Caravansarais Islamic Architecture

No’man Bayaty Introduction

• Islamic civilization is mobile civilization. • At its simplest form, the caravanserai is a building that hosts a caravan. • It is the largest building type in Islamic architecture in terms of area. • It had a large courtyard with stables for animals. • It had several names: caravanserai, khan, funduq, ribat, manzil. These names show the ambiguity of the function of this building. • These different names lead to different building types, and thus different forms and functions. Architectural Origin

• Because of its multi functional nature, many buildings might offer a source for the caravanserais, and there were a few building types that might give these buildings an initial form. • Some theorists refer to the relationship between caravanserais and the Christian monasteries spread on the Arabian lands. • There is also some resemblance between them and the Roman forts, which had the same form, a fortified wall with a courtyard and rooms inside. • They might also be affected by large Assyrian houses, because of the similarity in form and function. General Considerations

• We have two main settings for caravanserais, urban and rural. • Crowded areas inside the cities lead to minimum spaces problems in urban caravanserais. • They also used to sell goods, an activity unavailable in rural caravanserais. • They also needed less fortification. They must held merchants and shopkeepers for a daily basis, not temporarily. • The rural ones were more fortified, and larger in size. • The styles of the caravanserais overlap and merge, complicating the task of classifying them. Iranian Caravanserais (Early)

• The early Iranian caravanserais range from very small buildings (Zindan-i- Harun) to some large structures (Ribat-i-Sharaf). • There are two significant points here: the fact that they exist till now with such large numbers and their high quality. • Two reasons are suggested for the large number of caravanserais from that period: one has to do with welfare, and the other with the Islamic faith. • These caravanserais are very varied in scale, function and building materials. Moreover, utility is preferred over quality. • Their complex plans suggest that they had more functions than trade. • They were also very well self-contained. Iranian Caravanserais (Early)

• Zindan-i-Harun, Rayy Iranian Caravanserais (Early)

• Ribat-i-Sharaf, Khorasan Iran Iranian Caravanserais (Early)

• Ribat-i-Malik, Uzbekistan Anatolian Seljuk Caravanserais

• These were very unique and easy to classify because of the repetition of elements in it. • They had two adjoining elements: the courtyard and the covered hall. • They were rural caravanserais, built on the important routes between important Seljuk cities like Konya and Kayseri. • Overall, they are the poorest of the Seljuk buildings in terms of decoration. • They used the Turkish elements like the conical roof, along with some animalistic sculptures. Anatolian Seljuk Caravanserais

• Sultan Han, Kayseri Anatolian Seljuk Caravanserais

• Anatolian plans Syrian Caravanserais

• The Ayyubid and Mamluk caravanserais in Syria didn’t add any important addition to the caravanserai architecture in Syria. Their buildings were simple and relatively small in size; basically rooms around a courtyard. • The general form of the Ottoman (rural) caravanserai is the square form with a central courtyard. Usually surrounded by one continuous tunnel vault. • The urban ones were of three types: those with an open courtyard and an emphasis on accommodation and stabling, those with a courtyard and reduced emphasis on accommodation but more emphasis on trading facilities, and those which are completely closed. • Sometimes these khans were specialized in a specific trade or product. Syrian Caravanserais

• Khan al- Qutaifa, Syria • An Ottoman Syrian rural caravanserai Syrian Caravanserais

• Khan As’ad Pasha, Damascus • Ottoman Urban Caravanserai Egyptian Caravanserais

• In Egypt, we can see some of the pre-Ottoman examples, but they had a different name, the wakala. • The lower levels were reserved for storage space and upper level for accommodation. • Usually a wakala would be part of a large commercial complex which includes a large market place. Egyptian Caravanserais

• Wakalat al- Ghuri, Cairo Egyptian Caravanserais

• Wakala of Qait bey, Cairo Iranian Caravanserais (Ilkhanid)

• In the Ilkhanid period as usually, the size of the buildings increased. • Most of these caravanserais were rural, and they served a wide range of facilities. They are characterized by a large courtyard, surrounded by functions and flanked by iwans. Iranian Caravanserais (Ilkhanid)

• Khan Mirjan, Baghdad Iranian Caravanserais (Ilkhanid)

• Khan Mirjan, Baghdad Iranian Caravanserais (Late)

• The Iranian caravanserais after the Mongol invasion were very large. • They were built in chains along trade routes, usually by the same patron. • They were extremely practical, austere and depended on the construction techniques only (vaults, arcades, small domes). • The plans are very organized with the maximum number of rooms. Some even had unique solutions like a passage behind the rooms to make the unloading of goods easier. • There are also circular examples, especially in the mountain areas. Iranian Caravanserais (Late)

Chah-I Siyah Caravansarai, Iran Natanaz Caravansarai, Iran Ribat Zainaldin, Iran Caravanserais

• We can conclude that the caravanserai was a building that offers a secure environment for man and beast. • Their nature and spread led to another important use, the barid. • The barid service was initiated in Iran by the Achaemenian empire and developed by the Mongols. • The spread of the khans, or “yams” as they were called by the Mongols, and the safety of travel has been explained by many explorers. • This encouraged people to travel for different reasons.