Abbasid architecture developed in the Abbasid Caliphate (750 to 1258 CE), primarily in its heartland of Iraq. The great changes of the Abbasid era can be characterized as at the same time political, geo-political and cultural. The Abbasid period starts with the destruction of the Umayyad ruling family and its replacement by the Abbasids, and the position of power is shifted to the Mesopotamian area. As a result, there was a corresponding displacement of the influence of classical and Byzantine artistic and cultural standards in favor of local Mesopotamian models as well as Persian. The Abbasids evolved distinctive styles of their own, particularly in decoration. This occurred mainly during the period corresponding with their power and prosperity between 750 and 932.
Abbasid architecture was an important formative stage in wider Islamic architecture. The early caliphate's great power and unity allowed architectural features and innovations, such as minarets and carved stucco motifs, to spread quickly across the vast territories under its control. One of the most important architectural activities during this time was the construction of new capital cities or administrative centers (a tradition also continued from earlier Mesopotamian and Persian rulers), such as the Round City of Baghdad, founded in 762, and Samarra, founded in 836. The Abbasids favored mud brick and baked brick for construction, allowing for enormous architectural complexes to be built at relatively low cost, as most clearly exemplified by Samarra, which was made up of vast palaces and monumental mosques spread across some .
While the Abbasids lost control of large parts of their empire after 870, their architecture continued to be copied by successor states in Iraq, Iran, Egypt and North Africa. Later Abbasid caliphs were confined to Baghdad and were less involved in public architectural patronage, which was instead dominated by the Seljuks and other rulers who held de facto political power. As a result, during the 11th to 13th centuries it was difficult to differentiate architectural forms associated with the Abbasids and those associated with other dynasties, and Abbasid architecture of the 12th and 13th centuries was essentially Seljuk architecture built with local Iraqi craftsmanship. Much of Abbasid art and architecture has been lost over time due to the fragile nature of the materials used and due to destruction wrought by conflicts. Very little of Abbasid-era Baghdad, the urban heart of the caliphate, has survived.
Historical background
In 750, the Abbasids seized power from the Umayyad rulers of the Arab-Islamic empire. The Abbasid caliphs based themselves in Iraq and ruled over Iran, Mesopotamia, Arabia and the lands of the eastern and southern Mediterranean. The period between 750 and 900 has been described as the Islamic Golden Age. During the Umayyad period, Muslims had largely re-used pre-Islamic buildings in the cities they conquered, but by the Abbasid era many of these structures required replacement. The spread of Islam and the growing Muslim population had also brought changes in needs. Under the Abbasids, new constructions included not only larger mosques and palaces, but also fortifications, new types of houses, commercial buildings and even recreational facilities for racing and polo matches. They upgraded the pilgrim road from Baghdad and Kufa to Mecca, clearing obstacles, adding walls and drainage ditches in some areas, and built stations for the pilgrims with rooms, a water reservoir, and a mosque.
In 762, the caliph al-Mansur founded the new capital of Baghdad on the Tigris, which soon grew to one of the largest cities in the world. In 836, the caliph al-Mu'tasim transferred the capital to Samarra. The Abbasids began to lose control over the outlying parts of the empire, with local dynasties gaining effective independence in Khorasan (Samanids) in eastern Iran, Egypt (Tulunids) and Ifriqiya (Aghlabids). The caliph al-Mu'tamid, by now the effective ruler only of Iraq, moved his capital back to Baghdad in 889. In 945 the Buyids, followers of Shia Islam, became effective rulers as amirs, while the Abbasid caliphs retained their nominal title. After 1055, the Seljuks controlled Baghdad for the next century and posed as the protectors of the caliphs.
With the long reign of Caliph al-Nasir (), coinciding with the Seljuk decline and other factors, the Abbasids once again gained control of Iraq and enjoyed a limited revival. His successor, al-Mustansir (), is known for his architectural patronage. The sack of Baghdad by the Mongols in 1258, during the reign of al-Musta'sim, brought the Abbasid Caliphate to an end. The destruction wrought by this conflict, along with the relative fragility of building materials vulnerable to environmental damage and the later changes to the city's structure, has contributed to the loss of most of Abbasid-era Baghdad's architecture, with few exceptions.
Origins
Early Abbasid architecture was strongly influenced by the architecture of the earlier Assyrian, Babylonian and Sassanid empires, as exemplified by the Palace of Ukhaidhir. The former Sassanid capital had been Ctesiphon in Iraq and Sasanian architecture was a heritage shared by both the Mesopotamian lowlands and the Iranian plateau, in addition to the heritage of ancient Mesopotamian architecture present in Iraq. The Abbasids used the same techniques, such as vaulting made without centring, similar design features, such as buttress towers, and the same materials, such as mud brick, baked brick and rough stone blocks set in mortar. The Abbasid royal cities were inspired by earlier ancient cities from the region, such as Dur-Sharrukin built by Sargon II of Assyria (722–705 BC), when the caliph al-Mansur built the round city of Baghdad, called Madinat al-Salam, he may have been influenced by the round city of Gur built by Ardashir I (r. 224–241) at Firuzabad. It contained the caliphal palace, a Great Mosque and administrative buildings. The design of central courtyards, a hallmark of Assyrian architecture, was integrated into Abbasid buildings, reflecting continuity in spatial organization.
With the conquest of Central Asia, the influence of Soghdian architecture increased. In Samarra the stucco and wall paintings are similar to that of the palaces of Panjakent in what is now Tajikistan. Later, in the 12th and 13th centuries, architecture in the lands ruled by the Abbasids became dominated by Seljuk architecture.
Innovations
Abbasid cities were laid out on huge sites. The palaces and mosques of Samarra sprawled along the shores of the Tigris for . To match the scale of the sites, monumental buildings were erected, such as the huge spiral minarets of the Abu Dulaf Mosque and the Great Mosque of Samarra, which had no counterparts elsewhere. While the origins of the minaret are still uncertain, these and several other early 9th-century minarets built within the Abbasid territories are the first true minarets in Islamic architecture. The two-centered pointed arch and vault had appeared before the Abbasids took power, but became standard in Abbasid architecture, with the point becoming more prominent. The first fully developed example of the four-centered pointed arch was at the Qasr al-'Ashiq, built by caliph al-Mut'amid sometime between 870 and 883.
Three new types of stucco decoration were developed in Samarra and rapidly became popular elsewhere. The first two styles may be seen as derivative from late antique or Umayyad decorative styles, but the third is entirely new. Style C used molds to create repeating patterns of curved lines, notches, slits, and other elements. The fluid designs make no use of traditional vegetal, geometric or animal themes. The stucco work was sometimes colored in red or blue, and sometimes incorporated a glass mosaic. The patterns cut into the stucco surface at an angle. This is the first and purest example of the arabesque. It may represent a deliberate attempt to make an abstract form of decoration that avoids depiction of living things, and this may explain its rapid adoption throughout the Muslim world.
The layout of the Fatimid city of al-Mansuriya in Ifriqiya founded in 946 was circular, perhaps in imitation of Baghdad. The choice of layout may have been a deliberate challenge to the Abbasid Caliphate. The Fatimid architecture of Ifriqiya and Egypt followed Abbasid styles, as shown by the Great Mosque of Mahdiya and the Azhar Mosque in Cairo. Even Umayyad buildings of the Iberian peninsula show Abbasid influence.
Characteristics General Typical features of early Abbasid architecture included the use of brick vaulting and stucco decoration. Barrel vaulting, which had already been in use in Umayyad architecture and earlier, was widely employed for formal spaces like reception halls. As mentioned above, the two-centered pointed arch became common in the early Abbasid period, followed by the introduction of the four-centered pointed arch at Samarra. Physical geography also influenced local architecture. Stone was rare in the alluvial plains of central and southern Iraq, which encouraged the use of mud brick, faced with plaster, as construction materials, with fire brick also used at times. In turn, these materials required regular maintenance and restoration. The flatness and openness of the land also made it possible to build on an unprecedentedly vast scale, which the early caliphs frequently did, as exemplified by the new administrative capitals they created. Abbasid architecture had foliate decorations on arches, pendant vaults, muqarnas vaults and polychrome interlaced spandrels that became identified as typical of "Islamic" architecture, although these forms may have their origins in Sassanian architecture. Thus the fronting arch of the Arch of Ctesiphon was once decorated with a lobed molding, a form copied in the Palace of al-Ukhaidir.
Palaces
Early palaces
The earliest surviving Abbasid palace, built around 775, is the al-Ukhaidir Palace. It has a plan derived from earlier Sasanian and Umayyad palaces. The palace lies in the desert about to the south of Baghdad. It is rectangular in shape, , with four gates. Three are in half-round towers that protrude from the wall, and one in a rectangular recess in the wall. Inside there is a vaulted entrance hall, a central court, an iwan (hall) open to the court opposite the entrance hall, and residential units. Sasanian techniques persist in the construction of vaults with pointed curves using rubble and mortar faced with brick and stucco, blind arches as decorations for large wall surfaces, and long vaulted halls with recesses behind arches supported by heavy pillars. Verbal descriptions indicate that palaces in Baghdad had similar layout, although on a larger scale.
In 772 Al-Mansur founded a new city called al-Rafiqa on the Euphrates, the site of present-day Raqqa. The city was laid out in the shape of a horseshoe and reportedly copied the Round City of Baghdad. Later, Harun al-Rashid made the city his capital during the later years of his reign and built his residence here between 796 and 808. Some of its remains have been excavated, revealing buildings with spacious floor plans similar to other parts of Mesopotamia but lacking the use of iwans. The Baghdad Gate, one of the few old monuments preserved in Raqqa today, was once thought to date from al-Mansur's foundation in the late 8th century, but it has since been attributed to the 11th or 12th century instead, around the time of Numayrid or Zengid rule.
Samarra palaces