Mosque of Al Mutawakkil
From Archiplanet
| Mosque of Al Mutawakkil | |
| Designer | unknown |
| Location | Samarra, Iraq |
| Date | 847 to 851 |
| Building Type | temple, mosque |
| Climate | desert |
| Context | urban |
| Architectural Style | early Islamic |
| Street Address | |
| Notes | 164' high spiral minaret. Samarra is on the Tigris river, about 125km north of Baghdad. |
| At Great Buildings | http://www.GreatBuildings.com/buildings/Mosque_of_Al_Mutawakkil.html |
Contents |
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[edit] Discussion
Commentary
"Great mosque, Samarra, [was] built...in the caliphate of al-Mutawakkil...This is the largest mosque in the world. Built entirely of brick within a wall flanked with towers, it has a 55 m. high minaret with a spiral ramp that recalls the ziggurats of Mesopotamia."
— Henri Stierlin. Comprende l'Architecture universelle 2. p347.
"The reign of al-Mutawakkil (847 (232 H) - 861 (247 H)) had a great effect on the appearance of the city, for he seems to have been a lover of architecture.� In a list of his building projects which appears in several different versions, the new Congregational Mosque and up to 20 palaces are mentioned, totalling between 258 and 294 million dirhams.� The new Congregational Mosque, with its spiral minaret, built between 849 (235 H) and 851 (235 H), formed part of an extension of the city to the east, extending into the old hunting park."
— Dr Alastair Northedge and Derek Kennet, The Samarra' Archaeological Survey.
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[edit] References
John D. Hoag. Islamic Architecture. New York: Electra/Rizzoli, 1975. aerial photo of mosque and minaret showing context, f40, p28. color photo of minaret, plate IV, between p28 and p29.
Dennis Sharp, ed. The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Architects and Architecture. New York: Whitney Library of Design, an imprint of Watson-Guptil Publications, 1991. ISBN 0-8230-2539-X. photo, p204.
Henri Stierlin. Comprende l'Architecture Universelle 2. Fribourg, Switzerland: Office du Livre, 1977. discussion p347.
[edit] External Links
The Samarra' Archaeological Survey — General background information with sketch and aerial photo
