past the horizontal middle axis of the circle and begin to curve towards each other, rather than just being semi-circular (forming half a circle only). This arch profile became nearly ubiquitous in the region from the very beginning of the Islamic period. The origin of this arch appear to date back to the preceding Byzantine period across the Mediterranean, as versions of it appear in Byzantine-era buildings in Cappadocia, Armenia, and Syria. They also appear frequently in Visigothic churches in the Iberian peninsula (5th-7th centuries). Perhaps due to this Visigothic influence, horseshoe arches were particularly predominant afterwards in al-Andalus under the Umayyads of Cordoba, although the Andalusi arch was of slightly different profile than the Visigothic arch. Arches were not only used for supporting the weight of the structure above them. Blind arches and arched niches were also used as decorative elements. The mihrab (niche symbolizing the qibla) of a mosque was almost invariably in the shape of horseshoe arch. Starting in the Almoravid period, the first pointed or "broken" horseshoe arches began to appear in the region and became more widespread during the Almohad period. This arch is likely of North African origin, since pointed arches were already present in earlier Fatimid architecture further east. Polylobed arch Polylobed (or multifoil) arches, have their earliest precedents in Fatimid architecture in Ifriqiya and Egypt and had also appeared in Andalusi architecture such as the Aljaferia palace. In the Almoravid and Almohad periods, this type of arch was further refined for decorative functions while horseshoe arches continued to be standard elsewhere. It appears in the Great Mosque of Tlemcen (in Algeria) and the Mosque of Tinmal. "Lambrequin" arch The so-called "lambrequin" arch, with a more intricate profile of lobes and points, was also introduced in the Almoravid period, with an early appearance in the funerary section of the Qarawiyyin Mosque dating from the early 12th century. It then became common in subsequent Almohad and Marinid architecture (as well as Nasrid architecture in Spain), often to highlight the arches near the mihrab area of a mosque. This type of arch is also sometimes referred to as a "muqarnas arch" due to its similarities with a muqarnas profile and because of its speculated derivation from the use of muqarnas itself. This type of arch was indeed commonly used with muqarnas sculpting along the intrados (inside surfaces) of the arch. Decoration Floral and vegetal motifs