فنون العمارة في العصر العباسي الأول .. كتاب العمارة العربية الاسلامية

Third credit

Abbasid era

Architecture in the first Abbasid era

1_ General characteristics

It was natural, after the victory of the Abbasids over the Umayyads, with the support of the Persian element, and the transfer of the center of the state from the Levant to Iraq, that the Persian and Mesopotamian influences appeared on the arts and on Arab-Islamic architecture, and appeared in customs, traditions, and systems of government. With the emergence of these influences, Arab-Islamic art took new directions, and its aspects and elements differed from what they were in the Umayyad era.

Some art historians and orientalists exaggerate the extent of Persian influences, to the point of saying that the Abbasid caliphs became the heirs of the Aksara kings (Ktiz Yevon). The truth is that Iraq and Mesopotamia have traditions in architecture, imposed by the region and traditional building materials, as we previously mentioned.

These two factors had the greatest impact on the character of the Abbasid buildings that distinguished them from the Umayyad buildings.

In addition, the Arab civilization and what Islamic culture established in it had a great impact on the development of the Mesopotamian and Persian arts and on the creation of a new artistic style imprinted with the character of Arab civilization, known as Abbasid art. It had general characteristics that we find in all the products of the Islamic state in all its countries, in Iraq and Persia. And in the Levant, Egypt and Africa, especially in the first Abbasid era, which begins in the middle of the eighth century and extends to the end of the tenth century, the period during which the state maintained its unity, and we summarize these characteristics in the following aspects:

1 - In terms of building materials: buildings were predominantly used in mud and brick. The first is in fences and walls, and the second is in arches, domes, and exterior wall coverings.

2 - In terms of geometry, planning, and architectural elements: It was common in buildings to use iwans with arches, vaulted ceilings and domes, and pointed (broken) arches in their middle, of the type that came to be called the Persian arch. The square plan was used in mosques, and the double corridors surrounding the courtyards of the mosques. Conical minarets with spiral staircases appeared from the outside. The appearance of fortresses entered the large mosques, and their walls were equipped with circular towers, but without these towers having any defensive value, they were only for support and artistic appearance.

3 - In terms of decorative elements: gravel inscriptions were the dominant element in the decoration of buildings. Its themes are floral, geometric, and animal, and geometric decoration includes the style that depends on changing the positions of brick slabs so that they create decorative geometric shapes, and this is a feature of Sassanian art. Colored ceramics were also used as a decorative element in wall coverings, an example of which we find in the mihrab of the Mosque of Kairouan. Its tablets were brought from Iraq during the reign of Ibn al-Aghlab (third century AH). Photography was an important decorative element. Examples of images of people and animals were found in the Al-Jawsaq Al-Khaqani Palace in Samarra (built by Al-Mu'tasim in 836 AD). The wooden ceilings were decorated with carvings and colored dyes.

2- Important architectural monuments

A number of cities were established in this era, such as Baghdad, which was established by Abu Jaafar al-Mansur in the year 145 AH (762 AD) on the western bank of the Tigris River, then the city of Rusafa was added to it on the eastern bank, but no traces of Abbasid Baghdad (city of peace) remained. 1).

Al-Mansur also built the city of Al-Rafiqa (2) (Syrian Raqqa, which we will talk about in detail. Al-Mu’tasim built the city of Samarra in the year 228 / 835 on the western bank of the Tigris River, and it became famous for its great mosque and its minaret (Al-Malwiya), the Abu Dalf Mosque, and the palaces of the caliphs (Al-Jawsaq Palace and Belkwara Palace). And Al-Ashiq Palace. Al-Rashid built the Hergla Fort to the west of Raqqa - as Yaqut Al-Hamawi says in his dictionary (3).

One of the important Abbasid monuments is the Al-Ukhaydir Fort, which is similar to a fortified city located on the caravan route southwest of Karbala. It was built, as is likely, in the middle of the second century AH. It has an important role in studying the development of the art of Arab fortification.

Among the Abbasid monuments in Egypt is the Mosque of Ibn Tulun, which was built in the year 265 / 931 according to the art of Abbasid architecture, deriving much of its architecture and characteristics from the Mosque of Samarra, especially its Malawi minaret.

This mosque is still in good condition, preserving its original condition.

Al Rahba monuments:

Historical sources told us about a city that was established during the reign of Al-Ma'mun, which was Rahba Malik bin Tawq, which was established on the right bank of the Euphrates and had a castle. Today we find an area of ​​ruins with no visible features around Al-Rahba Castle, which is close to the modern town of Al-Mayadeen, located on the right bank of the Euphrates. The castle is about five kilometers away from the squares and is built of stones and bricks. We believe that these ruins are the site of Al-Rahba, which was renovated during the reign of Sultan Nur al-Din Mahmoud bin Zengi (sixth century AH). As for Rahbat Malik, it was destroyed, according to Abu Al-Fidaa. In our time, the modern city of Al-Mayadeen was built over its ruins.

The ruins of Al-Raqqa Al-Abbas:

Al-Rafiqa is considered the only Abbasid urban work in Syria from which clear landmarks remain. It was founded by Abu Jaafar Al-Mansur in the year 155/771, on the left bank of the Euphrates River, next to ancient Raqqa. Al-Tabari says it was built like Baghdad. But in reality it is different from it, as it is shaped like a horseshoe, with its southern tip being straight. Al-Rafiqa was famous for its palaces built by Al-Rashid, Al-Mu'tasim and other caliphs, but no trace remains of these palaces. The excavations conducted by the archaeological authorities under the supervision of Professor Nasib Salibi (1) revealed in some ruins a number of these palaces outside the walls. maybe ! To know her plans. Pieces were found that adorned the walls and ceilings, including beautiful plaster inscriptions, colorful wall paintings, carved and painted wood, and glass tiles considered rare in use at all times. All of these antiquities are preserved in the Raqqa Hall in the National Museum in Damascus.

As for the city, the most important things that remain of it today are the remains of its wall and its famous gate. Baghdad Gate - and its Great Mosque.

The city had two walls - the inner wall, which was higher and thicker, its thickness estimated at (5.85 metres). This is consistent with what Al-Maqdisi described in his book “The Best Divisions in the Knowledge of Regions”. He said: (Two knights ride on board) and around the wall is a ditch whose width reaches the roof. About 16 metres.

Al-Maqdisi mentioned that during his reign (the fourth century AH), the city had two gates, and we believe that one of them is the Baghdad Gate, which is still standing in the southeast corner of the city wall. The other door facing it in the northwestern corner was called the Edessa Gate, but there is no trace of it today.

The brick-built Gate of Baghdad (Photo No. 19) is considered an important historical monument, and even one of the most important remaining Abbasid monuments in Syria. It is open in a tower connected to the wall, and the door opening is located in the eastern wall of the tower and has a capacity of (11.30 x 3.19) metres. Above the door is an arch with an arch of the type we called Persian because it appeared in Persia first and then moved to Mesopotamia and the Levant. It has a vertex in its middle, which is why archaeologists called it a broken arch. It has a semi-straight part and is drawn from several centres, not a single centre, as is the case with a semicircular arc. Therefore, we preferred to call such brackets, compound brackets.

On both sides of the door were two decorative mihrabs. Above the door is a series of niches decorating the facade of the tower, of which eight out of ten remain. This decorative theme was common, as we saw in the Umayyad palaces.

The arches of these three-lobed niches depend on wall brackets (attached to the wall).

It is likely that the door, in its present state, was restored during the reign of Al-Rashid (in the second half of the eighth century AH).

As for the mosque, it is located in the heart of the city, slightly shifted towards the north, and has a rectangular plan whose length is (108 x 92) metres. It had a wall made of mud, 1.70 meters thick, and it was supported by semicircular towers at the corners and sides. The ruins seen today, such as the minaret and the façade of the sanctuary with eleven arches, all built with brick, are from the era of Nur al-Din Mahmoud bin Zengi, who renovated the Abbasid Mosque in the year 561/1165.

The plan of the sanctuary can be identified from the traces of columns consisting of two rows, which indicates that it included three corridors parallel to the Qiblah. These porticoes must have been covered with gables, similar to the Umayyad Mosque of Damascus. The porticoes surrounding the courtyard were double and supported by two rows of columns.

The scholar (Creswell) notes in the architecture of the mosque that it belongs to an architectural art that is considered a mixture between Mesopotamian architecture and Syrian (Umayyad) architecture.. This is consistent with the location of Raqqa on the outskirts of the peninsula, between the Levant and Iraq.