4- Umayyad Grandeur:
The First Islamic Monument: the Dome of the Rock
in Jerusalem
The Umayyads: First Islamic dynasty (661-750)
established by a companion of the Prophet, Mu‘awiya. Their capital was Damascus. They built
the first monumental mosques.
‘Abd al-Malik: Fifth Umayyad caliph (685-705),
organized the Caliphate, Arabicized the administration and Islamized the coinage
after he had subdued several revolts against the rule of his family.
The Night Journey and the Ascension (Al-Isra’
wa-l-Mi‘raj): The
miraculous journey of the Prophet from Mecca to Jerusalem and his ascension
to Heaven to receive from God major doctrinal requirements
The Dome of the Rock (Qubbat al-Sakhra):
The first conscientiously-monumental
Islamic structure is a martyrium
built in Jerusalem (692) by ‘Abd al-Malik to commemorate
the sanctity of the site and the city in general.
- The development of a government complex around the
Haram platform.
- Mosaics of the Dome of the Rock.
First Imperial Expressions: Umayyad Mosques (715-50)
The Great Umayyad Mosque in Damascus (ca. 706-15):
First imperial mosque built by Caliph al-Walid I (705-15), the son of ‘Abd
al-Malik.
- Mosaics of the Great Mosque: Representations of ideal-types residences.
- The Barada Sequence: villas, excedrae (or porticoes), tholoi, bridges over rivers.
The
Mosque of the Prophet in Madina (rebuilt 707-09).
The
Farthest Mosque (al-Masjid al-Aqsa) in Jerusalem (ca. 706-16).
These mosques, and numerous others, such as the mosques
of San‘aa, Yemen; Kufa, Iraq; Fustat, Egypt; and Qayrawan, Ifriqiya
were built or enlarged and refurbished by Caliph al-Walid as part of his plan
to organize the Caliphate and to create signs of its imperial status.
New
Elements in Mosque Architecture:
Concave mihrab: reportedly first introduced in the Mosque of the Prophet at Medina in
707.
Minaret: earliest examples may have been the towers
flanking the northern side of the original Roman temenos where the Great Umayyad Mosque of Damascus was built.
Maqsura:
a private area in the prayer hall enclosed by a wood screen for the ruler
and his entourage.
Dome in the central nave in front of the mihrab:
first appeared in Damascus and may have been adopted
from palatial Roman and Byzantine precedents as illustrated in mosaic by the
representation of the "Palace of Thoederic" in St. Appolinaire Nuevo
in Ravenna (ca. 490).
Khazna: treasury,
a structure possibly used as a vault in the mosque's courtyrad.
Decoration
of Mosques:
The use of inscriptions in the Kufic style.
The use of glass mosaic.
The absence of figural representation.
Vegetal and geometric motifs, derived mostly from Classical traditions.