About 100 miles south-west of Baghdad is Ukhaidar palace, one of the most preserved palaces of the Muslim world and was built between 774-775 by Isa Ibn Musa. The palace consists of two fortified enclosures in a manner that had been common to Romans but had been used for the first time in Islam. Another defense approach seen in
Ukhaidir was the use of the arrow and the creation of slits in the walls for attack without exposing themselves to harm.
Ukhaidir was built with tons of program like a mosque, the audience halls and a court of honor where the first of many inventions were seen such as the elliptical or pointed barrel vaults with the use of brick rather than stones and wood which made the construction of such vaults much easier. The construction of the ribbed vaults can be seen in the palaces mosque. The vaults are supported by the use of flattened arches which then gave rise to the gothic architecture throughout movement.
The palace complex consists of series of functional units; the great hall, a mosque, a court of honour, audience halls and four domestic compounds called Bayts. Continuing from the domed square room there is the great hall. It is a large pointed barrel-vaulted hall of 7 meters width, 15.5 meters length and 10.5 meters height, with arched recesses to the left and right leading to side chambers which were probably store rooms.
West of the great hall and to the right of the main entrance, there is the palace mosque, a hall consisting of a single aisle of five arches raised on cylindrical piers made of limestone and mortar. Above the arcade was a single barrel vault which had a corrugated surface, and along the ridge were coffers of diverse shape. The ends of the vaults were fused to the side walls by means of fluted half-domes with squinches of the same form inserted at the transitions. The architects and masons of Ukhaidir introduced, for the first time, an elaborate technique based on the construction of elliptical (pointed) barrel vaults with bricks in similar technique to building a wall which therefore made the way vaults were built considerably easier. [1] The palace maintains it’s high vaulted ceilings that expose the interior spaces to sunlight through windows near the domed areas. The exterior facades of the bayts are beautifully arched and the ceilings inside the vault are beautifully designed.
Many things have been taken from the ukhaidir palace and can be seen through the Islamic architecture and have spread and influenced through out many other cultures and thankfully have impacted change in our architecture.
Works Cited:
http://www.muslimheritage.com/article/ukhaidir-palace-720-800-ce - plans and pictures
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