I agree with Grabar’s argument because the Islamic empire assimilated different aspects of conquered cultures that “appeared most significant” to benefit their own empire (43). Islamic dynasties used art to illustrate their dominance and universal rule over other cultures. The Muslim empire visually represented their power over newly conquered peoples by adopting many, many different […]

In Oleg Grabar’s The Formation of Islamic Art he argues that after a region goes through an exchange of power a landmark or some type of visual symbolization is usually erected in order to announce this new presence. Grabar provides evidence and theories of how Muslims created monuments after Islam had successfully spread to a […]

Oleg Grabar states that Islam makes “the conscious attempt to relate meaningfully to the conquered word, by Islamizing forms and ideas of old.” By this, he means that, for Islam, it was important to show dominance as a new culture and religion by taking aspects of older cultures and making them “islamic”. This could have […]

I agree with most of Grabar’s statement, “This point is important in defining an essential aspect of early Islamic culture, the conscious attempt to relate meaningfully to the conquered world, by Islamizing forms and ideas of old” (68-69). There are multiple examples of Islamic art that uses different characteristics, styles and artistic motifs that were […]

      Throughout the “Symbolic Appropriation of Land” in The Formation of Islamic Art Oleg Grabar declares that in order to understand early Islamic art, one must define “an essential aspect of early Islamic culture, the conscious attempt to relate meaningfully to the conquered world, by Islamizing forms and ideas of old.” (68-69) This […]

In his piece, “The Symbolic Appropriation of the Land,” Grabar makes the argument that early Islamic culture attempts to relate to the conquered world by Islamizing forms and ideas of the old. He ultimately suggests that Muslim forces do this in the form of monumental testimonies to their presence and victories on foreign soil. Essentially, […]

“The point is important in defining an essential aspect of early Islamic culture, the conscious attempt to relate meaningfully to the conquered world, by Islamizing forms and ideals of old,” (68-69). I agree with Grabar’s argument which I think he strongly illustrates with his closing statement being that “one aspect of early Islamic art – […]

  “This point is important in defining an essential aspect of early Islamic culture, the conscious attempt to relate meaningfully to the conquered word, by Islamizing forms and ideas of old.” (68-69) I agree with Grabars claim based off the evidence visible in key Islamic relics and other pieces of artwork.  Grabar was trying to […]