Dictionary of islamic architecture

See also:
Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia,
UAE
Further reading:
S.Kay, 
Bahrain: Island Heritage,
Dubai 1985.
C.Larsen, 
Life and Land Use on the Bahrain Islands,
Chicago
1983.
R.Lewcock, ‘The Traditional Architecture of Bahrain’, in
Bahrain through the Ages: The Archaeology,
ed. S.H.Ali al-
Khalifa and M.Rice, London 1986.
Baku
Capital of the Independent Republic of Azerbayjan.
Baku is located on a peninsula on the west coast of
the Caspian Sea. The city has always been famous
for its naturally occurring oil wells although it did
not achieve political importance until the fifteenth
century, when it was established as the capital of a
local dynasty known as the Sherwan Shahs. The
Sherwan Shahs had established themselves along the
west coast of the Caspian Sea as early as the
fourteenth century although they did not move to
Baku until their previous capital of Shir
wan was
captured by the Qara Qoyonulu in 1426. The
Sherwan Shahs were effectively destroyed in 1500
when the Saffavid ruler Isma’il killed the reigning
shah. Baku remained part of the Iranian Empire from
the sixteenth until the early twentieth century when
it was annexed by Russia.
One of the earliest Islamic monuments in Baku
is the Kiz Kallesi which is a huge round bastion
tower built of brick. The tower was probably built
in the eleventh century although the precise date
has not been agreed. The tower may have formed
part of the city walls of Baku although alternatively
it may have been an independent castle or
watchtower. The majority of monuments in Baku
date from the period of the Sherwan Shahs or later.
The most important monuments form part of the
royal complex which stands on a hill overlooking
the Caspian Sea. All of these buildings are made
out of large bluish-grey limestone blocks which are
carefully squared and dressed. At the centre of the
complex is the palace which was built in the mid-
fifteenth century. The layout of the palace is based
on two interconnected octagons with two storeys.
A tall entrance portal opens into an octagonal hall
which in turn leads via a passageway into a smaller
hall. The palace complex includes a private mosque
which has a cruciform plan entered from
monumental portal set to one side. One of the other
arms contained a separate women’s mosque and
there was another prayer hall upstairs. The complex
also includes a number of mausoleums the most
important of which is the tomb of the shahs. This
comprises a square central chamber leading on to
four barrel-vaulted side rooms. The dome is slightly
pointed and decorated with faceting.