Seljuk architecture: how to identify it

what it is

Seljuk architecture is the building tradition of the Seljuk Turks in Iran and, from the late 11th century, Anatolia. Iranian buildings are mostly brick, decorated with patterned brickwork, tile and carved stucco. Most Anatolian buildings are dressed (cut and smoothed) stone, with brick kept for minarets. Decoration is concentrated on tall entrance portals carved with muqarnas (tiers of small stacked niches) and bands of inscription, and on turquoise glazed tile. Common building types are mosques, madrasas (religious schools), domed tombs and caravanserais (fortified roadside inns for traders).

The Jameh Mosque of Isfahan has a south dome (1086-87) and a north dome (1088-89) from the Seljuk period. The Kharraqan Towers near Qazvin (1067 and 1093) are octagonal brick tombs. In Konya, the Karatay Madrasa (1251) has a stone portal with bands of grey and white marble, and the Ince Minareli Medrese (1265-1279) has a brick minaret with glazed tile. Islamic medieval architecture covers 700-1500 from Spain to Central Asia and includes horseshoe arches and Moorish work. Seljuk architecture is limited to Iran and Anatolia, about 1040-1300.

how to spot one

Minaret A tall, slender tower attached to or near a mosque, usually with one or more balconies near the top. It is where the call to prayer, the adhan, was traditionally made. Decorative tilework Glazed ceramic tiles, fired clay with a glassy coating, used to finish walls, floors and fireplace surrounds. Examples include Portuguese and Spanish painted azulejos, Islamic geometric patterns and Arts and Crafts art tiles. Carved stone relief Figures or patterns carved into stone so they project from a flat background, called low relief when shallow and high relief when deep. It appears on ancient temples and Gothic churches. Dome A rounded roof shaped as half a sphere, often raised on a drum (a circular wall). Domes cover large central spaces on Roman, Byzantine, Islamic, Renaissance and Neoclassical buildings.

Also look for

Courtyard Pointed arch Round arch

history

The Seljuk Empire was founded in 1037 by the brothers Tughril and Chaghri. Under Malik-Shah I the capital moved from Ray to Isfahan, and his vizier Nizam al-Mulk built a network of state madrasas. In Isfahan, two brick domes were added to the Jameh Mosque in 1086-87 and 1088-89, one under Nizam al-Mulk and one under his rival Taj al-Mulk. Malik-Shah died in 1092 and the empire split among his brother and sons. Sultan Sanjar, the last great ruler, died in Merv in 1157. Much of the Iranian heritage was destroyed in the Mongol invasions of the 13th century.

A Seljuk branch, the Sultanate of Rum, ruled Anatolia from the late 11th century. Its builders worked in dressed stone and put hundreds of caravanserais along trade routes in the 13th century. The sultanate lost to the Mongols at the Battle of Köse Dağ in 1243, and smaller Turkish principalities called beyliks, including the Ottomans, emerged. The Karatay Madrasa was finished in 1251 and the Ince Minareli Medrese in 1279. The Sultanate of Rum fell in 1308.

where to find it

Isfahan and Qazvin in Iran, and Konya, Sivas and Aksaray in Turkey: the Jameh Mosque of Isfahan, the Kharraqan Towers, the Ince Minareli Medrese and the Karatay Madrasa in Konya.

easy to confuse with

Dome of the Rock, an example of Islamic Medieval

Islamic Medieval Domes and minarets over courtyards, pointed and horseshoe arches, and dense geometric and calligraphic ornament.

Süleymaniye Mosque, an example of Ottoman

Ottoman Cascading gray domes and pencil-thin minarets: mosque complexes stepping down like mountains over light-filled halls.

Etchmiadzin Cathedral, an example of Armenian

Armenian Compact stone churches with a drum and conical dome, carved relief walls and upright cross-stones called khachkars.

Timurid Huge tiled portals, ribbed turquoise domes on tall drums, and facades covered in glazed brick and mosaic tile.