Umayyad architecture developed in the Umayyad Caliphate between 661 and 750, primarily in its heartland of historical Syria. It drew extensively on the architecture of older Middle Eastern and Mediterranean civilizations including the Sasanian Empire and especially the Byzantine Empire, but introduced innovations in decoration and form. Under Umayyad patronage, Islamic architecture began to mature and acquire traditions of its own, such as the introduction of mihrabs to mosques, a trend towards aniconism in decoration, and a greater sense of scale and monumentality compared to previous Islamic buildings. Extensive decorative programs of buildings incorporated different techniques such as mosaics, frescos, sculptures, and carved reliefs. The most important surviving examples of Umayyad architecture are concentrated in the Syrian region, including: religious structures such as the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem and the Great Mosque of Damascus, which are considered among the greatest monuments of early Islamic architecture; the so-called desert castles such as Qasr al-Mshatta, Qusayr 'Amra, and Khirbat Al-Mafjar (Hisham's Palace); and new planned settlements such as Anjar.
Historical background
The Umayyad Caliphate was established in 661 by Mu'awiya ibn Abi Sufyan, the long-time governor of Greater Syria, who became caliph after emerging victorious in the First Fitna following the assassination of Ali. Syria remained the Umayyads' core power base thereafter, with Damascus as their capital. Under the Umayyads, the Arab Empire continued to expand, eventually extending to Central Asia and the borders of India in the east, Yemen in the south, the Atlantic coast of what is now Morocco and the Iberian Peninsula in the west. The Umayyads built new cities, often unfortified military camps that provided bases for further conquests. Wasit in present-day Iraq was the most important of these, and included a square Friday Mosque with a hypostyle roof.
During the 10-year reign of al-Walid I (), a great number of institutions were built or expanded, including the expansions of Prophet's Mosque in Medina, which saw the introduction of the first mihrab, and the construction of the Great Mosque of Damascus (the oldest mosque still in use in its original form). These mosques became large enough to serve as congregational mosques for Friday prayers. He also renovated the Great Mosque of Sanaa, most likely built the palace-city of Anjar, and completed the construction of Al-Aqsa Mosque (Qibli Mosque) that had been started by his predecessor and father Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan () who also built the Dome of the Rock (both part of the Al-Aqsa compound), The two caliphs are also credited with renovating the Masjid al-Haram in Mecca. The original Great Mosque of Aleppo was completed by his successor and brother Sulayman ().
In the Syrian region, the Ghassanids, a confederation of Arab tribes organized under a kingdom that flourished between the 3rd and 7th centuries, were likely an important link in the transition from Byzantine to Umayyad art. Their role in local architectural and artistic production during the Byzantine period contributed to the development of artistic traditions that were later incorporated and transformed under the Umayyads.
In 750, the Umayyads were overthrown by the Abbasids, who moved the capital to Iraq. A branch of the Umayyad dynasty continued to rule in Iberia until 1031.
Characteristics
The Umayyads adopted the construction techniques of Byzantine architecture and Sasanian architecture. The reuse of elements from classical Roman and Byzantine art was particularly evident because political power and patronage was centered in Syria, formerly a diocese of the Eastern Roman Empire. Almost all monuments from the Umayyad period that have survived are in Syria and Palestine. They also often re-used existing buildings. There was some innovation in decoration and in types of building. A significant amount of experimentation occurred as Umayyad patrons recruited craftsmen from across the empire and architects were allowed, or even encouraged, to mix elements from different artistic traditions and to disregard traditional conventions and restraints.
Most buildings in Syria were of high-quality ashlar masonry, using large tightly joined blocks, sometimes with carving on the facade. Stone barrel vaults were only used to roof small spans. Wooden roofs were used for larger spans, with the wood in Syria brought from the forests of Lebanon. These roofs usually had shallow pitches and rested on wooden trusses. Wooden domes were constructed for Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock, both in Jerusalem. Baked brick and mud brick were used in Mesopotamia, due to lack of stone. Where brick was used in Syria, the work was in the finer Mesopotamian style rather than the Byzantine style. Umayyad architecture is distinguished by the extent and variety of decoration, including mosaics, wall painting, sculpture and carved reliefs with Islamic motifs. The Umayyads used local workers and architects. Some of their buildings cannot be distinguished from those of the previous regime. However, in many cases eastern and western elements were combined to give a distinctive new Islamic style. For example, the walls at Qasr al-Mushatta are built from cut stone in the Syrian manner, the vaults are Mesopotamian in design and Coptic and Byzantine elements appear in the decorative carving. In addition to more direct influences from Byzantine, Sasanian, and Coptic art, Nabataean art may have had an indirect influence also, insofar as elements of that style continued to survive in local artistic traditions, particularly in the "non-Classical" depictions of human faces. While figural scenes were notably present in monuments like Qusayr 'Amra, non-figural decoration and more abstract scenes became highly favoured, especially in religious architecture. The horseshoe arch appears for the first time in Umayyad architecture, later to evolve to its most advanced form in Andalusi architecture.
The Umayyad period represents the high point of mosaic art in Islamic architecture. Mosaics, composed of glass tesserae, were used to decorate the mosques of Al-Aqsa, Damascus, Medina, Mecca, Aleppo, and possibly Fustat. Added together, these mosaics would cover around . The most important examples are the mosaics in the Great Mosque of Damascus and the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem, which survive to this day. Those in Damascus feature depictions of trees and palaces in a Late Antique style, while the mosaics in Medina (no longer extant) were reported to contain similar images.
Dome of the Rock
The sanctuary of the Dome of the Rock, standing in the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem, is the oldest surviving major Islamic building. It is also an exceptional monument within the context of Umayyad and wider Islamic architecture, in terms of both its form and function. It was not a mosque but rather a shrine or commemorative monument, likely built to honour ancient religious associations with the site such as the creation of Adam and Abraham's sacrifice. It acquired further layers of meaning over time and became most commonly associated with the Night Journey of Muhammad. It was also built as a visual symbol of Islamic dominance, and its high dome was likely designed to compete for prominence with the dome of the nearby Christian Church of the Holy Sepulchre.
The building followed the design of a Byzantine martyrium. It consists of an octagonal structure, inside of which is another octagon formed by piers and columns, and finally an inner circular ring of piers and columns at the center. Although the exterior of the building is now covered in 16th-century Ottoman tiles, both the exterior and interior were originally decorated with lavish mosaics, with the interior mosaics still mostly preserved today. The mosaics are entirely aniconic, a characteristic that would continue in later Islamic decoration. The imagery consists of vegetal motifs and other objects such as vases and chalices. The building was also decorated with long inscriptions containing Qur'anic inscriptions chosen to emphasize the superiority of Islam over the preceding Abrahamic religions.
Mosques
General development The earliest mosques were often makeshift. In Iraq, they evolved from square prayer enclosures. The ruins of two large Umayyad mosques have been found in Samarra, Iraq. One is and the other . Both had hypostyle designs, with roofs supported by elaborately designed columns.
The three most important imperial mosque projects undertaken during the Umayyad period were the rebuilding of the Prophet’s Mosque in Medina, the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, and the construction of the Great Mosque of Damascus, which are some of the most important "Arab-type" or "hypostyle-type" mosques. This type of plan, characterized by a covered, qibla-oriented hypostyle prayer hall and a central open sahn (courtyard) enclosed by surrounding riwaqs (arcades), is based on the layout of the early Prophet’s Mosque in Medina.
In Syria, the Umayyads preserved the overall concept of a court surrounded by porticos, with a deeper sanctuary, that had been developed in Medina. Rather than make the sanctuary a hypostyle hall, as was done in Iraq, they divided it into three aisles. This may have been derived from church architecture, although all the aisles were the same width. A hypothesis is that, in Syria, when churches were converted to mosques, it was done by blocking up the west door and making entrances in the north wall. The direction of prayer was south towards Mecca, so the long axis of the building was at right angles to the direction of prayer. Although no Arabic sources confirm such transformation technique. Building conversions were rare, since the Umayyad dynasty preferred to construct new buildings instead.
The Umayyads introduced a transept that divided the prayer room along its shorter axis. They also added the mihrab to mosque design. The Prophet's Mosque in Medina built by al-Walid I had the first mihrab, a niche on the qibla wall, which seems to have represented the place where the Prophet stood when leading prayer. This almost immediately became a standard feature of all mosques. The minbar also began appearing in mosques in cities or administrative centers, a throne-like structure with regal rather than religious connotations.
Great Mosque of Damascus
The Great Mosque of Damascus was built by Caliph al-Walid I around 706–715. Some scholars have argued that the first Umayyad version of the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, begun by Caliph Abd al-Malik (al-Walid's father) and now replaced by later constructions, had a layout very similar to the current Umayyad Mosque in Damascus and that it probably served as a model for the latter. The layout remains largely unchanged and some of the decoration has been preserved. The Great Mosque was built within the area of a Roman temenos from the first century. The exterior walls of the earlier building, once a temple of Jupiter and later a church, were retained, although the southern entrances were walled up and new entrances made in the north wall. The interior was completely rebuilt.