The Abbasid caliphs spared no expense to build a palatial city of grand buildings and sprawling residential complexes
Early period
From lusterware ceramics to "Kufic" script to the engagement with classical scientific literature, the artistic legacies of the Abbasid caliphate are varied.
Arts of the Abbasid Caliphate
The Mosque of Bāb al-Mardūm—and its conversion into a church—embodies the multi-religious reality of medieval Spain.
The Mosque of Bāb al-Mardūm (the Church ...
One of the widespread myths about Islamic art is that images of living creatures are banned.
Paintings in the early Islamic world
An elaborate mausoleum was a monument of the Samanid dynasty's new, thriving capital of Bukhara—and was one of the great architectural masterpieces of Central Asia from the early tenth century.
The Samanid Mausoleum, Bukhara (Uzbekistan)
Mosaics were highly valued throughout the first few centuries of Islam and were used alongside other precious materials as one element of elite architectural display.
Mosaics in the early Islamic world
The Dome of the Rock. The Great Mosque in Damascus. The Great Mosque in Córdoba. These remarkable achievements are all Umayyad.
The Umayyads, an introduction
Once a temple to Zeus, the Great Mosque of Damascus, has survived the Syrian Civil War, and stands as one of the world's most important historic structures.
The Great Mosque of Damascus
Kairouan was an important early Islamic city in north Africa. Marble and porphyry columns flank its Great Mosque.
Kairouan (from UNESCO)
The lavish materials used for this manuscript convey both its patron’s wealth and the sacred text’s dignity.
Folio from a Qur’an
Used for Friday prayer, this mosque stood at the center of Kairouan’s commercial, educational, and religious life.
The Great Mosque of Kairouan
Recycled Roman columns fill the prayer hall of this dazzling mosque, one of the oldest built in Islamic Spain.
The Great Mosque of Córdoba
While not a mosque, the Dome of the Rock is one of the earliest surviving buildings from the Islamic world.
The Dome of the Rock (Qubbat al-Sakhra)
Two powerful dynasties, the Umayyad and the Abbasid, ruled the Islamic World between the 7th and 13th centuries.
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