Petersen 1996 page 295. "As the Arabs did not have an architectural tradition suited to the needs of a great empire, they adopted the building methods of the defeated Sassanian and Byzantine empires. Because they ruled from Syria, Byzantine influence was stronger, although Sassanian elements became increasingly important".
A Companion to Islamic Art and Architecture page 30. Frameworks of Islamic Art and Architectural History : Concepts, Approaches and Historiographies : "Thus, it is increasingly being recognized that the mutual Roman-Byzantine architectural heritage of the Mediterranean, which had played an important role in the formation of early Islamic art, continued to mediate the shared histories of European and Islamic art long after the medieval period".
