Islamic Muqarnas Decoration

Timeline

1. c. 1000–1100Cairo · EgyptFatimid architecture in Egypt already featured cornices and spandrel decorations composed of small arched shell units, regarded as an important precursor of the muqarnas system.
2. c. 1260–1270Cairo · EgyptIn the mid-13th century the Mamluk dynasty built numerous religious and charitable buildings in Cairo, where muqarnas reached a mature form of complex geometric arrangement in entrance semi-domes and above mihrabs.
3. c. 1300–1400Isfahan and Samarkand · IranArchitecture of the Ilkhanate and Timurid periods in Iran and Central Asia made extensive use of muqarnas, combined with colored tiles and double-shell domes, forming a distinctive Persian-Central Asian decorative paradigm.
4. c. 1450–1500Istanbul · TurkeyOttoman architects inherited the muqarnas tradition in mosque semi-domes and portico cornices, blending it with the empire's classical style and influencing later architecture in the Balkans and Anatolia.