Seljuk & Ottoman Architecture PDF

1000 ce Ca sp Black Sea...

1000 ce Ca sp Black Sea ia n Byzantine Empire Se a Territory regained by Byzantium during the First Crusade Kashmir Mediterranean Sea Seljuk sultanate Shahis Crusader states Qarmatis Pe Fatimid Egypt Sumras r sia n Gu lf Solankis Re dS ea 11.20 West Asia, ca. 1000 ce Seljuk Turks had to be imported from China, but in the 8th held for forty days not far from Kayseri, in the Turks in the 10th century were a pastoral century, it was being produced in Baghdad center of Anatolia, at a place where several people living in Central Asia east of the and Damascus and exported to Europe. caravan routes converged. Caspian Sea. Abandoning their homeland, The Seljuks distinguished themselves they moved into Afghanistan and Iran. from earlier Islamic societies by their strict Accepting the faith of Islam along the way, military hierarchy and attendant financial and they created a number of Turkish-Islamic landholding prerogatives, which were closed states, one being the Ghaznavids, who to all but a few exceptional local recruits. The settled in what is now western Afghanistan. principal elements of their political program Another tribe, the Seljuks (named after a were the mosque; the madrasa (Arabic for tribal leader), drove further westward, into “school”); the ribats and khanqahs, which Iran, Syria, and eventually the ethnically were the Sufi lodgings; and the mausoleum, diverse Anatolia, held nominally by the which commemorated their deeds. Byzantines. The Seljuks consolidated their The Seljuk architecture of Iran is power over eastern Anatolia in 1071; their characterized by elaborate brickwork and presence was a major factor in bringing about the development of the four-iwan plan. The 11.21 Seljuk design the Crusades. Despite the problems with Seljuk rulers in Anatolia used a vocabulary Representations of the human form are the Crusaders, the Seljuk period was one of characterized primarily by stonework. Tiles banned in Islam, but images of birds relative calm, with Persia seeing one of its were important decorative elements of Seljuk and animals as well as sphinxes and most prosperous periods. architecture. The technology for tile-making centaurs—often linked to ancient totemic The stability and success of the Seljuk emerged out of a century-old tradition in worship still prevalent in Anatolian regime was the achievement of the politically Iran and Iraq, which was brought to Anatolia lands—were frequently embedded in the skilled Vizir Nizam al-Mulk, a cultured by the Seljuks. The tiles consisted of an composition of Seljuk art. Calligraphic Persian, a brilliant administrator, and a underlying paste with a high silicate content, inscriptions of Qur’anic verses were often significant political philosopher, whose Book over which a thick mixture containing kaolin used along the cornices or to frame portals. of Government, or, Rules for Kings is a classic and feldspar was spread. Monochromatic of Islamic literature. At its peak, the Seljuk tiles were used for fill and borders; others Empire spanned a region from northern India were designed as large custom-made plaques to the Aegean Sea, allowing the ancient trade for a particular place in the composition. routes of Anatolia to be connected with those During Seljuk times, textile and leather to China. The strengthening of the Silk Route exports were also important, as they were not only brought in enormous wealth but also shipped to both Europe and the East. Once a promoted the development of industries, like year there was a vast commercial fair called the manufacture of paper. Paper originally Yabanlu Pazan (“Bazaar of the Foreigners”) 362  West Asia 11.22 Cutaway view: Sultan Han, Kayseri, Turkey Sultan Han was usually a small mosque or prayer room, Among the finest and most characteristic raised aboveground level on a stone platform. of Seljuk buildings are the caravansaries At the far end of the courtyard, opposite the 11.23 Entry portal, Sultan Han, Kayseri (derived from two Persian words meaning “a main portal, was a large vaulted hall, usually palace for caravans”), or hans, constructed with several aisles. Lit by narrow windows during the 13th century to encourage trade in the stone walls, it served as a shelter for building and a hall. The courtyard building throughout the empire; several dozen of them goods and men during bad winter weather. contained a bath and kitchen, and a room survive in good condition. These buildings, The Sultan Han, the grandest caravansary for special dignitaries. At its center was an some 119 of which are known to have been of all, covering 4,500 square meters, is unusual, square-shaped mosque. The large erected, were made to shelter and protect west of Aksaray, a center in the Cappadocia hall at the rear, entirely covered in vaults, not only the caravan drivers but also their region on the Konya Highway. Designed by a consisted of one principal aisle and two camels, horses, and donkeys, along with their certain Muhammet of Syria, the doorway is symmetrical side aisles. There are windows cargoes, and to provide needed services. particularly spectacular. Made of marble, the at 4 meters high in each of the bays. The Though caravan resting places had existed outer frame is covered with a delicate floral animals remained in the raised areas closest for centuries, this was the first large-scale pattern. The tympanum over the door, which to the sidewalls; the middle was reserved for systematization of mercantile transport across has an abstract geometrical pattern, looks the travelers and communal functions. In a desert. The services offered were free of as if it were eaten away by the encrustations this building we see the strong tradition of charge for the first three days. One of the of an open conically shaped stalactite vault. advanced stonemasonry that goes back to basic rules was that travelers who came to There are two parts to the design: a courtyard the Armenians and earlier. the establishment were to be treated equally, without regard to race, creed, or social status. Though plans of caravansaries vary, they were typically square or rectangular buildings with thick stone walls and a large courtyard in the center surrounded by one- or two-story arcades; they accommodated bathing services, storage, a treasury, and stables, and had rooms for physicians, cooks, blacksmiths, and musicians as well as drivers. Though the exterior walls were plain and devoid of decoration, the portals 0 25 m were often elaborately embellished with bands of geometrical designs and Qur’anic 11.24 Plan: Sultan Han, Kayseri inscriptions. At the center of the caravansary 363 1000 ce 11.25 Development of the Great Mosque of Isfahan, Iran Great Mosque of Isfahan In its original pre-Islamic form, the iwan was To the north, the iwan with its barrel vault The Great Mosque of Isfahan (Masjid-i Jome, a type of stage for the enthroned king, but points in the direction of a haram—a special or Friday Mosque), in the northern part of the Seljuks used it for several purposes; in sanctuary where contending parties could the city, was one of the most influential of a madrasa, for example, it was a lecture meet to settle disputes—which had originally all early Seljuk religious structures. Though room. At the Isfahan mosque, the iwans are been freestanding on three sides but was the building is known as a four-iwan type grand portals, becoming the very symbol of eventually roofed over and connected to the because the iwans face each other across the mosque on the other side. The Isfahan neighboring buildings. The particular reason an open courtyard, the building is, in iwans are not identical. The main one, at why the mosque orientation was interrupted actuality, the result of numerous architectural the southwest, leads to the dome in front of by the use of the four iwans is not known, but transformations. The primary building the qibla. The side iwans have no particular the building is an ideal space composed of substance dates to a mosque built in the relationship to the spaces behind them and principal elements, with the iwans a symbolic 840s ce that stood over an even earlier lead nowhere except through doorways at the armature arranged in precise relationships to mosque, built in 772 ce, which in turn was sides. each other. built over the foundations of a Christian church. The mosque was a conventional hypostyle-courtyard mosque, typical of early mosques. But beginning around 870 ce, it was thoroughly revised. The central space was reduced somewhat by the addition of a new facade running around all four sides. An elegant qibla dome was built and, to the north, an annex with a domed sacred area, the original purpose of which is not precisely known. In the time of Sultan Sanjar (1096–1157) four iwans were added to the courtyard, in essence imposing them on top of the older system. The old columns were thickened or removed, as was required; the original columnar rhythms are still best visible in the areas to the right and left of the northern iwan. In the 1350s, buildings were joined to the outer flanks of the structure, a madrasa was added to the western flank, and a musalla (a temporary place in which worshippers congregate to perform their prayers) to the eastern one, to name only the most prominent changes made to the building over time. 11.26 Courtyard, Great Mosque of Isfahan 364  West Asia 11.27 Iwans, Great Mosque of Isfahan 11.28 Close-up of muqarnas, Great Mosque of Isfahan 0 50 m 11.29 Plan and elevation: Great Mosque of Isfahan 365 1000 ce 11.30 Gök Madrasa, Sivas, Turkey 11.31 Courtyard, Madrasa al-Firdus, Aleppo, Syria First Madrasas Madrasas were built in almost all parts of Portals, however, were often grandly and If the caravansaries were the central element Asia Minor, but their origin is unclear. Some richly carved. Most, like the Ince Minare of the Seljuk economic policy, the madrasa link it with the Buddhist vihara—and given Madrasa (1260–65) in Konya, Turkey, had was an important element of Seljuk political that the eastern areas of Islam had been a central courtyard lined with classrooms ideology, initially serving to promote the saturated with Buddhism for centuries, there around a central iwan opposite the entrance. Islamization of the Anatolian population, is some plausibility to that argument. Another Others, like the Madrasa al-Fridus (1235–41) which until the 13th century had been possibility is its association with the courtyard in Aleppo, Syria, had no iwan. predominantly Christian. The madrasa served house, a tradition that goes back to ancient subsequently to enforce and unify the Seljuk’s times. A madrasa was usually founded by a Sunni beliefs. The madrasas were thus an sultan or nobleman, who would generously important element in the campaign against endow it to meet its expenses. As with the the Shi’ite Fatimids of Egypt. Though many caravansaries, the Seljuk madrasa followed mosques had spaces and annexes that were a standard form. They were rectangular, used for classes as well as for residences for compact, and relatively windowless, students and teachers, separate institutions appearing as solid objects in the landscape. for higher studies were still relatively rare prior to the Seljuks. 0 15 m 0 15 m 11.32 Plan: Ince Minare Madrasa, Konya, Turkey 11.33 Plan: Madrasa al-Firdus, Aleppo 366  West Asia 11.35 Hall of the Abencerrajes, Alhambra, Spain 11.34 Mausoleum of Koutloug Aka, Samarkand, Uzbekistan Muqarnas have muqarnas of their own, producing a Muqarnas, also called stalactite or dynamic three-dimensional effect. One of honeycombed vaulting, are one of the most the most spectacular of these domes is in common features of Islamic architecture the Alhambra palace in Granada, Spain, over between the 11th and 15th centuries. They the Hall of the Two Sisters (1356–59), which appear around the Islamic world, including projects both chaos and order at the same South Asia, in a variety of materials, including time. brick, stone, stucco, and wood. The term’s origin and meaning, as well as the historical development of the form, are not known for certain and are much debated. They 11.36 Two-dimensional fan-shaped originally developed out of squinches that radial muqarnas quarter vault design eased the transition between the square from the Topkapi Scroll and circle of a dome, but they became an articulation of the fascination among Islamic artists for complex geometrical patterns, which were being applied to the surfaces of doors and window moldings. Though they do not have an explicit symbolic value, they allude to the geometry of the heavens and the wonders of God’s creations. An early example is the Shrine of Imam Dur, in Samarra, Iraq (1085). The building consists of an elongated cube on which rests a series of octagonal tiers that telescope and rotate toward the final dome. Among the more developed examples is the dome (qubba) of al-Barubiyyin in Marrakech, Morocco (1117), another early example of a complex dome structure. Its eight- pointed star seems to almost float free from its enclosing frame. The four corners 11.37 Section: Shrine of Imam Dur, Samarra, Iraq 11.38 Plan of qubba, al-Barubiyyin, Marrakech, Morocco 367 1000 ce Black Sea Toledo Valencia Seville Córdoba Kairouan Aleppo Sousse Mediterranean Sea Homs Fes Damascus Alexandria Marrekech Fatimid caliphate Jerusalem Sijilmasa Cairo Fatimid caliphate Almoravid Empire Medina Re d Mecca Sea Aoudaghost 11.39 North Africa, ca. 1000 ce The Fatimids skills can be gained by studying the facade maintains its North African hypostyle hall The Fatimids, who had established of the Aqmar Mosque in Cairo (1125). with wooden roofs. A striking feature is its themselves in Tunisia, eventually lost Based loosely on the triumphal arch motif central axis, which breaks the rhythm and Algeria and points to the west. But they from classical times, it has a central portal emphasizes the qibla. The minaret is placed were successful in their expansion to the flanked by tall niches that are surmounted on axis on the south side of the courtyard. east, sweeping through the Nile Valley, by muqarna panels and by blind niches. An The mosque in its final form, with various across Palestine, and into southern Syria inscription runs across the top. Moldings and functions appended to its rectangular hall, to control a considerable part of the Middle decorative friezes are used to tie the parts almost became a city unto itself. The building East for more than two hundred years. together. consists of an open courtyard with the main Most Egyptians at that time were Sunni Al-Azhar Mosque (970–72 ce) was built prayer hall to the east. The western part of Muslims, whom the Fatimids—Shi’ites of to the southeast. Though it has been much the building contains several madrasas, or the Isma’ili sect—opposed. The Fatimid renovated and enlarged, the mosque still schools. An ablution hall is to the north and caliphs, who considered themselves to be divine rulers sent by God to ensure the prevalence of Islamic justice, refused to recognize the legitimacy of the Sunni Old riverbed Abbasid caliphates ruling from Baghdad. Indian quarter West palace It was the Fatimid vision and mission to and garden convert the whole Muslim world to its faith and overthrow the Sunni caliphate. One of Palace area its principal architectural expressions was Fatimid Cairo the construction of the city of al-Qahira, which became the heart of the modern city r Al-Azhar Mosque Rive City square of Cairo, a few kilometers to the north of the Nile old early Islamic town. At the core of the East palace city, which was bisected by a main road, Citadel Cliff was a palace district with an east and west Arab quarter palace separated by a large square; nearby Mosque of ibn Tulun were the office of the state bureaucracy and Greek quarter Turkish quarter Early Islamic city the military. Though descriptions testify to the sumptuousness of the Fatimid palaces, little of that palace architecture survives, Mosque of Amr ibn al-As but a sense of Fatimid era architectural Romans/Early Christians 11.40 Cairo and environs 368  Africa 11.41 Al-Azhar Mosque, Cairo 11.42 Interior of Al-Azhar Mosque student rooms to the south. The building is named “the radiant” in honor of the prophet Mohammed’s daughter, Fatima al-Zahra, from whom the Fatimid dynasty claims descent. In 1005, Al-Azhar was endowed by the Fatimids with thousands of manuscripts that formed the basis of its collection and its learning. In 1009, however, the newly founded al-Hakim Mosque became the sole location for the caliph’s sermons. The Ayyubid dynasty (1174–1250) and then the Mamluks (1250–1517), who later took the reins of power, and who were Sunni as opposed to Shi’a, showed differing degrees of deference to the Fatimid mosques and provided widely varying levels of financial assistance to the school and to the upkeep of the mosques. With the change of power, Al-Azhar became a Sunni institution, much of its manuscript collection was dispersed, and professors were forced to find other means 0 30 m to earn their livings. Al-Azhar nevertheless remained a place of learning throughout this 11.43 Plan: Al-Azhar Mosque period, and private lessons were often still offered. Today, Al-Azhar remains a deeply influential institution in Egyptian society and a symbol of Islamic Egypt. 369 1400 ce Caspian Sea Ottoman Empire Black Sea Edirne Bukhara Bursa Samarkind Aleppo Mediterranean Sea Baghdad Damascus Isfahan Cairo Jerusalem Re Medina d Sea Mecca 0 15 m 13.24 West Asia and the eastern Mediterranean, ca. 1400 13.25 Section: Yesil Cami complex, Bursa, Turkey Ottoman Empire the hall is raised from the central hall by four conceived as static rectangular objects that Central and western Asia in the early post- steps, the side iwans by one step each. Both were brought into relationship to each other Mongolian era were dominated by three new domes sit on belts of “Turkish triangles” that only by way of addition, Ottoman structures, powers—the Fatimids in Egypt, the Timurids negotiate the change from square to circles. from early on and in step with the advanced in Persia, and the Ottomans in Anatolia. The At the center of the main hall, which has an architectural thinking of the 15th century in latter replaced the Seljuk Empire, which had oculus, is a pool. The royal family would have India and Italy, were designed as institutional been weakened by Mongolian attacks. The ascended the stairs near the entrance to gain complexes that brought the building and Osmanlis, or Ottomans, as they came to be access to the royal box. It is composed of two public space into dialogue. At the Yesil Cami known in English, were a Turkish tribe that sections: a domed antechamber that opens Mosque, the various parts of the institution— captured Bursa from the Byzantines in 1326 onto a barrel-vaulted rear chamber that, in the madrasa, imaret (hostel for pilgrims), and used it as their capital. In 1371 they turn, looks onto the interior of the mosque. hamam (bath), and türbe (tomb)—are reached Serbia, and in 1453 they conquered Whereas Seljuk buildings tended to be integrated into the city. the main prize, Constantinople, bringing the Byzantine Empire to an end. The Ottomans were soon so strong that no single European country could challenge their position, despite repeated coordinated attacks through the following centuries. Ottoman mosques were not designed as Cami introverted, walled rectangular enclosures, (mosque) as they had been under the Seljuks. Instead they took up the theme of the dome from the Byzantines, resting it on a square structure Imaret that was entered through a three-bay loggia with a minaret to one side. This prototype was expanded with side rooms, vestibules, and loggias. Sometimes the dome was given an Hammam enclosed forecourt. One of the best examples is Yesil Cami Mosque in Bursa (1412–19). Madrasa From an ornate marble portal a visitor passes a low, square vestibule that leads by way of Mausoleum a short barrel-vaulted corridor to the central hall. The main prayer hall, or iwan, behind 0 50 m 13.26 Site plan: Yesil Cami complex 470  West Asia 13.27 Beyazit Medical Complex, Edirne, Turkey 13.28 Courtyard, Beyazit Medical Complex Beyazit Medical Complex 15th century. To the east of the mosque were In the spring of 1484, the thirty-seven-year- two buildings that served as refectories and old Ottoman ruler, Beyazit II, on his way kitchens. The hospital on the western side with his army to the Balkans, ordered the of the complex is a hexagonal structure, with construction of the Beyazit Medical Complex its own small courtyard and forecourt. The (completed in 1488) in Edirne (close to hexagon was domed, and had a fountain in the modern border between Turkey and the center to soothe the nerves of the ill. It Bulgaria). The five principal elements of the is quite possible that musicians played here composition were carefully walled off because or possibly that the ill rested on the long, of the number of horses, mules, and camels carpet-covered sofa in the principal iwan, that would have been grazing nearby on the which forms a stage at the far apse end of shore of the river. The buildings form an the hexagon. The whole complex employed irregular U-shape, with the mosque and its 167 people and was staffed by three doctors, court at the center, facing in the direction of two eye specialists, and two surgeons, as well the street. The mosque is square in plan, half as a dentist. Bakery the width of the 50-meter-broad courtyard. The dome, lofty and rising dramatically over the entrance, was illuminated by a large Store central wheel carrying three tiers of oil lamps, all suspended by a single chain from the center of the dome. Flanking the mosque are Precinct two square tabhanes (temporary lodgings) Imaret with nine domes, each tabhane having four corner rooms opening onto iwans off a Medical school central court. This plan is distantly related Courtyard to concepts from Central Asia. The minarets Hospital and asylum Tabhane are set in the angle corners of the tabhanes Mosque protruding from the walls of the courtyard. It is generally thought that these spaces served as temporary lodgings for members of the dervish orders. Beyazit had mystical leanings and was described as a man who loved 0 50 m simplicity, peace, and retreat. The dervish orders were also increasing in number in the 13.29 Plan: Beyazit Medical Complex 471 1400 ce 13.30 Topkapi Palace, Istanbul, Turkey Topkapi Palace The main entrance of the palace was just The Third Gate (The Gate of Felicity) was On May 29, 1453, Sultan Mehmed II captured behind the Hagia Sophia, now converted especially sacred. On particularly important Constantinople after a fifty-three-day siege. to a mosque. The Imperial Gate, the first of occasions, the sultan would greet visitors For the Europeans it was a major defeat, as three main ceremonial double gates, led to under its airy canopy. Behind the gate was it brought to an end the Byzantine Empire the first court, which contained workshops, the Chamber of Petitions, a square, one- and all that it represented. For the Arab storage areas, dormitories, kitchens, a bakery, story structure that served as an audience armies it was a long-sought-after prize, as and baths. It also contained a mint and hall, a building technically within the private it provided them with a major metropolis. various offices of the government. This court precinct but still conceptually a part of the Almost immediately, work was begun on served as a waiting area for dignitaries as second courtyard. The third court was raised the construction of mosques and other well as a staging area for processions and on high retaining walls, with the land sloping buildings, including the vast Topkapi Palace special ceremonies. Visiting ambassadors down below it toward the north. The throne (begun 1459) that served as the main royal had to walk past the thousands of richly clad room was located at the far left corner. The residence and seat of the imperial Ottoman soldiers and courtiers standing in mandatory buildings in this court were designed to take administration from the second half of the silence, an intimidating backdrop for in the vistas of the surrounding landscape. 15th to the mid-19th century. The palace diplomatic negotiations. The courtyard was The sultan, from his belvedere, could watch was in the middle of a roughly triangular also used for executions, which the sultan his flourishing capital and the port. The shaped site that was surrounded mostly by could observe from a window in the Tower of residential quarter was located to the east water on the north and east, while to the west Justice. of the second and third courts in a compact a high wall separated it from the rest of the At the second gate, the visitor would mass huddled close to the walls of the court. city. Its plan could be seen as a haphazard have had to dismount to gain access to the Special areas housed pages and slaves— aggregation of buildings. But this would not next court, called “the arena of justice,” and males, females, and eunuchs—who were be accurate, since it was planned according the beginning of the palace proper. It was all part of the sultan’s retinue. This quarter to a logic related to the definition of a sultan. uncluttered by freestanding buildings and also housed the harem. In the northernmost He was seen as being beyond any relation unified by a continuous marble colonnade. It corner were the royal apartments. of reciprocity, and ceremonies stressed housed the Tower of Justice, the Council Hall, Topkapi Palace is not organized along the unbridgeable gap between master and and the treasury clustered at the far left corner an axis, nor are the buildings grand in subject, thus the insistence in this palace of the court. A loggia, raised on a platform in the traditional sense. Rather they are on the privacy of the sultan. The Moghuls, front of the Council Hall, overlooked the space. organized through diagonal vistas and angled elaborating on Timurid and Mongolian models, On the inside of the hall, from the back, the approaches, with the open areas of the had more accessible private zones, much as sultan could watch the proceedings from courtyards meant to contrast with the ad hoc in Europe, where the ruler could entertain behind a curtained window. The hall was low intimacy of the residential quarter. guests. The Topkapi Palace, however, with its and unassuming, because it was modeled clearly delineated boundaries, was designed to on a tent known as the “consultation tent,” instill a sense of sanctity and respect as much which was used by the imperial council during as fear and awe. military campaigns. 472  Europe Baghdad kiosk Carriage gate Garden Imperial Gate to the harem Privy chambers Hagia Sophia Third courtyard Library of Ahmed III Throne room Treasury Sea of Marmara Gate of Felicity Council Hall 13.31 Site plan: Topkapi Palace, Istanbul Tower of Justice Arena of Justice Gate of Salutation Kitchens 0 100 m 13.32 Plan: Topkapi Palace 13.33 Throne room, Topkapi Palace 13.34 Detail, Topkapi Palace 473