Arabesque ar a besk', a term originally applied to the fantastic ornamentation which was used in the architecture of the Arabs and Moors in Spain. The term, however, is now generally used to designate any kind of ornamentation of a fanciful character. In the arabesques of the Mohammedans the figures of men and animals were entirely excluded, in accordance with a religious law in the Koran and architects and artists confined themselves to geometric devices, foliage fruit, floral forms and the like which were arranged in elaborate designs. The most beautiful Moorish arabesques are found in the Alhambra, Spain, and the best examples of Roman work in this same style are the works of Raphael in the Vatican, imitated from earlier friezes.