Islamic Geometric Patterns

Timeline

1. c. 700–900Damascus · SyriaMosaic walls of the Great Mosque of Damascus featured basic geometric motifs such as eight-pointed stars and interlocking squares, establishing the aesthetic direction of non-figurative decoration in religious architecture.
2. c. 900–1200Córdoba · SpainThe vaults of the Great Mosque of Córdoba and Abbasid palaces at Samarra displayed more complex star and polygon combinations, with geometric patterns becoming the core decorative language of courtly and religious spaces.
3. c. 1261–1270Cairo · EgyptMadrasas and tomb facades of the Mamluk Sultanate made extensive use of star and decagonal inlay, while Ilkhanate architecture on the Persian Plateau continued the tradition of high-precision geometric decoration.
4. c. 1400Isfahan · IranAdvanced techniques such as girih tiling and fivefold symmetry developed in the Timurid and Safavid periods, and geometric patterns continued into Ottoman, Mughal, and contemporary Islamic art revival movements.