The Sources of Islamic Art and Architecture
- Course Code:
- 154900108
- Unit value:
- 1
- Year of study:
- Year 2 or Year 3
- Taught in:
- Full Year
The first half of the course deals with the pre-Islamic period in Arabia, Syria and Egypt. The second part of the course deals with Sasanian and Central Asian sources, concentrating on Iraq, Iran and Central Asia. The origins and sources of Islamic art are examined, with reference to the pre-Islamic traditions in Coptic Egypt, Byzantine Syria and Palestine and Sasanian Iraq, Sasanian Iran, Soghdia and other parts of Central Asia. There will be a discussion of pre-Islamic mosaics and paintings in Egypt and Syria; textiles, metalwork and woodwork from Egypt. Painting traditions in Central Asia and Sasanian rock-carving and metalwork will also be examined. The architecture of Egypt, Syria and Iraq in Byzantine and Sasanian times will be included. The traditions of pre-Islamic art in Yemen and elsewhere in Arabia will be covered.
Objectives and learning outcomes of the course
The course is intended to give students a comprehensive understanding of the art and architecture of the Middle East in the centuries before Islam with particular reference to Arabia, Bilad al-Sha’m, Iraq and Iran, and the impact of Arabian, Hellenistic, Roman, Byzantine, Sasanian and other eastern cultural traditions. The periods addressed have been loosely termed the Late Antique. Painting, architecture, ceramics, calligraphy, mapping, the arts of the book and textiles are among the forms of material culture that will be addressed. The course is intended to demonstrate the continuities of forms as well as the inflections that emerge with the coming of Islam in terms of art and architecture.
Method of assessment
3 Essays of 2,000 words worth 15% each (45% in total). Written Exam will be worth 55% towards the final mark.Suggested reading
- Brown P, 1974, The World of Late Antiquity (London)
- Ettinghausen R, 1972, From Byzantium to Sasanian Iran and the Islamic World (Leiden)
- Cambridge History of Iran (vol.iii)
- Spencer Trimingham J, 1979, Christianity among the Arabs in Pre-Islamic Times
