The Bibi Khanym is a congregational mosque, masjid-i jami` in Persian, built by Emperor Timur-i Leng between 1399 and 1404 in Samarkand, present day Uzbekistan. Emperor Timur remarkably expanded his small tribe into the Timurid Dynasty, which lasted from 1370 to 1507. Timur showed great leadership skills and also had an interest in architecture. The results of his artistic interests are especially apparent in Samarkand, the capital of the Timurids during Timur’s reign where art, architecture, and culture flourished. The Bibi Khanum exemplifies the vision that Timur held for Samarkand because of the monument’s dominant and massive nature. Although today the mosque is different from the time of the Timurid Dynasty because of the renovations over the years, the Bibi Khanum is still a testimony to the unbelievable and intricate architecture of the times. The Bibi Khanum congregational mosque is an exceptional example of Timur’s style of grand building and incredible embellishments expressed throughout the Timurid Dynasty.
Timur succeeded in expanding his rule from India to Anatolia before choosing Samarkand as his capital, which would soon become recognized as a center for arts among the Timurids. Tamerlane, the name by which Timur was known in Europe, is derived from his Persian name, Timur-i Leng. The word Timur is Turkish for "iron" which was fitting for him because he rose as a leader from a small Turko-Mongol tribe to become a ruler of an expanding empire. Timur was born in 1336 in Shahr-i-Sabz, i.e., "the Green City", located about fifty miles south of Samarkand. He was the son of a chief in the Barlas tribe, one of the many Turko-Mongol tribes. Despite having been injured in his right leg during his mid-twenties - an event t...
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...t ambitious building project initiated during his reign and it is still standing today. Timur aimed to exceed the Mongol Empire and achieve dominance over the entire Islamic world. Setting his capital in Samarkand, Timur created the center of art and culture where many of his beautiful works were built. The Timurid world was characterized by increasing elaboration of geometric design, as seen in the Bibi Khanum mosque. As Golombek and Subtelny note, the decorative veneer “applied over a surface area than ever before in Islamic Architecture characterizes the Timurid architecture.” Unfortunately once the monument was finished it began falling apart, but by the 1990s the Soviets had reconstructed the mosque greatly. However, the Bibi Khanum Mosque is still an amazing vision of a the great emperor Timur’s aspirations and a glance back in time to the Timurid dynasty.
In The Book of Ser Marco Polo, chapter X (Polo, 2) tells about Genghis Khan great Palace and how unique the building was structurally and by design. Polo stated how Genghis Khan palace was so vast, so rich, and so beautiful, that no man on earth could design anything superior to it. The walls were covered with gold and silver throughout the palace. Not only was his palace was so extraordinary and unique, ther...
Springfield, IL: Charles Thomas Publishers, 2009. Print. Necipoglu, Gulru. Muqarnas, Vol 25: Frontiers of Islamic Art and Architecture.
In the following essay, I will be comparing the Hagia Sophia in the City of Istanbul, and the Suleymaniye Mosque of Istanbul. Both of these pieces of art are very significant to the in modern-day Turkey. The art pieces will be covered in more detail further on in this comparative essay, and finally, I will be judging the pieces at the end of this essay
Bihzad has placed strong emphasis on the complexity of the palace’s architecture which he has adorned with colorful ornaments and emblazoned with gold. Each room is decorated with rugs and tiles featuring complex floral and asymmetrical patterns that cover each chamber from floor to ceiling. The palace appears to be three stories tall and features a balcony on the left and a zigzagging staircase on the right. The asymmetrical style of these two architectural features gives the impression of the work being 3-dimensional ...
The story “ The Grand Mosque of Paris” explains how the Muslims helped in giving the Jewish refuge,in their Mosque in Paris. The Nazis conquered France in 1940, therefore causing Jewish people who occupied Paris to try and survive and stay away from Hitler’s army, The Nazi’s. They seeked shelter and were helped by kind people of the Islamic religion and given hiding in their Grand Mosque. The Muslims took the Jewish children and gave them false papers, raised funds for them, and gave the temporary shelter, because of this many Muslims who did this got themselves arrested or deported. One of the reasons the Mosque worked so well was because its location, above the sewer system of Paris, and reached the Seine. In conclusion, the kind-hearted
Architecture is one important aspect of Byzantine culture. One of the most famous Byzantine architectural achievements is the Hagia Sophia, which is located in modern-day Istanbul. The basic design of the cathedral has a dome over a square base, which required a new innovation. At the time, it was kn...
When walking around a city, you may notice that the architecture and art look similar to other works. Many of these designs have changed along the course of history and time whilst others have not. The designs that many people still see in society and day to day living is from two of the many cultures of the old civilizations, Roman and Islamic. The art and architecture forms from the Islamic and Roman cultures have many comparisons and contrasts between them. They, the Islamic and Roman nations, have both adopted from other cultures and have made their own discoveries in the art and architecture worlds. The Roman and Islamic architecture and art vary drastically from each other and yet have varying comparisons between the two.
“Mansa Musa brought back with him an Arabic library, religious scholars, and most importantly the Muslim architect Al-Sahili who introduced into Mali a new development in architecture, especially in the buildings of mosques and palaces” (Source 3). The new style that became known throughout the empire was burnt bricks, flat roofs, and pyramidal minaret. All of Mansa Musa’s architectural design and advancement can be contributed to Al-Sahili. Al-Sahili’s most notable work was the Chamber at Niani. He redesigned the mosque at Gao which today still lies the foundation. He built the Jingaray Bar or the Fridays Prayers Mosque for 200 kg of gold from the king. Mansa Musa built many mosques during his regime. A notable mosque that he was responsible for was the Great Mosque, in Timbuktu. It is made of stone rubble with clay rendering and round, dried, mud
In the following essay, I will be comparing and contrasting to architectural pieces by the Indians. The first is the Taj Mahal, a building constructed from white marble that took seventeen years to build in honor of Shah Jahan’s wife, Mumtaz Mahal (Z. Haq). This piece of architectural beauty belonged to the Mughal’s, the Muslim emperors in India (Z. Haq). The second is the Great Stupa at Sanchi, a holy, dome shaped structure that covers the body of the Buddha in honor of him and his contributions to Buddhism (Fischer, Julia). Furthermore, this structure was made of ruins, rocks, mud, and covered in bricks (Fischer, Julia). Both pieces of architecture are significant to the Indians, however they do contrast in some ways.
The Suleymaniye mosque was truly a masterpiece during the time it was built in the mid 1500s. Today, it still never fails to captivate its audience through the complexity of its design and the intellectual analysis of its significance. The mosque was actually said to be as magnificent as the Seven Wonders of the World according to two European travelers, Freynes Moryson and John Sanderson, soon after its completion (Nelipogulu 221). The mosque is definitely symbolic in the city of Istanbul, sitting a top the highest hill, in that it represents central power and strength of the Turkish Empire (see Image 1) (Yayinlari 30). As we take a closer look at the Suleymaniye we see many aspects of religion through its sensual and visual experience. We also find a great deal of complexity, from the contradictory aspects Sinan applied to the mosque, throughout a more in depth intellectual analysis.
the dome helps them to hear the sermon when he speaks and this plays a
This is a world heritage site, so there is not just one god of the people. There are a few rulers or sultans as the like to be referred to who took this over, Mohammed I (1238-1273), Mohammed II (1273-1302). Mohammed III (1302-1309),Yusuf I (1333-1354) and Mohammed V (1354-1359). While it was still in the creation/ construction phase of this piece of architecture. Yusuf was assassinated, Mohammed v became the sultan.
A mosque is generally a very symbolic place for a Muslim, being a humble way for Muslims to recreate pure divine presence on earth. The primary purpose of the mosque is to serve as a place where Muslims can come together for prayer. Nevertheless, mosques are known around the world nowadays for their Islamic architecture but most importantly for its general vitality to the Muslim Ummah (community).
The Mughals took what was ‘Indian’, developed by the Delhi Sultanate and surrounding Hindu kingdoms that were consolidated into the Mughal Empire throughout its reign, and made it their own, creating whole new areas of study and development in the kingdom. One of the most majestic and famous results of this is the Taj Mahal, recognised by people all throughout the world as a true product of the Mughal Dynasty and proof of the Mughals wealth and ingenuity, combining traditional Indian and Persian architecture and as a result creating something so beautiful it is considered one of the world’s greatest wonders.
Mosques were placed beside them with less decorations and less attention. The Turkish influence is seen it their art and is characteristic in Samarra (Ernst Grube, J. 1966) (Petruccioli, A and Pirani, Khalil K.