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Description

This is the famous mosque of Ibn Tulun in Cairo (Egypt). Completed in 879 AD, it is the oldest preserved mosque in Egypt and is considered one of the most harmonious examples of Abbasid Islamic art preserved to this day. The name of the building recalls its sponsor: Ahmad Ibn Tulun was a Turkic general appointed by the Abbasid Caliphs in Baghdad to govern in their name over subdued Egypt and Syria. The architecture of the mosque commissioned by him differed substantially from architectural traditions of Byzantine Egypt (which, like Syria, was still predominantly Christian at the time). The mosque was deliberately more plain. First, it did not include figural decoration, which may seem a typical Islamic feature but could be considered a novelty as iconoclasm was not fully observed in Islamic art before the Abbasid period (check for example the dancers adorning the Umayyad caliphs’ palace in Qaṣr ʿAmrah). Second, it was built entirely out of brick, that is a relatively humble, cheap material, and refrained from using marble or other type of decorative stones, even though they were easily available in Egypt. Third, it refrained from using Byzantine or ancient spolia, every element of the mosque, particularly all of its columns, were constructed deliberately for this building which symbolized a break from old, pre-existing traditions of Christian Egypt. There is a widespread agreement among art-historians that to fulfill his commission, Ibn Tulun brought to Egypt architects from Abbasid heartlands in Mesopotamia and Persia. The overall design of the mosque, and many of its details, recall for example the famous mosque in Samarra (modern Iraq). Thus, Ibn Tulun’s mosque symbolically connected Egypt with Persia and visually marked both these realms as part of the new, Abbasid Caliphate with its new, religious aesthetics.
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PS. When I started reading about this mosque, I realized that many popular descriptions of it provide false information that exaggerate its architectural importance. First, it is not true that this is one of the earliest examples of the use of pointed arch, that eventually inspired the birth of Gothic architecture in Europe more than 200 years later (such claim is made for example here: muslimheritage.com/ibn-tulun-m… or here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=YDKRER… ) . Pointed arch was known and used in public buildings already in Rome/Byzantium (see for example Karamagara Bridge). Thus, the use of pointed arch in Abbasid architecture was not a new development. Second, the minaret that we see today in Ibn Tulun dates from the 13th-14th C. so its spiral staircase does not date from the Abbasid period and therefore is couple of hundred years younger than the spiral staircase of the minaret in Samarra (Iraq). Third, the original central dome above the fountain in Ibn Tulun’s mosque collapsed in the 10th C. so the dome that we see today is later – again, it is not Abbasid. Having been there recently, I can honestly confirm that this is an amazingly beautiful and harmonious building – a true architectural masterpiece. It is sufficiently beautiful on its own without false claims regarding its superiority over other monuments / cultures. I hope you like it!
.

PS 2. If you like my posts, please consider supporting my ongoing fundraising campaign in support of the armed forces of Ukraine – here is a link: zrzutka.pl/rh5gb3

Description

This is the famous mosque of Ibn Tulun in Cairo (Egypt). Completed in 879 AD, it is the oldest preserved mosque in Egypt and is considered one of the most harmonious examples of Abbasid Islamic art preserved to this day. The name of the building recalls its sponsor: Ahmad Ibn Tulun was a Turkic general appointed by the Abbasid Caliphs in Baghdad to govern in their name over subdued Egypt and Syria. The architecture of the mosque commissioned by him differed substantially from architectural traditions of Byzantine Egypt (which, like Syria, was still predominantly Christian at the time). The mosque was deliberately more plain. First, it did not include figural decoration, which may seem a typical Islamic feature but could be considered a novelty as iconoclasm was not fully observed in Islamic art before the Abbasid period (check for example the dancers adorning the Umayyad caliphs’ palace in Qaṣr ʿAmrah). Second, it was built entirely out of brick, that is a relatively humble, cheap material, and refrained from using marble or other type of decorative stones, even though they were easily available in Egypt. Third, it refrained from using Byzantine or ancient spolia, every element of the mosque, particularly all of its columns, were constructed deliberately for this building which symbolized a break from old, pre-existing traditions of Christian Egypt. There is a widespread agreement among art-historians that to fulfill his commission, Ibn Tulun brought to Egypt architects from Abbasid heartlands in Mesopotamia and Persia. The overall design of the mosque, and many of its details, recall for example the famous mosque in Samarra (modern Iraq). Thus, Ibn Tulun’s mosque symbolically connected Egypt with Persia and visually marked both these realms as part of the new, Abbasid Caliphate with its new, religious aesthetics.
.

PS. When I started reading about this mosque, I realized that many popular descriptions of it provide false information that exaggerate its architectural importance. First, it is not true that this is one of the earliest examples of the use of pointed arch, that eventually inspired the birth of Gothic architecture in Europe more than 200 years later (such claim is made for example here: muslimheritage.com/ibn-tulun-m… or here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=YDKRER… ) . Pointed arch was known and used in public buildings already in Rome/Byzantium (see for example Karamagara Bridge). Thus, the use of pointed arch in Abbasid architecture was not a new development. Second, the minaret that we see today in Ibn Tulun dates from the 13th-14th C. so its spiral staircase does not date from the Abbasid period and therefore is couple of hundred years younger than the spiral staircase of the minaret in Samarra (Iraq). Third, the original central dome above the fountain in Ibn Tulun’s mosque collapsed in the 10th C. so the dome that we see today is later – again, it is not Abbasid. Having been there recently, I can honestly confirm that this is an amazingly beautiful and harmonious building – a true architectural masterpiece. It is sufficiently beautiful on its own without false claims regarding its superiority over other monuments / cultures. I hope you like it!
.

PS 2. If you like my posts, please consider supporting my ongoing fundraising campaign in support of the armed forces of Ukraine – here is a link: zrzutka.pl/rh5gb3