ABSTRACT
This chapter describes the first settlements in Mesopotamia in the fertile valleys of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers gave way to the highly developed early Islamic civilizations in parts of Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Turkey. Two other ancient cities that were precursors to later Islamic architectural development were Bishapur and Ctesiphon. These cities were part of the Sassanid Empire, also known as the Second Persian Empire. The chapter discusses one of the most important architectural contributions of the Umayyad civilization was the creation of the first mosque. One of the first Islamic mosques is the Great Mosque of Damascus in present-day Syria. Another major early Islamic architectural treasure is the Dome of the Rock, located in Jerusalem. After Mecca and Medina, the Dome of the Rock is one of the most popular Islamic pilgrimage destinations today. The chapter explains the Tunisian Great Mosque of Kairouan is an example of a ninth-century early Islamic mosque built under the Abbasid Empire.
