Arab culture of the east. Modern Arab world

Geography of modern Arabic Arab medieval culture also developed in those countries that underwent Arabization (adopted Islam), where classical Arabic dominated for a long time as the state language.

The greatest flowering of Arab culture occurred

for the 8th–11th centuries:

1) poetry developed successfully;

2) the famous fairy tales “A Thousand and One Nights” were composed;

3) many works of ancient authors were translated.

basis religious life the inhabitants of the East were Islam. Islam (Arabic for “submission”) is the youngest of the three world religions. In the modern world, Islam is the second most followed world religion. It is a monotheistic religion, and in almost all countries with a predominantly Muslim population, Islam is the state religion. Islam arose in Arabia in the 7th century, its founder was Muhammad. This religion developed under the influence of Christianity and Judaism. Ideal shape Islamic statehood is an egalitarian secular theocracy. All believers, regardless of their social status, were equal before the divine law; imam or mullah is the leader of a common prayer, which can be led by any Muslim who knows the Koran. Legislative power is possessed only by the Koran, and executive power - religious and secular - belongs to God and is exercised through the Caliph. Main directions of Islam:

1) Sunnism;

3) Wahhabism.

The main source of Muslim doctrine is the Koran (Arabic for “reading aloud”). The second source of Muslim doctrine is the Sunnah - examples from the life of Muhammad as an example of solving religious socio-political problems.

The Koran, in addition to sermons, prayers, spells, edifying stories and parables, contains ritual and legal regulations that regulate various aspects of the life of Muslim society. In accordance with these instructions, family, legal, and property relations of Muslims are built. The most important part of Islam is Sharia - a set of norms of morality, law, cultural and other guidelines that regulate the entire public and personal life of a Muslim.

The traditional norms of behavior of Eastern society were combined with traditional thinking and mythology, an important part of which were angels and demons, or genies. Muslims were very afraid of the evil eye and believed in the immortality of the soul and the afterlife. In the Arab East, great importance was attached to dreams. Various fortune tellings were also widespread.

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  Peculiarities culture Arabic countries. Religion. Islam. Life And morals Muslims. Sharia. Geography of modern Arabic the world is amazingly diverse. Arabic medieval culture developed in those countries who have undergone Arabization...


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  Peculiarities culture Arabic countries. Religion. Islam. Life And morals Muslims. Sharia.
  Science, literature, fine arts, calligraphy and architecture Arabic countries. Since the 7th century. as applied sciences to religious disciplines are developing


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  Peculiarities culture Arabic countries. Religion. Islam. Life And morals Muslims. Sharia. Geography of modern Arabic the world is amazingly diverse. Arabic medieval culture complex... more ».


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  Peculiarities culture Arabic countries. Religion. Islam. Life And morals Muslims. Sharia. Geography of modern Arabic the world is amazingly diverse. Arabic medieval culture complex... more ».


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  Peculiarities culture Arabic countries. Religion. Islam. Life And morals Muslims. Sharia.
  Arabic medieval crops. Theatre, painting, architecture, sculpture and decorative arts of Japan culture.


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  Islam is not only faith and religion. Islam is a way of life, the Koran is “ Arab judge."
  Sharia(from Arabic sharia - the right way, road, is a complex of legal norms, principles and rules of behavior, religious life and actions Muslim.


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  Every Muslim knows Arabic sound and meaning of the Symbol religion Islam: “La ilaha illallah.
  The main task Sharia there was an assessment of various life circumstances from the point of view religion.


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  Basic religion, common in country.
  Their culture And everyday life indicate that these peoples have adapted well to life in the difficult natural conditions of the North.
  Tatars, Bashkirs, many peoples of the North Caucasus profess Islam.


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  Islam. Originated in Arabia in the 7th century, therefore it is the youngest world religion.
  Basic principles Islam set out in the Koran - the holy book Muslims(VII–VIII centuries).
  Mostly Islam covers countries East.


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The culture of the countries of the caliphate is predominantly called Arabic. This is not entirely correct, because it also included the culture of the Syrians, Egyptians, Iranians, and the peoples of Central Asia. However, the language of this culture was Arabic, and the unifying element was Islam. In addition, the Arabs used the culture and practical achievements of the conquered peoples, who were often significantly higher than them in economic and cultural development. On the basis of this heterogeneous and original alloy, the Arabs created a unique and rich culture.

Arab culture reached its greatest flourishing in the 8th-12th centuries. Many texts of pre-Islamic Arabic oral poetry were recorded during this time. New Arabic poetry continued to preserve old traditions: it glorified military victories, love, and the joy of life. An outstanding monument of the Iranian-Arab epic is the heroic poem Ferdowsi Shahnameh (Book of Kings). Main prose genres: instructive and adventure stories, fairy tales. The first monument of Arabic writing was the Koran, written in rhymed prose. In the 13th century The first edition of the famous collection of fairy tales “A Thousand and One Nights” was created.

Eastern ornament. Mid-14th century

The education system also developed rapidly. Its basis was madrasah (religious educational establishments), where one could receive secondary and higher education. Along with the Koran and Muslim theology, exact and natural sciences were also studied here. In big cities elementary education given by private teachers. In villages and small towns this function was performed by the local mullah .

The Arabs made significant contributions to the development of science. Their attitude to science is evidenced by the following proverbs: “The ink of a scientist should be valued like the blood of a martyr,” “He who gives his life to science does not die.” Places where education, science and culture were concentrated were numerous libraries filled with literature of various genres: from specialized to fiction. In the countries of the Arab Caliphate, books were relatively inexpensive.

Mosque in Cordoba. VIII century

Scribes actively worked in libraries. Those who had the talent to write exquisitely were especially valued; they were called calligraphers . Texts were written on papyrus, parchment or paper. 11paper production began in the 8th century. Muslims developed a system of different handwritings, depending on the thought that was conveyed in the text. Symbolic inscriptions were also placed on the walls of mosques, dishes, weapons, etc. The level of mastery of the art of writing was considered an indicator of a person’s education and spiritual perfection. How was a shrine and treasure valued in the Muslim world? handwritten book, decorated with ornaments and original miniatures.

The Arabs achieved amazing results in mathematics, medicine, astronomy, and geography. Arab scientists created algebra (from Arab. aljabr "order", "ordering") and improved the Indian digital system by introducing zero. And although modern numbers originated in India, they became known in Europe thanks to the Arabs, which is why they are called Arabic.

The successes of the Arabs in medicine and astronomy are amazing. Arabic textbooks on medicine were quite popular in Western Europe. Considered the luminary of medieval medicine Ibn Sina(c. 980-1037), a native of a small village near Bukhara.

Avicenna with his students. Miniature. XIV century

Europeans called him Avicenna. Ibn Sina's main work, The Medical Canon, in Latin translation was reference book doctors of medieval Europe almost until the 16th century.

Observatories functioned in many cities of the caliphate. In the 9th century. The “House of Wisdom” was created in Baghdad, where there was a library and a college of translators. Translated into Arabic here scientific texts ancient Greek, Iranian and Indian scientists in philosophy, mathematics, medicine, astronomy. It is interesting that in the XII-XIII centuries. Europeans reproduced the works of ancient scientists Archimedes, Ptolemy, Hippocrates, Plato, Aristotle not from the originals, but from Arabic translations.

The then arab art was represented primarily by architecture. The Arabs erected monumental structures: mosques, palaces, baths. The mosque was the main building of the city. It consists of two parts: a wide courtyard with a well for ritual activities and a prayer hall. The courtyard was surrounded by galleries on pillars or columns. On the side facing Mecca, a spacious prayer hall, separated by several rows of columns, adjoined the courtyard. The Koran was kept in a special niche in the wall. The appearance of the mosque complemented minaret- a high tower from which Muslims were called to prayer. A perfect architectural creation is the mosque in Cordoba in modern Spain. Material from the site

In the Spanish city of Granada, the luxurious medieval Alhambra palace has been preserved (with Arab.- red). The origin of its name is told by an old legend, according to which the builders built the palace continuously, day and night, lighting huge fires, the flames of which were reflected on its walls. It was built in the XIII-XIV centuries. and is a decoration of Muslim architecture. The rulers of Granada tried to give the Alhambra real oriental luxury, to dazzle the whole world with its brilliance. The palace is surrounded by green gardens, among which fountains sparkle with pearly streams and play sun rays transparent pools. On the territory of the Alhambra there are many courtyards for relaxation, as well as for guests and ambassadors. The Lion Court is especially striking in its sophistication. In its center there is a fountain surrounded by 12 marble lions. According to legend, 12 lions held the throne of King Solomon. They say that when the Spanish royal army approached Granada, the 16-year-old ruler, looking at the Alhambra from a distant mountain pass, burst into tears. It pained him to watch the flag of the Christian king rise over the palace. The mother’s words added to the bitterness: “You mourn like a woman for what you couldn’t protect like a warrior.”

Mullah (from Arab.maula - master) - in Islam the lowest rank of a minister of a religious cult among Muslims. He often also served as a teacher and judge.

Alhambra - a fortress-palace built by the Arabs in XIII-X1st century near Granada. Occupies an area of ​​3.5 square meters. km. Numerous courtyards, halls, galleries, pavilions, towers located near two courtyards: the “myrtle courtyard” and the “lion courtyard”.

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On this page there is material on the following topics:

• presentation on the theme of the Middle Ages of Arab countries
• essay on the topic "Arab art"
• culture of the arab world

Medieval Arab culture refers to the culture of the tribes that inhabited the Arabian Peninsula, as well as those countries that, as a result of wars, were Arabized and adopted Islam. By the beginning of the 8th century AD. The Arabs subjugated Iran, Iraq, Syria, Palestine, Egypt, part of the territory of North Africa, Transcaucasia, and Spain. However, having absorbed the culture of the Persians, Syrians, Jews, and other peoples who inhabited the conquered lands, the Arab-Muslim culture remained united. The leading link was Islam.
II. Culture of the East.

Since the main part of the Arabian Peninsula was steppes, deserts and semi-deserts, very little of the land was suitable for agriculture. The bulk of the population were Bedouin nomads who called themselves Arabs. The horse and camel troops of the Bedouin nomads were a formidable force with which the local residents reckoned. Engaging in robbery of caravans of townspeople, attacking villages, the nomads considered the looted property their legitimate prey. However, harsh natural conditions required both of them to exert maximum effort in order to survive, and the main life values ​​were activity, enterprise and the ability to deny oneself everything. Among nomadic tribes at the beginning of the 7th century AD. and Islam was born - a world religion that spread very quickly and was accepted by all the inhabitants of Arabia.

The founder of Islam is a real person - the Prophet Muhammad (Magomed, Muhammad), whose biography every Muslim knows.
Muhammad was orphaned early and was raised first by his grandfather, then by his uncle, who was a wealthy merchant. At the age of 25, Muhammad began working for a 40-year-old widow with several children. The woman was engaged in trade - she organized caravans with goods to sell them in neighboring countries. Soon they got married. It was a love match and they had four daughters.
Muhammad received his first revelations in a dream - in one night he visited Jerusalem and returned, ascended to heaven and performed many other miracles. Muhammad received from the angel Gabriel, the Messenger of Allah, the Koran along with the ability to read it. Muhammad based all his actions on revelations received from Allah in a state of ecstasy or in visions. Revelations became more and more frequent, and in 610 he preached for the first time in Mecca. The number of his like-minded people grew slowly; in 622 Muhammad left Mecca and, together with his supporters, moved to Medina, the city of the prophet. From this moment the Muslim calendar begins. The inhabitants of Medina immediately recognized Muhammad as their religious and political leader and supported him in his quest to defeat Mecca. In 630, after the complete victory of Medina, Muhammad returned to Mecca, which became the center of Islam. Having carried out many campaigns of conquest, the formed theocratic state - the Arab Caliphate - significantly expanded its territories and quickly spread Islam there. Islam becomes the state religion of the Arab East.
Every Muslim, educated and illiterate, knows the basics of religion. The briefest summary of the main dogma of Islam is contained in the 112th sura (chapter) of the Koran: “In the name of Allah, the merciful, the merciful! Say: “He is Allah alone, Allah is mighty. He did not give birth and was not begotten, and there was no one like him, ever.” According to Muslim doctrine, people who do not profess Islam are “infidels,” among them Jews and Christians are especially distinguished as ahl al-kitab, that is, “people of the Book.” According to the Koran, they supposedly believe in the same god as Muslims. This god sent his messengers to them too - Adam, Noah, Abraham, Lot, Moses (Musa), David, Solomon, Jesus (Isa), who brought the word of God to people. But people distorted and forgot what they were taught. That's why Allah sent Muhammad, his last prophet, to the people with God's word - the Koran. It was like the last attempt to guide people on the righteous path, final warning, after which the end of the world and the Judgment must come, when all people will be rewarded for their deeds - they will end up in the gardens of paradise or in hellfire. Almost every Muslim also knows the “five pillars” of Islam, the five main duties of a believer. One of them is prayer (salat), consisting of a series of bows, accompanied by the recitation of various religious formulas. Muhammad borrowed the custom of prayer from the Jews. A Muslim is prescribed five prayers a day; You can do them at home, in the mosque, and in the field. Prayer is preceded by ritual ablution. To do this, it was enough to touch water, sand, and earth. Friday is the day of universal prayer, when all Muslims must gather for collective prayer in the main mosque of the city, village, or district.
Another ritual obligation of a Muslim is fasting (sawm) during the month of Ramadan. It consisted of abstaining from food, drink and entertainment. All the time of every Muslim should be devoted to Allah, occupied with prayers, reading the Koran and religious works, and pious reflections. It was the main and obligatory for all believers, except for the sick, traveling, etc. The end of the month of Ramadan and, accordingly, a month of fasting is celebrated with the holiday of breaking the fast, the second most important holiday in Islam.
In addition to the restrictions associated with fasting, there are a large number of prohibitions in Islam that regulate various aspects of a Muslim’s life. It is forbidden for a Muslim to drink alcoholic beverages, eat pork, or gamble. Islam prohibits usury. The duty of every Muslim (with the caveat - if he has the physical and material opportunity) is also hajj - a pilgrimage to Mecca, primarily to the Kaaba, the main shrine of Islam. The Kaaba is a small building, in the southwestern corner of which is built a “black stone” (a meteorite kept here since ancient times) - according to legend, sent by Allah from heaven to people as a sign of his power and favor.
The pilgrimage takes place in the month of Dhu-l-Hijjah, which, like Ramadan, is a month of the lunar calendar and therefore falls at different times of the year. Pilgrims, wearing special white clothes and undergoing a ritual purification ceremony, make a solemn circumambulation around the Kaaba and drink water from the nearby sacred Zamzam spring. This is followed by solemn processions and prayers in the hills and valleys around Mecca, associated with the legend of the stay of the forefather Ibrahim, the first preacher of monotheism, in those places.
This is the Holy Kaaba in Mecca and the Forbidden Mosque around it.

Hajj ends with the holiday of Eid al-Adha, during which sacrificial animals are slaughtered in memory of the sacrifice made by Ibrahim to Allah. The end of the Hajj is important Muslim holiday, which is celebrated with prayers and sacrifices throughout the Muslim world. People who have performed Hajj bear the honorific nickname Hajj or Hajj and are respected by their relatives in their native places.
The Koran, overflowing with a mass of truly beautiful moral teachings, life rules, suitable for every occasion, involuntarily attracted the hearts of people. On its basis and taking into account pre-Islamic traditions, the law of inheritance, guardianship, as well as the rule of marriage and divorce were developed.
For the middle class, monogamy was the norm. Noble and rich people had many slave-concubines, which was not considered shameful. All caliphs of the 4th (10th) century. mothers were slaves. No one forbade widows from remarrying, but public opinion looked at this extremely disapprovingly. According to old Arab customs, girls were not counted when indicating the number of children in a family, but it became customary to wish happiness at the birth of a daughter. The poet Bashar mourned the death of his daughter in touching verses:

O daughter of the one who did not want to have a daughter!
You were only five or six when you rested
from breathing. And my heart burst with anguish.
You would be better than the boy who
He drinks in the morning and debauchery at night.

The man was considered the absolute leader. God's blessing lay on sons, so only after the birth of a son was a person considered complete. The man had to take care of the elders and the younger ones; he had to be persistent, purposeful, generous, be ready for any adversity and trials, be able to love and have fun.
It can be reliably said that the costume of a Bedouin Arab is still the same today as it was in ancient times: rough sandals, a sling, a bow and a spear constitute the main parts of his necessary accessories. However, in the cities things were different. The general desire of Asians for luxury influenced the Arabs at that time. Having won, they began to use the crafts of the vanquished. Having established new trade relations, the Arabs received rare materials and fabrics from China and India, furs from Russia, skins, peacock feathers, ivory from Africa, and gold and precious stones from Spain. Local manufacturing of silk, linen, paper yarns and fabrics performed wonders. The Arabs were the first to introduce neatness in clothing, using underwear, washable linen. Representatives of the authorities wore several clothes, which distinguished them from representatives of the lower classes. On their heads they wore a turban, which was very skillfully wrapped around the head, and the ends sometimes flowed over the shoulders. The panache was limited by the high cost of the fabric, and not by the style of the dress. And the main chic was the frequent changes of clothes during celebrations. Clothes were sometimes changed up to seven times during the celebration. The man cared primarily about his hair and weapons; the only jewelry he wore was a ring. The respect that the peoples of the East have for a man’s beard is the merit of Mohammed. Any desecration of her was considered the most terrible insult. But the Arabs began to shave their heads, leaving only a tuft of hair on the top of the head.

Despite the prohibition of the Koran, dice were played everywhere. At that time, theologians had already come to terms with chess, but cursed backgammon because of its gambling nature. The Prophet’s saying was often quoted: and “Three amusements are accompanied by angels: the intercourse of a man and a woman, horse racing and shooting competitions.” Theologians recognized horse racing - but only without betting! And the most noble sport was considered, as in our time, polo - a game of ball on horseback, allowing one to demonstrate masterly skill in controlling a horse. The passion for hunting never waned: noble people hunted lions, of which there were plenty in Iraq and Egypt.
Also, despite the prohibitions of Islam, wine was always drunk in all regions. It is mentioned in passing about Caliph al-Wasiq that when his beloved slave died, he grieved for her so much that he did not even drink wine. But even the most immoral people could not admit that wine could be drunk during dinner: drinking wine was not considered part of the meal. The places where alcoholic drinks were sold (the so-called “zucchini”) were kept mainly by Christians. They drank even in the highest religious circles. From time to time, a wave of piety swept over the entire Islamic world: the caliphs suddenly forbade the sale of wine, and the Hanbalites walked around the city and destroyed the taverns and houses of those people who had alcoholic drinks. But such a faithful reaction was short-lived.
The feast usually opened with snacks - olives and pistachios, sugar cane soaked in rose water, and apples were served. The art of cooking was a huge success. Already at that time, the first books on cooking and diet were written, which were widely distributed. The basis of the diet was wheat bread, milk and meat - lamb. The most common fish were sturgeon and tuna, fruits included grapes, apples, pomegranates, but lemons and oranges were very rare. Dates were also grown, which were consumed and exported in huge quantities.
Syria and North Africa supplied the entire Muslim world with olive oil.

Because most of Arab countries are located in a hot climate zone, the main task when building homes for people was to escape the extreme summer heat. The houses had underground floors equipped with running water, where they moved in the summer. Wet felt was very common: felt screens were stretched, onto which water flowed from above through laid pipes. The water wet the felt, evaporated and provided coolness. The spoiled inhabitants of Baghdad were even considered unsuited to military action because “they were accustomed to houses on the banks of the river, to wine, ice, wet felt and singers.”
The rooms in the houses were practically empty. The only furniture was a chest used to store clothes and a lot of pillows. Of course, there were no chairs - people sat directly on the floor, which is why carpets were given such great importance. The table was brought in only during meals, already set, and often it was a solid slab of beautiful ornamental stone or a rare type of wood.
Medieval Arab architecture absorbed the traditions of the countries they conquered - Greece, Rome, Iran, Spain. Actually, when starting a conversation about Arab architecture and painting, it should be noted that according to the Koran, the image of any animal form was considered the work of Satan. The lack of depiction of living forms constricted the artistic freedom of Arab artists. Eastern fantasy, and at the same time the absence of living images of fantasy, allowed their artistic thought to play out to the most unbridled grace. From the 10th century buildings began to be decorated with elegant and geometric patterns, which included rhythmically repeating patterns and stylized inscriptions - Arabic script. Europeans gave this ornament the name “arabesque”. The influence of Islam led to the underdevelopment of painting and sculpture in Arab culture, and therefore fine art went into carpeting, the characteristic features of which were patterns and flowers. The Arabs' favorite color was red - it was the color of women, children and joy; white, black and purple were considered the colors of mourning, green signifying exceptional prestige. Grey colour despised.
After the Arab conquest of the Iberian Peninsula and the formation of a new caliphate there, the capital of Cordoba, which also became the seat of the new caliphate, quickly transformed and achieved the highest degree of prosperity under the control of the Arabs. All the streets of the city were perfectly paved and illuminated by burning lanterns. Arab dwellings with balconies of polished marble hanging over orange gardens, cascades of water, colored glass - Europeans had never seen such luxury. “The luxury of the Arabs went so far that in winter the rooms were heated with warm air, perfumed in hiding places. Huge chandeliers descended from the ceilings, some containing more than a thousand lights. Lemonwood furniture inlaid with mother-of-pearl and ivory sat on Persian rugs, interspersed with gorgeous indoor flowers and exotic plants. The libraries contained books decorated with vignettes of extraordinary taste and elegance (miracles of calligraphy, which warned the popes’ book depositories with their appearance). Caliph Alhakem possessed a library of such size that one catalog contained forty volumes. The court splendor was absolutely fabulous. Reception halls were often lined with gold and pearls. The number of palace servants was more than 6 thousand people. The caliph's own guard, who wore golden sabers, numbered 12 thousand people. Harem women were examples of beauty throughout the Mediterranean coast. The Arabs were the first gardeners in Europe; all the most valuable fruits were brought to Europe by them. Fish were bred in artificial pools. They kept huge poultry houses and menageries.
The Arabs found the art of weapon making at its peak. Damascus steel was already widely known all over the world at that time, and the Arabs, with the imagination inherent in their Asian imagination, only had to take care of the appearance of the weapon. Placing patterns on steel (damascusing) increased the value of the weapon many times over.
And baths were a tradition of the Greco-Roman world that was picked up by Muslims with particular enthusiasm. Baths, where people went not only to swim, but also to socialize, became an indispensable part of every city. There were about 5 thousand baths in Baghdad (historians consider the above figures to be clearly overestimated). Interior decoration These public institutions were far from Muslim, and religious people were clearly suspicious of them and their visitors, considering them breeding grounds for an irreligious and hedonistic spirit. However, Muslim culture preserved this custom until modern times.
The science.
In the 30s of the VIII century. Muslims conquered Egypt, most of Byzantium, Iran, and then North Africa and Spain, and advanced to Central Asia and India. The Arabs, who had been in “stagnation” for so long, were moved from their place by a sudden push. With such a powerful impulse of the nation, science and art flourished, and, moreover, art in the full splendor of a southern flower with all the fantasy of a purely Asian imagination. War makes the people live more feverishly, their thoughts work more energetically. The Arabs quickly advanced in mental development.
In the Middle Ages there were many people who knew the Koran by heart. Every Muslim should read and know this great book, and, because. it was forbidden to translate it from Arabic into other languages, this led to the spread of the Arabic language, which, along with Islam, is a powerful factor uniting all Arab countries.
Much attention was paid in schools to the study of the native language, and that is why there were so many excellent grammarians among the Arabs. The first Arabic alphabet (South Arabic) dates back to 800 BC. e. Since then, writing in the South Arabic language has continuously developed until the 6th century. n. e. The northern Arabs used the written language Aramaic, which is related to Arabic. The earliest North Arabic inscription in the Arabic alphabet is dated 328 AD. e. There was a wealth of poetry in the North Arabic language, testifying to the high ancient culture of the Arabs. It was then that the first explanatory dictionaries appeared (sometimes in 60 volumes), which explained the meaning of each word. Poetry had all the newest small forms: satire, lyricism, elegy. Thanks to the wealth, luxury and flexibility of language, the Arabs introduced rhyme into their work. The art of rhyming in big cities became a court craft. The poets, among whom there were women, sometimes even the daughters of caliphs, also acted as literary critics. In the VIII-X centuries. Many works of pre-Islamic Arabic oral poetry were recorded. In the 9th century. 2 collections “Hamasa” (“Songs of Valor”) were compiled, which included poems by more than 500 Old Arabic poets. For all the Arabs' admiration for poetry, their attitude towards poets was not unambiguous. They believed that the inspiration that helps them write poetry comes from demons and devils: they eavesdrop on the conversations of angels and then tell priests and poets about them. Because The Arabs were not at all interested in the specific personality of the poet - it was enough to know whether his talent was great and whether his ability to clairvoyance was strong; not all the great poets of the Arab East have been preserved complete and reliable information.

The outstanding poet of that time was Abu Nuwas (between 747-762 - between 813-815), who, masterfully mastering the form of verse, sang love, cheerful feasts and laughed at the then fashionable passion for old Bedouin poems. It was a time of courtly culture; The cult of love passion was maintained at a high level both at court and in the circles of the urban intelligentsia. In the love songs of Abu Nuwas there is a longing for boys as much as for girls. At court, everyone without exception had a passion for boys; Abu Nuwas' fans even indignantly rejected rumors that he once fell in love with some woman. The fashion for homosexuality flourished.
I would like to note the work of Abul-Ala al Maari (973-1057/58), who was considered the pinnacle of Arab medieval culture. Having suffered from smallpox at the age of 4 and going blind, he was able to overcome his weakness: he studied the Koran, theology, Islamic law, ancient Arabic traditions and modern poetry. He also knew Greek philosophy, mathematics, astronomy; one can sense colossal erudition in his works. Traveling a lot, he was a constant seeker of truth and justice. The mystery of life and death, the depravity of man and society are the main themes of his lyrics. He considered the presence of evil and suffering in the world to be inevitable laws of existence (book of lyrics “The Obligation of the Optional”, “Message of Forgiveness”, “Message of Angels”).
Golden wax candle
In the face of grief, like me, she is patient.

She will smile at you for a long time,
Even though she is dying, she is resigned to fate.

And without words she says: “People, don’t believe me,
That I am crying out of fear in anticipation of death.

Isn't that what happens to you sometimes?
That tears of laughter will roll from your eyes?”

That love of the Arabs for fairy tales, which manifested itself in such a luxurious form even under the steppe tents, did not die here either: by the evening fire, wandering storytellers and poets unfolded to the full breadth of the eastern imagination, and the folded X-XV centuries. the collection of Arabian tales "A Thousand and One Nights" give us a clear understanding of the playfulness of their thoughts. The collection is based on revised plots from Persian, Indian, Greek legends, as well as Arabic tales. These are tales about Ali Baba, Aladdin, Sinbad the Sailor. The favorite character of medieval Arabic literature was the Bedouin - daring and cautious, crafty and simple-minded, the keeper of pure Arabic speech.
Enduring world fame brought to Omar Khayyam (1048-1122), the Persian poet, philosopher, mathematician, his rubai - a collection of quatrains glorifying earthly joys and reminders of the frailty of the world. Each quatrain is a laconic and witty discussion about the meaning of life, about the world and about people, often they have an openly anti-God connotation. Everyone will be able to find lines from Khayyam that are consonant with his own worldview. Here are the most popular and frequently quoted rubai:
*
To live your life wisely, you need to know a lot,
Two important rules remember for starters:
You'd rather starve than eat anything
And it’s better to be alone than with just anyone.
*
My enemies call me a philosopher,
However, God knows, their judgment is wrong.
I am much more insignificant - because nothing is clear to me,
It’s not even clear why or who I am here.
*
When you are at the table, like a close family,
Sit down again - I ask you, oh friends,
Remember a friend and tip the cup
I was in the place where I sat among you.

Orientalists believe that the dawn of Arabic poetry falls on the 7th-9th centuries: during this period, the developing Arab world stood at the head of world civilization. From the 12th century the level of cultural life is declining.
The research of Arab scientists made a significant contribution to many sciences.
The largest work on optics written in the Middle Ages was the Book of Optics by Ibn al-Haytham. Ibn al-Haytham criticizes the idea of ​​visual rays and assumes that light rays propagate from a light source. Based on the study of the anatomy of the eye, the lens of which was considered the main organ of vision, the scientist examines the mechanism of vision. Next, visual perception and optical illusions are discussed, the reflection of light from flat, spherical, cylindrical and conical mirrors and the refraction of light are studied in great detail. Ibn al-Haytham's optical research was based on exceptionally high experimental accuracy and extensive use of mathematical proofs. In addition to the “Book of Optics,” he wrote a number of optical treatises, in particular, “The Book of the Incendiary Sphere,” which underlies the theory of lenses. The Book of Optics was soon translated into Latin language and formed the basis for optical research by scientists of the 13th-14th centuries.
Being engaged in agriculture and cattle breeding, the Arabs first of all needed to know the exact timing of various agricultural works, be able to calculate the size of fields, volumes and areas of dams and canals. To this end, they constantly monitored the movements and changes in the starry sky. Although the astronomical knowledge of the Arabs was closely intertwined with the religious-astronomical view and was under their strong influence, the Arabs at that time already had a clear idea of ​​astronomical geography. Suffice it to say that most of the star names used by astronomers are corruptions of Arabic names; From the Arabic language, which was the main language of science in the countries of Islam, such astronomical terms as zenith, azimuth, almucantarates and alidada were borrowed, and some terms, such as the astrolabe or the title of Ptolemy’s work “Almagest” came to us through the Arabs and We use it in a form close to Arabic (asturlab, al-Majisti). The Arabic names of stars we borrow are also divided into Old Arabic names given to the stars by Arab nomads in the pre-Islamic era, and translations into Arabic of the names of the stars of the Ptolemaic constellations. The first include Tselbalrai ( Ophiuchus) - from qalb ar-ra’y - “Shepherd’s dog” (the Arabs called the star  Ophiuchus the Shepherd), etc.
During the first centuries after the Arab conquest of the territories that became part of the Arab caliphate, scientists of the conquered countries could only work in the capital of the caliphate, Baghdad, or Damascus, which was the capital of the caliphate before Baghdad. The caliphs of the second dynasty, the Abbasids, al-Mansur and Harun al-Rashid, deeply respecting learning, invited foreign sages to Baghdad. From the 9th century In the Arab Caliphate, a unique mathematical culture began to take shape. Here the methods of Greek mathematics were applied to solve astronomical problems. It was the needs of astronomy that led to the rapid development of algebra and trigonometry.
In the VIII-IX centuries. in the Arab Caliphate they already used the Indian decimal positional system. The treatise “On Indian Counting” is the first Arabic work in which the new Indian numbering was first mentioned; and since it came to Europe through the Arabs, it began to be called Arabic. The author of this work was the outstanding scientist Muhammad bin Musa al-Khwarizmi. The rules for working with decimal numbers are called “algorithms” - from the Latin form of the name al-Khwarizmi. The foundations of algebra as a science were laid by al-Khorezmi’s work “Kitab al-jabr wal-mukabala” (“Book of restoration and opposition”). Solving linear, square, cubic and indeterminate equations, extraction of roots of the third, fourth and fifth powers became the main achievements of Arabic algebra. Al-Khwarizmi's algebraic treatise was also used in life for practical purposes, for example, in the division of property. Muslim law then provided for a complex system of inheritance, according to which the relatives of the deceased received their share of the inheritance depending on the degree of kinship. However, al-Khwarizmi studied not only mathematics. The list of his works also includes a treatise on astronomy, in which he examines the movement of the Sun, Moon and five planets, gives rules for measuring latitudes and longitudes, determines the dimensions of the solar disk, and talks about solar and lunar eclipses.
The famous poet and mathematician Omar Khayyam authored the algebraic work “Treatise on Proofs of Algebra Problems,” in which algebra now appears as an independent science. The subject of algebra is unknown numbers or unknown quantities related to known numbers and sizes. Their relationships are written in equation form. Thus, algebra is considered as the science of equations, which we now call algebraic. In his geometric work, Khayyam examines the theory of parallel lines and the theory of relations. He owns the expression: “If two straight lines approach each other, then they must intersect.”
Arab mathematicians were the first to study all trigonometric functions and compiled tables of sines of angles with an interval of 10’, and with amazing accuracy - up to 1/604. Using trigonometric functions, they studied the relationships between the sides and angles of triangles.
III. Conclusion.
The entire medieval Arab culture, way of life and way of life of people developed under the influence of Islam, which arose on the Arabian Peninsula.
Based on the creation of a common cultural space Islam and the artistic traditions of the conquered peoples enriched each other. The greatest flowering of Arab medieval culture occurred in the 7th – 9th centuries. Various genres of poetry are rapidly developing, such as: qasida, rubai, gazelle, kyta, dastan. Many works of other peoples, in particular ancient authors, have been translated into Arabic.
The influence of Islam had a negative impact on the development of the Arab culture of painting and sculpture. The aversion from idols excluded the possibility of creating any animal form; The Arabs once and for all renounced the visible image of God. As a richly gifted people, having found themselves deprived of a huge branch of art - sculpture and painting, they realized all the revelry of their imagination in architecture and ornament.
The Arabs made a significant contribution to the development of sciences: medicine, philosophy, mathematics, astronomy. After scientific Arabic treatises were translated into Latin, many ideas of Muslim scientists became the property of European and then world science.
Islam is the youngest of the three world religions, the importance of which is steadily growing.

IV. Used Books.

1. P.P. Gnedich: “History of Art from Ancient Times”; Moscow, LLC Publishing House"Chronicle-M", 2000, pp. 225-252.
2. A.N. Markova: Textbook on cultural studies, “History of world culture”; Moscow, Publishing House "Culture and Sport", 2000, pp. 249-261.
3. Zolotko A.K., et al.: “2000 great people. Small Encyclopedia of Personalities"; Kharkov, Thorsing LLC, 2001, pp. 357, 422, 428.
4. Omar Khayyam: “How wonderful is the sweet face”, Moscow, Eksmo-Press Publishing House, 2000, pp. 4-25.
5. Encyclopedia for children, Mathematics, volume 11; Moscow, Avanta+ publishing house, 2000, pp. 62-66.

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Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Kazakhstan

Kazakh Head Academy of Architecture and Civil Engineering

Essay

On the topic of:“The emergence of Arab culture, features and trends in Islamic architecture”

Completed by: master's student gr. MArkh 14-2 Kadyrova R.

Checked by: Assoc.Prof. Zhamalov K.Zh.

Almaty 2015

Art of Medieval Egypt

Architecture

art

Conclusion

Culture and art of Arab peoples

The peoples of the Arab East have an important place in the cultural history of mankind. It is no coincidence that medieval geographers called the Arab East the breast of the world: the heart of world civilization beat here for many centuries. Arab medieval culture developed in Arabia, Iraq, Syria, Palestine, Egypt and North Africa, as well as in Southern Spain during the existence of the Cordoba Caliphate and Arab principalities there. Medieval Arab culture at one time was a major step forward in the progressive development of mankind. The great merit of the peoples of the Arab East was that they preserved (especially in the field of science) and passed on to subsequent generations many valuable achievements of antiquity.

In historical science, the correct idea of ​​​​Arab culture was not immediately developed. In the last century, and even now, among many bourgeois scientists there was a widespread erroneous opinion that in all countries that were part of the Arab Caliphate in the 7th-9th centuries and adopted Islam, there was a single “Arab” culture. This understanding of Arab culture, uncritically following the medieval one Muslim tradition, leads to the denial of the independence of cultural development of Iranians, Azerbaijanis, Uzbeks, Tajiks and many other peoples in the Middle Ages. In fact, in the countries with a non-Arab population that were part of the caliphate, local cultures developed, based on ancient traditions, which, like the culture of the Arabs, were a valuable contribution to the development of medieval civilization. Of course, between the peoples of the Near and Middle East in the Middle Ages there was a complex and important interaction for their culture, which gave rise to common features.

The culture of the peoples who inhabited the Arabian Peninsula has been known since ancient times. Ancient geographers called southern, agricultural Arabia “happy.” Here from the middle of the first millennium BC. there were rich states: Minaan, and later Sabaean. In the first millennium BC. In the northwestern part of the peninsula (the so-called “rocky Arabia”) the Nabataean state arose. The prosperity of these kingdoms was determined by their favorable economic position on world routes of communication and extensive intermediary trade with Egypt, Western Asia and India.

The architecture and art of the ancient South Arab states, which have not yet been sufficiently studied, are by their type included in the circle of cultures of the slave-holding societies of Western Asia. The remains of powerful fortifications, dams and cisterns, as well as works of sculpture and applied arts. On the stone steles covered with writings there are images of people, animals and ornaments.

Since ancient times, the bulk of the population of Arabia were nomads engaged in cattle breeding in the steppes and semi-deserts of the peninsula. The deep and complex process of class stratification within Arab society and the political situation associated with the struggle between Iran and Byzantium created the conditions for the emergence of a medieval Arab state. The political unification of the Arabs at the beginning of the 7th century took place under the auspices of a new, which soon became a world religion - Islam. The original place of residence of the founder of Islam and the head of the Arab state - the Prophet Muhammad and his successors - the caliphs (hence the name of the state - caliphate) were the Arabian cities of Medina, and then Mecca.

In the 7th century, the Arabs conquered Palestine, Syria, Mesopotamia, Egypt and Iran. In 661, Muawiyah, the Arab governor of Syria, seized power and began the Umayyad dynasty. Damascus became the capital of the Umayyads. At the end of the 7th and beginning of the 8th centuries, a gigantic territory was annexed to the caliphate, which included the Iberian Peninsula and all of North Africa in the west, Transcaucasia and Central Asia to the borders of India in the east.

The Arab Caliphate became a large early feudal state, although in some of its areas slavery and even primitive communal relations persisted for a long time. The Arab nobility brutally exploited the peasants and artisans of the conquered countries. Victorious military campaigns and the successes of the new religion could not hide the growth of class contradictions. The struggle of the broad masses of people against feudal oppression resulted in powerful uprisings and often went under the slogan of liberation from foreign yoke. Already in the 9th-10th centuries, social upheavals essentially caused the disintegration of the caliphate into separate states.

At the same time, the creative forces of the peoples that were part of the Arab Caliphate, awakened by the liberation and class struggle, led to a high rise in the medieval culture of the Near and Middle East; its flourishing continued even when the caliphate as a single whole actually no longer existed.

The Arab Caliphate included countries that were at different levels of social development and had different cultural and artistic traditions. However, the similarity in the forms of development of feudalism in the Near and Middle East gave rise to common features in ideology and other superstructural phenomena. These deep socio-economic reasons, and not the spread of religion - Islam - lie at the basis of the unity that also takes place in the medieval culture of the Arab countries.

An important role in the development of Arab culture was played by its interaction with the high medieval culture of Iran, Central Asia and Transcaucasia. Arabic was not only the language of the Muslim holy book, the Koran, but, like Latin in Western Europe, it was used by many scientists, writers and poets in all parts of the multilingual caliphate. The history of the literature of the peoples of the East has preserved striking examples of creative interaction. The artistic creativity of many peoples was embodied in the famous poem “Leila and Majnun”. The romantic image of Majnun dying of love and his beloved Leyla - the Romeo and Juliet of the East - born at the dawn of feudalism in the Arab environment, inspired the creation of wonderful works by the best poets of medieval Azerbaijan, Iran and Central Asia.

However, not only interaction and a certain commonality are important, but also the high level of culture of the peoples of the Near and Middle East for that time. In the 9th-13th centuries, Arab, as well as Iranian, Azerbaijani and Central Asian cities were the largest centers of learning, famous for their libraries, schools, universities and other educational institutions. Popular sayings of that time are typical: “The greatest adornment of a person is knowledge” or “The ink of a scientist is as worthy of respect as the blood of a martyr.” It is not surprising, therefore, that the 12th-century Syrian writer Osama ibn Munkyz, the author of the “Book of Edification,” assessed the morals of the modern Franks, which he had to encounter not only in the military field, but also in peaceful life, from the position of a person of immeasurably greater culture.

Religion had a certain influence on the development of medieval art of the Arabs, as well as other peoples who professed Islam. The spread of Islam marked the abandonment of old, pre-feudal religions and the establishment of monotheism - the belief in one God. The Muslim idea of ​​the world as a single whole created by God was important for the formation of the aesthetic idea of ​​a certain, albeit abstract, harmony of the universe, characteristic of the medieval era. At the same time, Islam, like all medieval religions, ideologically justified and consolidated feudal exploitation. The dogmas of the Koran darkened the consciousness of man and hindered his development. However, the views of the people of the medieval East on the world, including their artistic views, cannot be reduced to religious ideas. The worldview of the Middle Ages man contradictorily combined idealistic and materialistic tendencies, scholasticism and the desire to understand reality. One of the greatest scientists and philosophers of the medieval East, Abu Ali ibn Sina (Avicenna), recognized the divine origin of the universe and at the same time argued that scientific and philosophical knowledge exists independently of religious faith. Ibn Sina, Ibn Rushd (Averroes), Ferdowsi, Navoi and many other outstanding thinkers of the medieval East, in whose works and poetic works the progressive features of the era were especially clearly manifested, affirmed the power of human will and reason, the value and wealth of the real world, although, as a rule, , did not openly speak from an atheistic position.

When we're talking about about the influence of Islam on fine art, they usually point to the prohibition of depicting living beings under pain of religious punishment. There is no doubt that from its very inception the teachings of Islam contained an iconoclastic tendency associated with the overcoming of polytheism. In the Koran, idols (most likely, sculptural images of ancient tribal gods) are called “an obsession of Satan.” Religious tradition resolutely rejected the possibility of depicting a deity. It was also not allowed to place images of people in mosques and other religious buildings. The Koran and other theological books were decorated only with ornaments. However, initially in Islam there was no prohibition on depicting living beings, formulated as a religious law. Only later, probably in the 9th-10th centuries, the iconoclastic tendency of Islam was used to prohibit a certain category of images on pain of punishment in the afterlife. “Unfortunate is the one,” we read in the commentaries to the Koran, “who will portray Living being! On the day of the last trial, the persons whom the artist presented will leave the picture and come to him demanding that he give them a soul. Then this man, who cannot give souls to his creatures, will be burned in eternal flame”; “Beware of depicting gentlemen or people, and paint only trees, flowers and inanimate objects.”

History has shown that these restrictions, which left their mark on the development of certain types of art, did not matter in all Muslim countries and were strictly carried out only during periods of particularly intensified ideological reaction.

However, the explanation of the main features of the medieval art of the Arab peoples should not be sought in religion, which influenced but did not determine its development. The content of the artistic creativity of the peoples of the Arab East, its paths and features were determined by the pace of new ideological and aesthetic tasks, which were put forward by the progressive development of society that entered the era of feudalism.

The specifics of medieval art in the Arab countries, as well as throughout the Near and Middle East, are very complex. It reflected the living content of reality, but, like the entire culture of the Middle Ages, deeply imbued with a religious and mystical worldview, it did this in a conditional, often symbolic form, developing its own special figurative language for works of art.

The innovation of Arabic medieval literature and at the same time its vital basis is characterized by an appeal to the spiritual world of man, the creation of moral ideals that had universal significance.

The fine art of the Arab East is also imbued with great figurative power. However, just as literature used predominantly a conventional form to embody its images, so in the fine arts the life content was expressed special language decorative arts.

The conventionality of the “language” of medieval fine art among most peoples was associated with the principle of decorativeness, characteristic not only of external forms, but also of the structure itself, the figurative structure of a work of art. The wealth of decorative imagination and its masterful implementation in applied art, miniatures and architecture constitute an integral and valuable quality of the remarkable works of artists of that era.

In the art of the Arab East, decorativeness acquired especially bright and original features, becoming the basis of the figurative structure of painting and giving rise to the richest art of pattern, which has a complex ornamental rhythm and often increased coloristic sonority. Within the narrow framework of the medieval worldview, the artists of the Arab East found their way to embody the richness of the life around them. By the rhythm of the pattern, its “carpet-like quality,” the subtle plasticity of ornamental forms, and the unique harmony of bright and pure colors, they expressed great aesthetic content.

The image of a person was not excluded from the attention of artists, although appeal to it was limited, especially during the period of increasing religious prohibitions. Images of people fill out illustrations in manuscripts and are often found in patterns on objects of applied art; Monuments of monumental painting with multi-figure scenes and sculptural reliefs are also known. However, even in such works human image subordinated to the general decorative solution. Even when they endowed human figures with many vital features, the artists of the Arab East interpreted them in a flat, conventional way. In applied art, human figures are most often included in the ornament; they lose the meaning of an independent image, becoming an integral part of the pattern.

Ornament - “music for the eyes” - plays a very important role in the medieval art of the peoples of the Arab East. It to a certain extent compensates for the visual limitations of some types of art and is one of the important means of expressing artistic content. Based on classical ancient motifs, the arabesque, which became widespread in the countries of the medieval East, was a new type of ornamental composition that allowed the artist to fill planes of any shape with a complex, woven, lace-like pattern. Initially, arabesque was dominated by plant motifs. Later, girikh became widespread - a linear-geometric ornament built on a complex combination of polygons and multi-rayed stars. In the development of the arabesque, which was used to decorate both large architectural planes and various household items, the masters of the Arab East achieved amazing virtuosity, creating countless compositions that always combine two principles: a logical and strict mathematical construction of a pattern and a great spiritualizing power of artistic imagination.

The peculiarities of Arab medieval art also include the wide distribution of epigraphic ornament - the text of inscriptions organically included in decorative pattern. Let us note in passing that religion 113 of all arts especially encouraged calligraphy: copying a text from the Koran was considered a righteous deed for a Muslim.

The peculiar decorative and ornamental structure of artistic creativity was expressed in different ways in certain types art. The architectural features common to many peoples of the Near and Middle East were associated with the natural and climatic conditions of the countries and the capabilities of construction equipment. In the architecture of homes, techniques have long been developed for planning houses with courtyards and terraces protected from the heat. Construction technology gave rise to special structures made of clay, brick and stone. The architects of that time created various forms of arches - horseshoe-shaped and especially pointed, and invented their own systems of vaulted ceilings. They achieved exceptional skill and artistic expressiveness in the laying of large domes resting on trumps (a structural system that arose in the pre-feudal period). architecture art culture arabic

Medieval architects of the Arab East created new types of monumental religious and secular buildings: mosques that accommodated thousands of worshipers; minarets - towers from which believers were called to prayer; madrasahs - buildings of Muslim religious schools; caravanserais and covered markets, corresponding to the scale of trading activities of cities; palaces of rulers, fortified citadels, fortress walls with gates and towers.

Arab architects, the authors of many masterpieces of medieval art, paid great attention to the decorative possibilities of architecture. Therefore, one of the characteristic features of the synthesis of arts in monumental architecture is the important role of decorative forms and special meaning ornament, which sometimes covers the walls and vaults of buildings with monochrome lace or a colorful carpet.

Stalactites (muqarnas) were widely used in the architecture of the Arab East - decorative filling of vaults, niches and cornices in the form of prismatic figures with a thread-like cutout, arranged in rows protruding one above the other. Stalactites arose from a constructive technique - a special brick laying to create a transition from the square of the walls to the circle of the dome in the corners of the rooms.

Applied art played an extremely important role in the artistic culture of the countries of the Arab East. The economic basis for this was the intensive development of crafts. In artistic crafts, local ancient traditions of art, closely connected with folk life, have found a vivid expression. The Arabs - masters of applied art - were characterized by a high aesthetic “sense of a thing,” which made it possible, without disturbing the practical functions of an object, to give it a beautiful shape and skillfully place a pattern on its surface. In the applied decorative art of the Arab East, the importance of the culture of ornament was especially clearly manifested, and its enormous artistic possibilities were revealed. Ornament brings aesthetic content to perfectly crafted oriental fabrics, carpets, painted ceramics, bronze and glass items. Works of applied art of the Arab East have one more important quality: they usually form a very holistic and expressive decorative ensemble with an architectural interior.

The main type of painting that developed in the Near and Middle East during the Middle Ages was the illustration of secular manuscripts. Arab masters made extensive use of this opportunity, creating, along with the rich ornamental decorations of manuscripts, excellent series of colorful miniatures, giving a poetically imaginative story about the fate of the heroes of a literary work.

In the 16th century, most of the countries of the Arab East were captured by Ottoman Turkey, whose dominance was later replaced by the oppression of Western European colonialists, who hampered the development of national culture and art. However, even during the period of decline, when foreign invaders implanted forms in architecture and fine arts that were alien to the peoples of the Arab East, truly national artistic creativity did not die. It lived in the works of Arab peasants and artisans who, despite poverty and difficult living conditions, sought to embody their ideas of beauty in patterns on clothes and folk utensils.

Let's take a closer look at the culture of Arab countries using the example of the art of medieval Egypt.

Art of Medieval Egypt

The history of medieval art in Egypt begins with the Coptic period. The art of the Copts - Egyptians professing Christianity - developed in the 4th-7th centuries AD, during the period when Egypt was part of the Byzantine Empire. From this time, the basilicas in the White and Red monasteries on the edge of the Libyan Desert and numerous domed tombs have been preserved. The development of architecture was associated with the flourishing of sculptural patterns and wall paintings depicting religious subjects. Works of applied art were distinguished by great originality: carving on bone and wood, and especially fabric.

In the art of the Copts, the desire common to all areas of Byzantium to subordinate late antique artistic traditions to the requirements of the new medieval religious ideology found expression. On the other hand, it turned out to have strong purely local features, rooted in ancient Egyptian culture. The struggle of these trends determined the uniqueness of Coptic art, which developed its own specific artistic language and prepared the ground for the high rise and flowering of Egyptian art in the era of the mature Middle Ages.

In the middle of the 7th century, Egypt became part of the Arab caliphate, but already in the 9th century it was actually an independent feudal state. From the middle of the 10th century, having become the center of the powerful Fatimid state, Egypt began to play a particularly large role in medieval history Middle East. In the 11th-12th centuries he conducted extensive trade with Byzantium and Western Europe; The transit trade of the Mediterranean with the countries of the Indian Ocean also fell into the hands of the Egyptians. Later, in the 13th century, after the destruction of Baghdad by the Mongols, main city Egypt - Cairo - claimed to be the pan-Muslim capital. However, what was even more important was that Cairo became the center of culture, one of the largest centers for the development of science and art in the Arab world.

Along with the exact sciences, the study of history flourished in Cairo; in the 14th century, Ibn Khaldun, who is called the world's first sociologist, moved from Tunisia to Egypt; Ahmed Makrizi, a prominent medieval historian, also wrote his works in Cairo. Medieval Egypt gave the world excellent literary works: a cycle of Arabic knightly novels and the final edition of folk tales “A Thousand and One Nights”.

Architecture

The best monuments of medieval architecture in Egypt are preserved in Cairo. The city has lived through a great history. In 641, the Arab commander Amr ibn al-As founded Fustat, the ruins of which are located on the southern outskirts of modern Cairo. According to legend, the first mosque was erected on the site of Fustat. The small building was already expanded in 673 by enlarging the colonnade and courtyard. Despite later alterations and repairs, the Amra Mosque is deservedly considered one of the oldest Arab columnar mosques that has preserved the grandeur and simplicity characteristic of early Arab monumental architecture. The great hall of the mosque contains more than a hundred marble columns topped with carved Corinthian capitals that support tall semicircular arches. The beautiful perspective of columns and arches stretching into the distance makes you feel the grandeur of the space of the hall.

The greatness of early Arab architecture is extremely vividly embodied in the architecture of the great mosque of Ibn Tulun, which perfectly preserved its original appearance, built in 876-879 in the residence of this first ruler of medieval Egypt, independent of the Baghdad Caliphate. A huge square courtyard with an area of ​​almost a hectare (92x92m) is surrounded by pointed arches, which, unlike the Amra Mosque, have not round columns as supports, but rectangular pillars - pylons with three-quarter columns at the corners. Wide passages between the pillars unite the hall in front of the mihrab and the walkways on the other three sides of the courtyard into a single spatial whole. The mosque easily accommodates thousands of Muslims praying. The rhythm of the pillars and arches spanning the perimeter of the courtyard expresses the strict tectonics of the mosque’s architecture, to which decorative motifs are also subordinated.

The archivolts of large and small arches, column capitals and cornices are decorated with stylized floral patterns carved by knock. The soffits of large arches have more complex ornamental compositions. Decorative details, decorating and harmoniously highlighting the main planes and lines of the building, emphasize the tectonics of the whole with their arrangement. Thus, the pattern and architectural elements that make up the appearance of the building are imbued with a single ornamental rhythm. It is interesting to note that the pointed profile of the large and small arches of the mosque seems to be repeated in the pointed bends of the stem, which forms the basis of a continuous ornament running along the outline of the arches and along the pylons.

From the outside, the Ibn Tulup Mosque has the features of austere fortress architecture characteristic of early medieval monumental buildings in the Middle East. The traditions of fortress architecture, and perhaps the real need in the event of an attack on the city, to turn the mosque into a stronghold of defense, gave rise to a peculiar method of surrounding the religious building with an external wall, which created a free, undeveloped wide circle around the mosque. Nevertheless, the monumental surface of the outer walls of the Ibn Tulun mosque is not devoid of decorative treatment: the upper part of the walls is dissected by a peculiar frieze of lancet windows and arches, contrastingly highlighted with chiaroscuro; in addition, an openwork parapet crowns the walls. Decoration with windows and arches of a similar nature was done in the 9th century on the facades of the Amra Mosque. Thus, as in Samarra, the early Cairo buildings show an artistic reworking of the most ancient techniques of monumental fortress architecture.

IN architectural appearance The minaret plays an important role in the mosque, rising next to the building, between the double walls. Researchers believe that it originally looked like a stepped round tower, outside of which there was a spiral staircase. With its location and shape, the minaret strongly resembles the Malviya of the great mosque in Samarra. As there, the upward-pointing body of the Minaret was contrasted with the horizontally stretched arcature of the courtyard. The fact that, along with local artistic traditions, during the construction of the mosque they played famous role and Mesopotamian construction techniques, is also evidenced by the use of brickwork, which is not typical of Egyptian architecture.

In 1926, a domed pavilion was erected in the center of the mosque courtyard over the ablution pool and, apparently, at the same time the lower part of the minaret was enclosed in a cubic tower.

The earliest surviving monument of civil architecture of medieval Egypt, the Nilometer, built on the island of Roda near Fustat, dates back to the middle of the 9th century. The structure represents a deep well with a high column in the middle, which was used to measure the water level in the Nile. The walls of the well are lined with stone, decorated with decorative niches and friezes with Kufic inscriptions.

art

Research conducted over the past few decades indicates the development of monumental painting in medieval Egypt, as well as miniatures, especially in the 11th-12th centuries. The Cairo Museum of Islamic Art houses a remarkable wall painting found during excavations in 1932 depicting human figures in large lancet frames. In one of these niches there is a figure of a seated man in a colorful robe, with a turban on his head and a goblet in his right hand. His round face is not devoid of lively expressiveness. The painting is executed in a flat manner, in light colors; the contours of the figure are indicated by a wide free line.

A significant number of miniatures dating back to the Fatimid era are collected in the Museum of Islamic Art and in private collections in Cairo. These miniatures have a pronounced originality, which allows us to speak about the existence in Egypt during this period of a completely independent school of miniatures - one of the earliest in the history of medieval art of the Middle East.

Egyptian applied art has long been distinguished by its high artistic perfection and diversity of types. Especially notable were the richly ornamented linen and silk fabrics, items made of rock crystal, glass and metal.

Artistic weaving has ancient traditions in Egypt. The main centers of medieval textile production - Alexandria, Damietta, Tinnis - were famous for their products back in Roman and Byzantine times. The artistic traditions of Coptic textiles from the 3rd-4th centuries continue to live with some changes in Egyptian textiles until the end of Fatimid times. This is not surprising: luxurious fabrics in the workshops of the caliphs were still produced largely by the hands of Coptic craftsmen.

The fabrics of the late 8th--9th centuries are characterized by a simple, strict pattern, usually consisting of narrow stripes filled with Kufic inscriptions containing good wishes and often the name of the ruling caliph, or a simple geometric pattern. At the same time, most of the background fabric remained free.

In the fabrics of the Fatimid period (X-XII centuries), the entire wealth of technical and artistic techniques of Coptic weaving is revived, refracted, however, in the spirit of the requirements of the new era: the picturesquely executed compositions and individual figures on mythological subjects, so common in Coptic textiles, disappear. Images of various birds and animals acquire a stylized and ornamental character. Polychrome plays an important role in the artistic structure of decoration.

Already in the early Fatimid fabrics of the turn of the 10th - 11th centuries, the techniques of decorative composition and ornamentation characteristic of this period are clearly revealed. Thus, on one of the silk fabrics, narrow stripes with Kufic inscriptions (black and white letters on a carmine red background) highlight a wide stripe decorated with oval medallions with stylized images of an eagle in the middle and four ducks on the sides. The color of the details changes in each medallion: the field of one of them is red with a thin green border, the bird figures are blue or light blue on a yellow background; inside the figure of an eagle there is a red shield outlined in black with a white pattern. Another medallion has a green background with a red border, red ducks on a white background, a yellow eagle on a red background with a light blue interior design on a black shield. This alternation of colors in a small-scale pattern enhances the impression of the diversity of the ornament and creates a rich and subtle play of color spots. Fabrics of this time are also characterized by stripes with Kufic inscriptions along the edges and images of animals and birds (hares, dogs, ducks) in the middle stripe.

In artistic textiles of later times (12th century), certain changes are observed: inscriptions instead of angular kufi are written in rounded naskh handwriting, the design becomes more schematic, and a golden background becomes a favorite. At this time, wide decorative stripes were very common, where between narrow borders with a stylized letter pattern there are oval or diamond-shaped medallions in which images of animals and birds alternate. The colors of these fabrics are dominated by a soft yellow-gold pattern on a carmine-red background. Stripes with inscriptions are often separated by thin light blue lines. The ornamental stripes, much wider than in products of the previous period, are located close to each other, leaving little free background.

Along with patterned linen and silk fabrics, they were very common in Egyptian textiles. different kinds embroidery Precious fabrics were also made, woven with heavy gold and silver threads, with a very thin base, on which lush patterns stood out in relief. Since the 13th-14th centuries, Egyptian artistic textiles have been dominated by fabrics completely covered with narrow multi-colored stripes with a fine geometric pattern formed by combinations of various stars, triangles and other figures.

In the wood carving pattern, along with the development of new decorative trends, old local traditions and techniques remained quite firmly in place. This is evidenced, in particular, by the distribution of figured images on many carved panels and boards.

One of the outstanding examples of early Fatimid wood carvings is the iconostasis of the Church of Barbara in Cairo; although it is undoubtedly the work of a Coptic master, it exhibits all the features and motifs characteristic of this period. The panels of the iconostasis are decorated with arabesque scrolls, in which images of birds, animals and superbly executed hunting and genre scenes are arranged. All these plot images are interpreted purely decoratively, and the figures of animals and birds are often placed in a symmetrical, heraldic composition.

Another interesting example are several panels located in the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. The composition of the pattern decorating them is generally the same, consisting of rounded interlacing of flowering stems, interpreted in the spirit of an arabesque; only the central images change: in some cases these are figures of birds and animals standing in front of each other in a heraldic pose; one panel depicts a seated musician. Thanks to the significant deepening of the background (by about 1.5 cm), a very rich and contrasting play of light and shadow is created, clearly revealing the pattern. Similar features are distinguished by panels with images of horse heads (Museum of Islamic Art, Cairo; Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York), where a deeply chosen background further emphasizes the contours of the pattern. On some panels there are carvings in several plans.

Outstanding examples of artistic wood carvings that once decorated the Small or Western Palace of the Fatimid caliphs (completed between 1058 and 1065) were discovered in the complex of the Mari-stan of Sultan Qalaun, where these carved boards were reused in the 13th century. Initially they formed a frieze decorated with numerous images of hunters, musicians, dancers, traders with camels, animals and birds. All these images are placed against a background of plant shoots, given in lower relief than the figures. The drawing here is freer and more lively than in early monuments, but much less detailed.

In the carved wood of the 12th century, figured images acquire an increasingly generalized, silhouette interpretation, which was relatively rare in works of the 10th-11th centuries; their execution itself becomes less thorough. But the ornamental carving is being improved and enriched. An outstanding monument of this time is the mihrab of the Sayida Nafisa Mosque, executed between 1138 and 1145 (Museum of Islamic Art, Cairo). Its pattern consists of beautifully executed arabesques and vines combined with geometric stripes that form polygons. Another example is the carved wooden tomb of al-Husayni from the mid-12th century, the entire surface of which is covered with an arabesque consisting of geometric polygonal patterns and floral motifs.

Among Egyptian artistic bronzes from the 10th to 12th centuries, decorative figures and vessels in the form of various animals and birds stand out. A typical example is Aquarius in the form of a peacock (X-XI centuries, Louvre); its handle ends with the stylized head of a falcon or gyrfalcon, clutching its beak to the neck of a peacock. Above the rounded body of the bird with volumetric wings, a long, gracefully curved neck rises, carrying a small head with a half-open beak. The plumage is conveyed by a fine chased ornament. In a later monument of this kind - a large winged griffin (XI-XII centuries, museum in Pisa), the ornamental principle dominates over the plastic form - almost the entire surface of the figure is covered with an ornament imitating details of plumage, stripes of Kufic inscriptions, stamps with images of Sirens and various fantastic animals.

In the 13th century, when close ties between Egypt and Syria and Iraq were established, a significant number of artistic products of famous Iraqi, especially Mosul masters appeared in Egypt. The inscriptions engraved on some objects have preserved for us the names of Mosul craftsmen who worked in Cairo and influenced the work of Egyptian artisans. An interesting example of artistic bronze products of this time is a spherical slotted incense burner dated 1271 with the name of Emir Beysari (British Museum, London). On the surface of the incense burner, between the inscription belts, there are round medallions with openwork images of double-headed eagles; the field around the medallions is filled with floral arabesque.

A fine example of 113 metal artistry is the hexagonal inlaid table of the Sultan of Qalaun, made by the master Muhammad non Sunkur 113 of Baghdad in 1327 (Museum of Islamic Art in Cairo). Its openwork side walls and doors, as well as the top plane, are decorated with calligraphic inscriptions (arranged in medallions or belts), rosettes and inlaid images of a flock of flying birds. Cut-out tables, incense burners, metal boxes, etc. became very common products in Egypt, Syria and Iraq in the 14th - 15th centuries.

Artistic metal processing was also used in the decoration of monumental buildings. An outstanding example of this kind is the bronze inlaid doors of the Sultan Hassan Mosque in Cairo, decorated with masterfully executed multi-faceted geometric patterns, openwork carvings and belts of decorative inscriptions.

The art of processing rock crystal was especially developed in the 10th-11th centuries. Jugs, glasses, goblets, bottles, various chess and other pieces were skillfully cut out of large crystals; their surface was often faceted or covered with engraving. The historian Makrizi reports that about two thousand precious crystal vessels were kept in the treasury of the Fatimid caliphs. The products of Egyptian lapidaries were highly valued in medieval Europe. Among beautiful works Two large jugs in the Victoria and Albert Museum in London are especially notable for this type. On one of them, in relief engraving, among large climbing stems and half-palmettes, large birds of prey are depicted pecking at a fallen doe. The drawing is somewhat schematic and generalized, but very confident and bold and fits perfectly into the space allotted to it. The other jug ​​is devoid of any ornamental decoration; its main advantage lies in the amazing clarity and proportionality of the form and the impeccable quality of the edges, which gave it the radiance of a diamond in the rays of light.

Art glass, which had a long tradition in Egypt, reached its greatest flourishing in the 13th-14th centuries, when painting with gold and colored enamels joined the previously known decoration techniques - cutting, engraving, relief, colored and twisted glass. The main centers for the production of art glass were Fustat, Alexandria, and Fayum. In its forms and the general character of the decoration, Egyptian art glass is close to Syrian glass, but large inscriptions with good wishes are typical for it, often covering almost the entire surface of the vessel with wide belts.

Egyptian artistic ceramic products - earthenware and clay vases, bowls and dishes painted with luster and various paints - are often decorated with images of animals, fish, birds and human figures, along with various plant and geometric motifs. Particularly beautiful are the large greenish-yellow luster dishes from the 11th century with large figured images executed in a free painterly manner. Among the images there are figures of a musician, a man pouring wine into a goblet, a horseman, two- and three-figure genre and battle scenes, as well as real and fantastic animals, motifs of animal fights. The style of painting on 11th century ceramics is very close to the Fatimid wall painting mentioned above.

In the 13th-15th centuries, the art of ceramics in Egypt experienced a resurgence again: vessels were made with fine multi-color paintings depicting animals and birds among plant motifs. The traditions of painted ceramics, as well as other types of applied art, continued to live in Egypt throughout the Middle Ages and now form the basis of folk artistic crafts.

The art of medieval Egypt, which developed over many centuries, represents a large, distinctive school in the history of art in Arab countries, which played a major role in the process of interaction between the artistic cultures of the Middle East and Western Europe.

Conclusion

The contribution of the Arab peoples to the history of world art and architecture can hardly be overestimated. They made a great contribution to the treasury of world artistic culture, creating works of art inspired by a unique and subtle understanding of beauty. However, despite the presence of common features, the art of each region of the Arab world is tightly connected with local artistic traditions, has gone through its own path of development, and has pronounced characteristics. Features of unique originality distinguish the monuments of medieval art in Syria from the monuments of Iraq, Egypt, North Africa and Moorish Spain.

The work of medieval Arab artists had a fruitful impact on the art of many countries, including the art of Europe. Arabic or, as it was more often called in Europe, “Moorish” artistic influence can be traced, especially in textiles, ceramics, weapon decoration and other branches of applied art, not only during the heyday of the medieval Arab states, but also many centuries after their fall.

Literature

1. “The Art of Arab Peoples” B. Weymarn, T. Kaptereva, A. Podolsky; “The Red Book of Culture”, ed. V. Rabinovich.

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Under medieval culture Arab East(V-XVI centuries) imply the culture of Arabia and those countries that underwent Arabization and in which the Arab nation developed - Iran, Syria, Palestine, Egypt and other countries of North Africa. The process of Arabization was rapid by historical standards, but it had its own rather long prehistory. The leading role in it was played by the tribes inhabiting the Arabian Peninsula.

Tribes of Arabia

The main part of the territory of Arabia is steppes, deserts and semi-deserts; only a small part of the land was suitable for farming. The majority of the peninsula's population were Bedouin nomads, who called themselves Arabs - the word “Arab” meant “dashing rider”. Already in the first centuries of our era, flying Bedouin troops, camel and horse, turned into a formidable force with which the sedentary urban population was forced to reckon. The nomads robbed caravans of townspeople - they considered their property their legitimate prey, attacked villages, and poisoned crops. The townspeople resisted and angrily ridiculed the “camel hunters.” However, it was difficult for both of them in difficult natural conditions, which required maximum effort in order to survive. In their attitude to the world there were more similarities than differences, and the life values ​​of both sedentary and Bedouins were activity, enterprise and the ability to deny oneself everything. Islam was born among nomadic tribes - the future world religion, which had an exceptionally strong influence on the countries of the East and quickly spread and was accepted by all residents of the Arabian Peninsula.

Prophet Muhammad

Islam arose at the beginning of the 7th century. n. e. The founder of Islam was a real person - the prophet Muhammad, whose biography is quite well known.

Muhammad was orphaned early and was raised by his grandfather and then his uncle, a wealthy merchant. In his youth, Muhammad was a shepherd, and at the age of 25 he began working for a 40-year-old widow, the mother of several children. She organized caravans that went to other lands for goods. They got married - it was a marriage of love - and they had four daughters. In total, the prophet had nine wives.

Over time, Muhammad became less and less interested in trade and more and more in matters of faith. He received his first revelations in a dream - the angel Gabriel, the Messenger of Allah, appeared to him and announced his will: Muhammad must preach in his name, gentlemen. Revelations became more and more frequent, and in 610 the prophet preached for the first time in Mecca. Despite Muhammad's passion, the number of his supporters grew slowly. In 622, Muhammad left Mecca and moved to another city - a little later it would be called Medina - the city of the prophet; His like-minded people moved there with him. From this year - the flight to Medina - the Muslim calendar begins.

The people of Medina recognized Muhammad as their prophet, religious and political leader and supported him in his quest to defeat Mecca. The fierce war between these cities ended in the complete victory of Medina. In 630, Muhammad triumphantly returned to Mecca, which became the center of Islam.

At the same time, a Muslim theocratic state was formed - Arab Caliphate, the first leader of which was Muhammad himself. His associates and successors as heads of the caliphate carried out a number of successful campaigns of conquest, which led to a significant expansion of the territory of the caliphate and contributed to the rapid spread of Islam there. Islam (or Islam) becomes the state religion of the Arab East. Muhammad died in 632 and was buried in Medina. His grave is the most important shrine of Islam.

Already by the 8th century. The Arabs subjugated Palestine, Syria, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, part of the territory of Transcaucasia, Central Asia, North Africa, and Spain. However, this huge political formation was not strong at the beginning of the 10th century. broke up into separate independent parts - the emirates. As for the Arab-Muslim culture, having absorbed the diverse culture of the Persians, Syrians, Copts (the original inhabitants of Egypt), Jews, the peoples of Central Asia and others, it remained essentially united. This leading link was Islam.

Scientists recognize that Islam arose from a combination of elements of Judaism, Christianity, as well as some ritual traditions of Old Arab pre-Muslim cults of nature: most Arabs of the 6th - early 7th centuries. They were pagans, polytheists, and among them there were many Jewish and Christian sects. However, the synthesis of these elements was original, and Islam is an independent religion. The main provisions of Islam are as follows.

Muslims believe in one God - Allah, omnipotent and incomprehensible to man. In order to tell humanity the truth about God and the world, special people were chosen - prophets, the last of whom was Muhammad. Other, earlier prophets were Adam, Noah, Abraham, Lot, Moses, David, Solomon, Jesus Christ, etc., whose teachings were then largely distorted by their followers, with the exception, of course, of the remaining true teachings of Muhammad. Thus, Islam distinguishes Christians and Jews from people of other religions, considering them “people of the book.”

Seeing a prophet in Christ, Islam opposes the Christian teaching about the consubstantiality of Christ with God and against the idea of ​​the Trinity as a whole, arguing that “it is not characteristic of God to have children” and “how will he have children when he did not have a girlfriend.”

The world, according to Islam, was created in six days: Allah said: “Be,” and the heavens and earth came into being. Man was created by Allah from the earth: having sculpted the shell of a man from clay, Allah breathed into man “his spirit” - life. Thus, a person consists of two essences - physical and spiritual. A woman came out of Adam’s rib: during his sleep - “sweet slumber”, an angel, by the will of God, took out Adam’s rib and gave birth to Eve (Chava) - a “pleasant companion” so that Adam would not be bored.

Islam teaches that the happy period in the history of mankind is left behind - this is the time when Adam and Eve lived in paradise, did not know hunger and were not ashamed of their nakedness. After expulsion from heaven, no matter how hard a person tries, he is unlikely to create something good and be happy. Life in this world, Islam assures, is “deceptive joy, seduction, vain attire, vanity.” Therefore, even in the daily bustle, a person should not forget about his soul, about what awaits him after God’s judgment.

Muslims believe that after death a person will face divine retribution - God's universal judgment. The posthumous fate of a person will depend on how he behaved during life, on the ratio of bad and good deeds that he committed. It’s not difficult to calculate this: after all, the angels keep a special scroll for each person, where they record all his deeds. On the day of the Last Judgment, everyone will receive what they deserve and will go to either heaven or hell.

The fate of a person and his hour of death, Muslims say, are written in advance in the Book of Fates. The Arabs' attitude to fate is reflected in the old proverb: "Everyone has a day of death." By fate they have long understood a predetermined fate, the irresistible and unchangeable passage of time. Islam developed and strengthened this approach - they began to look at fate as a manifestation of the will of a single and omnipotent God.

The most important question in Islam was how the will of God and man relate. After all, Allah is omnipotent, he created people and all their actions. And if everything that happens in the world - both good and bad - is predestined by Allah, then should we praise the righteous and should we hate sinners? In the end, both of them live only according to the commands of the Almighty. And if the will of Allah is absolute, then where are the differences between good and evil?

In the 10th century The famous Muslim theologian al-Ashari tried to answer this question. He argued that Allah created man with all his future actions and that man only imagines that he has free will and freedom of choice. Supporters of this position formed the Shafi'i religious-legal school. Other famous theologians al-Maturidi and Abu Hanifa argued that man has free will, and Allah helps him in good deeds and leaves in bad. This view is shared by the Hanifites.

The issue of free will was not the only controversial issue in Islam. Already in the 7th century. There were three main directions in Islam that still exist today. The division was based on a dispute about the principles of inheritance of religious and secular power. The Harajites argued that the head of a religious community could be any devout Muslim elected by the community. According to the Sunni concept, a special agreement must be concluded between the religious community and the future head of state - the caliph - and the caliph himself must satisfy the following conditions, have the title of theologian-lawyer of the highest rank, and be from the Quraysh tribe (Muhammad himself belonged to this tribe) , to be fair, wise, healthy and caring for his subjects. Shiites believed that state and religious power was of a divine nature and therefore could only be inherited by the direct heirs of Muhammad.

At the turn of the 7th-8th centuries. Another movement developed in Islam - Sufism, which finally took shape by the 12th century. This movement was of an ascetic-mystical nature, and its followers were called fakirs, or dervishes. They condemned wealth, proclaimed the cult of poverty and self-denial for the salvation of the soul and merging with God, and developed a doctrine of gradual knowledge of God and merging with him through mystical love and intuitive divine insights.

The main tenets of Islam are set out in the main holy book of Muslims - the Koran (from Arabic quran - reading). It is based on the commandments, sermons, ritual and legal institutions, prayers, edifying stories and parables of Muhammad, spoken by him in Medina and Mecca, recorded by his assistants (it is known that the prophet could neither read nor write, and his speech-revelations were initially recorded his companions even on palm leaves and stones). Muhammad's students also learned them by heart and recited them like ancient Arabic poetry. The Qur'an is written in rhymed prose and rhythmic sentences; Arabists consider rhyme to be refined and rhythm to be clear.

All sayings in which the speaker is not Muhammad, but Allah, are classified as revelations, all others are classified as legends. The full text of the Koran was collected after the death of Muhammad, and then, in the middle of the 7th century, under Caliph Osman, who was an associate and son-in-law of Muhammad, this text was declared canonical. Soon commentaries on the Koran were also compiled.

In the Middle Ages there were many people who knew the Koran by heart. The Quran was forbidden to be translated from Arabic into other languages, and it was on the Quran that the teaching of the Arabic language was based. Islamization presupposed the indispensable reading and knowledge of this great book, which led to the spread of the Arabic language. Arabization in the Middle Ages was one of the most important elements in the creation of Muslim culture.

Arabic

Thus, the role of the Arabic language in the development of the culture of the Arab East is enormous: along with Islam, it was a powerful factor uniting all Arab countries. It is generally accepted that classical literary Arabic developed in the Early Middle Ages on the basis of Old Arabic poetry and the Koran. Arabic writing is regarded by the Arabs as the greatest cultural value, and its authorship is attributed to the legendary ancestor of the Arabs, Ismail.

Already in the Early Middle Ages, the Arabs had rich folklore traditions; they valued the spoken word, a beautiful phrase, a successful comparison, and a well-placed saying. Each tribe of Arabia had its own poet, praising his fellow tribesmen and branding his enemies. The poet used rhythmic prose; there were many rhythms. It is believed that they were born in a camel's saddle, when the Bedouin sang on the way, adapting to the progress of his “ship of the desert.”

Literature

In the first centuries of Islam, the art of rhyming became a court craft in large cities. Poets also acted as literary critics. In the VIII-X centuries. Many works of pre-Islamic Arabic oral poetry were recorded. So, in the 9th century. Two collections of “Hamas” (“Songs of Valor”) were compiled, which included poems by more than 500 Old Arab poets. In the 10th century writer, scientist, musician Abul-Faraj Al-Isfahani a multi-volume anthology “Kitab al-Aghani” (“Book of Songs”) was compiled, including works and biographies of poets, as well as information about composers and performers.

The attitude of the Arabs towards poets, for all their admiration for poetry, was not unambiguous. They believed that the inspiration that helps them write poetry comes from demons, the devils: they eavesdrop on the conversations of angels, and then tell priests and poets about them. In addition, the Arabs were almost completely uninterested in the specific personality of the poet. They believed that little should be known about the poet: whether his talent was great and whether his ability to clairvoyance was strong.

Therefore, not all the great poets of the Arab East have been preserved complete and reliable information.

An outstanding poet was Abu Nuwas (between 747-762 - between 813-815), who masterfully mastered the form of verse. He was characterized by irony and frivolity, he sang of love, merry feasts and laughed at the then fashionable passion for old Bedouin poems.

Abul-Atahiya sought support in asceticism and faith. He wrote moral poems about the vanity of all earthly things and the injustice of life. Detachment from the world was not easy for him, as evidenced by his nickname - “without a sense of proportion.”

Al-Mutanabbi's life was spent in endless wanderings. He was ambitious and proud, and either praised the rulers of Syria, Egypt, and Iran in his poems, or quarreled with them. Many of his poems became aphorisms and turned into songs and proverbs.

Creation Abu-l-Ala al-Maari(973-1057/58) from Syria is considered the pinnacle of Arab medieval poetry, and the magnificent result of the synthesis of the complex and variegated culture of Arab-Muslim history. It is known that at the age of four he suffered from smallpox and went blind, but this did not stop him from studying the Koran, theology, Islamic law, ancient Arabic traditions and modern poetry. He also knew Greek philosophy, mathematics, astronomy, traveled a lot in his youth, and his poems reveal colossal erudition. He was a seeker of truth and justice, and in his lyrics there are several clearly dominant themes: the mystery of life and death, the depravity of man and society, the presence of evil and suffering in the world, which was, in his opinion, an inevitable law of existence (book of lyrics “The Obligation of the Optional ", "Message of Forgiveness", "Message of Angels").

In the X-XV centuries. the now world-famous collection of Arabic folk tales gradually emerged "Thousand and One Nights". They were based on revised plots of Persian, Indian, and Greek tales, the action of which was transferred to the Arab court and urban environment, as well as Arab fairy tales themselves. These are fairy tales about Ali Baba, Aladdin, Sinbad the Sailor, etc. The heroes of fairy tales were also princesses, sultans, merchants, and townspeople. The favorite character of medieval Arabic literature was the Bedouin - daring and cautious, crafty and simple-minded, the keeper of pure Arabic speech.

Enduring world fame was brought to Omar Khayyam (1048-1122), a Persian poet and scientist, by his philosophical, hedonistic and free-thinking poems:

A gentle woman's face and green grass
I will enjoy it while I'm alive.
I drank wine, I drink wine, and I probably will
Drink wine until your fatal moment.

In medieval Arab culture, poetry and prose were closely intertwined: poetry was most naturally included in love stories, medical treatises, heroic stories, philosophical and historical works, and even in the official messages of medieval rulers. And all Arabic literature was united by the Muslim faith and the Koran: quotes and phrases from there were found everywhere.

Orientalists believe that the heyday of Arabic poetry, literature, and culture in general occurred in the 8th-9th centuries: during this period, the rapidly developing Arab world stood at the head of world civilization. From the 12th century the level of cultural life is declining. Persecution of Christians and Jews begins, which was expressed in their physical extermination, oppression secular culture, pressure on natural sciences is increasing. Public burning of books became common practice. The main scientific achievements of Arab scientists thus date back to the Early Middle Ages.

The contribution of the Arabs to mathematical science was significant. Lived in the 10th century. Abu-l-Wafa derived the sine theorem of spherical trigonometry, calculated a table of sines with an interval of 15°, and introduced segments corresponding to the secant and cosecant.

The poet and scientist Omar Khayyam wrote “Algebra” - an outstanding work that contained a systematic study of equations of the third degree. He also successfully worked on the problem of irrational and real numbers. He owns the philosophical treatise “On the Universality of Being.” In 1079 he introduced a calendar more accurate than the modern Gregorian calendar.

An outstanding scientist in Egypt was Ibn al-Haytham, a mathematician and physicist, the author of famous works on optics.

Medicine has achieved great success - it has developed more successfully than in Europe or the Far East. Arab medieval medicine glorified Ibn Sina - Avicenna(980-1037), author of the encyclopedia of theoretical and clinical medicine, summarizing the views and experience of Greek, Roman Indian and Central Asian doctors "Canon of Medical Science". For many centuries, this work was a mandatory guide for doctors. Abu Bakr Muhammad al-Razi, a famous Baghdad surgeon, gave a classic description of smallpox and measles, and used smallpox vaccination. The Syrian Bakhtisho family gave seven generations of famous doctors.

Arab philosophy largely developed on the basis of the ancient heritage. Scientists and philosophers were Ibn Sina, the author of a philosophical treatise "Book of Healing". Scientists actively translated the works of ancient authors.

Famous philosophers were Al-Kindi, who lived in the 9th century, and al-Farabi (870-950), called the “second teacher,” i.e. after Aristotle, whom Farabi commented on. Scientists united in a philosophical circle "Brothers of Purity" in the city of Basra, compiled an encyclopedia of philosophical scientific achievements of their time.

Historical thought also developed. If in the VII-VIII centuries. Historical works had not yet been written in Arabic and there were simply many legends about Muhammad, the campaigns and conquests of the Arabs, then in the 9th century. Major works on history are being compiled. Leading representatives historical science there were al-Belazuri, who wrote about the Arab conquests, al-Nakubi, at-Tabari and al-Masudi, authors of works on general history. It is history that will remain virtually the only branch of scientific knowledge that will develop in the XIII-XV centuries. under the dominance of a fanatical Muslim clergy, when no exact sciences, nor mathematics. Most famous historians XIV-XV centuries there were the Egyptian Makrizi, who compiled the history of the Copts, and Ibn Khaldun, the first Arab historian to try to create a theory of history. He identified the natural conditions of the country as the main factor determining the historical process.

Arabic literature also attracted the attention of scientists: at the turn of the 8th-9th centuries. An Arabic grammar was compiled, which formed the basis of all subsequent grammars.

Medieval centers Arab science there were cities Baghdad, Kufa, Basra, Harron. The scientific life of Baghdad was especially lively, where the “House of Science” was created - a kind of association of an academy, an observatory, a library and a college of translators:

By the 10th century Secondary and higher Muslim schools - madrasahs - appeared in many cities. In the X-XIII centuries. In Europe, a signed decimal system for writing numbers became known from Arabic writings, called "Arabic numerals".

Architecture. Art

It should be said that medieval Arab architecture developed on the basis of the processing by the Arabs, primarily of Greek, Roman and Iranian artistic traditions.

The most famous architectural monuments of that time Amr Mosque in Fustat And cathedral mosque in Kufa, created in the 7th century. The famous temple "Dome of the Rock" in Damascus, decorated with mosaics and multi-colored marble. From the 7th-8th centuries. the mosques had a rectangular courtyard surrounded by galleries and a multi-columned prayer hall. Later, monumental portals appeared on the main facade.

From the 10th century buildings begin to be decorated with elegant floral and geometric ornaments, which included stylized inscriptions - Arabic script. Such an ornament, the Europeans called it arabesque, was built on the principle of endless development and rhythmic repetition of the pattern.

The object of the Muslim hajj was the Kaaba - a temple in Mecca, shaped like a cube. In its wall there is a niche with a black stone - as modern researchers believe, probably of meteorite origin. This black stone is revered as a symbol of Allah, representing his presence.

Islam, advocating strict monotheism, fought against the tribal cults of the Arabians. In order to destroy the memory of tribal idols, sculpture was prohibited in Islam, and images of living beings were not approved. As a result, painting did not receive significant development in Arab culture, being limited to ornaments. From the 12th century the art of miniatures began to develop
, including books.

In general, fine art went into carpeting; its characteristic features became colorful and patterned. The combination of bright colors, however, was always strictly geometric, rational and subordinated to Muslim symbolism.

The Arabs considered red the best color for the eyes - it was the color of women, children and joy. As much as red was loved, gray was despised. White, black and purple colors were interpreted as the colors of mourning, rejection of the joys of life. The color green, which had exceptional prestige, stood out especially in Islam. For many centuries it was forbidden to both non-Muslims and the lower classes of Islam.

Sharia norms

The Koran, in addition to sermons, prayers, spells, edifying stories and parables, contains both ritual and legal regulations that regulate various aspects of the life of Muslim society. In accordance with these instructions, family, legal, and property relations of people were built. A set of norms of morality, law, cultural and other guidelines that regulate the entire public and personal life of a Muslim, called Sharia, is the most important integral part systems of Islam.

Sharia was formed during the 7th-8th centuries. By the 9th century. Based on Sharia norms, a rating scale was developed for all actions of believers.

TO obligatory actions included those whose failure to comply was punished during life and after death: reading prayers, observing fasting, and various rituals of Islam. In number desirable actions included additional prayers and fasting, as well as charity, this was encouraged during life and rewarded after death. Indifferent actions- sleep, food, marriage, etc. - were neither encouraged nor prohibited. Disapproved, although not punishable, actions were actions caused by the desire to enjoy earthly goods: the culture of the medieval Arab East, prone to luxury, was sensual. This was especially evident in food. In the cities, expensive Indian pistachio kernels soaked in rose water, apples from Syria, sugar cane stalks, and edible clay from Nishapur were held in high esteem. Incense used in life played an important role: fragrant oils were prepared from lotus, daffodils, white jasmine, lilies, cloves, roses, baths made from violet oil, etc. prohibited actions included those who were punished both during life and after death: for example, it was forbidden to drink wine, eat pork, gamble, engage in usury, perform witchcraft, etc. Despite the prohibitions of Islam, many residents of the medieval Arab East continued to drink wine (especially this was typical for cities), but all other prohibitions - on pork, blood, meat of any animal killed not according to Muslim rites - were strictly observed.

Position of man and woman

Based on the Koran and taking into account pre-Islamic traditions, the law of inheritance, guardianship, marriage and divorce was developed. Marriage was seen as the most important event in the life of a man and a woman. The union of a cousin and sister was considered ideal, and the number of legal wives was limited to four. The subordinate position of women in the family and society was confirmed, and kinship was kept strictly on the paternal side.

The man was recognized as the absolute leader. God's blessing, as was believed in the Arab East, lay precisely on the sons, and therefore only after the birth of a son was a person here considered full-fledged. A real man was distinguished by generosity, generosity, the ability to love and have fun, valor, and loyalty to his word. The man was required to constantly assert his superiority, to be persistent, patient and ready for any adversity. He was responsible for caring for the elders and the younger; he had to know his genealogy and family traditions.

Islam had a beneficial influence on society's attitude towards slaves: freeing a slave was now seen as a humane and desirable act for a pious Muslim. However, throughout the Middle Ages, the number of slaves almost did not decrease, slave trading was a common activity for merchants, and slaves were one of the most popular goods in eastern markets: stable traditions changed slowly.

Traditional norms of behavior of Eastern society were combined with traditional thinking. It, in turn, was largely determined by mythology.

Mythology of the Arab East. Mentality

Its most important component was jinnology - the doctrine of jinn. Islam defined their place in the world this way: the demon jinn, created from pure fire, were inferior to man, created by Allah from clay, and, of course, to angels, created from light. All of them - humans, angels, and demons - are submissive to the will of Allah.

Demon genies are in some ways similar to people: they are mortal, although they can live for a very long time, many hundreds of years, they need food, and can marry each other or with people. In many ways, however, they were superior to humans: they were able to fly, penetrate deep into the earth and water, become visible and invisible, turn around by different people, animals, plants.

Jinns could be good or evil; the good ones accepted Islam, the evil ones remained infidels, but a person should be wary of both. The most ferocious demon-shaitans were called marids, and they had to be especially wary. In addition, the ifrits were bloodthirsty and malicious, or evil spirits, or ghosts of the dead. Hairy werewolf ghouls lived in cemeteries and other abandoned desert places, always ready to devour a lonely traveler.

In general, in the Arab East they believed that jinn lie in wait for a person at every step. Therefore, even in everyday everyday life one had to be on guard: for example, before lighting a fire in the hearth or getting water from a well, one should ask Allah for protection from demons and demonesses.

Amulets provided some protection from evil forces. The most important amulet was a palm made of copper with a blue bead - it was the “palm of Fatima” - named after the daughter of the Prophet Muhammad. It was believed that the “palm of Fatima,” as well as other amulets - flat silver twin frogs, silver brooches, cowrie shells - protected a person from the evil eye.

They were very afraid of the evil eye and they explained many phenomena in life - from illness to crop failure. It was believed that the power of the evil eye increases many times over if it is accompanied by unkind or, on the contrary, too flattering speeches. This is how evasiveness in speech was brought up, a tendency to constantly make reservations: “By the will of Allah,” the desire to hide one’s private family life from strangers behind a blank wall. This also influenced the style of clothing, primarily for women: women wore blank face coverings and rather shapeless dresses that almost completely hid their figure.

In the Arab East, great importance was attached to dreams; they believed in prophetic dreams, and already at the beginning of the 11th century. Ad-Dinawari compiled the first dream book in Arabic. It was not allowed to invent and speculate on dreams: “Whoever lies about his dreams will answer on the day of the rising of the dead,” says the Koran.

Dream fortune telling was a means of looking into the future. In addition, they guessed by birds, primarily by the flight of ravens and eagles, and were sure that the kite, ostrich, pigeon and owl foreshadowed misfortune. The desire to look into the unknown led to the practice of magic and divination. The attitude towards magic was ambiguous: white, or high magic, which pious people resorted to for noble purposes. In this they were helped by heavenly angels and good genies who converted to Islam. Black magic, it was believed in the Arab East, was practiced by dishonest people, and their assistants were evil shaitans.

The penchant for fortune telling, like many other features of the mentality of the inhabitants of the Middle East, appeared long before the adoption of Islam there and survived the Middle Ages, moving into the New Age, and then into the Modern Age.

Arab medieval culture developed in those countries that underwent Arabization, adopted Islam and in which classical Arabic dominated for a long time as a language government agencies, literature and religion.

The entire medieval Arab culture, everyday life and way of life of people, moral norms in society developed under the influence of the Islamic religion, which arose among the tribes of the Arabian Peninsula in the 7th century.

The greatest flourishing of Arab culture occurred in the 8th-11th centuries. At this time, poetry developed successfully, which gave the world Omar Khayyam and which was characterized by secular, cheerful and at the same time philosophical character; the famous fairy tales “A Thousand and One Nights”, which are still famous throughout the world, were compiled; Many works of other peoples, primarily ancient authors, were actively translated into Arabic.

The Arabs made significant contributions to world mathematical science, the development of medicine, and philosophy. They created such unique architectural monuments as mosques and famous temples in Mecca and Damascus, giving significant originality to the buildings, decorating them with ornaments - Arabic script.

The influence of Islam determined the underdevelopment of painting and sculpture in Arab culture, predetermining the departure of fine art into carpeting.

Islam is the youngest of the three world religions, the importance of which is steadily increasing. In the modern world, Islam is the second most followed world religion.