Available:*
Library | Item Barcode | Call Number | Material Type | Item Category 1 | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Searching... | 30000010230079 | HT147.5 H57 2007 f | Open Access Book | Book | Searching... |
On Order
Summary
Summary
This book contains articles on historic cities of the Islamic world, ranging from West Africa to Malaysia, which over the centuries have been centres of culture and learning and of economic and commercial life, and which have contributed much to the consolidation of Islam as a faith and as a social and political institution. The articles have been taken from the second edition of the Encyclopaedia of Islam, completed in 2004, but in many cases expanded and rewritten. All have been updated to include fresh historical information, with note of contemporary social developments and population statistics. The book thus delineates the urban background of Islam has it has evolved up to the present day, highlighting the role of such great cities as Cairo, Istanbul, Baghdad and Delhi in Islamic history, and also brings them together in a rich panorama illustrating one of mankinds greatest achievements, the living organism of the city.
Author Notes
C. Edmund Bosworth , Fellow of the British Academy and Honorary Member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Emeritus Professor of Arabic Studies at Manchester University. His most recent book is An Intrepid Scot. William Lithgow of Lanark's Travels in the Ottoman Lands, North Africa and Central Europe, 1609-21 (2006).
Reviews 1
Choice Review
This well-researched volume includes articles on nearly 90 major cities around the world, some of which, US readers will find to their surprise, have Islamic cores or significant Islamic history. The articles, by an array of scholars, are detailed, authoritative, and well written. Inclusion of thumbnail contributor biographies would have been an added bonus. Each article offers a helpful bibliography, and the book's index is thorough and well done. An appendix offers an excellent section of plates. The clarity of the images is improved by the use of a higher quality paper in this section, but this reviewer is not sure whether removal of the images from the articles that describe them is worth the difference in quality. This volume is at a distinct disadvantage in following hard on the heels of a very similar work--Cities of the Middle East and North Africa (CH, Jun'07, 44-5387), ed. by M. Dumper and B. Stanley--that covers cities in the Middle East. This slightly newer volume covers Islamic cities around the world, meaning that a great deal of overlap exists alongside some different material. Both are excellent works. Summing Up: Recommended. Lower-level undergraduates and above; general readers. S. J. Stillwell Jr. University of Arizona
