9 - The Great Seljuqs, The Sunni Revival, and the Four-Iwan Plan

The Great Seljuqs (1038-1194): A Turkish, Sunni dynasty which ruled the whole Iranian world (including Khurasan and Transoxania), Iraq, Syria, and parts of Byzantine Anatolia.

• The Sunni Revival: The term used to designate the movement that culminated with the Seljuqs who actively sought the elimination of Shi`ite principalities in the eastern Islamic world and the Shiite grip on the Abbasid Caliphate of Baghdad, and who sponsored and fostered the renaissance in Sunni theology and jurisprudence.
• Nizam al-Mulk (1020-92): The able vizier of the Seljuq sultans who organized the structure of their state, promoted Sunni learning, and sponsored madrasas in Afghanistan, Iran, and Iraq, all called Nizamiyya.

The Madrasa: The specialized institution of learning that was adopted by the Seljuqs to promote Sunni teaching. A madrasa usually contains a mosque, classrooms, and lodgings for students and teachers. Madrasas appeared most probably in Khurasan in the 9-10th c. and spread all over the Islamic world in the 11-12th c.

Muqarnas: Also called the stalactite or honeycomb, one of the most distinctive Islamic architectural elements used in domes, in domes' transitional zones, in cornices and friezes, in conches above entrances, and on friezes supporting balconies of minarets. Its origin, symbolic meaning, and date of first appearance are frequently debated.