Seljuk Architecture

Seljuk architecture refers to the building traditions of the Seljuk dynasties, divided between Great Seljuk architecture of the eleventh and twelfth centuries in Iran and Central Asia and Anatolian Seljuk architecture of the eleventh through thirteenth centuries in what is now Turkey. Great Seljuk builders introduced the symmetrical four-iwan mosque layout, advanced dome construction, an early use of muqarnas vaulting and the first widespread state-sponsored madrasas, generally working in brick decorated with brickwork patterns, tile and carved stucco. Anatolian Seljuk architecture, built under the Sultanate of Rum, was more eclectic, drawing on Armenian, Byzantine, Iranian and Syrian traditions, and its builders generally worked in stone rather than brick, favoring stone-carved decoration alongside tilework.