The early development of mosque architecture, as a whole new type of architecture in the Middle East, and specifically in Bilad es-Sham, during the Umayyad era, allows us to understand the mechanisms and processes which took place in these early stages of the development of Islamic art and its material culture, particularly those put in place under the Umayyad caliphs, when there was clear momentum in creating the layout of these structures and symbols of the new power. 

The translation of the religious and political principles of Islam to this new type of building was gradually turned into the fulfillment of a series of functional and representative needs that would determine important aspects concerning the mosques’ topology (the location of the mosque within the urban centers, or in the suburban Umayyad citadels located in the Badia), as well as the various types of mosques, the architectural models adapted to specific needs (as instruments of conversion or representation) to which these new mosques had to respond, and the Visual and Architectural Culture in each area which came in response to the cultural, visual and constructive idiosyncrasies of the places where they were built. 

During this conference, we will be analyzing these aspects involved in the creation and design of the mosque by examining an apparently disparate collection of buildings across Jordan and Palestine, with a special focus on those which the speaker has helped to excavate, restore and/or identify over nearly thirty years of work in the region. These include the mosques in the Amman Citadel, Abila, Beit Shean/Schythopolis, Gerasa, Qasr al Hallabat, Khirbat al Mafjar and Shuqueyra el Gharbiyeh. 

Despite their varying appearances, configurations and locations, when viewed as a whole they manage to fit into a coherent logic that explains the design and layout of the topological and typological aspects which define this new type of building in the Umayyad era and lay the foundations for their later development. 

Ignacio Arce 

An architect and archeologist who specializes in the material culture of late Antiquity and the Islamic period. He has completed graduate studies in Stratigraphy and the Archeology of Architecture at the University of Siena and in Architectural Conservation at ICCROM (as a resident at the Spanish Academy in Rome). His PhD thesis, on the Umayyad Complex in the Citadel of Amman (summa cum laude) was awarded with the Extraordinary Prize for Best Thesis at the UPM and the Doctor Europeus Award. 

He was responsible for creating the graduate program in Architectural Conservation at the Madrid’s Superior Technical School (ETS) of Architecture. He is currently a full professor at the German-Jordanian University’s School of Architecture and directs the Master’s degree program in Architectural Conservation for Syrian refugees and professionals from the Middle East, as well as several research projects. 

As the Director of the Spanish Archeological Mission in Jordan, since 1995 he has directed several projects as the principal researcher, focusing on the investigation, excavation, restoration and presentation of relevant monumental complexes from the Roman, Late Antique and Umayyad eras; these include the Citadel of Amman, the Qasr Hallabat complex, along with its mosque and the Hammam as-Sarrah (a project selected for the Aga Khan Award); Qusayr ‘Amra, Deir el Kahf, Umm al Jimal, Qastal, Harrane and Khirbet al-Mafjar (with the cooperation of the Oriental Institute of Chicago). This last monument in Palestine has also been the subject of a project titled “Understanding and Preserving Early Islamic Jericho,” carried out at the University of Copenhagen, with an IEF Marie-Curie grant. It has also received several grants from Denmark’s Damascus Institute, David’s Sammling in Copenhagen and the Barakat Trust (which is related with the Oriental Institute in Oxford). 

He is also director and main researcher on the project titled “Analysis and Documentation of Construction Techniques and Architectural Types in the Transition from Late Antiquity to the Umayyad Period in Jordan and Palestine” (funded by the Spanish Ministry of Culture), and co-director of the Anastasius Edict Project (funded by the Gerda Henkel Stiftung). He also directs the UNESCO-funded projects in Petra and Rihab, and has authored a large number of scientific publications. 

He has been Director of the “Heritage for Development” Program run by Spain’s Cooperation entity, and has taken part in drafting several monument management plans, including Qusayr ‘Amra (World Heritage Site). He has worked as a consultant for UNESCO, ICCROM, GCI, WMF and the UNDP. He has also been responsible for the museological and museographic projects of the museum sites at the citadel of Hallabat and Amman. 

He has been awarded the Commendation of the Order of Civil Merit for his work in Jordan.