Stealing from the Saracens: How Islamic Architecture Shaped Europe Hardcover – November 1, 2020

Who knew? Who knew that the Gothic Cathedrals of Europe, so deeply associated with christianity, were in fact inspired by Islamic architecture. Who knew?Christopher Wren knew. Christopher Wren (1632-1723) was the English architect who was commissioned by King Charles II to spearhead the rebuilding of St. Paul's Cathedral, which had been nearly destroyed in the Great Fire of London, in 1666. Christopher Wren is among the heroes of "Stealing from the Saracens: How Islamic Architecture Shaped Europe" by Diana Darke. If you have the slightest interested in architecture, in world history, or in religion, you'll find much to enjoy in this imminently readable book.The author is a first-rate historian who specializes in Middle East studies and in ancient architecture, and a fine writer to boot. At 390 pages and beautifully illustrated, this book is as much a feast for the intellect as it is a visual treat for the eyes.The original St. Paul's was one of the more majestic examples of Gothic architecture in Europe. Unfortunately, Christopher Wren did not appreciate Gothic architecture--which favored ornate pinnacles, slender towers and prickly steeples, and in their place erected a majestic dome--an engineering triumph that made him the bane of parishioners, who wanted their cathedral rebuilt exactly as it had been before the fire. Nonetheless, Wren's dome lived on to become one of London's most iconic landmarks.Christopher Wren was as much a student of architecture as he was England's greatest architect. It was he who discovered that Europe's majestic Gothic cathedrals were in fact inspired by the Mosques the Muslims had been building for hundreds of years in the middle east. He wrote, "the Gothic style should be more rightly called the Saracen style" (note, the word 'Saracen' has dropped from our vocabulary, but in Wren's time it was commonly used as a pejorative term to describe Arab Muslims, particularly Spanish-Arab Muslims).Writes the author: "While recognizing the Saracen origins of Gothic, Wren himself was no fan of the Gothic style, dismissing its weak roofing, its poor construction, and its fiddly decor and ornamentation. . . ." Further on, she writes: "If Wren's theory is right, that the origins of Gothic are Islamic, it would mean the Muslims provided the inspiration for what Christianity regarded as its own unique architectural formula--a most inconvenient truth."The author spends much of her book proving that Wren's theory was indeed right, and traces how it happened, beginning with the collapse of the Ulmayyad dynasty in 750 CE. The Ulmayyads were builders, who created a rich legacy of architecture in the Syrian city of Damascus--mostly mosques and grand palaces, as well as a sophisticated system of canals and reservoirs to capture, store and transfer fresh water into the desert city. After their violent overthrow, the surviving Ulmayyads fled Damascus, crossed over Northern Africa, and relocated in Spain, where they established a new political base in Cordoba. There, they built a number of mosques and grand palaces, many of which still stand today.Having gained a foothold in Spain, their architectural influence soon spread into Northern Europe, beginning in 12th century France, with the construction of the famed St. Denis Basilica. As with so many Gothic cathedrals to follow, the stone masons who designed and built it were Muslim craftsmen who had followed the Ulmayyads into Spain, and who passed their knowledge onto a host of European apprentices. They had long since mastered the art of stone-cutting and sophisticated building techniques that, in the centuries to follow, would lead to ever taller and more dramatic Gothic cathedrals, far surpassing anything seen up to that time.In the early chapters the author examines middle east architecture and how it evolved from ancient civilizations, and came to full flower during Islam's Golden Age (900--1300 CE). Interestingly, a number of the mosques built during this time started out as christian churches and, curiously, as rulers came and went, switched back and forth between the two faiths. A prime example is the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem, which the invading crusaders mistook for Solomon's Temple, and therefore believed it was a Christian church. Writes the author: "The Dome of the Rock represents the first power statement, a monument deliberately conceived to impress the mark of Muslim identity on Jerusalem and to proclaim Islam's dominance over the formerly Christian city." The building's magnificent golden dome was one of the engineering wonders of its day, and would prove highly influential on the many European building to follow.Another influential structure was the Hagia Sophia, originally built as a Christian church in sixth century Constantinople (modern day Istanbul). A complex structure topped by an elegant dome that dominates Istanbul's skyline, today it serves the followers of Islam as a Mosque. When designing the dome for St. Paul's cathedral, Christopher Wren used the Haglia Sophia dome as one of his models, in particular the interior framing. Such were the complexities of building a dome, the author devotes an entire chapter to how the engineering was developed and applied by master engineers, such as Christopher Wren. Wren's counter-part in the middle east was an architect and civil engineer named Mimar Sinan (1488--1588) who lived roughly a century before Wren. He was hailed as the Euclid of his time and one of its greatest engineers. Writes the author: "His contributions in the advancement of dome technology was of huge direct relevance to European architecture, since it went on not only to inform the techniques of Christopher Wren in building the dome of St. Paul's, but also to influence aspects of Italian Renaissance architecture."One of Sinan's engineering breakthroughs was the double dome--two half-shell structures--one fitting within the other, each one strengthening the other--that made giant domes such as St. Paul's possible.To Sinan and Wren the dome serves both mosque and church as a means of letting in more light, either through a central oculus or through windows in the vertical section supporting the dome, or indeed both, as at St. Paul's.The author describes the dome effect on true believers thusly: "From the inside, the worshippers could gaze up and marvel as his spirit rose, enjoying a sense of harmony and the sacred. From the outside, the dome was the embodiment of God's presence and power."Further on she writes: "Everyone built on everyone's knowledge in a constant synthesis of all the techniques and materials on hand, but East and West each interpreted their Romano-Bysantine inheritance in entirely separate ways. While European architecture after the Renaissance became endlessly focused on designing facades using the antique orders so beloved of Wren, Ottoman architecture under Sinan instead concentrated on achieving perfectly centralized unified domed spaces filled with light. Sinan's was a single-minded search for geometric purity of form, textured by masterful fenestration (i.e. the arrangement and proportion of windows) and the control of light and shade into a centralized space.The reason Middle East architects were able to build such complex structures--such as balancing a heavy dome on thinly supported walls-- was by their mastery of geometry. Indeed, Islam's Golden Age was a time of scientific advancement, financed by world trade. Through trade their ideas reached European centers of commerce such as Venice, as well as Spain and Sicily, and from there spread on into greater Europe. Another of their advancements was the development of glass, which would prove critical to the grand stain-glass windows that are the hallmark of Gothic cathedrals.The author sums up: "My purpose had been to show that no one 'owns' architecture, just as no one 'owns' science. There is no property in a scientific discovery. Everybody builds on what went on before. Once made, a discovery can be used and built upon by people from other cultures, and where it came from is, in a sense, ultimately irrelevant. When people talk about 'Greek science', 'Islamic science' or 'European science', this does not change the fact that whatever Greeks, or Muslims or Europeans discovered in the way of science is ultimately science, pure and simple. Double domes, pointed arches, ribbed vaults, etc. are all discoveries of architectural techniques that will, of course, subsequently be used and developed across cultures . . ."Except that architecture is not just science. Neither is it aesthetics. It is a deliberate choice, reflecting self-image, and in the case of public and historic buildings, it is closely tied to national identity. As such, architecture can be, and clearly already has been, co-opted into culture wars. Such wars can play out within cultures, such as the Neo-classicism versus Neo-gothic that Wren struggled with all his life when building St. Paul's which (here she quotes Wren): being contrived in the Roman style, was not so well understood and relished by others, who thought it deviated too much from the old Gothic form of cathedral churches, which they had been used to see and admire in this country. Others observed it was not stately enough and contended, that for the honor of the nation, and the city of London, it ought not to be exceeded in magnificence, by any church in Europe."Such is the price of being ahead of your time. Truly, "Stealing from the Saracens: How Islamic Architecture Shaped Europe" is a wonderful book that will absorb your imagination indefinitely, as it has mine.

This is a very interesting book. There is one annoyance: the choice of a very light 10 point serif font. In a book so richly and densely detailed that it cannot be skimmed, the typeface proves somewhat fatiguing.Many years ago, following college, I first visited Europe. I was aware of the primary differences among Romanesque, Gothic, Baroque, and the other Renaissance styles in building. I admired their beauty and the sense of awe that the buildings inspired, but I thought very little about how the architecture worked to support massive domes and spires, how much they depended on an understanding of mathematics and engineering, or how the styles arose. One course that I had taken left me with the impression that the styles were indigenous to, and unique to, Europe.I am not a scholar in the field, but my impression is as follows: This richly- and densely-argued and illustrated book presents an entirely different and fascinating picture. Ms Darke takes as her subject of inquiry churches and public buildings from the earliest European Christian churches to Sagrada Familia. Tracing the styles back to their origins in the Islamic and pre-Islamic worlds—even domes to the Crusaders’ mistaking the Dome of the Rock for Solomon’s Temple! She with many illustrations shows the ancestors of major European construction in Syria, Palestine, Eastern Turkey, and Islamic Spain. She analyzes and identifies precursors to details from the grandiose (overall intent of ground plan and positioning) to the most delicate (tracery on ribs, heraldry including the fleur de lys and lions preferred by many royalty and nobility). She points out where the construction of double domes depended on recent advances in mathematics, and explains how major problems such as lateral thrust (tendency of buildings to bow out under the weight of the roofs) were tackled and solved.I have no idea whether or not I would have appreciated it, but I would have loved to have had this knowledge and insight when I first saw these buildings. Whenever I see pictures of them, I will think of them in a new light.

I always wondered why the western media wanted 600 years of history between the Ninth and the 15th century. In this book the author gives credit to the effort of predominantly Muslim’s and some non-Muslim architect who lived during the Islamic empire in improving the architect of building. Let’s not forget as well the not contribution to science, medicine, mathematics and other sciences why scientist Muslims and then Muslim who lived In the atmosphere of corporation during delete Islamic empire. Unfortunately today Muslims anesthetic countries in general lack environment for a scientist to innovate and their mother country that’s why you see them all over the world was successful career that could not be launched in their mother country due to ignorance and bad governing. Thank you to the author and her effort to give credit where is due

A very enjoyable and very comprehensive history of architectural influences.

accidentally stumbled across a magnificent video of author lecturing about how Gothic arches and flour de lis and Notre Dame superstructures came to be in early Europe....thus learned of the incredible influences (mostly unattributed or unknown) from Saracen buildings and masons...and why it will be impossible to re-create an actually completely redone Notre Dame...the why's and how's of the challenges fascinating...so glad I found this bk!

Well written, historically accurate, printed on fine paper with high quality pictures.

Makes sense!!!

An eye opening insight into Islamic and Gothic architecture. She also dives a little abit into early Christian and Muslim history and geopolitics of the time that are also equally eye-opening. Highly recommend