MinaretsIslamic Architecture

No’man Bayaty

Introduction

• Minarets are towers used for Adhan (call for prayer).

• It was not an essential element, since early mosques used the roof to call the Muslims for prayers.

• It has several names, each with a distinctive meaning: minaret, manara, sauma’a, mi’dhana.

• The etymology of the terms related to this element sheds light on its origins and functions.

Early Minarets

• As said before, early mosques didn’t have minarets.

• The first minaret was built at time of Mu’awiya (the first Umayyad caliph), when his governor on Iraq added a high platform for Basrah’s mosque.

• This was approximately in 45/665, and the minaret is lost.

• The governor of Egypt added minarets to Al-Fustat mosque at 53/673, which are also lost.

• Even though the early minarets appeared in Iraq and Egypt, the idea might have come from Syria, the center of the Umayyad dynasty.

• According to this narrative, a political reason stands behind the appearance of these elements.

Early Minarets

• Beyond the functional and political origin, there is a third theory.

• Theorists believe that the idea behind the minarets was morphological.

• Muslims used the minarets as a source of diversity in their architecture.

• The minarets became an essential part of mosques’ architecture, and thus the Islamic architecture, even though it was not essential at all.

• The rise of minarets’ architecture, and its rise in Syria especially, might also be a result of the towers of the Christian churches.

• The complexity rises from the old descriptions. Resources say that the Basrah minaret was made of stone, giving it a morphological advantage.

• Al-fustat mosque had four minarets (Sawami’) little bit higher than the original roof level (a box shape), with very little functional advantage.

Minarets Forms

Early Minarets (Syria)

• The bride (Al-’arous) minaret is the first minaret of the great mosque of Damascus.

• It is said to be built by Al-Walid I, even though many sources point to its Abbasid origin. Several clues support its Umayyad origin.

• This minaret had a symbolic presence, and had some pre-Islamic effect.

Aleppo great mosque minaret

Early Minarets (Qairawan)

• Like the Damascene minaret it has a square shape.

• Some say its shape is affected by the pharaoh's towers of Alexandria.

• The stepped three tiers tower is not known in pre-Islamic Syrian architecture.

• The location of the bulgy minaret in the opposite side of the sanctuary, tried to balance the huge emptiness of the courtyard with its big mass.

Almohad Minarets

• There is strong similarity between the architecture of this state and the Syrian states.

• The only thing that would explain the resemblance in spite of the huge geographical distance and the political disconnection, is the Umayyad rule in Spain.

• They are different than the Syrian model in terms of the internal vaulting, and that they are much larger than the Syrian ones, and more decorated on their four sides.

• They also used the Moorish decoration, such as the horseshoe and multifoil arches.

Kutubiya mosque minaret, Marakesh

Almohad Minarets

• They also had single or paired windows on each story.

Hassan mosque minaret, Rabat

Giralda Tower, Seville

Minarets in Iraq

• The Iraqi minarets represent a strong interruption with the Syrian tradition.

• They are cylindrical towers made of mud brick.

• Its material is baked brick.

• Their location was also different, since they were standing isolated from the mosque.

• Some, like the Malwiya and Abu Dulaf, start with a square base, and have an external ramp.

• The origin of this shape is disputed, but the main theory references them to the pre-Islamic Iraqi architecture (Assyrian) or the pre-Islamic Persian architecture.

Great mosque minaret, Samarra

Minarets in Iraq

• This bizarre shape even traveled to other places showing its emphasis on the Islamic world.

Abu Dulaf minaret, Samarra

Ibn Tulun Mosque minaret, Cairo

Iranian Minarets

• The Iranian minarets are the richest in their diversity, and were also cylindrical in shape, with the stairs inside the minarets.

• Their cylindrical type became the base for many other styles in many countries. The Iranian minarets were also very decorative.

• The sources of their shapes also vary from Chinese culture till the Indian architecture.

• Some Iranian minarets had a square or octagonal base, with a cylindrical shaft. This effect comes from some Syrian minarets.

• The Seljuk architects also introduced the paired minarets.

• The Timurid minarets were larger than the Seljuk, while the Safavid didn’t add some significant contribution.

Iranian Minarets

Erbil minaret Daquq minaretAl-Hadbaa’ minaret, Mosul

Iranian Minarets

Kalyan minaret, Bukhara Sarban minaret, IsfahanAli minaret, Isfahan

Iranian Minarets

Mas’ud III minaret, Ghazna

Iranian Minarets

Jam minaret, Ghor

Indian Minarets

• Indian minarets’ function was different.

• They were used as markers for the mosques, strengthening the corners.

• Sometimes they had only a symbolic function, representing Islam’s power.

• Their shapes were affected by the Iranian minarets, they mainly were with a cylindrical plan and tapered body (like a cone).

• In many cases they also used a polygonal base for the minarets.

• The red brick as a material had its effect on the overall shape.

• They also utilized several balconies.

• Later mosques used a hierarchy of minarets, depending on the position.

Indian Minarets

Qutub minar, Delhi

Indian Minarets

Juma’ masjid, Delhi Badshahi masjid, Lahore

Indian Minarets

Badshahi masjid, Lahore

Minarets in Turkey

• Early Turkish minarets were developed from the Seljuk Iranian minarets.

• They began to appear as pairs, flanking the portals.

• They then moved towards the single minaret system, with its materials ranging from the stone in the lower part and brick in upper parts.

• The Ottoman minarets were tall and pencil-shaped, with several bowl-shaped circular balconies, and unlike most of the minarets, they didn’t end up with a dome, but a sharp pointy triangular end.

• They had a square or a polygonal base, with a cylindrical body.

• Their use completed the composition of the domical architecture.

Minarets in Turkey

Great mosque minaret, Mardin

Yivli mosque minaret, Antalya

Minarets in Turkey

Suleymaniya mosque minaret, Istanbul

Minarets in Egypt

• Egypt is very richly diverse in terms of minaret architecture.

• The main style of minarets architecture is the Mamluk minarets of Cairo.

• The origin of their shape is unknown, but many propose the pre-Islamic Egyptian architecture of the Pharaohs.

• Mostly they were made of a base, square or octagon.

• The body either cylindrical or octagonal, and sometimes both.

• The balconies would not be just an addition, but they would separate the body of the minaret into different styles.

• The crowning (ends) were also various, domes or conical.

• They also merged the columns, arches, decorations and muqarnaseseffectively into the design of the minarets.

Minarets in EgyptAl-Hakim mosque minaret, Cairo

Abul-Hajjaj mosque, Luxor

Minarets in Egypt

Al-Azhar mosque minaret, CairoGhanim Bahlawan minaret, Cairo Mughalbay mosque minaret, Cairo

Minarets

• Countries and states copied the styles of the minarets which they found suitable, and when the rulers were same or close in political views.

• This is why we find Egyptian minarets in Syria, Syrian minarets in Spain and Persian minarets in Iraq.

• Minarets, even though with not an essential function, became an essential element of Islamic architecture.