3 umayyad-palaces - lecture 5
TRANSCRIPT
Jordan University of Science and TechnologyCollege of Architecture and Design Department of ArchitectureIslamic Architecture
Islamic Architecture
Dr. Raed Al Tal
Jordan University of Science and TechnologyCollege of Architecture and Design Department of ArchitectureIslamic Architecture
Dr. Raed Al Tal
Umayyad Desert Palaces: Architecture and Decoration
Cultural Influences Social Organization
The Umayyad Caliphate exhibited four main social classes:1.Muslim Arabs2.Muslim non-Arabs (clients of the Muslim Arabs)3.Non-Muslim free persons (Christians, Jews, and Zoroastrians)4.Slaves
Read more: http://www.answers.com/topic/umayyad#ixzz2wNIqER7b
Caliphs of Damascus
Muawiya I ibn Abu Sufyan 661–680
Yazid I ibn Muawiyah 680–683
Muawiya II ibn Yazid 683–684
Marwan I ibn al-Hakam 684–685
Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan 685–705
al-Walid I ibn Abd al-Malik 705–715
Sulayman ibn Abd al-Malik 715–717
Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz 717–720
Yazid II ibn Abd al-Malik 720–724
Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik 724–743
al-Walid II ibn Yazid 743–744
Yazid III ibn al-Walid 744
Ibrahim ibn al-Walid 744
Marwan II ibn Muhammad (ruled from Harran in the Jazira) 744–750
Emirs of Cordoba
Abd al-Rahman I 756–788
Hisham I 788–796
al-Hakam I 796–822
Abd ar-Rahman II 822–852
Muhammad I 852–886
Al-Mundhir 886–888
Abdallah ibn Muhammad 888–912
Abd ar-Rahman III 912–929
Caliphs of Cordoba
Abd ar-Rahman III, as caliph 929–961
Al-Hakam II 961–976
Hisham II 976–1008
Muhammad II 1008–1009
Sulayman ibn al-Hakam 1009–1010
Hisham II, restored 1010–1012
Sulayman ibn al-Hakam, restored 1012–1017
Abd ar-Rahman IV 1021–1022
Abd ar-Rahman V 1022–1023
Muhammad III 1023–1024
Hisham III 1027–1031
Umayyad Desert Palaces, Architecture and Decoration:
How can we explain them? The new economic, geographic and social orders
Villa Rustica: Pleasure and hunting (the notion of the Hayr, the game park):
Estates in agricultural development projects
Fortified small towns
Umayyad Islamic PalacesHunting lodges with remarkable quality and highly ornamented
Luxury and public baths; banquet halls
For Oleg Grabar these fortified structures were not palaces rather than forts to control vast farming operations
Farms belonged to the caliph and/or Arab chieftains
Geographical setting of Syria / regular rainfall and potential richness requires long lasting political stability
Usage of Umayyad Islamic Palaces: hunting parties for Arab aristocracy
Official receptions and country rituals
Examples:In Syria:
Qasr al-Hayr al-Gharbi (West), Syria (724-27):Qasr al-Hayr al-Sharqi (East), Syria (728-29)
The Palaces of Hisham (724-43):Qasr al-Hayr al-Gharbi (West), Syria (724-27):
Square courtyard enclosure with half-round towers
Adjacent to a pre-Islamic complex (caravanserai or barracks and tower)
Lavish Sasanian carved stucco decoration with Byzantine motifs
Figural representations in floor mosaics, murals and sculpture
Kasr al- Hayr West, Syria (724-27)
Qasr al-Hayr al-Sharqi (East), Syria (728-29):
Two enclosures at the head of a valley walled to serve as game park (Hayr) Large enclosure with mosque, probably barracks
Small enclosure identified as caravanserai, probably royal residence
The Palaces of al-Walid I (705-15):
Qasr Kharana, Jordan (ca. 705-10):
Small fortified square enclosure with arrow slits and round corner towers
Single monumental gate with a shallow arch
Rough stone and brick construction
Different vaulting techniques
Mosaic floors
The construction and architectural technique betray Sasanian influences, such as the use of squinches and shallow vaults resting on transverse arches, in addition to carved stucco decorations.
Qusayr ‘Amra, Jordan (between 711 and 715):
Part of a larger complex being excavated
Small hall with a magnificent bath
Complex vaulting systems, with the first appearance of the pointed arches
hypocausts under the floor for hot air in the bath- caldarium (Roman hot bathroom)
Famous fresco murals, and dome's zodiac representation the image of the sky (Astrology)
The three rooms that make up the bath – presumably
the apodyterium, tepidarium,
and caldarium, respectively -
The three rooms that make up the bath -- presumably the apodyterium, tepidarium, and caldarium, respectively -- are situated to the east of the hall's main entrance:
one of which is tunnel-vaulted;
another that is cross-vaulted and
the third contains a dome.
To the east of the caldarium, a tunnel-vaulted passageway extends into a rectangular enclosed space that remains uncovered
Qusayr 'Amra's most impressive characteristic is its vaulting system, specifically in its use of pointed transverse arches
richly painted frescoes that decorate each of its rooms.
These paintings depict a variety of subjects including :hunting scenes, athletic activity, mythological images, and astronomical representations.
the caldarium Dome Dome's zodiac representation the image of the sky (Astrology)
This portrayal is of monumental significance in that it is the earliest known example of cosmological representation on a non-flat, semi-circular surface.
In the apse-like throne chamber, one painting commemorates a haloed dignitary, possibly representing the caliph, who sits under a canopy of fabric encircled by birds and monsters.
The Town of ‘Anjar, Lebanon (714-15):
Large enclosure (1100 ft. to the side) with half-round towers and round corner towers
400 *320 meters
Cross-axial colonnaded, commercial streets dividing the enclosure into four quarters
Two palaces, a bath, and one mosque excavated
Qasr Hisham, Khirbat al Mafjar, Hisham's Palace, Kasr Hisham(743):Khirbet al-Mafjar, Palestine:
Site contains a palatial (wide) complex, a reservoir fed by an aqueduct, and a Hayr Complex comprises a square palace enclosure, a mosque, and a large bath Irregularly planned and unified by a forecourt with a fountain structure
Palace is a two-storied square cast rum enclosure with a mosque and a sirdab (basement)
Khirbat al-Mafjar
Representation of caliph above entrance Different statues of attendants and dancers
Human and animal statues in the transitional zones under domes as pendentives
Human faces in stucco decoration Geometric and Symbolic mosaic panels in bath hall
Mosque is a small rectangular hypostyle structure with a courtyard
Khirbat al-Majfar Perspective reconstruction of hammam and fountain
Bath is a square with three exedra to a side that formed the Frigidarium and the Opodyterium, a private diwan, the
tepidarium and the caldarium on its south side
Plentifully decorated bath hall and diwan
Khirbat al-Mafjar Axonometric
Khirbat al-Mafjar Audience Hall reconstructionl
Khirbat al-Majfar Mosaic Floor in Diwan
In the audience hall, another famous mosaic panel at the site displays
an apple tree providing cover on its right side to two gazelles that chew at its foliage while to the left a lion is shown attacking another gazelle from behind.
Interpretations of this scene speak to its symbolic implications of the Umayyad caliphate:
life can be peaceful and serene under Umayyad authority while those who threatened central power face physical defeat.
Mshatta, Jordan:A product of the late Umayyad period, it is speculated by several scholars that the Umayyad caliph al-Walid II built Mshatta during his brief reign (743-44) in an effort to commemorate his authority.
Mshatta, Jordan:
A large square enclosure which was never completed
As one of the largest and most impressive of the Umayyad palaces, the unfinished, tawny-toned limestone and brick
Divided into three longitudinal zones complex at Qasr al-Mshatta includes an entrance hall, mosque, an audience hall, and residential quarters.
Central section contains the gateway block and the throne hall block
Throne hall is triple apses
South façade decorated with geometric, tracery-like carved band of triangles and rosettes
Conscious change in treatment of the external façade of the mosque
As one of the largest and most impressive of the Umayyad palaces,
the unfinished,
tawny-toned limestone and brick complex at Qasr al-Mshatta includes an entrance hall, mosque, an audience hall, and residential quarters.
Mshatta: Aerial View
Mshatta: Axonometric reconstruction of audience hall
Mshatta: South Facade at Berlin Museum
Mshatta: Facade Relief Detail
The Architectural Characteristics of Umayyad Palaces: 1. Square enclosure (cast rum type) with four round towers
in the corners
2. Monumental portals
3. Two-storied, porticoes courtyard structure
4. Bait Type units
5. Confluence of Byzantine and Sasanian construction details and decorative techniques
6. Figural representations of rulers, courtiers and court scenes (music, dance, drinking, hunting): The survival of pre-Islamic images of the ruler.