Arts, Architecture and Culture
Calligraphy, poetry, music and the built environment
Islamic artistic traditions developed a distinctive visual and literary language: calligraphy, geometric and vegetal ornament, and an architecture of courtyards, domes, and muqarnas adapted across climates from Andalusia to Bengal. Poetry and music developed alongside them, and the planning of cities was itself treated as a design problem with legal and social dimensions.
This collection gathers the encyclopaedia's cultural coverage: surveys of Islamic art and architecture; the specific traditions of calligraphy, poetry, and music; urban planning as practised in the classical Islamic city; and individual monuments in which these traditions can be followed, including the Dome of the Rock, the Great Mosque of Córdoba, the Alhambra, Topkapı Palace, the Blue Mosque, the Taj Mahal, and the major mosques of the twentieth century.
In This Collection
Islamic Art: A Complete Guide to Styles, Techniques, and Masterpieces
The visual tradition of the Muslim world across fourteen centuries and from Spain to Indonesia. It is united less by a single style than by shared principles: g…
Islamic Architecture: A Complete Guide to Styles, Elements, and Masterpieces
The building tradition of the Muslim world, from the first mosques of Medina to the present day and from Spain to Indonesia. Its recurring elements are the dome…
Islamic Calligraphy: The Art of Sacred Writing
Islamic calligraphy (khatt) is the supreme art form of Islamic culture, transforming the written word into spiritual expression through elegant scripts. For ove…
Islamic Poetry: The Literary Soul of Islamic Civilization
Islamic poetry encompasses diverse forms from Arabic qasidas to Persian ghazals, exploring themes of divine love, spiritual longing, and human experience. For f…
Islamic Music: Sacred Sounds and Cultural Traditions
Islamic music encompasses diverse traditions from sacred Quranic recitation to classical and folk expressions, reflecting cultural synthesis across Arab, Persia…
Islamic Urban Planning and City Development
How cities were laid out in the Islamic world from the eighth century onward, with the congregational mosque and market at the centre, streets graded from publi…
The Dome of the Rock
Comprehensive history of the Dome of the Rock, one of Islam's most iconic monuments and the oldest surviving Islamic building, built in Jerusalem in 691 CE
Great Mosque of Córdoba (Mezquita)
The Great Mosque of Córdoba (Mezquita) is one of the most magnificent examples of Islamic architecture. Built over two centuries by Umayyad rulers, it features …
Madinat al-Zahra
Madinat al-Zahra was the palatine city built from 936 CE by the Umayyad caliph Abd al-Rahman III west of Córdoba as the seat of the Caliphate of Córdoba. Sacked…
Rumi
Jalal al-Din Muhammad Rumi (1207–1273 CE) was a Persian poet, Islamic scholar, and Sufi teacher in Konya under Seljuk patronage. His Masnavi — six books and som…
Amir Khusraw: Poet of the Delhi Sultanate, 1253–1325
Amir Khusraw (1253–1325) was a Persian-language poet of Delhi who wrote at the courts of the Balbanid, Khalji and early Tughluq sultans, and a disciple of the C…
Alhambra
A magnificent palace and fortress complex in Granada, Spain, built by the Nasrid dynasty. Considered the pinnacle of Islamic architecture in Western Europe, the…
Topkapi Palace - Heart of the Ottoman Empire
Topkapi Palace (1459-1856 CE) served as the primary residence and administrative headquarters of Ottoman sultans for nearly four centuries. Located on Seraglio …
Mimar Sinan: Chief Architect of the Ottoman Empire
Mimar Sinan (1489-1588) was chief architect of the Ottoman imperial household for half a century, from 1538 until his death. Trained as a military engineer, he …
Akbar: The Third Mughal Emperor
Akbar (r. 1556-1605) turned the Mughal foothold in India into an empire of fifteen provinces. He rebuilt the central government, created the mansabdari service …
Shah Jahan: The Builder Emperor and the Limits of Mughal Power
Shah Jahan (1592-1666), fifth Mughal emperor, ruled from 1628 until his deposition in 1658. His reign brought Mughal architecture to its height and drained the …
Blue Mosque: The Sultan Ahmed Mosque of Istanbul
The Blue Mosque (Sultan Ahmed Mosque) in Istanbul, built between 1609-1616 CE, is one of the most magnificent examples of Ottoman architecture and a masterpiece…
Taj Mahal - Monument to Eternal Love
The Taj Mahal (1632-1653 CE) is an ivory-white marble mausoleum built by Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his wife Mumtaz Mahal. Located in Agra, India, t…
Major Mosques Built in the 20th Century
Mosque building in the twentieth century, when newly independent states raised great congregational mosques and migrant communities built for themselves. The re…
Al-Aqsa Mosque: The Farthest Sanctuary
Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem is the third holiest site in Islam, central to the Night Journey (Isra and Miraj) of Prophet Muhammad, and a symbol of Islamic herit…
Al-Walid ibn Abd al-Malik: Builder of an Empire
Al-Walid ibn Abd al-Malik (c. 668-715 CE) was the Umayyad caliph under whose reign the Islamic empire reached its greatest territorial extent — with simultaneou…
Allama Iqbal: The Poet-Philosopher of the East
Allama Muhammad Iqbal (1877-1938 CE) was a poet-philosopher and political leader considered the spiritual father of Pakistan. His poetry, philosophical works, a…
Arwa al-Sulayhi: The Noble Queen of Yemen
Arwa al-Sulayhi (1048-1138 CE) was one of the most powerful female rulers in Islamic history, governing Yemen for over five decades. Known for her political wis…
Ashfaqulla Khan: Poet and Revolutionary of the Kakori Conspiracy
Ashfaqulla Khan (1900-1927) was an Indian Muslim revolutionary and poet who co-organized the 1925 Kakori train robbery with Ram Prasad Bismil to fund the anti-c…
Fatima al-Fihri: The Woman Who Founded the World's Oldest University
Fatima al-Fihri (فاطمة الفهرية), also known as Umm al-Banin, was a visionary Muslim woman who founded Al-Qarawiyyin in Fez, Morocco in 859 CE, establishing what…
Hasrat Mohani: The Revolutionary Poet of Indian Independence
Hasrat Mohani (1875-1951) was an Indian Muslim poet, journalist, and freedom fighter who coined the slogan 'Inquilab Zindabad' and was the first to demand compl…
Lubna of Córdoba - Royal Secretary and Scholar
Lubna of Córdoba (10th century CE) was an Andalusian scholar, mathematician, and calligrapher who served as royal secretary and palace librarian under Caliph Al…
Nana Asma'u - Scholar, Poet, and Educator
Nana Asma'u bint Usman dan Fodio was a 19th-century West African scholar, poet, and educator in the Sokoto Caliphate. Daughter of Usman dan Fodio, she wrote pro…
Samarkand
Samarkand, one of Central Asia's oldest cities, was a major Silk Road hub, a center of early Islamic learning, and the capital of Timur's empire. Under the Timu…
Timurid Empire: The Last Great Nomadic Empire
The Timurid Empire (1370-1507 CE) was a vast Central Asian empire founded by Timur that became a major center of Islamic culture, art, and learning, bridging th…
University of al-Qarawiyyin
The University of al-Qarawiyyin in Fez, Morocco, founded as a mosque in 857-859 CE, is recognised by UNESCO as the oldest existing, continually operating instit…