4.611/13 Civil Architecture in Islamic History (HASS)
Instructor: Nasser Rabbat

10- The Emergence of the Citadel as Royal Residence:

Historical Events:

1038-1194: The Seljuks, a Turkish Sunni dynasty, extend their dominion to the whole Iranian world, Iraq, Syria, and parts of Anatolia.

1071: Seljuks defeat Byzantines at the battle of Manzikert.  Anatolia opens up to Turkish immigration.  Many post-Seljuk principalities form. 

1099: Jerusalem falls to the Crusaders, four Latin principalities founded in the Levant.

1171-1250: the Ayyubids, a Sunni dynasty founded by Salah al-Din (Saladin), rule Southern Anatolia, Egypt, and Syria.

1250-1517: the Mamluks (imported slaves, mostly of Turkish or Caucasian stock, destined for a military career) establish themselves in Egypt and Syria.

1260: Mamluks stop Mongol expansion after the battle of ‘Ain Jalut in Palestine.

1292: Acre, the last stronghold of the Crusaders, falls to the Mamluks.

Military Nature of Ruling Class:

-Strict military hierarchy, which represented the only path to political power.

-Fortress mentality initially caused by the linguistic and ethnic differences and ultimately embedded in a system that stressed exclusion and segregation as means of control.

Citadels

-Influence of preexisting examples or contemporary Byzantine and Crusaders citadels

-Adaptation by necessity, and almost independent evolution

The Crusaders Citadels:  the Krak des Chevaliers, Syria (12-13th c.).

The Citadel of Aleppo: built in the 10th century and enlarged, fortified, and refurbished many times between the 12th-14th century.  It became the court-citadel of al-Zahir Ghazi, the son of Salah al-Din after 1185, and was endowed with many palaces and residences.

The Palace of al-Malik al-‘Aziz (ca. 1230).

The Citadel of Cairo: built by Salah al-Din, it became the seat of the sultanate under the later Ayyubids and the Mamluks, and remained the center of government well into the 19th century.  It was reorganized and enlarged several times in the 13th-14th century.

The Great Iwan: rebuilt at least four times between 1260 and 1335.

The Ablaq Palace: built by al-Nasir Muhammad in 1313-14.

Other Aspects of the Militarization of Artistic Expression:

-Depiction of human and animal figures and mythical creatures

-Images of battles, amirs in full military regalia, and conquered cities

-Austere and military-like monumental façades for endowed charitable buildings:

-The system of emblems (rank)

-Revival of Iranian, Turkish, and Antique mythical and heroic traditions

-Developments in royal and princely titulatures that evolved a complex protocol.

Terms

Ablaq: Arrangement of alternate black and white stripes in any medium.