Mosaic

=== Middle Eastern and Western Asian art ===

====Christian Arabia====
In South Arabia two mosaic works were excavated in a Qatabanian from the late 3rd century, those two plates formed geometric and grapevines formation reflecting the traditions of that culture. In the [[Ghassanid]] era religious mosaic art flourished in their territory, so far five churches with mosaic were recorded from that era, two built by Ghassanid rulers and the other three by the Christian Arab community who wrote their names and dedications.

[[File:Bishapur zan, AO 26169.jpg|thumb|upright=.85|Sasanian-era floor pavement marble mosaic representing female dancers, Shapur palace, [[Bishapur]], Iran, c. 260 AD. Excavated by Roman Ghirshman, ca. 1939–1941. Department of Near Eastern antiquities, Suly, ground floor, room 16, Louvre.]]

====Zoroastrian Persia====
Tilework had been known there for about two thousand years when cultural exchange between [[Sassanid Empire]] and Romans influenced [[Persian people|Persian]] artists to create mosaic patterns. [[Shapur I]] decorated his palace with tile compositions depicting dancers, musicians, courtesans, etc. This was the only significant example of [[figurative art|figurative]] Persian mosaic, which became prohibited after [[Islamic conquest of Persia|Arab conquest]] and arrival of [[Islam]].

====Islamic art====
{{main|Islamic art}}

=====Arab=====
<!--[[File:Isfahan Lotfollah mosque ceiling symmetric.jpg|thumb|right|Mosaic with a network of lemon-shaped compartments, which increase in size as they descend from a formalised peacock at the pattern inlaid on plain stucco. [[Sheikh Lotfollah Mosque]], Iran]] -->

[[Islamic architecture]] used mosaic technique to decorate religious buildings and palaces after the [[Early Muslim conquests|Muslim conquests]] of the eastern provinces of the [[Byzantine Empire]]. In [[Syria]] and [[Egypt]] the Arabs were influenced by the great tradition of Roman and Early Christian mosaic art. During the [[Umayyad Dynasty]] mosaic making remained a flourishing art form in Islamic culture and it is continued in the art of [[zellige]] and [[azulejo]] in various parts of the Arab world, although [[tile]] was to become the main Islamic form of wall decoration.

[[File:Arabischer Maler um 690 002.jpg|thumb|upright=0.85|Islamic mosaics inside the [[Dome of the Rock]] in [[Palestine (region)|Palestine]] (c.&nbsp;690)]]
The first great religious building of [[Islam]], the [[Dome of the Rock]] in [[Jerusalem]], which was built between 688 and 692, was decorated with glass mosaics both inside and outside, by craftsmen of the Byzantine tradition. Only parts of the original interior decoration survive. The rich floral motifs follow Byzantine traditions, and are "Islamic only in the sense that the vocabulary is syncretic and does not include representation of men or animals."<ref>[http://www.sacredsites.com/middle_east/israel/jerusalem.html Jerusalem, Israel] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080415183750/http://sacredsites.com/middle_east/israel/jerusalem.html |date=15 April 2008 }}. sacredsites.com. Retrieved on 12 April 2008.</ref>

The most important early Islamic mosaic work is the decoration of the [[Umayyad Mosque]] in [[Damascus]], then capital of the [[Arab Caliphate]]. The mosque was built between 706 and 715. The caliph obtained 200 skilled workers from the Byzantine Emperor to decorate the building. This is evidenced by the partly Byzantine style of the decoration. The mosaics of the inner courtyard depict Paradise with beautiful trees, flowers and small hill towns and villages in the background. The mosaics include no human figures, which makes them different from the otherwise similar contemporary Byzantine works. The biggest continuous section survives under the western arcade of the courtyard, called the "Barada Panel" after the river [[Barada]]. It is thought that the mosque used to have the largest gold mosaic in the world, at over 4 m<sup>2</sup>. In 1893 a fire damaged the mosque extensively, and many mosaics were lost, although some have been restored since.

The mosaics of the Umayyad Mosque gave inspiration to later Damascene mosaic works. The Dome of the Treasury, which stands in the mosque courtyard, is covered with fine mosaics, probably dating from 13th- or 14th-century restoration work. The style of them are strikingly similar to the Barada Panel. The mausoleum of Sultan [[Baibars]], [[Az-Zahiriyah library|Madrassa Zahiriyah]], which was built after 1277, is also decorated with a band of golden floral and architectural mosaics, running around inside the main prayer hall.<ref>[http://www.archnet.org/library/sites/one-site.jsp?site_id=2777 Zahiriyya Madrasa and Mausoleum of Sultan al-Zahir Baybars] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090108224216/http://www.archnet.org/library/sites/one-site.jsp?site_id=2777 |date=8 January 2009 }}</ref>

Non-religious Umayyad mosaic works were mainly floor panels which decorated the palaces of the caliphs and other high-ranking officials. They were closely modeled after the mosaics of the Roman country villas, once common in the Eastern Mediterranean. The most superb example can be found in the bath house of [[Hisham's Palace]], [[Palestine (region)|Palestine]] which was made around 744. The main panel depicts a large tree and underneath it a lion attacking a deer (right side) and two deer peacefully grazing (left side). The panel probably represents good and bad governance. Mosaics with classical geometric motifs survived in the bath area of the 8th-century Umayyad palace complex in [[Anjar, Lebanon|Anjar]], [[Lebanon]]. The luxurious desert residence of [[Al-Walid II]] in [[Qasr al-Hallabat]] (in present-day [[Jordan]]) was also decorated with floor mosaics that show a high level of technical skill. The best preserved panel at Hallabat is divided by a Tree of Life flanked by "good" animals on one side and "bad" animals on the other. Among the Hallabat representations are vine scrolls, grapes, pomegranates, oryx, wolves, hares, a leopard, pairs of partridges, fish, bulls, ostriches, rabbits, rams, goats, lions and a snake. At [[Qastal, Jordan|Qastal]], near [[Amman]], excavations in 2000 uncovered the earliest known Umayyad mosaics in present-day [[Jordan]], dating probably from the caliphate of [[Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan]] (685–705). They cover much of the floor of a finely decorated building that probably served as the palace of a local governor. The Qastal mosaics depict geometrical patterns, trees, animals, fruits and rosettes. Except for the open courtyard, entrance and staircases, the floors of the entire palace were covered in mosaics.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.saudiaramcoworld.com/issue/198701/mosaic.country.htm |title=Saudi Aramco World : Mosaic Country |access-date=25 May 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120127231744/http://www.saudiaramcoworld.com/issue/198701/mosaic.country.htm |archive-date=27 January 2012 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Some of the best examples of later Islamic mosaics were produced in [[Moorish]] [[Spain]]. The golden mosaics in the [[mihrab]] and the central dome of the [[Mezquita de Córdoba|Great Mosque]] in [[Córdoba, Andalusia|Corduba]] have a decidedly Byzantine character. They were made between 965 and 970 by local craftsmen, supervised by a master mosaicist from [[Constantinople]], who was sent by the Byzantine Emperor to the Umayyad Caliph of Spain. The decoration is composed of colorful floral [[arabesques]] and wide bands of Arab [[calligraphy]]. The mosaics were purported to evoke the glamour of the Great Mosque in Damascus, which was lost for the Umayyad family.<ref>Marianne Barrucand – Achim Bednorz: Moorish Architecture in Andalusia, Taschen, 2002, p. 84</ref>

Mosaics generally went out of fashion in the Islamic world after the 8th century. Similar effects were achieved by the use of painted tilework, either geometric with small tiles, sometimes called mosaic, like the [[zillij]] of [[North Africa]], or larger tiles painted with parts of a large decorative scheme ([[Qashani]]) in Persia, Turkey and further east.
<gallery widths="200" heights="150" class="center">
File:Roof hafez tomb.jpg|Complex Mosaic patterns also known as [[Girih]] are popular forms of architectural art in many [[Muslim]] cultures. [[Tomb of Hafez]], Shiraz, Iran
File:Arabischer Mosaizist um 735 001.jpg|The Umayyad mosaics of [[Hisham's Palace]] closely followed classical traditions
File:Cordoba moschee innen5 dome.jpg|Golden mosaics in the dome of the [[Mezquita de Córdoba|Great Mosque]] in [[Córdoba, Andalusia|Corduba]], Moorish Spain (965–970)
</gallery>