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Arts of the Islamic World
640 to now

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A beginner's guide
Introduction to Islam
About chronological periods
Arts of the Islamic world
The Qur’an
Gold in the Qur’an
Illumination of the Qur’an
The Five Pillars of Islam
Islamic pilgrimages and sacred spaces
Hajj
The Kaaba
Stories of the modern pilgrimage
The complex geometry of Islamic design
Introduction to mosque architecture
Common types of mosque architecture
Pre-Islamic Arabia
Pilgrimage souvenirs
Early period
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Arts of the Islamic world: The early period
Mosaics in the early Islamic world
Paintings in the early Islamic world
The Samanid Mausoleum, Bukhara (Uzbekistan)
Umayyad
The Umayyads, an introduction
The Dome of the Rock (Qubbat al-Sakhra)
The Great Mosque of Damascus
Abbasid
Arts of the Abbasid Caliphate
Samarra, a palatial city
The Islamic West
The vibrant visual cultures of the Islamic West, an introduction
The Great Mosque of Córdoba
The Mosque of Bāb al-Mardūm (the Church of Santa Cruz), Toledo
The Great Mosque of Kairouan
Kairouan (from UNESCO)
Medieval period
Browse this content
Arts of the Islamic world: The medieval period
Folio from a Qur’an
Ghaznavid
Dado Panel, Courtyard of the Royal Palace of Mas’ud III
Fatimid
The Ben Ezra Synagogue, Fustat, Egypt
Rock crystal ewer, San Marco
Gold pendant with inset enamel decoration
Seljuq
The Great Mosque (or Masjid-e Jameh) of Isfahan
Two Royal Figures
Artist, scribe, and poet: Abu Zayd and 12th-century Iranian ceramics
Ilkhanid
Folio from a Shahnama, The Bier of Iskandar (Alexander the Great)
Bahram Gur Fights the Karg (Horned Wolf)
Bahram Gur in a Peasant’s House
Mihrab from Isfahan (Iran)
Mamluk
Mohammed ibn al-Zain, Basin (Baptistère de Saint Louis)
Mamluk Qur’an
Mamluk bindings
Madrasa and Friday Mosque of Sultan Hasan, Cairo
A glass lamp: illuminating sultan Hassan’s mosque and madrasa
A Mamluk candlestick base
Aleppo
Sultanates of South Asia
The Qutb complex and early Sultanate architecture
Sultanate art and architecture, an introduction
The Islamic West
Pyxis of al-Mughira
Khalaf, Pyxis
The Alhambra
Bifolium from the Pink Qu’ran
Conservation: The Nasrid plasterwork collection at the V&A
Coronation Mantle
Later period
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Arts of the Islamic world: The later period
Introduction to the court carpets of the Ottoman, Safavid, and Mughal empires
Ottoman
The rise of the Ottoman Empire
Muradiye Mosque
Prayer carpet with triple-arch design
Mimar Sinan
Şehzade Mosque, Istanbul
Süleymaniye Mosque, Istanbul
Mosque of Selim II, Edirne
Rüstem Pasha Mosque, Istanbul
Hagia Sophia as a mosque
The Blue Mosque (Sultan Ahmet Camii)
Spherical Hanging Ornament (Iznik)
Iznik ewer
Tughra (Official Signature) of Sultan Süleiman the Magnificent from Istanbul
Topkapı Palace tiles
Eliyahu Hanavi Synagogue, Jobar (Syria)
Bayt Farhi, a Jewish house in Damascus
Qa’a (The Damascus room)
Photograph of Abdülhamid II
Timurid
Timur’s entry into Samarkand, page from the Zafarnama
Mausoleum of Khoja Ahmed Yasawi
Samarkand, crossroad of cultures
Safavid
The Safavids, an introduction
The Ardabil Carpet
Looking at Persian painting
The Court of Gayumars
Wine bearers in landscape, a Safavid textile
Riza-yi ‘Abbasi
Portrait of a young page reading
Seated calligrapher
Mir Afzal of Tun, a reclining woman and her lapdog
Groom and Rider drawing
The Ardashirnama: a Judeo-Persian manuscript
Divination Bowl with Inscriptions and Zodiac Signs
Mughal
Exploring Color in Mughal Paintings
Illustration from the Akbarnama
Humayun’s tomb
The Taj Mahal
Bichitr, Jahangir Preferring a Sufi Shaikh to Kings
Portrait of Shah ‘Abbas I of Iran
Shah Jahan’s portrait, emeralds, and the exotic at the Mughal court
Qajar
Khusraw Discovers Shirin Bathing
Lacquer pen-case, signed by the artist Ashraf ibn Riza

The complex geometry of Islamic design

by TED-Ed

Video from TED-Ed. Speaker: Eric Broug.

Cite this page as: TED-Ed, "The complex geometry of Islamic design," in Smarthistory, January 30, 2016, accessed June 6, 2023, https://smarthistory.org/the-complex-geometry-of-islamic-design/.

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