Editing Minbar (section)

== Stone minbars ==
In the central Islamic lands, stone or marble minbars were occasionally produced at an early period, as with some examples in Mamluk Cairo, but they are generally characteristic of the later Ottoman period. Compared to the earlier traditions of wooden minbars, stone minbars were often simpler in their decoration.<ref name=":242" /><ref name=":1" />

=== Mamluk period ===
[[File:Aqsunqur Mosque DSCF9712.jpg|thumb|Marble minbar of the Mamluk-era [[Aqsunqur Mosque]] in Cairo (circa 1347)]]One of the few early marble minbars of Mamluk Cairo is found in the [[Aqsunqur Mosque]] in [[Cairo]] (circa 1347). Its marble surfaces are decorated with other stone materials of different colors inside an interlacing pattern formed by bands of marble.<ref name=":032">{{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=103–104 |language=en}}</ref> A marble minbar was also constructed for the earlier [[Mosque of Ulmas al-Hajib]] (1329–1330). Only fragments of it have been preserved (kept at the [[Museum of Islamic Art, Cairo|Museum of Islamic Art in Cairo]]), but they attest to some of the highest-quality stonework from the Mamluk period.<ref name=":13">{{Cite book |last=O'Kane |first=Bernard |title=The Mosques of Egypt |publisher=American University of Cairo Press |year=2016 |isbn=9789774167324 |pages=92–95 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last1=O'Kane |first1=Bernard |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ER5cBgAAQBAJ |title=The Illustrated Guide to the Museum of Islamic Art in Cairo |last2=Abbas |first2=Mohamed |last3=Abdulfattah |first3=Iman |publisher=American University in Cairo Press |year=2012 |isbn=978-977-416-338-8 |pages=324 |language=en}}</ref> The stone minbar of the [[Mosque of Sultan Hasan]] in Cairo (circa 1360) is relatively plain, though it has unusually ornate bronze doors.<ref name=":242" /> In the next century, Sultan [[Qaytbay]] gifted a stone minbar to the [[Khanqah of Faraj ibn Barquq]] in 1483. This one is covered with geometric motifs carved to resemble the traditional style of wooden minbars.<ref name=":242" /><ref name=":04">{{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=281–283 |language=en}}</ref>

=== Ottoman period ===
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| footer            = [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman]]-era minbar of the [[Selimiye Mosque, Edirne|Selimiye Mosque]] in [[Edirne]] (circa 1574). This marble minbar is pierced with geometric [[openwork]] and has a typical Ottoman conical cap.
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Ottoman minbars are distinguished in part by the shape of their canopy, where the traditional small dome is replaced with a tall, polygonal cone similar to the caps of Ottoman minarets.<ref name=":242" /> An exceptional early minbar is that of the Ahmed Pasha Mosque in [[Amasya]], which has extensive finely-carved floral decoration.<ref name=":5" /> In the finest Ottoman minbars, the main flanks are pierced with geometric [[openwork]] and [[Arcade (architecture)|arcades]]. The apogee of this style is exemplified by the minbar of the [[Selimiye Mosque, Edirne|Selimiye Mosque]] in [[Edirne]] (circa 1574).<ref name=":242" /><ref name=":1" /> The conical cap of this minbar is also covered with decorative tiles, a feature shared with the slightly earlier minbar of the [[Sokollu Mehmed Pasha Mosque, Kadırga|Sokollu Mehmed Pasha Mosque]].<ref name=":5" /> In later centuries, following the introduction of the [[Ottoman Baroque style]], minbars were carved with [[Eclecticism in architecture|eclectic]] motifs inspired by the [[Baroque architecture|European Baroque]].<ref name=":242" />

=== Indian subcontinent ===
[[File:Jami Masjid, Mandu - minbar 01.jpg|left|thumb|Minbar of the [[Jama Masjid, Mandu|Friday Mosque]] in [[Mandu, Madhya Pradesh|Mandu]], [[India]] (circa 1454)]]
Minbars were highly variable in style and size on the [[Indian subcontinent]], but stone was the favoured material throughout the region. Wooden minbars may have been employed in earlier periods, but few or none have been preserved.<ref name=":242" /><ref name=":1" /><ref name=":5" /> Some of the minbars are merely a series of simple steps while others are very elaborate.<ref name=":5" />

Among other variations, the minbars of the [[Bengal Sultanate]] and the [[Gujarat Sultanate]] typically have canopies, while those of the [[Jaunpur Sultanate]] and [[Mughal Empire]] usually do not. One of the most elegant examples of the canopied type is the minbar in the [[Jama Masjid, Mandu|Friday Mosque]] of [[Mandukya Upanishad|Mandu]] in the [[Malwa]] region, dated to 1454, which has a dome in the local style upheld by curving [[Bracket (architecture)|brackets]].<ref name=":5" /> In both the [[Gujarat]] and Malwa regions, the first step of the minbar is often preceded by a small square platform whose original purpose is unclear.<ref name=":5" />

[[File:Delhi Freitagsmoschee - Minbar.jpg|thumb|The [[Mughal Empire|Mughal]]-era minbar of the [[Jama Masjid, Delhi|Friday Mosque]] in [[Delhi]] (17th century) is an example of a minbar without a canopy.]]
In the [[Deccan sultanates|Deccan]], the minbar is usually a plain staircase of three steps. In the Mughal Empire, some minbars also had a simple design form with three steps, but they sometimes had flourishes such as a highly-polished or inlaid marble finish (especially under [[Shah Jahan]]) or a pierced stone balustrade.<ref name=":5" />