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Islamic Architecture

Regional and Traditional Architecture

The building tradition of the Islamic world from the seventh century onward, spanning Spain to India: the courtyard mosque with its minaret and mihrab, the pointed and horseshoe arch, the dome, muqarnas vaulting, and surfaces of geometric and calligraphic ornament in place of figural imagery. The Alhambra in Granada and the Taj Mahal at Agra are two of its most celebrated monuments.

Facts
Disputed
Period
from 610 2
Century-level approximation only, no exact year is given: the source places the start in early 7th-century Arabia with the formation of Islam under Muhammad's leadership. No period-end-year is written since the tradition continues to the present day per the same source.
Origin Region
Arabia, spreading from Spain to South Asia 1
Islamic Architecture
Filter Results2 entries
Connections

Influenced

Moorish architecture is the Iberian and North African, Al-Andalus, regional branch of Islamic architecture.

Mughal architecture derives from the Persian and Timurid Islamic architectural tradition brought to India.

Ottoman architecture is a major regional branch of the broader Islamic architectural tradition.

West African mudbrick mosque architecture, such as the Great Mosque of Djenne, fuses indigenous building technique with an Islamic architectural program spread via trans-Saharan trade.

East African coastal trading-city architecture blends local building tradition with Islamic architectural influence carried by Indian Ocean trade.

Influenced By

Early Islamic building, especially under the Umayyads, drew on Byzantine construction methods and decorative traditions inherited from the territories it succeeded.

Source Encyclopedia Britannica

Notable Examples

Source Al Bahr Towers

An Islamic architecture landmark.

Source UNESCO World Heritage Centre Official Site
Source Burj Khalifa (Wikipedia)
Source Ca' d'Oro (Wikipedia)
Source Charminar (Wikidata)

An Islamic architecture landmark.

An Islamic architecture landmark.

An Islamic architecture landmark.

Source Masjid al-Haram (Wikidata)

An Islamic architecture landmark.

Built as the Great Mosque of Cordoba under Umayyad rule; a Renaissance cathedral nave was later inserted, but the building is predominantly Islamic in architecture.

Source Petronas Towers (Wikipedia)

An Islamic architecture landmark.

Source Wikipedia: Ribat

An Islamic architecture landmark.

An Islamic architecture landmark.

Source Stari Most - Wikipedia

An Islamic architecture landmark.

An Islamic architecture landmark.

Source Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque (Wikipedia)

Specifically Mughal architecture, the Indo-Islamic synthesis of Persian and Indian building.

Source UNESCO World Heritage Centre Official Site

An Islamic architecture landmark.

In the Other Atlases
Sources
1. Encyclopedia Britannica
Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc.
  • britannica.com/art/Islamic-arts, lead definition
    Islamic arts, literary, performing, and visual arts of the vast populations of the Islamic world from the 7th century onward.
  • Influenced By: Byzantine Architecture, Islamic arts, architecture, early development section
View the Source
2. Wikipedia
Wikimedia Foundationen.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islamic_architecture, lead paragraph
Quote, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islamic_architecture, lead paragraph
The Islamic era began with the formation of Islam under the leadership of Muhammad in early 7th-century Arabia.
View the Source
UNESCO World Heritage Centre Official Site
UNESCO World Heritage Centre
  • Notable Examples: Alhambra
  • Notable Examples: Taj Mahal
View the Source
Petronas Towers (Wikipedia)
Notable Examples: Petronas Towers, infobox architectural_style field: Postmodern Islamic architectureView the Source
Al Bahr Towers
Notable Examples: Al Bahar Towers, infobox architectural_style field: Islamic architectureView the Source
Ca' d'Oro (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationNotable Examples: Ca' d'Oro, infobox architectural_style field: Byzantine, Gothic, IslamicView the Source
Stari Most - Wikipedia
Notable Examples: Stari Most, Introduction
Quote, Notable Examples: Stari Most, Introduction
Commissioned by Suleiman the Magnificent in 1557 and designed by Mimar Hayruddin, a student and apprentice of the architect Mimar Sinan, the Old Bridge is an exemplary piece of Balkan Islamic architecture.
View the Source
Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationNotable Examples: Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque, Introduction
Quote, Notable Examples: Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque, Introduction
Completed in 2001 in a contemporary Islamic style, it is the largest mosque in the country and can accommodate 20,000 worshipers.
View the Source
Burj Khalifa (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationNotable Examples: Burj Khalifa, Wikipedia categories
Quote, Notable Examples: Burj Khalifa, Wikipedia categories
Category:Islamic architecture in Asia
View the Source
Wikipedia: Ribat
Notable Examples: Ribat, Wikipedia categories
Quote, Notable Examples: Ribat, Wikipedia categories
Category:Islamic architecture
View the Source
Masjid al-Haram (Wikidata)
Wikimedia FoundationNotable Examples: Masjid al-Haram, Wikidata P149
Quote, Notable Examples: Masjid al-Haram, Wikidata P149
architectural style: Islamic architecture
View the Source
Charminar (Wikidata)
Wikimedia FoundationNotable Examples: Charminar, Wikidata P149
Quote, Notable Examples: Charminar, Wikidata P149
architectural style: Islamic architecture
View the Source
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