Essay on Abbasid Imperial Style and Abbasid International Style

How would you define the terms Abbasid imperial style and Abbasid international style? Are both interchangeable? How might they be manifested? Discuss by referring to concrete examples that you have studied.

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Abbasid dynasty descended from the Abba ibn al Muttalib who was the youngest uncle of Muhammed. At the onset of Abbasid, the mosque, in addition to being the place of worship had been used for other combined reasons such as for social and political functions by the nascent Muslim community. When the Abbasid dynasty took power, they immediately established an imperial style of leadership in which the mosques were used exclusively for religious functions. The Abbasid imperial style brought about a standardized type of the Friday mosque which took over a wide geographical region ranging from Spain to the Khurasan to the Tunilids in Egypt1. Over the years, the Abbasid imperial style became obsolete and instead was replaced with the Abbasid International style which brought about a uniformed and more organized form of worship worldwide.

The Abbasid imperial style and International style are not interchangeable. They both represent very different periods in the running of the Abbasid dynasty. The international style brought about a whole transformation in the religion with many different innovations being made. It is during this period that the Muslims began using ceramics and textiles in the building of mosques and palaces. In addition, the Abbasid international came up with the internalization of Islamic art after the reign of the first rulers, which was in 850AD.This was in Samarra, which was founded in 835 when the Islamic concept of ideas was between Arabs, which was based on the exact size and the thickness of the letter in red pen. Dots were used as a unit whenever something was to be written or drawn. This system was passed in court by Ibn-Muqla, Viziera at Abbasid court.

There are many concrete examples that can be used to tell apart the two periods of ruling in the Abbasid dynasty. Through the Abbasid international in the year 870 AD, the governorship, which for many years had been under the control of Ibn Tulum was taken up by the Abbasid caliph1. In 872AD, the Abbasids embarked on a cumbersome task to bring back various provinces in Egypt under their control. The leader, in abid to save his governorship position sent gifts to Samara, a move that weakened his relationship with the Abbasids. As a result, the Abbasids were able to conquer him which helped them to greatly boost their economy.

Another example is the use of fragments that helped capture the importance of figurative art in the Abbasid dynasty under the international style. It included the use of Asian heritage through carvings of distinctive faces, lock of hair curling at the cheek and also a large chin. The same familiar faces had been detected in pre-Islamic Iranian frescoes and metal works1. Nevertheless, the ceramics that the Abbasid made during their dynasty helped in making the Abbasid the center of attraction, which was very different from their predecessors, the Umayyads. The Abbasids made different kinds of ceramics and luster wares, which were later stored in the Islamic world to signify the innovations Abbasids achieved in their reign.

Describe briefly the architecture and decoration of the palaces of Samarra. How did they function as architectural spaces? Base your discussion on the literary evidence concerning Abbasid palaces in Baghdad that we have discussed in class as an analogy.

In the palaces of Samarra, the main buildings were the mosques that were entirely built of

bricks which were baked; however, it was not the usual building material in Egypt. In Samarra, this was the main building material that was used in the constructions, especially in mosques and other buildings. The only structures that were made of limestone were minarets, which were later being compared to mosque construction materials, as limestone is soft and crumbles easily while bricks are more durable. The speed of building a mosque structure was roughly three years. The mosque was surrounded by arcades with an opening at the end, which was supposed to be 113 inches on each side. Arches were supposed to stand on piers, which were innovated in Egypt. They were considered to be an essential part of the mosque in Samarra. There came a time when churches had to be demolished and rebuilt in the desert to allow a construction of a 30-column mosque. The Christians then were forced to go to the countryside and the deserted lands.

At Samarra, the columns were expected to match with the piers and they had to be plastered to give a match. This was later attached to each corner of the mosque making the whole mosque uniform. This was repeated at Ibn Tulun though their bricks and columns engaged with the corners of the piers and later the decorations were made on the wet plaster of the building. The arches as well were modeled and this facilitated the flow of fresh air in and out of the mosque.

The Friday mosque stands tall as a result of continuous construction and restructures, which were taken as renovations around 771 AD up to the end of the 20th century. The presence of archeological excavations had been set to determine the Abbasid hypostyle. The Buyid construction made a long line around the two minarets that had been increased and around the country yard. Seljuk's constructions included an addition of brickworks, which were domed-chambers and the mosque was renowned. Mihrab was housed in the south dome in 1086-1087 by Nizam al-Mulk, who was a famous Vizier of Shah Malik. The dome was the largest that people knew at its time. Nizam al-Mulk constructed the north dome a year later when the function was still uncertain. The dome had been situated along the north and south axis, which were located at the outskirts areas of the mosque.

Palaces in Samarra had been built in a different way from the mosque, and the whole of the Samarra region contained 19 palaces. The largest palace in Samarra was built in Al-Mutasim, which was renovated now and then, but finally built in Caliphs with the right standards. In the palace were other features built along to make the palace more attractive and habitable, and this included reserves. This area of Samarra compared to Baghdad was known for hunting activities. The architectural design of the palace was different from that of the mosques. The mosques had different dimensions and measurements since they too served different purposes. The people of Samarra used the stucco method in their major constructions. This was acquired from Egypt where a majority of the people living in Egypt used to construct with it. By 1905 the Abbasids decided to demolish all the structures leaving behind only mosques which were known to be holy places. The leftovers were taken as architectural elements. This was during the reign of Ibn Tulun, who interpreted the mosque as a political symbol. He gained in a way because he had gotten something innovative from Egypt. His architectural deals earned him the name Patron and this motivated his architecture structures in Samarra.

Samarra was known to be the fundamental building due to the many towers that had been constructed. There was the unique Minaret which had been the first in Egypt, which had a unique design making it symbolic in the lives of the Abbasids. They named it Abbasid Towers in the land of Samarra. Many people related Samarra to being graceful and more accessible than other places, such as Baghdad.

Discuss the developments that took place under the Abbasids concerning the visual appearance of Quran manuscripts. How did they differ from their Umayyad predecessors?

The first and major development under the Abbasids was the construction of many structures including the mosques which were admired by many people. The Abbasids concentrated a lot of effort in ensuring that Samarra had enough and better structures. The Abbasids were very much dedicated to ensuring that the mosques were habitable and the palaces, too. Development in terms of architecture made Samarra an admirable place, unlike when it was in the hands of their predecessors who were the Umayyads. The Abbasids were able to restructure and renovate their old buildings by demolishing most of them and leaving behind the Mosque only, which was a holy symbol.

The Quran and manuscripts were respected and this made the Abbasids not demolish the mosque but instead renovate it and construct it better in structures which hold. Another development of the Abbasids was the ceramic invention, which created an international and local market for the Abbasid communities. The Abbasids were able to attract many people to their land, which was very different to the people who had come before them. This, too, earned reputation since the Abbasids were responsible of modeling different forms of pottery and jewels as well, which boosted their mark.

The Abbasid valued the Quran in a big way. The Abbasid used the wealth gained in marking new points in the life of Muslims. The Quran insisted more on the maintenance of culture and respecting the holy places. The Abbasids also valued gold and silver. These were things which were very much valued in the life of Muslims for trapping wealth though many religions rejected what Muslims did not lose. During hardship items made from gold were melted down to make more vital jewels, which could later be sold and bring money in return. At other times, the items were burned to mark an important condition in the life of Muslims.

The Abbasids too have made a lot of improvements on brick innovations. These bricks are used for decoration of surfaces and they no longer used stucco, which their predecessors were using for their decoration purposes. The Abbasids too made very beautiful basket weave layers of the bricks they had innovated. Arches were very well constructed both internally and externally utilizing all the corners of the gallery. The inscriptions too looked very genuine combined with the decorative motives of the 10th century that were found in their excavations. The Abbasids were much different from their predecessors.

Reflecting on the needs of space, Religious developments and political ambitions the Abbasids had a great taste for change. The Abbasids made many modifications which incorporated elements from Mongols, Timurids, Safavids, and Muzzafarids. The stucco too was well elaborated. The stucco was commissioned in 1310 by Mongol ruler Oljaytu together with additional Maqams glazed tile work and Minarets which were nearby to the south of Iwan. The structures were located at the prayer hall which was located at the western arcade. The Safavids were extremely smart. The modifications made room for religious activities and motivated more concern for religious activities which were as well useful to the life of Abbasid. Political ambitions of the Abbasid lied in the line of Quran laws.The respect for religious laws motivated the activities taking place in the Abbasid and this created more value for culture and religion in Sammarra .Abbasid had more needs in the way they acted on their religion. The reason for Abbasid building more mosques was to ensure that religion ambitions were put first.

Tile work was part of the ambitions put in place to ensure developments in the Abbasid Empire part of the modification done in the mosque to ensure Quran rules were followed. Quran acted as a guideline in the life of Abbasid which helped them in their daily activities. The Quran had the rules and believes of the Muslim community as well. The rues helped them make sound decisions. Through observation of Quran the Muslim community was able to come up with different kind of structures which made Abbasid look better. The Abbasid predecessors were different from them. The modifications and developments made the Abbasid diffe...