November
17
/ 2023
When Europe was experiencing the so-called dark Middle Ages, during the seventh and eighth centuries AD, in the East, Islam was on the rise, and the Umayyad Dynasty was on the forefront of conquering territories from India to Spain. Officially carrying the title khalīfat allāh, “the deputy of God” the caliphs spread Islamic teachings from the East to the West, but they were also breaking new frontiers in art, architecture, philosophy, and knowledge. Where Arabic tribes were previously mostly nomadic, during these times clans began settling, often converting military fortresses into permanent settlements, and constructing magnificent palaces and mosques in the lands they conquered. For the first time, caliphs took the initiative in artistic patronage, and their new palaces and
