Review UNIT 4 (Early Christian, Islamic)

The early Christian church Santa Sabina was modeled after an ancient Roman basilica because the...

• a domed entryway invited a comparison with the mysteries of the heavens

• clerestory windows admitted glowing light that served a practical and spiritual function

• classical friezes emphasized the importance of the building to the congregation

• vaulted low ceiling created an intimate space that encouraged private worship

The Catacomb of Priscilla was designed by its original founders to provide a

• burial place for members of the early Christian community

• refuge for early Christian families at times of religious persecution

• secret location to baptize early Christian converts

• place of worship for large congregations of early Christians

Early Christians would probably have recognized the figures with raised arms shown between the lunettes of the fresco as representing

• believers in the act of prayer

• martyrs who died by crucifixion

• angels guarding the chapel

• apostles preaching the Gospel

While different theories exist about why no Christian art older than the earliest paintings from catacombs seems to have survived, some scholars theorize that early Christians...

• avoided making religious images to distinguish themselves from members of other religions

• had no time for image making since they were continually persecuted by Roman authorities

• created religious art that was almost undistinguishable from other religious art of the time

• only started making images once the literacy rate among the population began declining

At the time of the Dome of the Rock’s construction, Muslim practitioners in Jerusalem were meant to recognize the triumph of the new faith of Islam through which external aspect of the structure?

• Its symbolic location at a sacred religious site

• Its concentric aisles that allow for circumambulation

• Its Qur’anic frieze that is visible throughout the city

• Its integrated position in a bustling city center

Which of the following is generally accepted as the reason why the Dome of the Rock was centered around the rock shown in the image?

• To highlight the rock as the place from which Muhammad began his night journey

• To acknowledge the importance of the rock in the Jewish and Christian, as well as Islamic, traditions

• To remind worshipers to strive for humility and simplicity, symbolized by an unadorned rock

• To symbolically convey the meaning that Muhammad’s teachings are the “rock” of Islamic belief

The great Mosque of Isfahan was built with a large sahn (courtyard) in its center in order to

• provide the Mosque’s clergy with a private space for prayer and contemplation

• house an open air food market for the town’s population throughout the working week

• provide space for pilgrims to perform the devotional practice of circumambulation

• accommodate the entire male population of the town during Friday prayers

Over the centuries, a wide courtyard was built around the Kaaba in order to

• allow large crowds of pilgrims to perform the prescribed ritual of circumambulation

• separate the crowds of ordinary worshipers from clerics visiting the shrine

• provide space for chapels dedicated to the important saints that line its periphery

• provide a large open space for burying the faithful near this sacred site