DOCSLIB.ORG

The Architecture of Cairo

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
The Architecture of Cairo The Architecture of Cairo Professor Nasser Rabbat Massachusetts Institute of Technology [email protected] Course Description Among the cities associated with the Islamic civilization, Cairo is perhaps the most representative culturally and certainly the richest architecturally. Founded in 634 at the strategic head of the Nile Delta, the city evolved from a military outpost to the seat of the ambitious and singular Fatimid caliphate between the 10th and 12th century. Its most spectacular age, however, was the Mamluk period (1250-1517) which established it as the uncontested center of a resurgent Sunni Islam and produced a wealth of religious, palatial, and commemorative structures that synthesized the achievements of previous periods and symbolized the image of the city for centuries to come. After that, Cairo was reduced to an Ottoman provincial capital until the end of the eighteenth century. Then it witnessed a short and capricious renascence under the independent-minded Muhammed 'Ali Pasha (1805-48) followed by a period of vacillation between conservatism and modernization that was exacerbated by the late-twentieth-century problems of population explosion and underdevelopment. Yet, Cairo still shines as a cultural, political, and economic center in three spheres of influence: the Arab world, Africa, and the Islamic world. Moreover, many of its Islamic monuments (456 registered by the 1951 Survey of the Islamic Monuments of Cairo) still stand, although they remain largely unknown to the world's architectural community and their numbers are dwindling at an exceedingly alarming rate. In this course we will recount the story of Cairo. We will review its urban and architectural developments form the initial settlement on the site to the twentieth century and interpret them in light of the cultural, political, and social history of the country, the region and the world. We will examine Cairene architectural types and urban patterns to see how they reflect various regional influences and relate to their counterparts in the wider Islamic and Mediterranean contexts. Beginnings: History, Geography, and Religion History and Geography The Nile and the Site of Cairo The Legacy of Ancient Egypt Egypt on the Eve of Islam Hellenism, Christianity, and the Copts The coming of Islam The Foundation of al-Fustat The Mosque of `Amru ibn al-`As: the first mosque in Africa The vocabulary of the mosque: the minaret, the mihrab and the minbar The Nilometer Imperial Ambitions: Ibn Tulun and al-Ikhshid The foundation of al-Qata'i`: The Mosque of Ibn Tulun Buildings of the Ikhshidids Reading: Behrens-Abouseif, 3-34, 47-57. Abu-Lughod, 3-25. Briggs, 47-62. Encyclopedia of Islam, 2d Ed., vol. 4, article "Kahira," vol. 5, art. "Mihrab," and "Minbar." Dickie, James. "Allah and Eternity: Mosques, Madrasas, and Tombs," In: ed. G. Michell, Architecture of the Islamic World: Its History and Social Meaning. 65-79. Age of the Caliphate: The Fatimids The foundation of Cairo Fatimid palaces Comparison with contemporary Islamic cities Fatimid Mosques of Cairo: new traditions and old forms The Azhar Mosque and the Institution of religious learning The centrality of the mosque in a medieval Islamic urban setting Mosques of al-Hakim, al-Aqmar, and al-Salih Tala'i`. The Cult of Saints: mashhads and mausolea Genealogy as a propaganda tool for the Fatimids The evolving function of the dome The appearance of the muqarnas: decorative purposes and symbolic meanings The defenses of Cairo The first walls of al-Mu`izz The walls of Badr al-Jamali The gates of Cairo and the question of regional influences The Crusades, the fall of the Fatimids, and the rise of Salah al-Din Reading: Behrens-Abouseif, 58-77. Briggs, pp. 63-75. Rabbat, The Citadel of Cairo, pp. 1-17. Rabbat, "Al-Azhar Mosque: An Architectural Chronicle of Cairo's History. "Muqarnas 13 (1996): 45-67. Bloom, Jonathan. "The Mosque of al-Hakim in Cairo," Muqarnas 1 (1983) 15-36. Behrens-Abouseif, "The Facade of the Aqmar Mosque in the Context of Fatimid Ceremonial," Muqarnas 9 (1992): 29-38. Idem, "The Mosque of the Qarafa in Cairo," Muqarnas 4 (1987): 7-20. Williams, Caroline. "The Cult of the `Alid Saints in the Fatimid Monuments of Cairo. Part1: The Mosque of al-Aqmar," Muqarnas 1 (1983): 37-52. Idem, "The Cult of the `Alid Saints in the Fatimid Monuments of Cairo. Part 2: The Mausolea," Muqarnas 3 (1985) 39-60. Sanders, Paula. Rituals, Politics and the City in Fatimid Cairo, N.Y., 1994. Pp. 39-67. Rise to Prominence: Ayyubids and Bahri Mamluks The relationship of the citadel to the city The emerging importance of the citadel as the residence of the ruler The Roda Citadel and the urban development of Cairo in the Ayyubid period Ayyubid Architecture and the Sunni Revival The Mausoleum of al-Imam al-Shafe`i The introduction of the madrasa: The Madrasa of al-Salih Najm al-Din Ayyub The political and social functions of the madrasa The mausoleum of the ruler The Bahri Mamluks: continuity and change A brief introduction to the Mamluk system The Mosque of al-Zahir Baybars and traditional forms The Complex of Qalawun and the Syrian import The Apogee of Medieval Cairo The City under al-Nasir Muhammad The charitable institutions of al-Nasir Muhammad's princes The Waqf system Mamluk Madrasas and Khanqahs and the problem of the Four-Iwan Plan The royal madrasas on the main thoroughfare of Cairo The Madrasas of Sultan Hasan Residential and Palatial architecture A brief survey of residential architecture up to the Mamluk period Royal and princely palaces of the fourteenth century The urban character of Mamluk architecture A short film, Medieval Cairo by Nezar AlSayya Reading: Behrens-Abouseif, pp. 35-44, 78-132. Abu-Lughod, pp. 27-36. Briggs, pp. 76-109, 145-64 (Domestic Architecture). MacKenzie, Neil D. Ayyubid Cairo: A Topographical Study, Cairo, 1992. Rabbat, The Citadel of Cairo, 283-95. Irwin, Robert. The Middle East in the Middle Ages, The Early Mamluk Sultanate 1250-1382, (Carbondale, 1986). Bylinski, Janusz. "Darb Ibn al-Baba. A Quarter in Mamluk Cairo in the Light of Waqf Documents", Journal of the American Research Center in Egypt, 31, (1994): 203-22. Fernandes, Leonor. "The Foundation of Baybars al-Jashankir: Its Waqf, History, and Architecture," Muqarnas 4 (1987): 21-42. Grabar, Oleg. "Reflections on Mamluk Art," Muqarnas 2 (1984): 1-12. Humphreys, R. Stephen. "The Expressive Intent of the Mamluk Architecture in Cairo: a Preliminary Essay," Studia Islamica 35 (1972): 69-119. Ibrahim, Laila A. "Residential Architecture in Mamluk Cairo," Muqarnas 2 (1984): 47-59. Williams, John Alden. "Urbanization and Monument Construction in Mamluk Cairo," Muqarnas 2 (1984) 33-45. Afterglow of Empire: Burji Mamluks and Ottomans The mosques, madrasas, and mausolea of the Burji Sultan Urban complex from Barquq to Khayer Bak The growth of Cairo and the development of the Qarafas The royal charitable complexes from Umm Anuk to Qaytbay The Mamluk style The development of the dome, the minaret, and the Qa`a under the Mamluks The development of Mamluk decorative techniques and patterns The coming of the Ottomans The urban changes in Cairo from the sixteenth to eighteenth centuries Ottoman mosques in Cairo: wavering between the local and the official Cairene Ottoman houses The stabilization of a hybrid type Comparison with houses of other Ottoman provinces The legacy of the pre-modern city The French Expedition and the Description de l'Egypt Reading: Behrens-Abouseif, pp. 133-67. Abu-Lughod, pp. 37-79. Briggs, pp. 110-44. Behrens-Abouseif, Doris. Azbakiyya and its Environs: From Azbak to Ismail (1476-1879). (Cairo, 1985). Idem, "The `Abd al-Rahman Katkhuda Style in 18th century Cairo," Annales Islamologiques 26 (1992): 117-26. Hanna, Nelly. An Urban History of Bulaq in the Mamluk and Ottoman Periods. (Cairo, 1983). Kessler, Christel. The Carved Masonry Domes of Medieval Cairo. (Cairo, 1976). Idem, "Funerary Architecture Within the City," Colloque International sur l'Histoire du Caire (27 Mars-5 Avril 1969). 257-67. Campo, Juan Eduardo. The Other Sides of Paradise: Explorations into the Religious Meanings of Domestic Space in Islam. Columbia, S C, 1991. Pp. 74-94. Gillispie, Charles C. and Michael Dewachter (eds), Monuments of Egypt: the Napoleonic Edition: the complete archaelogical plates from la Description de l'Egypte. Princeton, 1987. Pp.1-30. Modernization and After: Muhammad 'Ali to the Present The architectural and urban works of Muhammad Ali The Mosque at the Citadel The Westernization of the palatial architecture The modernization of the city of Cairo Orientalism and the Fascination of Egypt Ethnographer-Painters and the romanticization of Cairo The Comite de preservation des monuments du Caire and preservation Cairene architecture in the late nineteenth century Historicism and the Mamluk revival The Mosque of al-Rifa`i Other Orientalizing styles Cosmopolitan architecture The emergence of vernacular style in the 1940s The works of Hasan Fathy, Ramses Wissa Wasef, and their students Cairo's expansion and modernization Population explosion and urban chaos Problems of preservation and accommodation The image of Cairo: past and present Reading: Behrens-Abouseif, pp. 167-70. Abu-Lughod, pp. 83-117. Lane, Edward William. Cairo Fifty Years Ago. Edited by Stanley Lane-Poole. London, 1896. Al-Asad, Mohammad, "The Mosque of Muhammad `Ali in Cairo," Muqarnas 9 (1992): 39-55. Asfour, Khaled, "The Domestication of Knowledge: Cairo at the Turn of the Century," Muqarnas 10 (1993): 125-37. Al-Asad, Mohammad, "The Mosque of al-Rifa`i in Cairo," Muqarnas 10 (1993): 108-24. Raymond, Andre. "Cairo," in The Modern Middle East. A. Hourani, P. Khoury & M. Wilson (eds.), Berkeley, 1993. Pp. 311-37. Meinecke, Michael, ed. Islamic Cairo: Architectural Conservation and Urban Development of the Historic Centre. (AARP, June 1980) pp. 8-46.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • THE AMERICAN UNIVERSITY in CAIRO School of Humanities And
    1 THE AMERICAN UNIVERSITY IN CAIRO School of Humanities and Social Sciences Department of Arab and Islamic Civilizations Islamic Art and Architecture A thesis on the subject of Revival of Mamluk Architecture in the 19th & 20th centuries by Laila Kamal Marei under the supervision of Dr. Bernard O’Kane 2 Dedications and Acknowledgments I would like to dedicate this thesis for my late father; I hope I am making you proud. I am sure you would have enjoyed this field of study as much as I do. I would also like to dedicate this for my mother, whose endless support allowed me to pursue a field of study that I love. Thank you for listening to my complains and proofreads from day one. Thank you for your patience, understanding and endless love. I am forever, indebted to you. I would like to thank my family and friends whose interest in the field and questions pushed me to find out more. Aziz, my brother, thank you for your questions and criticism, they only pushed me to be better at something I love to do. Zeina, we will explore this world of architecture together some day, thank you for listening and asking questions that only pushed me forward I love you. Alya’a and the Friday morning tours, best mornings of my adult life. Iman, thank you for listening to me ranting and complaining when I thought I’d never finish, thank you for pushing me. Salma, with me every step of the way, thank you for encouraging me always. Adham abu-elenin, thank you for your time and photography.
    [Show full text]
  • Bab Al-Nasr • Is the Massive Fortified Gate with Rectangular Stone Towers Flanking the Semicircular Arch of the Eastern Portal
    كلية السياحة والفنادق)قسم اﻻرشاد السياحي( مادة اثار مصر اﻻسﻻمية 1كود المقرر ر.س 326 الفصل الدراسي الثاني الفرقة الثالثة إرشاد سياحي أ.د سماح عبد الرحمن اﻻستاذ بالقسم القائمه علي تدريس المقرر [email protected] 01010119940 Bab Zuwayla (Bab al-Mitwalli) المحاضرة اﻻولي .(1092A.D/485A.H) • One of the three Fatimid gates that remain standing, this one at the south end of al- Qahira is perhaps the least interesting structurally. An attack from Syria was expected from the north, not the south. Visually, however, with its crowning fifteenth-century minarets, it is the most dramatic and it gives into abazaar quarter that is as full of life today as it was in the middle Ages المحاضرة اﻻولي • Bab Zuwayla, also called Bab al-Mitwalli, dates from 1092. It was part of the city fortifications put up by the Armenian wazir Badr al-Gamali and his Anatolian or Mesopotamian Christian architects. The gate was named after Fatimid soldiers from the Berber tribe al-Zawila who were quartered in the vicinity after the building of the original gate in 969, when alQahira was founded. The name Bab al-Mitwalli dates from Ottoman times, when the wali, or Ottoman officer, charged with maintaining public order, had his residence and headquarters near here. المحاضرة اﻻولي • The gate's projecting, rounded towers connected by a covered passageway over the large, arched opening are northern Syrian or Byzantine, not Arab, in inspiration and spirit. The two minarets that spring from the towers belong to the Mosque of al-Mu'ayyad Shaykh, just inside the gate, which forms the wall to the west.
    [Show full text]
  • The Published Correspondences of Ignaz Goldziher
    The Published Correspondences of Ignaz Goldziher Kinga D´ev´enyi and Sabine Schmidtke∗ 1 Introduction When Ignaz Goldziher passed away on November 13, 1921, he left behind a cor- pus of scientific correspondence of over 13,000 letters from about 1,650 persons, in ten languages. His Nachlass, including the letters as well as his hand-written notes and works, was bequeathed to the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. The corpus, which is freely accessible in its entirety in digital form1 constitutes the single most important source informing about the history of Arabic, Jewish, and Islamic studies and cognate fields during Goldziher‘s time. Selected portions of the Goldziher correspondence are available in critical editions, while other por- tions have been consulted for studies on the history of the field, but the bulk of the material has as yet remained untapped. This inventory aims to provide an overview of those parts of the correspondence which are available in publication, as well as of studies based on the correspondence. 2 General Studies Berzeviczy, Albert, "A Goldziher-f´elelevelez´es-gy˝ujtem´eny t¨ort´enet´ehez," [On the history of the Goldziher correspondence, in Hungarian] Akad´emiai Ertes´ıt˝o´ 43 (1933), pp. 347-348 D´ev´enyi, Kinga, "From Algiers to Budapest: The Letters of Mohamed Ben Cheneb to Ignaz Goldziher" [also containing a general overview of the correspondence], The Arabist: Budapest Studies in Arabic, 39 (2018), pp. 11-32 <https://eltearabszak.hu/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/The-Arabist-_ -Budapest-Studies-in-Arabic-39-_-2018-3.pdf> ∗Licensed under a CC BY-NC 4.0 Unported Licence.
    [Show full text]
  • Max Herz Pasha Research Institute and Conservation School
    IPARTANSZÉK complex/diploma design 2018/2019 spring www.ipar.bme.hu CX + DIP / 2018-2019 spring /// 2nd brief 03.01.2019 //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// IPARTANSZÉK CX + DIP / 2018-2019 spring /// 2nd brief 03.01.2019 //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// IPARTANSZÉK PALOZNAK revitalization of a former farm building CX + DIP / 2018-2019 spring /// 2nd brief 03.01.2019 //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// IPARTANSZÉK The site and surroundings offer good possibility for active recreation. The extraordinary conditions of lake Balaton and the Balaton Uplands area offer a variety of programs even for a longer vacation. Beside the program possibilities directly related to the lake, there is a variety of walking and biking tours. Furthermore there is a unique possibility for getting acquainted with the local gastronomy and the wine selection of the North-Balaton wine region. CX + DIP / 2018-2019 spring /// 2nd brief 03.01.2019 //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// IPARTANSZÉK CX + DIP / 2018-2019 spring /// 2nd brief 03.01.2019
    [Show full text]
  • Timeline / 600 to 1700 / EGYPT
    Timeline / 600 to 1700 / EGYPT Date Country | Description 619 A.D. Egypt Egypt, Jerusalem and Damascus come under the rule of the Persian Emperor Xerxes II. 627 A.D. Egypt Prophet Muhammad sends a letter to Cyrus, the Byzantine Patriarch of Alexandria and ruler of Egypt, inviting him to accept Islam. Cyrus sends gifts to the Prophet in answer, together with two sisters from Upper Egypt. The Prophet married one of them, called Maria the Copt. She bore him his only son, who died in boyhood. 639 A.D. Egypt The first mosque in Egypt is built in Bilbis, east of the Delta, to honour the martyrs and 120 companions of the Prophet who died in battle there during the Arab invasion of Egypt. It followed the ground plan of the Prophet's mosque in Medina. 641 A.D. Egypt Babylon (the Roman settlement south of present-day Cairo) capitulates to the Muslim armies led by Amr ibn al-'As.The first Islamic capital of Egypt, Fustat, is founded. 655 A.D. Egypt Ali ibn Abi Talib, the Prophet's cousin and companion, isappointed wali (ruler) of Egypt by ‘Uthman ibn ‘Affan, the third Righteous Caliph. 750 A.D. Egypt Egypt comes under the control of the Abbasid Caliphate and al-Askar, the second Islamic capital of Egypt, is founded. Marwan ibn Muhammad, the last Umayyad Caliph in the East, is murdered in Abu Seir, Fayyum, west of the Delta. 764 A.D. Egypt A great famine strikes the country due to the low Nile flood, during the rule of Amir Yazid ibn Hakim al-Mahdi, ruler of the Abbasids.
    [Show full text]
  • Topographical Photography in Cairo: the Lens of Beniamino Facchinelli
    Mercedes Volait (dir.) Le Caire dessiné et photographié au XIXe siècle Publications de l’Institut national d’histoire de l’art Topographical Photography in Cairo: The Lens of Beniamino Facchinelli Ola Seif DOI: 10.4000/books.inha.4884 Publisher: Publications de l’Institut national d’histoire de l’art, Picard Place of publication: Paris Year of publication: 2013 Published on OpenEdition Books: 5 December 2017 Serie: InVisu Electronic ISBN: 9782917902806 http://books.openedition.org Printed version Date of publication: 1 January 2013 Electronic reference SEIF, Ola. Topographical Photography in Cairo: The Lens of Beniamino Facchinelli In: Le Caire dessiné et photographié au XIXe siècle [online]. Paris: Publications de l’Institut national d’histoire de l’art, 2013 (generated 18 décembre 2020). Available on the Internet: <http://books.openedition.org/inha/4884>. ISBN: 9782917902806. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4000/books.inha.4884. This text was automatically generated on 18 December 2020. Topographical Photography in Cairo: The Lens of Beniamino Facchinelli 1 Topographical Photography in Cairo: The Lens of Beniamino Facchinelli Ola Seif EDITOR'S NOTE Unless otherwise mentioned, all reproduced photographs are by Beninamino Facchinelli. 1 Nineteenth century photographs of Cairo, especially the last quarter of it, were commonly represented in compiled albums which followed to a fair extent, visually, the section on Egypt in Francis Frith’s publications. Typically, they contained an assortment of topics revolving around archaeological monuments from Upper Egypt, the pyramids and panoramic views of Cairo such as the Citadel, in addition to façades and courtyards of Islamic monuments, mainly the mosques of Sultan Hasan and Ibn Tulun.
    [Show full text]
  • The Cairo Street at the World's Columbian Exposition, Chicago, 1893
    Nabila Oulebsir et Mercedes Volait (dir.) L’Orientalisme architectural entre imaginaires et savoirs Publications de l’Institut national d’histoire de l’art The Cairo Street at the World’s Columbian Exposition, Chicago, 1893 István Ormos DOI: 10.4000/books.inha.4915 Publisher: Publications de l’Institut national d’histoire de l’art Place of publication: Paris Year of publication: 2009 Published on OpenEdition Books: 5 December 2017 Serie: InVisu Electronic ISBN: 9782917902820 http://books.openedition.org Electronic reference ORMOS, István. The Cairo Street at the World’s Columbian Exposition, Chicago, 1893 In: L’Orientalisme architectural entre imaginaires et savoirs [online]. Paris: Publications de l’Institut national d’histoire de l’art, 2009 (generated 18 décembre 2020). Available on the Internet: <http://books.openedition.org/ inha/4915>. ISBN: 9782917902820. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4000/books.inha.4915. This text was automatically generated on 18 December 2020. The Cairo Street at the World’s Columbian Exposition, Chicago, 1893 1 The Cairo Street at the World’s Columbian Exposition, Chicago, 1893 István Ormos AUTHOR'S NOTE This paper is part of a bigger project supported by the Hungarian Scientific Research Fund (OTKA T048863). World’s fairs 1 World’s fairs made their appearance in the middle of the 19th century as the result of a development based on a tradition of medieval church fairs, displays of industrial and craft produce, and exhibitions of arts and peoples that had been popular in Britain and France. Some of these early fairs were aimed primarily at the promotion of crafts and industry. Others wanted to edify and entertain: replicas of city quarters or buildings characteristic of a city were erected thereby creating a new branch of the building industry which became known as coulisse-architecture.
    [Show full text]
  • Indian Trade Cloth in Egypt: the Newberry Collection
    University of Nebraska - Lincoln DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln Textile Society of America Symposium Proceedings Textile Society of America 1990 Indian Trade Cloth in Egypt: The Newberry Collection Ruth Barnes Ashmolean Museum, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/tsaconf Part of the Art and Design Commons Barnes, Ruth, "Indian Trade Cloth in Egypt: The Newberry Collection" (1990). Textile Society of America Symposium Proceedings. 594. https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/tsaconf/594 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Textile Society of America at DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. It has been accepted for inclusion in Textile Society of America Symposium Proceedings by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. -179- Indian Trade Cloth in Egypt: holdings are vast by comparison: there is a total of 1225 The Newberry Collection block-printed fragments. The size is matched by quality and variation of design; virtually any pattern known in this kind RUTH BARNES of textile is well represented, and there are pieces which are Ashiaolean Museum probably unique.3 However, the collection is not widely known, Oxford and until very recently (May 1990) it could not be used as research material, as the fragments had not been properly The Department of Eastern Art in the Ashmolean Museum, accessioned into the Department's holdings, hence had no Oxford, holds what is undoubtably one of the largest single number or" other means -of identification which made them collections of block-printed textiles produced in India, but available as a reference.
    [Show full text]
  • Evolution of Islamic Geometric Patterns
    Frontiers of Architectural Research (2013) 2, 243–251 Available online at www.sciencedirect.com www.elsevier.com/locate/foar RESEARCH ARTICLE Evolution of Islamic geometric patterns Yahya Abdullahin, Mohamed Rashid Bin Embi1 Faculty of Built Environment, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Johor 81310, Malaysia Received 18 December 2012; received in revised form 27 March 2013; accepted 28 March 2013 KEYWORDS Abstract Islamic geometrical This research demonstrates the suitability of applying Islamic geometrical patterns (IGPs) to patterns; architectural elements in terms of time scale accuracy and style matching. To this end, a Islamic art; detailed survey is conducted on the decorative patterns of 100 surviving buildings in the Muslim Islamic architecture; architectural world. The patterns are analyzed and chronologically organized to determine the History of Islamic earliest surviving examples of these adorable ornaments. The origins and radical artistic architecture; movements throughout the history of IGPs are identified. With consideration for regional History of architecture impact, this study depicts the evolution of IGPs, from the early stages to the late 18th century. & 2013. Higher Education Press Limited Company. Production and hosting by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction three questions that guide this work are as follows. (1) When were IGPs introduced to Islamic architecture? (2) When was For centuries, Islamic geometrical patterns (IGPs) have been each type of IGP introduced to Muslim architects and artisans? used as decorative elements on walls, ceilings, doors, (3) Where were the patterns developed and by whom? A domes, and minarets. However, the absence of guidelines sketch that demonstrates the evolution of IGPs throughout and codes on the application of these ornaments often leads the history of Islamic architecture is also presented.
    [Show full text]
  • THE REIGN of AL-IHAKIM Bl AMR ALLAH ‘(386/996 - 41\ / \ Q 2 \ % "A POLITICAL STUDY"
    THE REIGN OF AL-IHAKIM Bl AMR ALLAH ‘(386/996 - 41\ / \ Q 2 \ % "A POLITICAL STUDY" by SADEK ISMAIL ASSAAD Thesis submitted for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the University of London May 1971 ProQuest Number: 10672922 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a com plete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. uest ProQuest 10672922 Published by ProQuest LLC(2017). Copyright of the Dissertation is held by the Author. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States C ode Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. ProQuest LLC. 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106- 1346 ABSTRACT The present thesis is a political study of the reign of al-Hakim Bi Amr Allah the sixth Fatimid Imam-Caliph who ruled between 386-411/ 996-1021. It consists of a note on the sources and seven chapters. The first chapter is a biographical review of al-Hakim's person. It introduces a history of his birth, childhood, succession to the Caliphate, his education and private life and it examines the contradiction in the sources concerning his character. Chapter II discusses the problems which al-Hakim inherited from the previous rule and examines their impact on the political life of his State. Chapter III introduces the administration of the internal affairs of the State.
    [Show full text]
  • The Citadel of Cairo by Nasser O
    THE CITADEL OF CAIRO by Nasser O. Rabbat With photographs by Arnaud du Boistesselin 2nd Edition Supreme Council of Antiquities 2009 2 Introduction General view of the Citadel from the minaret of the Mosque of Sultan Hasan he Citadel of the Mountain (Qal’at changed tremendously over the centuries, Tal-Jabal) in Cairo is an architectural but the interior organization of the Citadel complex with a long history of building has continually been changed, and its and rebuilding. Situated on a spur that was ground level is always rising as a result of artificially cut out of the Muqqatam Hills, the process of erecting new buildings on top the Citadel originally faced, and overlooked, of older ones. the city of Cairo to the west and northwest, Founded by Salah al-Din al-Ayyubi in and the city of Misr al-Fustat in the south; its 1176, the Citadel was, for almost seven northern and eastern sides were bordered by centuries (1206-1874), the seat of government either rocky hills or the desert. The site was for the Ayyubids, Mamluks, Ottomans, and certainly chosen for its strategic importance: the Muhammad ‘Ali dynasty. It was, during it dominated the two cities, formed the this long period, the stage upon which the border between the built environment and history of Egypt was played. The continuous the desert, and was connected to the city so building and rebuilding process may be that the Citadel would not be cut away from viewed both as a reflection and as a formal its urban support in the event of a siege.
    [Show full text]
  • Asim Possess a Fleet of Over 700 Long-Distance Trading Vessels, Venturing All Over the Gulf As Well As in India and East Africa
    Timeline / 1800 to After 1930 / ALL COUNTRIES Date Country Theme 1800s United Arab Emirates (Sharjah) Cities And Urban Spaces In around 1800, the Sharjah town is estimated to have around 2,000 to 3,000 inhabitants. Early 1800s United Arab Emirates (Sharjah) Economy And Trade The Qawasim possess a fleet of over 700 long-distance trading vessels, venturing all over the Gulf as well as in India and East Africa. 1800 - 1814 Italy Cities And Urban Spaces In the Napoleonic age, monumental architecture is intended to celebrate the glory of the new regime. An example of that is the Foro Bonaparte, in the area around the Sforza’s Castle in Milan (a project by Giovanni Antonio Antolini). 1800s - 1850s Italy Travelling The “Grand Tour” falls out of vogue; it used to be a period of educational travel, popular among the European aristocrats in the 17th and 18th centuries. Its primary destination was Italy. In the second half of the 19th century, vanguard artists no longer looked at Roman antiquities and Renaissance for inspiration. 1800 - 1803 Saudi Arabia Political Context Most parts of Arabia become part of the new Saudi State. In 1803, The two holy cities of Mecca (Makkah) and Medina (Madinah), along with the rest of the Hijaz region, join the Saudi State. 1800 United Kingdom Political Context The Kingdom of Great Britain comes into being under the Treaty of Union of the kingdoms of England (which then included Wales) and Scotland on 1 May 1707. It lasts, controlled under a single parliament and government based at Westminster, up until 31 December 1800.
    [Show full text]