How Old Empires Built the Art of Islamic Patterns

Introduction: Borrowing and Building

When Islamic art began, it did not start from zero. It grew up in places that already had amazing art: the lands of Roman, Greek, Byzantine, and Persian empires.

Islamic geometry is like a great mix. It took the best ideas, tools, and shapes from these old cultures, cleaned them up, and used them to create a new art style focused on Unity (Tawhid).

This post shows you the journey. You'll see how old shapes became the beautiful patterns we know today.

1. From Greek & Roman Art: The Rules of Perfect Space

The ancient Greek and Roman worlds gave Islamic art its math and its love for clean lines.

• The Grid: Greek and Roman builders always measured everything exactly. They used straight lines and perfect measurements to make their columns and floors balance. Islamic artists took this idea and made it the invisible grid that starts every geometric pattern.

• The Tile Floor: Romans were masters of mosaics. They made huge, beautiful floor patterns using tiny, colored pieces of stone. This Roman way of covering a whole surface with small, locking pieces directly inspired later Islamic tilework (like Zellij).

 

Fragment of a Greek black-figured pyxis, 570–550 a.C. From the temple of Demeter Malophoros in Selinunte, Sicily. Museo archeologico regionale di Palermo

 Boeotian Geometric Hydria lamp, Louvre

Trabzon Ayasofya Camii, Fatih, Ayasofya Caddesi, Ortahisar/Trabzon, Türkiye

 Rome, Metropolitan City of Rome, Italy  

Malte 

 

2. Byzantine Influence: The Weaving Lines

When Islamic art moved into the areas of the Byzantine Empire (Eastern Roman Empire), it learned about flow and deeper meaning.

• Focus on Balance: Byzantine art, especially on church floors, used a lot of perfect symmetry (mirroring and turning). Islamic artists used this idea of perfect balance to show God's perfect order.

• Interlacing: Byzantine designs loved braids or weaving lines in stone. Islamic artists made these lines cleaner and more complex, creating the beautiful strapwork (or Girih) that makes patterns look like they are woven over and under each other.

Cappella Palatina, Piazza del Parlamento, Palermo, PA, Italy

Interior of Ayasofya Hagia Sophia Istanbul Constantinople Christian patriarchal basilica

3. Sassanian Persia: The Star is Born

The biggest change happened in the East, in the lands of Sassanian Persia (old Iran). They gave us the most important shape: the star.

• The Royal Shape: Sassanian art often used a central rosette or starburst shape in their carvings. This shape meant power and royalty.

• The Change: Islamic artists kept the strong, central star design but removed anything lifelike (like petals). They made the star purely geometric—a perfect polygon. This star shape became the most important part of patterns in Iran and India.

• Better Math: Persian scholars were great at math. They helped develop the knowledge needed to build the super complex stars (like the 10-point and 12-point designs) that we see today.

Ishtar Gate (III construction stage), 7th-6th century BC, Babylon, Pergamonmuseum, Berlin

4. The Final Result: Cleaner and Deeper Meaning

The final step was for Islamic artists to take all these old ideas and make them new. This happened because of the philosophy of Tawhid.

1. Cleaning Up: They removed all figures (people, animals) and made the flowers or leaves simple and abstract.

2. Focusing on Structure: The art became about the structure itself—the perfect repeating rules—not what the picture was about.

3. Putting it Together: Geometry was used alongside beautiful calligraphy (writing) and arabesque (abstract plant scrolls). The result was a complete system that covered buildings with a message of total harmony and unity.

This new geometric language was understood everywhere in the Islamic world. It was simple in its rules, endless in its looks, and deep in its meaning.

Aleppo, Syria

Alhambra, Spain

mosquèe hassan 2, Casablanca, Maroc

Sources

1. Wikipedia – Islamic Geometric Patterns
Wikipedia

2. The Metropolitan Museum of Art – Geometric Patterns in Islamic Art
The Metropolitan Museum of Art

3. Deen Arts Foundation – Islamic Geometric Patterns
deenartsfoundation.org

4. Tehran Times – Interesting Facts About Islamic Geometric Patterns
Tehran Times

5. Art of Islamic Pattern – Introduction to Geometry
artofislamicpattern.com