VII. LATER IRON AGE: Muhammadan Period; c.650–1500 A.D.[1]
Characteristics. Development of art under Persian influence till Tartar conquest in thirteenth century: the destruction and depopulation of the country at that time brought all real artistic development to an end. Flourishing period: the 'Abbãsid Khalifate: ninth century: Hãrûn al–Rashîd. Ruins of the ancient city and palaces of Samarrã: halls with modelled and painted plaster–decorations, not only geometrical but also (Persian heterodox influence) representing trees, birds, &c. No more sculpture in round or relief of human figures or animals. The only survival of classical tradition would appear to be to some extent in architecture: Greek architects.
Coins: thin gold, and silver, with Cufic inscriptions only (see [XV], Fig. 21). Mounds of this period may be known by fragments of marble–carving with Cufic inscriptions, plasterwork, Arab and Persian vase and tile fragments in thick blue, green, yellow, or brown glaze, metallic lustre–glaze, &c., variegated glass bangles, and rings; bits of cloudy white glass (from lamps); fragments of wood, carved and inlaid with bone, nacre, &c., in geometrical patterns; textile fragments, (which are naturally not commonly found in older mounds), &c.
Nothing is said with regard to burials as these may not be touched.
[1] The limit of age which constitutes an 'antiquity' for legal purposes is fixed in most antiquity–laws at 1500 A.D.
APPENDIX
[LAWS OF ANTIQUITIES]
The following brief notes on the Laws of Antiquities in force in the various territories with which this book is concerned must not be taken as absolving the traveller from the necessity of consulting the full text of the laws. At the time of going to press, the Turkish Law presumably prevails in such parts of the Turkish Empire as are not occupied by the troops of the Entente; in the remainder, temporary regulations are in force which will doubtless be modified when the new governments are established; and it is possible that the Turkish Law itself may be brought into greater harmony with modern ideas.
The Greek Law of Antiquities.
