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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
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
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
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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
Gold pendant with inset enamel decoration
Seljuq
The Great Mosque (or Masjid-e Jameh) of Isfahan
Two Royal Figures
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
Aleppo
The Islamic West
Pyxis of al-Mughira
Khalaf, Pyxis
The Alhambra
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
Mimar Sinan
Mimar Sinan, Süleymaniye Mosque, Istanbul
Mimar Sinan, Mosque of Selim II, Edirne
Mimar Sinan, 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
Qa’a (The Damascus room)
The Damascus Room at The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Timurid
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
Divination Bowl with Inscriptions and Zodiac Signs
Mughal
The Taj Mahal
Illustration from the Akbarnama
Bichitr, Jahangir Preferring a Sufi Shaikh to Kings
Portrait of Shah ‘Abbas I of Iran
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 November 29, 2021, https://smarthistory.org/the-complex-geometry-of-islamic-design/.

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