This period saw the Crusades, the Mongol invasions, and the rise of the powerful Timurid empire.
c. 900 - 1517 C.E.
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Portrait of a Coptic Patriarch
A closer look at this 12th-century Egyptian illuminated gospel book reveals why it is remarkable.
The beginnings of Cairo, the city victorious
Now a bustling metropolis, Cairo was once the imperial city for the Fatimid caliphs and their entourage.
Islamic art c. 900–1400
The medieval Islamic world covers a vast geography with diverse rulers, artists, and patrons.
Rock crystal ewer, San Marco
This rock crystal ewer is a unique testament to the height of rock crystal production in Fatimid Cairo.
A glass lamp: illuminating sultan Hassan’s mosque and madrasa
The glass lamps of sultan Hassan’s mosque portrayed him as a devout and powerful ruler long after his death.
Artist, scribe, and poet: Abu Zayd and 12th-century Iranian ceramics
Poetry is central to this bowl—Persian and Arabic poems encircle the vessel on both its exterior and interior.
A Mamluk candlestick base
Mamluk sultan al-Nasir Muhammad's candlestick base exemplifies a new visual language of power that emerged in 14th-century Egypt and Syria.
The Ben Ezra Synagogue, Fustat, Egypt
The medieval architecture and decoration of the Ben Ezra Synagogue reflect the Egyptian Jewish community's connections to the local visual culture.
Bifolium from the Pink Qur’an
Pages dyed pink, script from the Maghreb, and gold medallions make this Qu'ran especially spectacular.
Sultanate art and architecture, an introduction
Mosques, tombstones, textiles, and murals are only a few examples of the art and architecture created on the Indian subcontinent in the sultanates.
The Qutb complex and early Sultanate architecture
The Qutb archaeological complex and the Delhi Sultanate are important chapters in Indo-Islamic architectural history.
Madrasa and Friday Mosque of Sultan Hasan, Cairo
The madrasa-mosque of Sultan Hasan remains one of the most ingeniously designed mosques in the history of Islamic architecture.
