Editing Minbar (section)

== Wood minbars ==
[[File:16-03-31-Hebron-Altstadt-RalfR-WAT 5740 (retouched).jpg|thumb|The [[Minbar of the Ibrahimi Mosque|Fatimid minbar]] in the [[Ibrahimi Mosque]] in [[Hebron]], commissioned in 1091]]
[[Woodworking|Woodwork]] was the primary medium for the construction of minbars in much of the [[Middle East]] and [[North Africa]] up until the [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman]] period.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":242" /> These wooden minbars were in many cases very intricately decorated with [[Islamic geometric patterns|geometric patterns]] and carved [[arabesque]]s (vegetal and floral motifs), as well as with Arabic [[Islamic calligraphy|calligraphic]] inscriptions (often recording the minbar's creation or including [[Quran|Qur'anic]] verses). In some cases they also featured delicate [[inlay]] work with [[ivory]] or [[Nacre|mother-of-pearl]]. Many workshops created minbars that were assembled from hundreds of pieces held together using an interlocking technique and wooden pegs, but without glue or metal nails.<ref name=":242" /><ref name=":0" />

=== Levant and Egypt ===
[[File:El Aksa (i.e., al-Aqsa) Mosque. Cedar pulpit & mihrab LOC matpc.03246 (cropped and retouched).jpg|thumb|The [[Minbar of the al-Aqsa Mosque|Minbar of Saladin]] in the [[Qibli Mosque|al-Aqsa mosque]], [[Jerusalem]] (photograph from 1930s). The ''minbar'' was built in wood and commissioned by [[Nur ad-Din Zangi|Nur al-Din]] in 1168-69, then installed in the mosque by [[Saladin]] in 1187.|left]]
Some of the best-documented minbars are those produced in the [[Levant]] and Egypt from the 11th to 15th centuries.<ref name=":2422">{{cite book |title=The Grove Encyclopedia of Islamic Art and Architecture |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |year=2009 |isbn=9780195309911 |editor-last1=M. Bloom |editor-first1=Jonathan |chapter=Minbar |editor-last2=S. Blair |editor-first2=Sheila}}</ref> The oldest surviving example is the [[Minbar of the Ibrahimi Mosque]] in [[Hebron]], commissioned in 1091 under the [[Fatimids]], originally for a [[Shrine of Husayn's Head|shrine in Ascalon]]. It features decoration in geometric [[strapwork]] motifs and Arabic inscriptions.<ref name=":242" /><ref name=":3">{{cite web |last=al-Natsheh |first=Yusuf |title=Haram al-Ibrahimi |url=http://islamicart.museumwnf.org/database_item.php?id=monument;isl;pa;mon01;13;en |access-date=October 18, 2020 |website=Discover Islamic Art, Museum With No Frontiers}}</ref> Among the most famous minbars was the [[Minbar of the al-Aqsa Mosque]] (also known as the Minbar of [[Saladin]]) in [[Jerusalem]], commissioned in 1168-69 by [[Nur ad-Din (died 1174)|Nur ad-Din]] and signed by four different craftsmen.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":242" /> Prior to its [[Al-Aqsa mosque fire|destruction by arson]] in 1969, it was the most accomplished surviving example of Syrian craftsmanship in this woodworking tradition. Its sides were decorated with a [[tracery]]-like geometric pattern whose pieces were filled with carved arabesques. Its balustrades were made of [[Woodturning|turned wood]] assembled into a grille with more geometric designs, framed by Arabic inscriptions. Both the portal at the bottom and the kiosk-canopy at the top were crowned with ''[[muqarnas]]''.<ref name=":242" />

[[File:Barsbay_complex_minbar3.jpg|thumb|Details of geometric motifs and inlay work on the [[Mamluk Sultanate|Mamluk]]-era Minbar of al-Ghamri ({{Circa|1451}}) at the [[Khanqah-Mausoleum of Sultan Barsbay|Khanqah of Sultan Barsbay]], Cairo]]
In [[Mamluk Egypt]] (13th–16th centuries), minbars were crafted following the earlier Syrian tradition. Their decoration is distinguished by the use of bone, ivory, ebony, or  mother-of-pearl inlaid into the wood. The geometric patterning of the decoration is further elaborated, using multi-pointed stars whose lines are extended into a wider complex pattern, with arabesques carved inside the various polygons. The canopy at the summit of the minbar was usually topped by a bulbous finial similar to those at the top of minarets.<ref name=":242" /> Among the most notable examples is the minbar of the [[Mosque of Salih Tala'i]], dated to 1300, which is also one of the earliest surviving minbars of this period.<ref name=":03">{{Cite book |last=Williams |first=Caroline |title=Islamic Monuments in Cairo: The Practical Guide |publisher=The American University in Cairo Press |year=2018 |isbn= |edition=7th |location=Cairo |pages=126}}</ref><ref name=":242" /> Another significant example is the minbar in the [[Mosque of Sultan al-Muayyad]], from between 1415 and 1420.<ref name=":242" /> One of the finest minbars of the period is the Minbar of al-Ghamri (circa 1451), currently housed in the [[Khanqah-Mausoleum of Sultan Barsbay|Khanqah of Sultan Barsbay]].<ref name=":02">{{cite book |last=Williams |first=Caroline |title=Islamic Monuments in Cairo: The Practical Guide |publisher=The American University in Cairo Press |year=2018 |edition=7th |location=Cairo |pages=286}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last=Behrens-Abouseif |first=Doris |date=2011 |title=Craftsmen, upstarts and Sufis in the late Mamluk period |journal=Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies |volume=74 |issue=3 |pages=375–395 |doi=10.1017/S0041977X11000796}}</ref> This minbar takes the design of decorative geometric patterns slightly further by using curved lines instead of the usual straight lines to form its polygons.<ref name=":12">{{cite book |last=O'Kane |first=Bernard |title=The Mosques of Egypt |publisher=The American University in Cairo Press |year=2016 |location=Cairo |pages=181 |language=en}}</ref>

=== Maghreb ===
In the [[Maghreb]], a number of wooden minbars have been preserved from the 10th to 15th centuries.<ref name=":242" /> The [[Great Mosque of Cordoba]] (in present-day Spain) hosted a famous minbar fabricated circa 975 on the orders of [[al-Hakam II]].<ref name=":0" />{{Rp|pages=50–51}} It has not survived to the present day, but it was probably emulated by the later minbars in the Maghreb that have been preserved.<ref name=":242" /><ref name=":0" />{{Rp|pages=|page=51}}

Among the oldest surviving examples in the Maghreb, after the minbar of Kairouan, is the minbar of the [[Mosque of the Andalusians]] in Fez, which was originally constructed in 980 and is partly preserved today. Its original woodwork is carved with geometric motifs that appear inspired by those of the minbar in Kairouan. When the minbar was modified in 985, some panels were replaced with panels of turned wood using a [[Bow drill|bow-drill]] technique. This is one of the earliest examples of this woodworking technique, which later became common in the fabrication of [[Mashrabiya|''mashrabiyya''s]] (wooden screens and balconies).<ref name=":0" />{{Rp|page=|pages=47, 51–52}}

The next oldest Maghrebi minbar to survive is that of the [[Great Mosque of Nedroma]], dated to around 1086, but only some fragments of its original structure remain. The minbar of the [[Great Mosque of Algiers (11th-century)|Great Mosque of Algiers]], dated to around 1097, is more substantially preserved and resembles the presumed form of the Cordoba minbar. Its sides are decorated with square panels of vegetal and sometimes geometric motifs.<ref name=":0" />{{Rp|pages=52–53}}

{{Multiple image
| image1            = المنبر المرابطي 21 44 51 006000 (retouched).jpg
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| footer            = [[Minbar of the Kutubiyya Mosque|Almoravid Minbar]] in Marrakesh, commissioned in 1137, now at the [[El Badi Palace|Badi Palace Museum]]. Its surfaces are decorated with a mix of [[Islamic geometric patterns|geometric]] and [[arabesque]] motifs in [[marquetry]], [[inlay]], and [[Wood carving|carving]].
| total_width       = 350
}}
The most important surviving minbar of this artistic tradition is the [[Minbar of the Kutubiyya Mosque|Almoravid minbar]] in [[Marrakesh]], commissioned in 1137 by [[Ali ibn Yusuf]] and completed around 1145.<ref name=":0" />{{Rp|page=|pages=21, 53}}<ref name=":242" /> During the [[Almohad Caliphate|Almohad]] period later that century, it was moved to the [[Kutubiyya Mosque]] in the same city. It is housed today in the [[El Badi Palace|Badi Palace Museum]]. The richly-crafted minbar was fabricated in Cordoba and may thus provide some hint of the former style and craftsmanship of the Cordoba minbar,<ref name=":242" /> in addition to its other structural similarities.<ref name=":0" /> The decoration of this minbar, however, is more extravagant and sophisticated than any other surviving examples.<ref name=":0" />{{Rp|pages=52–53}} It combines geometric and arabesque motifs executed in a mix of [[marquetry]], [[inlay]], and [[wood carving]].<ref name=":0" />

The only other minbar approaching, but not quite matching, the quality of the Almoravid minbar in Marrakesh is the minbar of the [[University of al-Qarawiyyin|Qarawiyyin Mosque]], also commissioned by Ali ibn Yusuf and completed in 1144.<ref name=":4">{{Cite book |last= |first= |url=https://www.metmuseum.org/art/metpublications/Al_Andalus_The_Art_of_Islamic_Spain |title=Al-Andalus: The Art of Islamic Spain |publisher=The Metropolitan Museum of Art |year=1992 |isbn=0870996371 |editor-last=Dodds |editor-first=Jerrilynn D. |location=New York |pages=364 |language=en |chapter=}}</ref><ref name=":0" />{{Rp|page=57}} The other notable minbars produced after this, mostly found in present-day Morocco, generally imitate the style of the earlier Almoravid minbar.<ref name=":0" />{{Rp|page=60}} These later minbars include the minbar of the [[Kasbah Mosque, Marrakesh|Kasbah Mosque]] in Marrakesh (circa 1189–1195), the minbar of the Mosque of the Andalusians following its Almohad renovation (circa 1203–1209), the minbar of the [[Great Mosque of Fes el-Jdid]] (circa 1276), the minbar of the [[Great Mosque of Taza]] (circa 1290–1300), and the minbar of the [[Bou Inania Madrasa]] in Fez (between 1350 and 1355). Even the much later minbar of the [[Mouassine Mosque]] in Marrakesh (between 1562 and 1573) continues to show imitations of the same tradition.<ref name=":0" />{{Rp|pages=58–62}}

=== Iran ===
[[File:Jāmeh Mosque of Nā'īn-Mehrab-01.jpg|thumb|[[Ilkhanate|Ilkhanid]]-era minbar in the [[Great Mosque of Na'in]] in Iran (1311)]] 
Iranian minbars typically have no canopy or dome at the top, distinguishing them from minbars in other regions.<ref name=":242" /> In [[Greater Iran|Iran]], [[Mesopotamia|Mesopotomia]], and [[Anatolia]], some wooden minbars preserved from the 11th and 12th centuries are carved with vegetal [[Abbasid architecture#Decoration|beveled-style]] motifs.<ref name=":242" /> Most other early minbars in Iran and Afghanistan were destroyed during the [[Mongol invasion of Persia and Mesopotamia|Mongol invasions]] of the 13th century.<ref name=":1" />

The most significant minbars preserved from the [[Ilkhanate|Ilkhanid]] period (13th–14th centuries) include those in the [[Jameh Mosque of Nain|Great Mosque of Na'in]] (1311) and in the prayer hall added by [[Öljaitü|Uljaytu]] to the [[Great Mosque of Isfahan]].<ref name=":2">{{Cite book |last1=Blair |first1=Sheila S. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-mhIgewDtNkC&pg=PA24 |title=The Art and Architecture of Islam 1250-1800 |last2=Bloom |first2=Jonathan M. |publisher=Yale University Press |year=1996 |isbn=978-0-300-06465-0 |pages=24 |language=en}}</ref> Both are wooden structures, with the former's flanks decorated by rectangular panels with beveled motifs and the latter's flanks decorated by octagonal geometric motifs. The minbar in Na'in is also one of the few Iranian minbars topped by a canopy.<ref name=":2" />

From the subsequent [[Timurid Empire|Timurid]] period, the most important example is the minbar of the [[Goharshad Mosque|Mosque of Gowhar Shad]] in [[Mashhad]], fabricated between 1336 and 1446.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":5">{{Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition|pages=73–80|volume=7|article=Minbar|last1=Pedersen|first1=J.|last2=Golmohammadi|first2=J.|last3=Burton-Page|first3=J.|last4=Freeman-Grenville|first4=G.S.P.}}</ref><ref name=":6">{{Cite book |last=O'Kane |first=Bernard |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xQ_qAAAAMAAJ&q=minbar+mashhad+timurid |title=Timurid Architecture in Khurasan |date=1987 |publisher=Mazdâ Publishers |isbn=978-0-939214-35-8 |pages=127 |language=en}}</ref> It shares the overall form of the minbar in Na'in<ref name=":6" /> and, like the latter, it also stands apart from other Iranian minbars in having a canopy.<ref name=":5" /> Its decoration is distinguished by a carpet-like geometric pattern filled with carvings of tendrils.<ref name=":5" />