Preceden

History of Islamic Art Timeline

(c. 7th century–Present)

The History of Islamic Art traces the development of artistic traditions across Muslim-ruled regions, encompassing architecture, calligraphy, textiles, ceramics, metalwork, manuscripts, and decorative arts. It reflects cultural exchange, religious practices, regional identities, and the sophisticated use of geometry, pattern, and ornament. Less

Go to: Event List | Key Facts | Directory

Origins and early Islamic art

Origins of Islamic art

600 - 699

Islamic art encompasses visual arts produced in the Islamic world from the 7th century to the present. Its early development drew on the diverse artistic traditions encountered as Islam expanded.

Synthesis of Byzantine and Sasanian traditions

600 - 799

The origins of Islamic art lie in the early centuries of Islam, when artists adapted and synthesized Byzantine, Sasanian, and late antique Mediterranean influences into new forms.

Gradual conversion and artistic transition

600 - 999

The earliest Islamic objects can be difficult to distinguish from Persian, Sasanian, and Byzantine predecessors. The conversion of populations and artists took a significant period, sometimes lasting centuries after Islam first spread.

Image source: Islamic art

Gradual conversion and artistic transition

Regional dynasties and empires

Abbasid Caliphate

750 - 1258

The Abbasid Caliphate ruled from 750 to 1258 and became a major center of Islamic cultural and artistic development.

Abbasid capital moves to Baghdad

762

Under the Abbasids, the capital moved from Damascus to Baghdad. The new capital became a major meeting point for artistic and intellectual traditions.

Image source: Baghdad

Abbasid capital moves to Baghdad

Baghdad as the Islamic world’s center

800 - 899

Art historian Robert Hillenbrand compared the Abbasid movement of artistic influences to the foundation of an Islamic Rome. Iranian, Eurasian steppe, Chinese, and Indian sources met in this environment, while al-Ya'qubi described Baghdad as the navel of the world.

Provincial Abbasid autonomy

800 - 999

Beginning in the ninth century, Abbasid sovereignty was contested in provinces farthest from the Iraqi center. Regional political autonomy helped diversify artistic production across the Islamic world.

Image source: Abbasid Caliphate

Provincial Abbasid autonomy

Abbasid capital moves to Samarra

836

The Abbasid capital later moved from Baghdad to Samarra, another important center in the development of Abbasid art and architecture.

Image source: Samarra

Abbasid capital moves to Samarra

Great Mosque of Isfahan initiated

900 - 1199

Construction of the Great Mosque of Isfahan was initiated during this period and continued, in fits and starts, over several centuries.

Image source: Jameh Mosque of Isfahan

Great Mosque of Isfahan initiated

Nishapur and Ghazni flourish

900 - 1099

The period saw the construction and growth of major cities such as Nishapur and Ghazni, demonstrating the importance of urban centers and monumental building to Islamic art.

Image source: Ghazni

Nishapur and Ghazni flourish

Tahirid, Samanid, Ghaznavid, and Ghurid competition

900 - 1099

In Iran and northern India, the Tahirids, Samanids, Ghaznavids, and Ghurids struggled for power. Art became a vital element of their political and cultural competition.

Fatimid Caliphate

909 - 1171

The Fatimid Caliphate ruled Egypt from 909 to 1171. It brought crafts and knowledge from politically troubled Baghdad to Cairo, strengthening the city as a center of Islamic art.

Image source: Fatimid Caliphate

Fatimid Caliphate

Almoravid and Almohad expansion

1000 - 1299

At the end of the 11th century, the Berber Almoravids and Almohads successively captured much of the Maghreb and Spain, bringing Maghrebi influences into Islamic art.

Image source: Almohad Caliphate

Almoravid and Almohad expansion

Taifa kingdoms

1031 - 1091

After the fall of the Umayyads in Iberia, various autonomous taifa kingdoms emerged between 1031 and 1091. Their artistic production did not differ significantly from that of the Umayyads.

Image source: Taifa

Taifa kingdoms

Seljuq rise in the Muslim world

1048 - 1194

The Seljuqs, nomads of Turkic origin from present-day Mongolia, seized Baghdad in 1048 and became a dominant political force in the Muslim world. Their Iranian rule ended in 1194, although Seljuq artistic production continued afterward.

Battle of Manzikert

1071

The Seljuq Turks defeated the Byzantine Empire at Manzikert in 1071 and established a sultanate in Anatolia independent of the Iranian Seljuq branch.

Image source: Battle of Manzikert

Battle of Manzikert

Saladin establishes Ayyubid rule

1171

In 1171, Saladin seized Fatimid Egypt and installed the transitory Ayyubid dynasty. The change transferred Egypt’s political and artistic patronage to a new ruling house.

Image source: Saladin

Saladin establishes Ayyubid rule

Mongol invasions of the Islamic world

1200 - 1299

During the 13th century, Mongol forces under Genghis Khan swept through the Islamic world, reshaping political structures and the conditions under which art was produced.

Image source: Mongol invasions and conquests

Mongol invasions of the Islamic world

Turkmen dynasties dominate Anatolia

1200 - 1499

From the 13th century, Anatolia was dominated by small Turkmen dynasties that progressively chipped away at Byzantine territory.

Image source: Anatolian beyliks

Turkmen dynasties dominate Anatolia

Muizzi conquest and Delhi Sultanate

1206

The Indian subcontinent, partly conquered by the Ghaznavids and Ghurids, became autonomous in 1206 when the Muizzi, or slave-kings, seized power and established the Delhi Sultanate.

Image source: Delhi Sultanate

Muizzi conquest and Delhi Sultanate

Seljuq power wanes in Anatolia

1243 - 1304

Seljuq power in Anatolia largely waned after the Mongol invasions of 1243, although coins continued to be struck in the Seljuq name until 1304.

Image source: Sultanate of Rum

Seljuq power wanes in Anatolia

Mamluk takeover of Egypt

1250

In 1250, the Mamluks seized Egypt from the Ayyubids. By 1261 they had also asserted themselves in Syria, creating a powerful center of architectural patronage.

Image source: Mamluk Sultanate

Mamluk takeover of Egypt

Mamluk architectural program

1250 - 1517

Mamluk rule lasted for three centuries and gave rise to abundant architectural projects. Many thousands of buildings were constructed during this period.

Image source: Mamluk architecture

Mamluk architectural program

First Ottomans emerge

1300 - 1499

A major dynasty gradually emerged in Anatolia: the Ottomans. After 1450, they are often referred to as the first Ottomans.

Image source: Ottoman Empire

First Ottomans emerge

Nasrid Granada endures

1300 - 1492

Christian military victories reduced Islamic Spain by the end of the 14th century to Granada, ruled by the Nasrid dynasty, which maintained its hold until 1492.

Image source: Emirate of Granada

Nasrid Granada endures

Ottoman Empire and distinctive art

1300 - 1922

The Ottoman Empire continued until shortly after World War I. Its vast territory and longevity supported distinctive architecture, ceramics, Iznik ware, metalwork, jewellery, Ebru, carpets, tapestries, miniatures, and illumination.

Safavid dynasty

1501 - 1786

The Safavid dynasty ruled Iran from 1501 to 1786. Its shahs’ Shi'a faith, which became the majority denomination in Persia, distinguished Safavid culture from the Ottoman and Mughal empires.

Mughal Empire

1526 - 1858

The Mughal Empire lasted in the Indian subcontinent from 1526 until technically 1858. From the late 17th century, power increasingly flowed to local rulers and European powers, especially the British Raj.

Image source: Mughal Empire

Mughal Empire

Qajar dynasty assumes power

1700 - 1925

After the fall of the Safavids, the Qajars, a Turkmen tribe established for centuries along the Caspian Sea, assumed power. The dynasty survived until 1925, when it was replaced by the Pahlavis.

Image source: Qajar Iran

Qajar dynasty assumes power

Manuscripts and decorative arts

Byzantine and Mongoloid manuscript influences

1100 - 1299

Book frontispieces combined Byzantine visual vocabulary, including blue and gold coloring, angelic and victorious motifs, and drapery symbolism, with Mongoloid facial types.

First golden age of Islamic book painting

1200 - 1299

Islamic book painting witnessed its first golden age in the 13th century, especially in Syria and Iraq.

Ottoman-Safavid manuscript influence

1500 - 1599

The Ottoman books of festivals contain numerous illustrations and exhibit a strong Safavid influence. They may have been inspired by books captured during the Ottoman-Safavid wars of the 16th century.

Image source: Ottoman miniature

Ottoman-Safavid manuscript influence

Ottoman Surname manuscript tradition

1500 - 1599

Ottoman manuscript illustration includes two important books of festivals, or Surname-i Hümayun. One dates from the end of the 16th century and the other from the era of Sultan Murad III.

Ottoman Iznik red reaches its height

1500 - 1599

The Ottomans developed a bright red pigment known as Iznik red. It reached its height in the 16th century in tile-work and pottery, alongside transformed floral motifs derived from Chinese and Persian models.

Album painting develops in Safavid Iran

1600 - 1699

In the 17th century, a new type of painting developed around the album, or muraqqa, reflecting changing practices of collecting and viewing individual images.

European influence and modern continuity

Decline of court-centered artistic production

1400 - 1899

From the 15th century, smaller Islamic courts increasingly disappeared as the Ottomans, Safavids, and European powers absorbed their territories. Because Islamic art was strongly shaped by court patronage, this reduced the number of major artistic centers.

European influence increases

1700 - Present

From the 18th century onward, Islamic art came under increasing European influence. Contemporary artists in the Islamic world continue to engage with and reinterpret the heritage of Islamic art.

Ottoman Rococo influence

1700 - 1899

From the 18th century, Ottoman art came under considerable European influence. Ottoman artists adopted versions of Rococo, producing an enduring and often over-fussy decorative effect.

Image source: Ottoman architecture

Ottoman Rococo influence

Westernization of elite Islamic art

1700 - 1899

From at least the 18th century, elite Islamic art was increasingly influenced by European styles. Applied arts often adopted Western forms or retained styles that had become established in the late 18th or early 19th centuries.

Persistence of the carpet industry

1700 - Present

The carpet industry has remained large, but it mostly uses designs originating before 1700. It also competes with machine-made imitations both locally and around the world.

Osman Hamdi Bey advances European-style painting

1842 - 1910

European-style painting was adopted slowly in the Ottoman world. Osman Hamdi Bey, who lived from 1842 to 1910, remained for a long time a relatively solitary figure in this development.

Key Facts

  1. Islamic art emerged in the 7th century alongside the expansion of Islam and developed across the Middle East, North Africa, Spain, Central Asia, South Asia, and Southeast Asia.
  2. Calligraphy became one of the most important art forms because written Arabic, especially Qur’anic text, held profound religious and cultural significance.
  3. Mosques, madrasas, palaces, and mausoleums showcase distinctive features such as domes, arches, courtyards, minarets, tilework, and geometric ornament.
  4. Islamic art includes extensive figural imagery in secular settings, including illustrated manuscripts, palace decoration, ceramics, and textiles, despite restrictions on images in some religious contexts.
  5. Islamic artistic traditions continuously incorporated influences from Byzantine, Persian, Central Asian, African, European, and South Asian cultures while maintaining recognizable visual principles.

Source

This History of Islamic Art timeline was generated with the help of AI, using information found on the internet.

We work hard to keep these timelines accurate, but mistakes do get through. If you spot one, email us at [email protected] and we'll fix it for future visitors.

Want a timeline like this one?

Generate yours with AI or build it from scratch, for free.

Try It for Free