Dictionary of islamic architecture

Early Islamic Period
Undoubtedly the most famous building in Palestine
is the Dome of the Rock built by the caliph Abd al-
Malik in 691. The significance of this building extends
beyond its immediate architectural design to its
symbolic function of demonstrating the presence of
Islam and its status as a major religion in Jerusalem,
home to both Christianity and Judaism. Together
with the Aqsa Mosque and the Royal Palace to the
south of the Haram, Jerusalem’s place as a religious
and cultural centre of Islam was established.
However, the capital of Palestine during the
Umayyad and Abbasid periods was not Jerusalem
but Ramla. Like Basra, Kufa and Wasit, Ramla was
one of the new towns established in the first years
of the Arab conquests. Today little survives of the
early Islamic city with the exception of two large
underground cisterns, one below the congregational
mosque (Jami
al-Abiyad) and one outside the city to
the west. Generally, however, the major cities of the
Byzantine period continued to be the major
settlements; thus archaeology has demonstrated the
continued occupation of Lydda, Beisan, Tiberias
Gaza, Caesarea and Acre into the Umayyad and
Abbasid periods. As much of the population
remained Christian, churches continued to be built
during the period.
Outside the cities and in the Negev a number of
new settlements were built in the early Islamic
period. Some of these were agricultural centres,
whilst others were palaces and mansions for the
new élite. The best known of these is the Umayyad
palace of Khirbet al-Mafjar near Jericho in the
Jordan valley (known locally as Hisham’s palace
although it has now been reliably attributed to
Walid II). This building was modelled on a Roman
bath house and was lavishly decorated with mosaics
and stucco. The stucco includes representations of
semi-naked women and is unique in Islamic art. A
similar but smaller structure was built at the south
end of Lake Tiberias (the Sea of Galilee) in an area
of hot springs. The original building was a Roman
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fort although this was substantially rebuilt during
the Umayyad period to resemble a palace, with
mosaics etc.
In the Negev large numbers of early Islamic sites
have been found, which indicate a growth in the
settlement of the area. This parallels the increased
building activity in the deserts of Jordan, Iraq and
Saudi Arabia and may be linked to a shift in emphasis
towards Arabia in the early Islamic period.
Increasing political tension and fragmentation in
the later Abbasid and Fatimid periods meant that
few major monuments can be dated to this period.
Significantly two large monuments in Palestine
which can be dated to this period (tenth and eleventh
centuries) are fortified structures built to guard
against an impending Byzantine invasion. One of
these buildings, Kefar Lam is built on the north coast
south of Haifa and the other, Mina al-Qal
a (now
known as Ashdod Yam) is located on the southern
coast near Ashdod. Both are built of thin slabs of
kurkar stone (laid in a manner resembling brick
construction) forming large rectangular enclosures
with solid corner towers and semi-circular buttresses.
The fort at Ashdod was fairly luxurious and includes
a line of marble columns in the centre re-used from
the classical site of Ashdod. Outside the fort at
Ashdod there are the remains of a domed building
which has been interpreted as a bath house. The
domes are supported on shell-like squinches
(characteristic of the Fatimid period) with pierced
holes for light.
Crusader Period
The Crusader conquest of Palestine had a profound
influence on the appearance of the country. In
Jerusalem the Aqsa Mosque was converted into a
palace by Baldwin I and the Dome of the Rock was
converted into an Augustinian church. In the
countryside numerous castles, tower houses and
churches testify to the Crusader presence. The castles
guarding prominent positions are perhaps the best-
known architectural legacy of the Crusades. The
most famous in Palestine are Monfort and Belvoir,
although there are numerous smaller fortresses
throughout the area. Typically a Crusader castle
consisted of a square or rectangular tower surrounded
by thick enclosing walls. The enclosure walls would
follow the shape of the land unlike the regular shapes
of the earlier Islamic forts. Many of the features
found in Crusader fortification were later re-used in
Arab castles such as Ajlun (Qal
at Rabad) and
Nimrud.
Whilst the Crusader castles controlled the land
physically, the spiritual possession of the holy land
was marked by the construction of hundreds of
churches. In Jerusalem alone there were sixty, some
of which were built on the ruins of Byzantine
churches. The churches were distinguished with fine
carved capitals and sculptures.
With the Muslim reconquest of Jerusalem in 1187
the Crusader presence was reduced to the area
around Acre, which for the next hundred years (until
it too fell in 1191) was the centre of the Crusader
kingdoms, and was enriched with some of the finest
Crusader architecture in the Middle East.
The Crusades influenced the architecture of
Palestine in two ways: directly through the copying
of techniques and the re-use of buildings, and
indirectly through the development of the counter-
Crusade. The direct influence is seen in the
adaptation of certain techniques for Islamic
buildings such as cushion-shaped voussoirs and
folded cross vaults, all of which can be found in
the Mamluk buildings of Jerusalem. One of the best
examples of this influence can be seen in the minaret
of the Great Mosque of Ramla, which resembles a
Crusader church tower. The indirect influence can
be seen in the development of a propaganda
expressed through monumental inscriptions and
carved devices. One of the most famous examples
of the latter, of the lion of Baybars catching a mouse,
is depicted on the Lion Gate in Jerusalem (this can
also be seen at Jisr Jindas between Ramla and
Lydda).
Mamluk Era
Mamluk rule in Palestine produced some of the best
examples of medieval architecture in the Middle
East, with a proliferation of religious buildings
including mosques, madrassas, khanqas and
commemorative mausoleums. Jerusalem in