Dictionary of islamic architecture

artesonado
Spanish term for wooden panelled ceiling found in
Islamic and Mudéjar buildings. Some of the best
examples can be found in palaces especially the
Alhambra in Granada.
Atshan, Khan
Small palatial building in the Iraqi western desert between
Ukhaidhir and Kufa.
Built of baked brick the design is similar to
Ukhaidhir although on a much smaller scale (17 m
per side). Externally the building has a simple
regular plan consisting of four circular solid corner
towers with semi-round towers on three sides and
an entrance set between two quarter-round towers
on the north side. Internally the building appears
to have an irregular plan with long vaulted halls
along two sides and a small courtyard decorated
with a façade of blind niches. The structure was
probably built in the Umayyad period although it
has previously been considered an Abbasid (post-
750) construction.
See also:
Ukhaidhir
Further reading:
B.Finster and J.Schmidt, 
Sasaidische und fruhislamische
Ruinen im Iraq, Baghdader Mitteilungen
8, Berlin 1976.
Atshan, Khan, Iraq
Ayyubids

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avulu
Turkish term for the courtyard of a mosque which
in the summer could be used as an extension of the
prayer area.
ayina kari
Mosaic of mirrored glass used in Mughal
architecture.
Ayyubids
Medieval dynasty which ruled Syria, Palestine, Iraq,
Egypt and Yemen during the twelfth and thirteenth
centuries.
The founder of the dynasty was Shirukh, a Kurdish
retainer of the Zengid prince Nur al-Din. First
Shirukh secured the governorship of Aleppo and
later was appointed vizier to the Fatimid ruler of
Egypt. Shirukh was succeeded by his nephew Salah
al-Din who rapidly extended his position and
became ruler of Egypt, Syria and northern Iraq whilst
he appointed his brother ruler of Yemen. Salah al-
Din’s greatest accomplishment was the defeat of the
Crusaders and the reconquest of Jerusalem. Salah
al-Din died in 1189 and his empire fragmented under
his successors who ruled various parts of the empire
until the mid-thirteenth century.
Ayyubid architecture was dominated by the need
to combat two enemies: the Crusaders in Palestine
and the rising threat of Shi
ism and religious
dissension. To combat the Crusaders a network of
fortresses was built which rivalled those of the
Crusaders both in size and technical sophistication.
Amongst the best examples of Ayyubid military
architecture are Qal
at Rabad at Ajlun in Jordan and
Qal
at Nimrud at Banyas in Syria. In addition the
fortification of citadels was improved and the
famous gateway of the Aleppo Citadel dates from
this period. Some of the techniques of fortification
were learned from the Crusaders (curtain walls
following the natural topography), although many
were inherited from the Fatimids (machicolations
and round towers) and some were developed
simultaneously (concentric planning).
Shi
ism was an equally dangerous threat to the
Ayyubids who built a large number of madrassas in
both Syria and Egypt. In Egypt the Ayyubids had to
reintroduce religious orthodoxy after two centuries
of government-imposed Shi
ism. In Syria there was
a so a growing threat of Shi
ism in the form of the
Assassins who had benefited from the confusion of
the Crusader conflict. The Ayyubids tried to promote
Sufism as an orthodox alternative and began to build
khanqas and Sufi shrines to provide a focus for these
activities.