Shared symbolisms. The representation of neoplatonic architectural terms in the caliphal art of al-Andalus. The design of the maqṣūra of al-Ḥakam II.

Abstract

The religious art of al-Andalus has been studied by the historiographical tradition from a single perspective, in its relation to Qur’anic texts and Islamic orthodoxy. However, in the cultural context where the first Islamic architecture was born, there was apparently a paradigm shift, so that the mosque architecture could be better understood in the framework of the formal and symbolic transformations that took place within the Roman canon in the Late Antiquity. This, in turn, is linked with a new conception of the sacred representation, that is conditioned by Neoplathonic philosophy and Solomonic traditions. The present article aims to explain how these aesthetics transformations could affect the Islamic oratories in the caliphal art of al-Andalus and, specifically, in al-Ḥakam II´s maqṣūra (10th century).