Cities In The Premodern Islamic World: The Urban Impact Of Religion, State And Society (Soas/ Routledge Studies On The Middle E

This volume is an interdisciplinary endeavour which brings together recent research on aspects of urban life and structure by architectural and textual historians and archaeologists, engendering exciting new perspectives on urban life in the premodern Islamic world. Its objective is to move beyond the longstanding debate on whether an Islamic city existed in the premodern era and focus instead upon the ways in which religion may (or may not) have influenced the physical structure of cities and the daily lives of their inhabitants. It approaches this topic from three different but interrelated perspectives: the genesis of Islamic cities in fact and fiction; the impact of Muslim rulers upon urban planning and development; and the degree to which a religious ethos affected the provision of public services.Chronologically and geographically wideranging, the volume examines thoughtprovoking case studies from seventhcentury Syria to seventeenthcentury Mughal India by established and new scholars in the field, in addition to chapters on urban sites in Spain, Morocco, Egypt and Central Asia.Cities in the PreModern Islamic World will be of considerable interest to academics and students working on the archaeology, history and urbanism of the Middle East as well as those with more general interests in urban archaeology and urbanism.