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Unlike other forms of
Islamic art, such as the illustrated book and inlaid metalwork,
architecture is a feature of general occurrence throughout this
civilization. It has been used to provide places for communal
worship, social service and stately residence. As more money and
effort were invested in architecture than in other arts, it is
an important indicator of social concerns. Prominent individual
patrons deliberately manipulated architecture to express their
piety and power. Despite the fragile or less durable materials
used and the rigours of the geography and climate (many Islamic
lands lie in earthquake zones), large numbers of buildings have
survived, even from the early periods, and the architectural
record, whether in the buildings themselves or in such ancillary
materials as books, accounts and plans, is more complete than
that of any other art.
The development of Islamic architecture can be divided into
seven periods of unequal length and varying importance. Most of
these periods can be subdivided into regions:
The eastern Islamic
lands, usually comprising Iran, Afghanistan and western Central
Asia;
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Mashad Mosque in Iran
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The central Islamic
lands, usually comprising Arabia, Iraq, greater Syria and Egypt;
Anatolia and the Balkans;
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The White Mosque in
Syria
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The far Eastern
lands, including South-east Asia;
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Masjid Baiturrahman in
Banda Aceh, Indonesia
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and the western
Islamic lands, usually comprising Spain and North Africa
(Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco).
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Algeria-Beni-Isguen, Minaret in Mzab Saharan style
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12th Century Minaret in Kutubiyya Mosque, Marrakesh, Morocco
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The extensive Islamic
architecture of the Indian subcontinent is of course, the most
popular region of them all. These regions are usually
treated from east to west, because, apart from the formative
period when Mediterranean architectural traditions played a
decisive role, most of the architectural innovations that came
to characterize Islamic architecture were produced or developed
in the eastern Islamic lands. The unusual importance of applied
decoration in Islamic architecture merits a separate discussion.
Contrary to the stereotyped picture of a desert civilization
based in oases, Islamic architecture was the product of a highly
urbanized society, and the urban development of its cities, the
largest and most important in the medieval world, has long been
the subject of study. Housing in the Islamic lands represents a
conjunction of regional, local and pan-Islamic trends.
We shall go
into further detail exploring each region and its own unique
history of architecture in successive articles.
REFERENCE:
- 1) The
Dictionary of Art
- 2) The Mosque
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