyard
4. Ablutions pool
5. interior Iwan
6. exterior Iwan
7. Lateral halls with
cupolas
8. Small mosque

On three sides of the

courtyard with the ablutions
pool are porticoes with
columns whose capitals are
decorated with Muqarnas.
The Madrasa is entered
through a lateral gate
topped with a vault of
stalactites in stone and lead
to an angled corridor.
On the fourth side is an
Iwan of huge arches where
the Koran is taught.
Behind the lateral porticoes are two study halls with cupolas.
The third side has a mosque with a Mihrab in the centre of the Quibla wall
At the corners are two rooms with domes having pendentives and decorated
with Muqarnas.
This Madrasa is an excellent example of the fusion between Persian formsMuqarnas and Iwans and dressed stone of the Roman and Byzantine era.

Centred around the large niches of the Iwans, which are emphasized by
their tall decorative frames the two storied structure is reflected in the
ablutions pool.
The Iwan is similar to the ones constructed by the Mughals in India
centuries later.

Stone cutting skills of

great calibre
displayed in the blind
vault .

The rooms
of the
Madrasa
with rows of
cupolas are
an
innovation,
showing the
originality of
building
skills.. Also
harmony of
space.

In early Persian times these were built in brick in stuccoed cupolas but
the skill of stone cutting them was popularised during the Islamic reign.
They result from dividing up pendentives and the resulting niches in
the form of scalloped triangles covering Iwans, cupolas arches and
appearing as leit motifs on capitals, springers etc.

They were most widespread appearing in the most diverse of materials and in
varying dimensions and were a distinctive characteristic of Muslim art.

The Muqarnas as cut stone decorations for the inner surface of the cupolas
giving a hallucinating effect at the same time reinforcing the cupolas strength.

Contributions of Islamic architecture

Hypostyle halls of Mosques.lateral long oblong hall.

THE MOSQUE AS A PROTOTYPE OF THE PROPHETS HOUSE,ALSO AS
A MODIFIED VERSION OF A BASILICA INVOLVING CONVERSION OF A
LONGISH HALL IN TO A BROADISH ONE for correct orientation.
The development of components with their connotations and architectural
elements to express the connotations with diversity caused by influence of
Persian and Byzantine architecture
The adaptation of existing plans as much as looted structural elements and
their clever manipulation to achieve the desired effect.
Experimentation with new techniques of constructionspendentives and
squinches to transfer load from domes to walls or columns, ornamentation of
the cupolas and expression of craftsmanship in stone, mosaics, veneers and
goldplating in geometric and organic designs( depicting only flora)
Popularisation of elements as the horse shoe arches.

Contributions of Islamic Architecture

In the palaces..
Importance given to astrology and constellation science.
aula regia that is the grand throne room with imported and expensive and labour intensive
craftsmanship to highlight the importance of the sovereign also allowing for collaboration
between muslim calips and Western or Persian artists.
Series of patios and courtyards as a climatic response as much as ordering tools to use as
spaces for interacting with the general publicDiwan e Am and the elite..Diwan e Khas.
Symbolic Chahr Bagh representative of the use of water and greenery as a luxury item
in the desert landscape as much as a reference to the concept of the Garden of Paradise
or Eden.
Vaulted porticoes open to the courtyards..Iwans
Muqarnasstalactitesstructural elements which became decorative.honeycombed or
bee hive like leitmotifs of muslim art.
Since Islam forbade figurative images, the development of abstract geometric and recurring
yet extremely imaginative patterns in the form of paved floors, carved stucco and in the
conceptualisation of the Mihrab in the Mosque.