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Walsh University Al-Andalus, the Umayyads

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Walsh University Al-Andalus, the Umayyads Walsh University Al-Andalus, the Umayyads, and Hispano-Islamic Art: The Influence of the Abbasids and Northern Christians on the Art of Muslim Patronage in the Iberian Peninsula from the 8th to 11th Centuries A Thesis by Katharine T. Moore Division of Fine and Performing Arts School of Arts & Sciences Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for a Bachelor of Arts Degree with University Honors April 2020 Accepted by the Honors Program 4/13/2020 Katherine Brown, Ph.D., Advisor Date 4/17/2020 Rachel Constance, Ph.D., Reader Date 4/17/2020 Katherine Brown, Ph.D., Honors Director Date Table of Contents Introduction ................................................................................................................................... 1 Historiography .............................................................................................................................. 3 Literature Review ......................................................................................................................... 5 Methodology ................................................................................................................................ 13 The Art of the Umayyads ........................................................................................................... 15 Abbasid History and Artistic Legacy ........................................................................................ 20 Comparing the Styles of the Umayyads and Abbasids ............................................................ 24 Christian Iberia: The History and Fine Arts ........................................................................... 27 Comparing the Styles of the Umayyads and Christians .......................................................... 33 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................... 37 Bibliography ................................................................................................................................ 39 Figures .......................................................................................................................................... 42 List of Figures Figure 1: Map of the Umayyad Emirate and Caliphate, 711-1031 ............................................... 42 Figure 2: Umayyad Caliphate; Panel from a Rectangular Box .................................................... 43 Figure 3: Detail; Panel from a Rectangular Box .......................................................................... 43 Figure 4: Umayyad Caliphate; Casket of the Daughter of Abd al-Raḥmān III ............................ 44 Figure 5: Damascus Umayyad Caliphate; Dome of the Rock, interior spandrel .......................... 44 Figure 6: Umayyad Caliphate; Pyxis of al-Mughira ..................................................................... 45 Figure 7: Detail; Pyxis of al-Mughira ........................................................................................... 46 Figure 8: Detail 2; Pyxis of al-Mughira ........................................................................................ 47 Figure 9: Detail 3; Pyxis of al-Mughira ........................................................................................ 47 Figure 10: Umayyad Caliphate; Pamplona Casket ....................................................................... 48 Figure 11: Rear view; Pamplona Casket ...................................................................................... 48 Figure 12: Abbasid Caliphate; Stucco Fragment from Samarra, style C ..................................... 49 Figure 13: Abbasid Caliphate; Panel ............................................................................................ 49 Figure 14: Abbasid Caliphate; Bowl depicting a Man holding a Cup and a Flowering Branch . 50 Figure 15: Bottom view; Bowl depicting a Man holding a Cup and a Flowering Branch .......... 51 Figure 16: Abbasid Caliphate; Mortar .......................................................................................... 52 Figure 17: Christian Spain; San Pedro de la Nave ........................................................................ 53 Figure 18: Christian Spain; Capital with narrative scene of Daniel and the Lions ...................... 53 Figure 19: Christian Spain; Astorga Casket.................................................................................. 54 Figure 20: Ariel view; Astorga Casket ......................................................................................... 54 Figure 21: Christian Spain; Casket ............................................................................................... 55 Figure 22: Front view; Casket....................................................................................................... 56 Figure 23: Rear view; Casket ........................................................................................................ 56 Figure 24: Side view 1; Casket ..................................................................................................... 57 Figure 25: Side view 2; Casket ..................................................................................................... 57 Figure 26: Christian Spain; Horseshoe arch portal of San Juan Bautista de Baños de Cerrato .... 58 Figure 27: Christian Spain; Agate Casket ..................................................................................... 59 Figure 28: Ariel view; Agate Casket ............................................................................................. 59 Figure 29: Bottom view; Agate Casket ......................................................................................... 60 1 Introduction When Abd al-Raḥmān I (731-788) of the Umayyad family fled Damascus in 750 CE, he actuated a series of events that changed the Iberian Peninsula forever. The Abbasids, their usurpers, claimed the religious and political title of Caliphate, making the Umayyads enemies of the Islamic empire. Displaced from their home and removed as leaders of the Islamic world, the Umayyads needed to find refuge in the western-most corner of the known world: al-Andalus, the Muslim-controlled lands of the Iberian Peninsula. Here, the Umayyads became governors of Muslims and Christians, alike. Art became the tool with which the newly established empire asserted dominance. An amalgam of Islamic and Christian styles permeated the art and architecture of the empire as Eastern and Western traditions coexisted together in a hieratic, yet tolerant society. Umayyad artisans created luxurious goods, none valued more so than intricately carved ivory containers. The Umayyad Emirate and Caliphate of Córdoba overcame the odds of survival as a small, independent Islamic nation in the Christian west, and fostered a culture that celebrated the fine arts. This research will consider three stylistic groups that, I assert, had significant influence on the arts of al-Andalus. Firstly, I will critically evaluate art created by the Umayyads, who established the Emirate and Caliphate of Córdoba and controled al-Andalus from the eighth to the eleventh centuries. I will focus on works created in al-Andalus, although the Umayyads were originally from Damascus. In order to avoid confusion with the Umayyad empire of Córdoba, I will always refer to the Umayyads of Damascus by its geographical tie to Syria. Secondly, I will describe and compare art created by the Abbasids of Baghdad. The rivalry and exchange of styles between the these two empires are a central theme of my research and will be explored in depth. Lastly, I will present art created by the Christian Kingdoms of Northern Iberia, which 2 refers to the people who remained free during the Muslim occupation of the peninsula. I will also consider the works of the Christians before the Muslim invasion in this category, as these preexisting styles also could have influenced the Umayyads. Rather than focusing on the similitude between the art of the Umayyads of Córdoba and the Abbasids of Baghdad, as most previous art historical research has done, this thesis intends to identify the differences in style and iconography between these two Islamic empires through analyses of art that resulted from courtly patronage. Art historians to-date have traditionally claimed that the Umayyads appropriated the style of the Abbasids and therefore did not develop an individual style. Analyses between Umayyad ivory containers and Abbasid objects requiring similar carving techniques and compositions, which I conducted for this research, resulted in the conclusion that the Umayyads did not consider the art of the Abbasids as inspiration, suggesting that another source must have influenced this style in the Iberian Peninsula. The term Hispano- Islamic art is used to describe the art and architecture of al-Andalus, though its implications in regard to applied arts need to be considered. I assert that the original influences of the style utilized in Umayyad ivory containers can be found in the “Hispano” of Hispano-Islamic art, in which Hispano describes the art style of the peoples of the Iberian Peninsula before the Muslim invasion and those who remained free from occupation in the north of the peninsula. Extant scholarship does not yet include a visual analysis of the comprehensive differences between the Umayyad Caliphate of Córdoba and the Abbasid Caliphate of Baghdad in relationship to the influence of the artistic
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