Jalil Khayat Mosque
The Jalil Khayat mosque, which resembles in style the Muhammad Ali mosque in Cairo and the Blue mosque in Istanbul, was inaugurated in Erbil on January 19, 2007. Erbil is the Capital City…
The Islamic Dyansties
This schematic chart provides a simplified picture of the political complexities of certain periods. (Large parts of Central Asia, China, South-east Asia and Africa have been omitted.) islamic dynasties mamluk manuscripts…
Textile fragment, late 10th century
Cotton textiles from the eastern Islamic world were often inexpensively decorated with simple painted brushstrokes. The painted surface decoration of these textiles imitates the more luxurious type with embroidered silk inscriptions and also…
Leaf from an Arabic translation of the Materia Medica of Dioscorides
This folio is painted in the lively and appealing style of the Baghdad School: bright colors, sprightly figures in contemporary local dress, and a balanced, bilaterally symmetrical composition. The neutral color of the…
Leaf from the Shahnama (Book of Kings)
The legendary death of the Sasanian king Yazdegerd I—who was said to have been kicked by a horse that magically emerged from a spring—is charmingly depicted in this leaf from a dispersed manuscript…
Baghdad (Madinat al-Salam)
Baghdad was founded by the Abbasid caliph al- Mansur in 762. According to historical accounts al- Mansur built a round city with four gates and a palace and mosque at the centre. Leading…
An Italian Portrait of Mehmet–the Conqueror
Invented in Iraq in the ninth century, the luster technique enjoyed long and wide popularity. Egypt, Syria, Iran, and Islamic-controlled Spain all developed important centers for luster production—and so eventually did Renaissance Italy….
