QASR AL MUSHATTA

The impressive dimensions of the Qasr Mushatta are only found in the Qasr al Tuba, probably built by Al Walid II. This palace, which means "winter" in Arabic, is unfinished, probably because of the murder of Waldi II. Its plan is not organized around a central courtyard, but in three parts. The two unfinished side spaces were designed to house soldiers, servants or courtiers, while the central part housed the Caliph and his family. A mosque, identifiable by its mihrâb, leads to a large courtyard. Four housing units, known as bayt, which can be found in many Umayyad civil buildings, surround the throne room. Although Syrian in plan, they are also reminiscent of Sassanid Iran with their brick vaults, and may have served as the residence of the Caliph's four wives.

South facade.

Mushatta is also known for its rich decoration, especially its southern façade, a large part of which is displayed in the Pergamon Museum in Berlin. It consists of a band bordered by richly carved moldings and divided by a zigzag, perhaps deriving from Arab folk art motifs, with rosettes and vegetal elements, often animated by animal figures, real (felines, birds) or fantastic (griffins, centaurs...). Animals were already present in the ancient cylinder seals and then abundantly used in Christian art. Other motifs, such as birds, seem to be directly inspired by Coptic Egypt, where some artists came from. They rub shoulders with fantastic creatures: centaurs and sphinxes, which come from the classical culture that bathed the whole Mediterranean world before Islam, the Iranian "dragon-peacock" is linked, under the Sassanids, to astrology, to the Zoroastrian religion and to power. Originally a deity of Central Asia, this animal still often appears on medallions and talismans as a simple figure of prosperity. It was also often represented in the Byzantine world, and sometimes even on Romanesque works.

Some of the scrolls are decorated with beaded circles, reminiscent of Sassanian silks. Often copied by the Byzantines, these textiles were exported to Europe, where they were frequently used to wrap relics. The only human beings depicted are grape pickers as they are represented on some Roman mosaics or in the Qasr Amra. The vine with lions recalls the cult of Dionysus in antiquity and in Coptic Egypt. The pine cones of the rosettes would come from the figurative art of Sassanid Iran.