Alison L. Gascoigne

Cities in the pre-modern Islamic world : the urban impact of religion, state and society

This volume is an inter-disciplinary 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 pre-modern Islamic world. Its objective is to move beyond the long-standing debate on whether an ‘Islamic city’ existed in the pre-modern 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 inter-related 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 wide-ranging, the volume examines thought-provoking case studies from seventh-century Syria to seventeenth-century 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 Pre-Modern 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.

Pottery from Jām: A Mediaeval Ceramic Corpus from Afghanistan

Abstract This paper presents preliminary results of field recording of ceramic material from Jām, Ghūr province, Afghanistan, a site which has been associated with Rīrūzkūh, the summer capital of the Ghurid dynasty. A fabric series and catalogue of forms is presented, in addition to the results of some initial scientific analyses. Comparisons have been drawn with corpora from other sites in Afghanistan, Iran and Central Asia, and the significance of the material is discussed in light of the regional and chronological significance of assemblages from this area.

Journeying along medieval routes in Europe and the Middle East

A multi-disciplinary collection of important and innovative new research that enhances our understanding of the experience, conditions, conceptualisation, and impact of human movement in Western Europe and the Middle East between Late Antiquity and the thirteenth century. Focusing on routes and journeys throughout medieval Europe and the Middle East in the period between Late Antiquity and the thirteenth century, this multi-disciplinary book draws on travel narratives, chronicles, maps, charters, geographies, and material remains in order to shed new light on the experience of travelling in the Middle Ages. The contributions gathered here explore the experiences of travellers moving between Latin Europe and the Holy Land, between southern Italy and Sicily, and across Germany and England, from a range of disciplinary perspectives. In doing so, they offer unique insights into the experience, conditions, conceptualization, and impact of human movement in medieval Europe. Many essays place a strong emphasis on the methodological problems associated with the study of travel and its traces, and the collection is enhanced by the juxtaposition of scholarly work taking different approaches to this challenge. The papers included here engage in cross-disciplinary and interdisciplinary dialogue and are supported by a discursive, contextualizing introduction by the editors.

In the trenches: rescue archaeology at the Bala Hissar, Kabul

Abstract The Bala Hissar was the royal, military and administrative heart of Kabul for a significant period before it was occupied by British forces during the first two Anglo-Afghan wars in the nineteenth century. Despite its archaeological and historical significance, part of the site continues to function as a military base, an expansion of which began in 2007 when nine large holes were bulldozed into the site before protests halted the work. This paper details the findings of an archaeological impact assessment undertaken in July 2007, and incorporates an analysis of satellite images documenting further construction in 2009. The results provide the first explicit archaeological (in particular ceramic) evidence suggesting deep continuity of occupation at the site. The contested ownership and uncertain future of the Bala Hissar in Kabul exemplify the pressures placed on archaeological sites around the world, in the face of uncontrolled development and competing agendas.

The late Roman and early Islamic urban enceinte

It has been established in the preceding sections that settlement walls were by no means uncommon in ancient Egypt, and it is from this tradition that the late Roman and early Islamic urban configuration developed. With the incorporation of the country into the Roman empire, it was inevitable that changes would be made to its defensive situation, and the continuing Hellenization of the upper classes would alter perceptions of the urban ideal. This section will consider to what extent these forces brought Egypt into line with other eastern Roman provinces, and how the urban enceinte developed after the Arab conquest of the country in 642.