In the same period, artisans compiled girih pattern books such as the Topkapı Scroll. The term 'girih' was used in Turkish for polygonal strap patterns in architecture as early as the late 15th century. This book laid the groundwork for designing girih by explaining fundamental grammar for construction girih patterns. In his treatise A Book on Those Geometric Constructions Which Are Necessary for a Craftsman, he explained the geometric structure and illustrates the methods of drawing polygons within other shapes (mostly circles) for craftsmen and artisans. In 10th century a systematic investigation of geometric patterns was conducted by Persian mathematician and astronomer Abu al-Wafa' Buzjani in the House of Wisdom. In the other, called gereh-chini small wooden panels of geometric shapes are created individually, and combined to create an elaborate design. In one, a wooden grille with polygons and stars is created the holes can be left as they are, or filled with some material. Girih patterns can be created in woodwork in two different ways. In woodwork, one of the earliest surviving examples of Islamic geometric art is the 13th-century minbar (pulpit) of the Mosque of Ibn Tulun, Cairo. It is illuminated with interlacing octagons and thuluth calligraphy. The earliest form of girih on a book is seen in the frontispiece of a Quran manuscript from the year 1000, found in Baghdad. In addition, no clear border was established between science and craft thus, the craftsmen usually followed the mathematicians’ principles and guidelines directly. Architecture was classified in the field of practical geometry in the early Islamic period, and building projects always involve a muhandis (geometer). The wild application of girih on architectures should credit to the close relationship between Islamic architecture, geometry, and craft. Early examples of Islamic geometric patterns made of straight strap lines can be seen in the architecture of the surviving gateway of the Ribat-i Malik caravanserai, Uzbekistan, built in 1078. The Umayyad Mosque (709–715) in Damascus, Syria has window screens made of interlacing undulating strapwork in the form of six-pointed stars. These had curvilinear interlaced strapwork with three-fold rotational symmetry. The girih style of ornamentation is thought to have been inspired by 2nd century AD Syrian Roman knotwork patterns. Girih patterns have been used to decorate varied materials including stone screens, as at Fatehpur Sikri plasterwork, as at mosques and madrasas such as the Hunat Hatun Complex in Kayseri metal, as at Mosque-Madrassa of Sultan Hassan in Cairo and in wood, as at the Mosque–Cathedral of Córdoba.Ģnd century Roman mosaic in Bosra with curvilinear knot patterns A set of tiles consisting of a dart and a kite shape can be used to create aperiodic Penrose tilings, though there is no evidence that such a set was used in medieval times. The 15th century Topkapı Scroll explicitly shows girih patterns together with the tilings used to create them. Square repeating units of known patterns can be copied as templates, and historic pattern books may have been intended for use in this way. Patterns may be elaborated by the use of two levels of design, as at the 1453 Darb-e Imam shrine. Girih patterns can be created in a variety of ways, including the traditional straightedge and compass construction the construction of a grid of polygons and the use of a set of girih tiles with lines drawn on them: the lines form the pattern. The earliest girih dates from around 1000 CE, and the artform flourished until the 15th century. Girih decoration is believed to have been inspired by Syrian Roman knotwork patterns from the second century. Girih ( Persian: گره, 'knot', also written gereh ) are decorative Islamic geometric patterns used in architecture and handicraft objects, consisting of angled lines that form an interlaced strapwork pattern.

Tile patterns