AbstractsLaw & Legal Studies

The holy text of Islam, the Quran, frequently refers to wine both praising and condemning the substance. Within the confines of earth, wine is prohibited because of its intoxicating nature. Believers who imbibe wine reaching an inebriated state separate themselves from God by failing to heed his law. However, for those believers righteous enough to enter the ideal, pastoral, paradisiacal afterlife, wine is not only permitted, but a great reward from Allah. In Paradise, the righteous will lounge on soft, supple couches, and will be served copious amounts of wine from goblets of silver and glass by beautiful, immortal youths. This description of Paradise provides an image of pleasures not typically afforded to believers of a religion that developed in an arid desert region. Both the religious and the secular realms of early Islamic art thus explore the act of wine drinking and the pleasures of Paradise. Religious Islamic art conveys the notion of Paradise as a means to attract converts to Islam who otherwise live in less than pleasurable conditions. Following an aniconic style, Islams religious art illustrates the verses of the Quran, providing a visual image to believers of the fertile garden, promised by God awaiting them in the afterlife. The secular realm of Islamic art also employs iconography referring to paradise, but does so by adopting and adapting themes of banqueting and luxury developed in early civilizations of the Near East by the ruling and elite classes as a means to demonstrate power and privilege. Through an analysis and comparison of pre-Islamic art of the Near East, as well as both the religious and secular realms of early Islamic art, this thesis explores the ways The Umayyad Caliphate employed an ancient iconography in order to secure the caliphs reign as successor to the previous empires of the Near East. Advisors/Committee Members: Spieth, Darius (committee member), Fitzpatrick Sifford, Elena (committee member), Mamoli, Myrsini (chair), West, Lisa (committee member).