Cappella Palatina

The painted wooden ceiling of the Palatine Chapel, erected by Ruggero II immediately after his coronation in 1131 and consecrated in 1140, is the only monumental-scale pictorial cycle from the Fatimid period in the Mediterranean basin to have survived in its entirety. The ceiling, made up of star-shaped polygons, is decorated with lively scenes, painted in a clean, clear style with an undeniable Middle Eastern influence, depicting dancing girls, musicians, gamblers, lions and other animals, horsemen and wrestlers, all combined with geometric and vegetal decorations. The polygons are surrounded by inscriptions of good omens in kufic script. The band between the ceiling and the walls is decorated with muqarnas.

Arab Lancer

Falconer

Cavalry

Painted panels from Capella Palatina. Near top, an Arab cavalryman with a spear and long kite-shield. Another horseman below is indulging in the universal aristocratic pastime of hawking. (David Niccolle)
Source: Crusader Warfare Volume I: Byzantium, Western Europe and the Battle for the Holy Land by David Nicolle