A Comparative Study of Decorative Patterns in Mosques of the Third Century AH Based on a Contextual Approach (Case Study: Atiq Grand Mosque of Shiraz and Cordoba Grand Mosque)

 This study attempts to examine the decorative motifs of mosques (Atiq Mosque in Shiraz and Cordoba Mosque in Cordoba) in Iran and Spain in the third century A.H. These decorative designs are in accordance with the beliefs of the people of the region and regardless of all their differences, they share common goals in the Islamic world and through these designs spiritual and mental concepts are conveyed. Decorative patterns, which are symbols of the elements of nature, are rooted in Iranian-Sassanid art; Byzantium and have been continuously repeated as motifs in the art of the Islamic era.

This study attempts to compare the decorative motifs of the Atiq Mosque in Shiraz with those of the Cordoba Mosque in Cordoba with a contextualist approach.

This article used a descriptive and analytical method to study the decorations of the Atiq Mosque in Shiraz and the Cordoba Mosque in Spain and to identify similarities and shared symbols.

Decorative designs in Islamic art are derived from the beliefs of people over the centuries. The continuity in Islamic art has spread from Iran to the Islamic world.  The architectural formation of Atiq and Cordoba mosques is not contextual, because they are built based on the pattern of the Prophet’s Mosque-Shabestani columnar mosque. However, the decorations of both mosques are contextual and inspired by Sassanid art in Iran and Byzantium in Andalusia.