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

5- Abbasid Palatial Architecture:

 

The Abbasids: The second Islamic dynasty (flourished 750-950)

Abu Ja‘far al-Mansur: (754-75) Second caliph and founder of Baghdad.

Haroun al-Rashid (786-809): Established many large settlements along the Tigris and the Euphrates. His name became inexorably linked to the tales of Arabian Night.

The Architectural Precedents:

The Umayyad Palaces.

The Iwan of Kisra (Khosroe) at Ctesiphon: The Seat of Sasanian kings.

Dar al-Imara (Palace) of Abu Muslim at Merv, Eastern Iran (Khurasan).

The New Image of the Ruler:

The influence of Persian traditions and court ceremonials.

The gradual seclusion of the ruler behind walls and courts.

The Foundation of Madinat al-Salam (City of Peace, later Baghdad), 762-67

The new, ordered capital of the Empire, with all the appropriate symbolism of a round city with axial division.

The Palace of al-Mansur: Qubbat al-Khadra (the Green Dome).

The Palace of Ukhaydir, south of Baghdad (probably 778)

A monumental princely retreat composed of a fortified enclosure.

Defensive stone structure with a magnificent court of honor and an iwan

The Octagon at Qadissiyya: Attributed to Haroun al-Rashid, it is another example of the spread of the round plan of Baghdad as a model for royal enclosure.

Samarra: the new capital city established on the Tigris, 60 miles north of Baghdad, by caliph al-Mu‘tasim in 836 to house his personal army of Turkish slave-warriors (mamluks).  It developed into a conglomeration of secluded caliphal palaces and houses for the troops on a grandiose scale.  The city remained capital of the Abbasid Empire until 883.

The Palaces of al-Mu‘tasim (833-42):            The Jausaq al-Khaqani

                                                            The Qasr al-Jiss (Gypsum Palace)

                                                            Al-Istabulat: Residences for the troops.

The Qubbat al-Sulaibiyya:  First caliphal mausoleum built for the caliph al-Muntasir (862).

Stucco Decoration: Samarra Style: Three styles have been identified following their degree of abstraction:

Style A: Vine-leave ornament still bearing resemblance to the Hellenistic, naturalizing origin.

Style B: Vegetal ornament with some abstraction.

Style C: Moulded pattern, very abstract and have a combination of vegetal and geometric motifs. Patterns are normally inscribed within borders.