Page:A history of architecture on the comparative method for the student, craftsman, and amateur.djvu/725

 SARACENIC ARCHITECTURE. 667 resembles (No. 289) other examples in Morocco and Tunis, and was probably erected as a symbol of power. It is 45 feet square, and rises to a height of 185 feet, being terminated by a belfry erected in 1568, making the total height 275 feet. As seen by the illustration, the upper part of the walls is panelled with geometric ornament. The Alhambra, Granada (a.d. 1309-1354), a portion of a royal palace, and probably the most famous of all Saracenic struc- tures, was practically rebuilt in 1309-1354 by Abd-el-Walid and his successors. The plan (No. 286 e) consists mainly of two oblong courts, at right angles to each other. The first of these, the Court of the Lions,'" 115 feet by 66 feet, is the most elaborate. The pillars are alternately single and coupled (No. 286 f) and crowned with capitals peculiar to the Alhambra (Nos. 290 and 291 a, c). The arcading is of wood, covered with richly-stuccoed decoration (No. 290). A copy of this court, two- thirds the size, was erected in 1854 at the Crystal Palace by the late Mr. Owen Jones. The " Hall of Judgment " (No. 286 e) is at its Eastern end, and on either side are the small halls of the "Two Sisters" and of the " Abencerrages," with roofs covered with stalactite decoration. The other main court, known as the Court of the Alberca," has its longer axis placed North and South, and is 138 feet by 74 feet. On the South is a two-storied arcade, and to the North is the " Hall of the Ambassadors,"" 35 feet square, with deeply-recessed windows on three sides giving views of the town beneath. This hall is crowned by a polygonal dome with arabesque decorations. The Alhambra forms a series of apartments, halls, and courts, framed in a setting of arcades, fountains, and gardens, whose subtle effect it is difficult to analyse. The richly modelled geome- tric plaster decoration, brilliantly painted and gilded, has probably never been surpassed. (e.) PERSIAN SARACENIC. The architecture evolved by tlie Saracens in Persia was largely founded on that of the Sassanian dynasty (see Historical), the remains of which are chiefly palaces. The fire worship of the people required no temples, but the palaces indicate the influence of the older Assyrian and Persian architecture. In these Sas- sapian buildings, e.g., the Palaces at Serbistan (a.d. 350), Firouzabad (a.d. 450), and Ctesiphon (a.d. 550), constructive skill is shown, the lower courses of the vaults and domes being built in horizontal layers, to avoid the oblique pressure which would occur with radiating voussoirs. The remains of the