Mosques with Flat Beam Ceiling of the Crimean Kha­nate Period

Research objectives: To study a group of mosques of Crimean Khanate’s period, namely, buildings with a flat beamed ceiling. To highlight various options for planning buildings and to search for their analogies. Research materials: Buildings of Crimean mosques from the sixteenth to eighteenth centuries, preserved to this day and known from archival materials. All Crimean mosques can be divided into two groups: domed buildings and buildings with flat beamed ceilings and a four-pitched roof. The second grouping is considered in this work. Research results: The consideration of a group of mosques with a flat rafter overlap allows us to divide them into two subgroups: basilicas and halls. The basilica constructions are rectangular buildings divided into naves by rows of columns or abutments supporting the beams. Buildings whose ceiling beams rest directly on the external walls can be attributed to hall mosques. Hall mosques, in turn, can be divided into square and rectangular in plan. Basilica mosques have been known in Crimea since the Golden Horde period. They have numerous analogies in the territory of Asia Minor where similar buildings appeared already in the twelfth century. In the Seljuk Sultanate of Rum, a model of the official Seljuk mosque appeared on their basis. In the Ottoman period, the mosques of Asia Minor became mainly domed. In Crimea, along with the perception of the new fashion, the old Seljuk traditions were preserved. Rectangular hall constructions are simplified versions of basilicas, while square ones comprise the domed mosques. Novelty of the research: For the first time ever, an analysis of the complex of mosque buildings with flat beamed ceilings is carried out and various layout options are highlighted. In addition, a comparison is made with similar mosques both in Crimea of the Mongol period and Asia Minor of the Seljuk period.