Alâeddin Mosque of Konya

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Alâeddin Mosque of Konya
Inner courtyard with the doors of Kılıç Arslans II. (Left) and Kai Kaus I.

The Alâeddin Mosque of Konya , in Turkish Alâeddin Cami , is one of the oldest mosque buildings of Seljuk architecture in Asia Minor and the burial place of several important Rum-Seljuk sultans. It is part of the building complex of the citadel on Alâeddin Hill ( Alâeddin tepesi ) in Konya . The building complex ( külliye ) is located on an artificially raised hill, the former acropolis of the ancient city of Ikonion. Until the 1920s , the Byzantine Hagios-Amphilochios church , which had been redesigned to Eflatun- Mescid , was located on the edge of the hill plateau . To the north of the mosque there used to be a palace, of which only the foundation walls of a tower are preserved today. The walls of the citadel were demolished in 1896.

Building history

Construction began around 1150. Under Kai Kaus I ( Turkish İzzedin Keykavus , ruled 1210-1219) the mosque with the representative marble buildings of the north portal and the unfinished western tomb tower was expanded to become the family mosque of the Seljuk sultans. Kai Kaus I. died before the building was completed. The two buildings were named after Kai Kaus I. older brother and successor, Kai Kobad I. ( Turkish ʿAlāʾ ad-Dīn Kai-Qubād , ruled 1219-1237). He let the building complex be expanded and decorated inside. A building inscription gives the year 1219 AD / AH 616 as the date of completion of the building.

architecture

North facade with the main portal
Eastern section of the prayer hall with Byzantine columns

Building description

The plan of the mosque is irregularly trapezoidal. The north and south walls recede slightly towards their center, while the east and west walls point outwards towards the center. The eastern part of the north wall consists of only one wall, in the western, higher part there are three portals. Almost in the middle of the entire building complex is the twelve-sided mausoleum of Kılıç Arslan II (reigned 1156–1192) with its conical roof, to the west of it there is another, unfinished tomb ( Turkish Türbe or kümbet ).

To the south, the tombs are adjoined by the central section of the prayer hall with the typical Anatolian mihrab dome and a flat-roofed iwan . Laterally to the east, the prayer hall expands into an irregular trapezoidal room, which is divided into seven parallel naves and yokes by 6 × 6 columns. The western part of the hall has four ships lying almost parallel to each other. These parts of the hall are modeled on the Arab-Islamic blueprint of the hypostyle or hall mosque. The pillars of the prayer hall are spoiled Byzantine buildings, the ceiling consists of wooden beams. It is considered likely that the west hall was added to the central area with the mihrab dome first, and its eastern section later. In the northeast corner of the prayer hall there is a minaret from the Ottoman period directly on the surrounding wall . A new entrance to the prayer hall, which was broken into the east wall, also dates from later.

The inner courtyard to the north of the mosque is enclosed by a wall made of yellow-brown limestone, which offers a monumental facade to the north. This is decorated with calligraphy that gives the names of two master craftsmen, Muḥammad Ḥawlan al-Dimishqī and Karim al-Dĩn Erdişāh, as well as the sultans Kai Kaus I. and Kai Kobad I. The narrow arches of an arcade in the upper quarter of the facade wall rest on compact pillars and are of different heights. The entrance portal is made of regularly carved light and dark marble blocks. It has reliefs made of geometric braided bands . The other sides of the outer wall are made of coarser rubble stones and bricks.

Interior

The ebony pulpit ( minbar ) is dated 1155 and is perhaps the only remnant of the original structure. The original mihrab niche was decorated with faience tiles in different shades (turquoise, cobalt blue, manganese violet). During the renovations in 1891, a niche made of white marble was placed in front of it, so that only the upper half of the niche and the triangular surfaces of the faience mosaic at the transition to the dome are preserved in their original mosaic furnishings. According to Aslanapa (1971, p. 109), the style and technique of these mosaics are comparatively far advanced, so that they can be assigned to the construction period under Kai Kobad I.

  • View into the mihrab dome

  • Minbar, dated 1155

Grave structures

Cenotaphs of the Seljuk Sultans in the Türbe of Kılıç Arslan II.

The courtyard of the Alâeddin Mosque encloses two monumental mausoleums. According to an inscription on the facade, Izz ad-Din Kılıç Arslan II built the twelve-sided Türbe with the conical roof. The building inscriptions also give the name of the architect: Yūsuf bin ʿAbd al-Jaffar from Khujand . The building became the mausoleum of the dynasty of the Rūm Seljuks , eight of whom are buried there:

The second Kümbet was built by Kai Kaus I. It is built entirely in marble and is located exactly opposite the marble main portal, the design and ornamentation of which is taken up by the grave gate.

Stylistic influences

Byzantine spoils and building inscriptions in the north facade

In relation to the importance of the Alâeddin Mosque as a burial mosque of the Rūm-Seljuks dynasty, the building appears archaic and not very representative, even in comparison to other buildings of the era. Byzantine spoils, particularly easily transportable elements such as window posts or columns, can be found in abundance throughout the building. One of the pillars in the prayer hall bears a Greek dedication that could be dated to the 5th century. The wall of the north facade breaks off abruptly after about two thirds of its length in the eastern part and continues at a significantly lower and slightly offset angle to the higher part of the wall. In this eastern part of the wall, which does not really fit in with the rest of the facade, a double ledge has been preserved in parts, as is typical of early Byzantine architecture in Anatolia. Redford considers it possible that this part could have belonged to a previous Byzantine building from which the Spolia could have come.

The main portal is made of alternating light and dark marble blocks. These as Ablaq ( Arabic أبلق, DMG ʿablaq '  multicolored, literally piebald') well-known construction is characteristic of the Syrian architecture of the 12th century. In 1109, repair work was carried out on the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus using Ablaq-style masonry. Its dome had already been rebuilt at the end of the 11th century by the Seljuk Sultan Malik Şah I , who also had the Great Mosque of Diyarbakır redesigned. According to Aslanapa (1971, p. 108), the name of one of the builders, al-Dimishqī ("the Damascene"), suggests that he could have brought this style from Syria, which was then ruled by the Zengids , to Anatolia. Syrian architect built for Kılıç Arslan II and Kai Kaus I. the fortifications of. Antalya , Alanya and Sinop , and the Sultanhanı - Caravanserai in Aksaray . It is thanks to the Syrian architects that the decorative two-tone Ablaq masonry, Islamic calligraphy and the Islamic “stalactite vaults” ( muqarnas ) were introduced, which later combined and further developed Seljuk architecture into a complete, independent architectural style.

See also

Web links

Commons : Alâeddin Mosque of Konya  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e f g Scott Redford: The Alaeddin Mosque in Konya reconsidered . Artibus Asiae Vol. 51, No. 1/2 (1991), pp. 54-74. JSTOR 3249676 , accessed November 1, 2016
  2. ↑ a b c d e f g Oktay Aslanapa : Turkish art and architecture . Faber & Faber, London Faber & Faber 1971, ISBN 978-0-571-08781-5 , pp. 107-109 .
  3. ^ Alâeddin Mosque of Konya on Archnet.org , accessed November 1, 2016
  4. ↑ Scott Redford: The Alaeddin Mosque in Konya reconsidered . Artibus Asiae Vol. 51, No. 1/2 (1991), pp. 54–74, here p. 58 and illustration 4 on p. 67
  5. ^ Robert Hillenbrand: Islamic Art and Architecture . Thames & Hudson, 1999, ISBN 978-0-500-20305-7 , pp. 146 ( limited preview in Google Book search).
  6. ↑ Oktay Aslanapa: Turkish art and architecture . Faber & Faber, London Faber & Faber 1971, ISBN 978-0-571-08781-5 , pp. 93 .

Coordinates: 37 ° 52 ′ 24.8 "  N , 32 ° 29 ′ 33.2"  E