Styles and Movements

Islamic Architecture

Tradition

Citation Formats

General Reference

Architecture and Design Atlas. "Islamic Architecture." Accessed August 30, 2026. https://architecture.interactiveatlas.org/styles/islamic-architecture.

APA Style

Architecture and Design Atlas. (n.d.). Islamic Architecture. Retrieved August 30, 2026, from https://architecture.interactiveatlas.org/styles/islamic-architecture

BibTeX

@misc{architectureanddesignatlas-islamic-architecture,
  author = {Architecture and Design Atlas},
  title = {Islamic Architecture},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://architecture.interactiveatlas.org/styles/islamic-architecture},
  note = {Accessed August 30, 2026}
}

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

Cross-Tradition Connections

Influenced By

Byzantine Architecture

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

Source Encyclopedia Britannica