Khanqah in the context of "Islamic architecture"

Timurid art is a style of art originating during the rule of the Timurid Empire (1370-1507) and was spread across Iran and Central Asia. Timurid art was noted for its usage of both Persian and Chinese styles, as well as for taking influence from the art of other civilizations in Central Asia. Scholars regard this time period as an age of cultural and artistic excellence. After the decline of the Timurid Empire, the art of the civilization continued to influence other cultures in West and Central Asia.

Considered a rich period of Persian artistic revival, Timurid art can be characterized by an emphasis on book arts and manuscript illumination as well as luxury arts like metalwork and jade carving. Architecturally, the Timurids had ambitious building programs, most often building Sufi shrines, khanqas, mosques, and madrasas.

Sheikh Said (Kirmanjki: Şêx Seîd; c. 1865 – 29 June 1925) was a Zaza Kurd religious leader, one of the leading sheikhs of the Naqshbandi order and the head of the Sheikh Said rebellion.

He was born around 1865 in Hınıs or Palu, into an influential family of the Naqshbandi order, where his grandfather was an influential sheikh. Sheikh Said studied religious sciences at the madrasa led by his father Sheikh Mahmud Fevzi as well from several Islamic scholars in the region. Later he was involved in the local tekke set up by his grandfather Sheikh Ali. His grandfather was a respected leader of the religious community and his grave was visited by thousands of pilgrims. He became the head of the religious community after his father Sheikh Mahmud died. In 1907 he toured the neighboring provinces in the east and he established contacts with officers from the Hamidiye cavalry.

The Suhrawardi order (Arabic: سهروردية, Persian: سهروردیه) is a Sufi order founded by Abu ’l-Nad̲j̲īb Suhrawardī (died 1168). Lacking a centralised structure, it eventually divided into various branches. The order was especially prominent in India. The ideology of the Suhrawardi order was inspired by Junayd of Baghdad (d. 910), a Persian scholar and mystic from Baghdad.

Under the Ilkhanate (1256–1335), the Suhrawardi was one of the three leading Sufi orders and was based in western Iran. The order had its own khanqahs (Sufi lodges), which helped them spread their influence throughout Persianate society. The order included prominent members such as the Akbari mystics Abd al-Razzaq Kāshānī (died 1329), Sa'id al-Din Farghani (died 1300), and the Persian poet Saadi Shirazi (died 1292).

A zawiya or zaouia (Arabic: زاوية, romanized: zāwiyah, lit. 'corner'; Turkish: zaviye; also spelled zawiyah or zawiyya) is a building and institution associated with Sufis in the Islamic world. It can serve a variety of functions such a place of worship, school, monastery and/or mausoleum. In some regions the term is interchangeable with the term khanqah, which serves a similar purpose. In the Maghreb, the term is often used for a place where the founder of a Sufi order or a local saint or holy man (e.g. a wali) lived and was buried. In the Maghreb the word can also be used to refer to the wider tariqa (Sufi order or brotherhood) and its membership.

Mamluk architecture was the architectural style that developed under the Mamluk Sultanate (1250–1517), which ruled over Egypt, the Levant, and the Hijaz from their capital, Cairo. Despite their often tumultuous internal politics, the Mamluk sultans were prolific patrons of architecture and contributed enormously to the fabric of historic Cairo. The Mamluk period, particularly in the 14th century, oversaw the peak of Cairo's power and prosperity. Their architecture also appears in cities such as Damascus, Jerusalem, Aleppo, Tripoli, and Medina.

Major Mamluk monuments typically consisted of multi-functional complexes which could combine various elements such as a patron's mausoleum, a madrasa, a khanqah (Sufi lodge), a mosque, a sabil, or other charitable functions found in Islamic architecture. These complexes were built with increasingly complicated floor plans which reflected the need to accommodate limited urban space as well as a desire to visually dominate their urban environment. Their architectural style was also distinguished by increasingly elaborate decoration, which began with pre-existing traditions like stucco and glass mosaics but eventually favoured carved stone and marble mosaic paneling. Among the most distinguished achievements of Mamluk architecture were their ornate minarets and the carved stone domes of the late Mamluk period.