SARACENIC ARCHITECTURE. 66g Palace at Mashita (a.d. 627) are considered by Mr. Fergusson to show a prototype of Persian and Indian Saracenic work. Under the Abbasides dynasty, Haroun-al-Raschid (786-809) erected several important buildings at Bagdad. The ruins of these tombs are sometimes taken to indicate the source of the stalactite vault. The Mosque, Tabreez (a.d, 1204) is a domical structure, with impressive entrance and a decoration of colored glazed brick in intricate patterns. The Tomb at Sultanieh (a.d. 1303-1316) is an octagonal structure, crowned by a pointed dome 80 feet in diameter. The great Mosque, Ispahan, by Shah Abbas the Great (1585-1629), has a large open courtyard surrounded by two- storied arcades. Special features are the immense pointed portal arches, the bulbous dome, and the round minaret, while permanent decorative effect is obtained by the use of many- colored glazed bricks and tiles, the treatment of blue being particularly successful, recalling the palaces of Nineveh and Persepolis. (/) TURKISH SARACENIC. On the capture of Constantinople in 1453 by the Seljiik Turks, a type of architecture based on Byzantine structure, such as S. Sophia, was evolved. In these are to be found spherical domes, plain pendentives, semi-circular apses crowned with semi- domes, and the strong supporting buttresses such as exist in S. Sophia. In consequence there is an absence of the flat ceilings and columned courts of other types. The " Suleimaniyeh," or Mosque of Suleiman I., "The Magnificent" (a.d. 1550-1556) (No. 292), was erected by Sinan the architect. It has a forecourt nearly 200 feet in width, surrounded on all sides by a cloister roofed with small domes. In the centre of the forecourt is the usual fountain, and at the four corners are minarets. The main structure resembles S. Sophia, but is of smaller dimensions, the dome having a diameter of 86 feet with a height of 156 feet. The gallery over the aisles is reached by two flights of circular steps. Internally the walls are covered with colored marbles, the mihrab being white, with a frame of colored Persian tiles. The decoration is effected by inscriptions from the Koran. The garden behind the mosque contains two octagonal tombs, that of the founder and his favourite wife. The former is built of many-colored marbles lined internally with blue and white tiles, surrounded by an arcade, and crowned with a dome decorated with arabesques and supported on eight marble columns. The " Ahmediyeh " (Mosque of Ahmed I.) (a.d. 1608-1614), differs in being an exact square on plan. The central dome is
