Deck 5: The Islamic World

Question 1

Islam's sacred book is the _____.

A) ​Gospel book
B) ​Torah
C) ​Koran
D) ​Old Testament

Answer 1

​Koran

Question 2

The Umayyad caliph, _____, was the patron of the Dome of the Rock.

A) ​Abd al-Malik
B) ​Abd al-Rahman III
C) ​Shah Tahmasp
D) ​Ibn Zamrak

Answer 2

​Abd al-Malik

Question 3

What are you unlikely to find in the decoration of a mosque?

A) ​Calligraphy
B) Narrative scenes​
C) Abstract patterns​
D) Floral motifs​

Answer 3

Narrative scenes​

Question 4

A mosque's _____ resembled Muhammad's house in Medina.

A) ​iwan
B) mihrab​
C) hypostyle hall​
D) madrasa​

Question 5

Following Muhammad's practice, Islamic leaders, or _____, were secular and religious leaders.

A) ​caliphs
B) patriarchs​
C) bishops​
D) priests​

Question 6

The minaret of the Kairouan mosque resembles _____.

A) ​a Roman lighthouse
B) a ziggurat​
C) a Greek temple​
D) an apadana​

Question 7

In what type of art will you find narrative images with human figures?

A) ​Mosaic tilework
B) Mosque lamps​
C) Secular books​
D) Prayer rugs​

Question 8

Islam arose in _____ in the seventh century.

A) ​Jerusalem
B) ​Turkey
C) ​Arabia
D) ​Egypt

Question 9

The most important buildings in the Islamic world were _____.

A) ​palaces
B) mosques​
C) law courts​
D) theaters​

Question 10

The distinctive feature of the Malwiya minaret is its _____.

A) ​bulbous dome
B) stepped spiral ramp​
C) calligraphy decoration​
D) tile​

Question 11

Islam does not consider Muhammad to be divine but rather as the _____.

A) ​successor of Jesus
B) messiah​
C) Trinity​
D) Final Prophet​

Question 12

When Muhammad returned to Mecca he preserved the _____ as the center of the Islamic world.

A) ​maqsura
B) ​kaaba
C) ​iwan
D) ​minaret

Question 13

The _____ is the hall in the mosque reserved for the ruler.

A) ​qibla
B) maqsura​
C) minaret​
D) iswan​

Question 14

_____ was the capital of the Spanish Umayyad dynasty.

A) ​Córdoba
B) Mshatta​
C) Samarra​
D) Kairouan​

Question 15

The _____ was the first great Islamic building.

A) ​Malwiya minaret
B) Friday Mosque​
C) Court of the Lions​
D) Dome of the Rock​

Question 16

The _____ may honor where Muhammad stood while leading worship.

A) ​qibla
B) minaret​
C) iwan​
D) mihrab​

Question 17

What was the purpose of the Malwiya minaret?

A) ​It resembled ancient ziggurats.
B) It was a sacred burial place.​
C) It announced the presence of Islam in the Tigris Valley.​
D) The whole city could pray inside of it.​

Question 18

Muslims are called to pray from the _____.

A) ​maqsura
B) mihrab​
C) minaret​
D) kufic​

Question 19

A characteristic feature of the prayer hall at the mosque, or Mezquita, at Córdoba is the _____.

A) ​horseshoe-shaped arches
B) tiled columns​
C) elaborate carpets​
D) fountain of the lions​

Question 20

_____ founded the Spanish Umayyad dynasty after fleeing from the Abbasid massacre of his clan.

A) ​Ibn Zamrak
B) Muhammad V​
C) Genghis Khan​
D) Abd al-Rahman I​

Question 21

The _____ is a huge place fortress constructed by the Nasrids in Granada.

A) ​Dome of the Rock
B) Kaaba​
C) Alhambra​
D) Friday Mosque​

Question 22

Describe the method for producing early Korans.

Question 23

What is the Shahnama?

Question 24

Which features of Muhammad's house in Medina became standard in hypostyle hall mosques?

Question 25

_____ became a leading center for the production of luxurious books under the patronage of Timurid.

A) ​Isfahan
B) Samarra​
C) Herat​
D) Mshatta​

Question 26

An experimentation with _____ contributed to the intricacy of the dome in the Mezquita at Córdoba.

A) ​calligraphy
B) multilobed arches​
C) tile techniques​
D) murals​

Question 27

What was the hierarchy of leadership during the early centuries of Islamic history?

Question 28

What was significant about the location chosen for the Dome of the Rock?

Question 29

The most difficult tilework technique is called _____.

A) ​calligraphy
B) mosaic tilework​
C) kufic​
D) muqarnic​

Question 30

How was calligraphy used in Islamic art?

Question 31

Describe the layout and the basic parts of this mosque.

Question 32

Which elements of this monument's construction and decoration are borrowed from Late Roman and Byzantine architecture?

Question 33

The Friday Mosque is the earliest example of a _____ mosque.

A) ​four-iwan
B) muqarna​
C) Byzantine​
D) minaret​

Question 34

The muqarnas dome in the Palace of the Lions symbolized _____.

A) ​the Five Pillars
B) Mecca​
C) Muhammad's birthplace​
D) the dome of Heaven​

Question 35

What are the Five Pillars that bind all Muslims?

Question 36

What are muqarnas, and what visual effect do they produce?

Question 37

Who were important patrons of art and architecture in the early centuries of Islamic history?

Question 38

Describe Shah Tahmasp's relationship to carpet weaving.

Question 39

What explains the absence of figures in Islamic art?

Question 40

Describe the significance of tilework in Islamic decoration. When was its Golden Age?

Question 41

Discuss the development of the mosque, and identify its significant architectural traits. How does it relate to the worship of the faith?

Question 42

What is depicted in this image? Why is its imagery unique?

Question 43

Which features are typical or unusual for Islamic art?

Question 44

Which features of this mosque are characteristic of Iranian architecture?

Question 45

Discuss the diversity found within Islamic architecture. Address regional and chronological differences.

Question 46

Describe the function of this room's two-tiered arches.

Question 47

Explain how calligraphy functioned as an art form, both as the written word and pure decoration and pattern. How does it express the nature of Islam as a religion?

Question 48

Attribute the images on the screen to a culture and give an approximate date. Give the reasons for your attributions, using complete sentences and referring to specific works discussed in class.
Suggested images, not in the text:

Question 49

Who were the major patrons of Islamic art and architecture? What statement was made through the artworks they commissioned? What types of structures or objects did they commission?

Question 50

Describe the content or subject matter of Islamic art. What decorative forms were the most common? Which art form permitted narrative or figurative art?

Question 51

Islamic leaders not only commissioned mosques and artworks of religious significance, but also grand palaces. Describe the significant features of the palaces in the text.

Question 52

What elements are symbolic or conveyed a certain meaning?

Question 53

How does the decoration of this correspond to medieval manuscripts?

Question 54

How does this blend calligraphy and abstract ornamentation?