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Essential Architecture- Iraq Shrine of Zumurrud Khatun |
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architect |
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location |
Baghdad |
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date |
c. 1190 |
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style |
Islamic Abbasid |
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construction |
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type |
Mosque |
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| Exterior |
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| Vault |
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| Creswell | |
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This famous mausoleum was constructed by the Abbasid caliph al-Nasir for
his mother, Sitta Zubaydah, the wife of Harun ar-Rashid. Located in an
expansive cemetery, this brick tomb exhibits a nine-layered, cone-shaped
muqarnas cover capped by a small cupola that rises to great height from
an octagonal base, similar to the Imam Dur in Samarra. Hazarbaf
decoration covers the exterior of the base while each façade is
partitioned into four sunken square panels, two on the bottom and two on
the top, themselves featuring decorative brickwork. Today, the tomb is
entered from a square-planned, domed structure that was built to replace
an earlier one. From this area, a staircase rises up to the base of the
muqarnas dome while a tight corridor just over one meter large leads to
the octagonal burial chamber. The light inside the vault emanates from
small holes cut in the muqarnas dome producing a glowing effect.
The mausoleum has been restored periodically throughout its lifespan. Sources: Khalil, Jabir and Strika, Vincenzo. 1987. The Islamic Architecture of Baghdad; the Results of a Joint Italian -Iraqi Survey. Napoli: Istituto Universitario Orientale, 18-22. Michell, George. ed. 1978. Architecture of the Islamic World; Its History and Social Meaning. London: Thanes & Hudson, 247. Ettinghausen, Richard and Grabar, Oleg. 1987. The Art and Architecture of Islam 650-1250. New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 296-7. |
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links |
Special thanks to the Islamic architecture website http://archnet.org/ |
| www.essential-architecture.com | |