{"title":"The Aqaba Khans and the Origins of Khans in Jordan. An Archaeological Approach, by Reem Samed Al Shqour.","authors":"Raffaele Ranieri","doi":"10.1558/JIA.19587","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1558/JIA.19587","url":null,"abstract":"The Aqaba Khans and the Origins of Khans in Jordan. An Archaeological Approach, by Reem Samed Al Shqour. Piscataway, NJ: Gorgias Press, 2019. 558 pp., $208.00 (hardback). ISBN-13: 9781463206512.","PeriodicalId":41225,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Islamic Archaeology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.2,"publicationDate":"2021-04-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45221809","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The Archaeology of Medieval Islamic Frontiers: From the Mediterranean to the Caspian Sea, edited by A. Asa Eger.","authors":"Loren V. Cowin","doi":"10.1558/JIA.19586","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1558/JIA.19586","url":null,"abstract":"The Archaeology of Medieval Islamic Frontiers: From the Mediterranean to the Caspian Sea, edited by A. Asa Eger. University of Colorado Press, 2019. 232pp., Hb. $58.00. ISBN-13: 9781607328780.","PeriodicalId":41225,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Islamic Archaeology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.2,"publicationDate":"2021-04-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45839839","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Round Towers of the Andalusi-Catalan Borders (8th–10th centuries)","authors":"Ramon Martí, Mª Mercè Viladrich","doi":"10.1558/JIA.13425","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1558/JIA.13425","url":null,"abstract":"This article reviews the subject of early medieval fortifications in Catalonia. In particular, we focus on the free-standing round towers, a type of construction that presents many variants. Academic disputes abound as to their origins; some of them are ascribed to the Roman period, whereas others are thought to belong to the time of the Catalan Counts (from the middle of the 10th century until the middle of the 12th century). These towers are common in wide areas of al-Andalus, where their Islamic origin is usually not disputed. Here, we explore the oldest samples found in the territories of Catalonia, by cross-checking archaeological and monumental data with textual sources, in order to test the hypothesis of an Andalusi origin of these very early constructions. This study covers a large geographical area, more than 300 km straight along the Catalan coastline and neighbouring territories. On this stretch of land there were as many as three different frontiers in the period under study between the lands under Christian or Islamic rule. We discuss up to 50 towers, each one built with the purpose of surveillance and control of the territory. This mission reflects a strategy of defence, which makes sense in the Islamic era if the enemy is coming from the north. Furthermore, the successive borders are linked to different styles of towers, which show the transformation from the 8th to the 10th centuries. We identify some of their builders among the Arab governors of the period. Initially relatively low buildings, these towers took on a notably monumental character in the days of Sulayman al-A'rabi. During the 9th century, the Carolingian intrusions sparked a rapid change, with the construction of much higher towers with battlements on the roofs, such as the ones that are predominant in the area around the city of Tortosa at the beginning of the 10th century.","PeriodicalId":41225,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Islamic Archaeology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.2,"publicationDate":"2021-04-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44877693","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Sacred Place and Sacred Time in the Medieval Islamic Middle East: A Historical Perspective, by Daniella Talmon-Heller.","authors":"Hagit Nol","doi":"10.1558/JIA.19589","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1558/JIA.19589","url":null,"abstract":"Sacred Place and Sacred Time in the Medieval Islamic Middle East: A Historical Perspective, by Daniella Talmon-Heller. Edinburgh Studies in Classical Islamic History and Culture, Edinburgh University Press, 2020. 279pp., 28 illustrations, 1 additional map, index. Hb. £80. ISBN-13: 9781474460965.","PeriodicalId":41225,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Islamic Archaeology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.2,"publicationDate":"2021-04-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48147948","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Thermoluminescence Analysis of Bricks from the so-called Arch of Ali Shah","authors":"A. Moradi, M. Brambilla, F. Kamali","doi":"10.1558/JIA.19031","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1558/JIA.19031","url":null,"abstract":"The application of Thermally (TL) and Optically (OSL) Stimulated Luminescence on bricks used as building material can answer questions regarding the chronology of historical buildings. The remarkable historical reports of the “largest ever made brick vault” known as the Arch of Ali Shah (14th century) invoke the image of a gigantic structure adjoining the u-shaped brick monument in Tabriz. However, there is new scientific data that has led us to consider an alternate hypothesis regarding this monument that contradicts the traditional views of scholars. The attribution of this controversial building to Ali Shah, the great vizier of the Ilkhanid court, has long been considered an historical fact by scholars. To better understand the evolution of this unique structure, thermoluminescence (TL) was used to propose a relative dating for its construction. Surprisingly, the results yielded dates of 512±20, 514±27 and 517±21 AD (TL age, equaling 17th century), indicating that the u-shaped structure was built some 200 years after the Ilkhanid era. These dates, supplemented with historical context and architectural evidence, leads to the conclusion that it was used as a separate building before being integrated into the older building, thereby converting the entire complex into a formidable fortification. The remains of the so called Arch of Ali Shah are clearly of a later date, characterizing a completely different architectural style than those of the Ilkhanid period.","PeriodicalId":41225,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Islamic Archaeology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.2,"publicationDate":"2021-04-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"67554617","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Sweet Waste: Medieval Sugar Production in the Mediterranean viewed from the 2002 Excavation at Tawahin es-Sukkar, Safi, Jordan, by Richard Jones. 2017","authors":"B. Walker","doi":"10.1558/jia.40950","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1558/jia.40950","url":null,"abstract":"Sweet Waste: Medieval Sugar Production in the Mediterranean viewed from the 2002 Excavation at Tawahin es-Sukkar, Safi, Jordan, by Richard Jones. Potingair Press, 2017. 245pp. Pb. £45.00. ISBN-13: 9780956824035.","PeriodicalId":41225,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Islamic Archaeology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.2,"publicationDate":"2020-03-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47611403","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"From Arabia to Bilād al-Shām: Muʿāwiya’s Development of an Infrastructure and Monumental Architecture of Early Umayyad Statehood","authors":"B. Laurent","doi":"10.1558/jia.40700","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1558/jia.40700","url":null,"abstract":"This article first examines the early history of Mu??wiya and his monumental architectural achievements in Arabia. He was from a wealthy land-owning elite Arabian family of traders from the Meccan Qurayshi tribe. As Companion and scribe of the Prophet he was well-positioned to achieve the goals of tribal unification, agricultural development, initiating a period of architectural construction and state-building. Second the article’s major focus is his monumental architectural construction in Greater Syria evidenced in the archaeological and re-evaluated textual evidence, which support his creation of statehood infrastructure for the Umayyads in Bil?d al-Sh?m. As governor of Syria and later as the first Sufy?nid Am?r al-mu?min?n or Commander of the Faithful in the D?r al-Islam, he controlled the development of an architecture and bureaucratic infrastructure of state throughout the region. After arrival with the armies of conquest in 634, he became provincial governor of Syria in 638/639 and continued the process of tribal unification and state-building at the behest of the Rashidun caliphs ?Umar and ?Uthman. As Am?r al-mu?min?n he continued tribal consolidation, settling disputes by moving populations within the D?r al-Islam. He also engaged in monumental architectural development throughout the realm including mosques, palaces and fortresses, invented the mi?r?b–the stone or space (later the niche) indicating the direction of prayer toward Mecca, and established what was later known as the rib?? system along the Mediterranean coast. Though there are meager documentary survivals of texts and inscriptions, there is now sufficient archaeological and recent secondary scholarly evidence particularly in a revision textual usage to claim that Mu??wiya created the Umayyad state and monuments reflecting statehood during his reign as Commander of the Faithful in Syria with multiple capitals in Damascus, al-J?biya, al-?innabra and Jerusalem.","PeriodicalId":41225,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Islamic Archaeology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.2,"publicationDate":"2020-02-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1558/jia.40700","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43975361","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
G. Dawkes, W. Toonen, M. Macklin, Gaygysyz Jorayev
{"title":"The Form and Abandonment of the City of Kuik-Mardan, Otrar Oasis, Kazakhstan in the Early Islamic Period","authors":"G. Dawkes, W. Toonen, M. Macklin, Gaygysyz Jorayev","doi":"10.1558/jia.37961","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1558/jia.37961","url":null,"abstract":"A joint Kazakh-British archaeological initiative undertook a survey and excavation of the city of Kuik-Mardan, one of the largest of the seventy or so known settlements in the Otrar oasis on the Syr-Darya river, Kazakhstan. Several complimentary field techniques were employed including unmanned aerial vehicle photomapping and an extensive programme of radiometric dating. The radiocarbon dates obtained are the first for any city in the oasis and allow more confident interpretations of the experience of the city to be ventured. Also undertaken was a geoarchaeological investigation of the surrounding irrigation and water supply canal system. Key results include its wholesale destruction during the 6th to 7th century and the form of the later occupation of the city.","PeriodicalId":41225,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Islamic Archaeology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.2,"publicationDate":"2020-02-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1558/jia.37961","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43620743","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Sgraffito pottery in the Ottoman Timișoara “Palanca Mare” suburb—ICAM excavation point (2015 Campaign)","authors":"A. Gaşpar","doi":"10.1558/jia.34614","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1558/jia.34614","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":41225,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Islamic Archaeology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.2,"publicationDate":"2019-07-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1558/jia.34614","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47589871","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Bedouin “Settlement” in the Tell el-Hesi Region in the Late Islamic to British Mandate Period","authors":"B. Saidel, J. Blakely","doi":"10.1558/jia.37242","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1558/jia.37242","url":null,"abstract":"Combining historical sources with the survey data we document the Bedouin transition from pastoralism to an economy based more on agriculture than animal husbandry. The construction of structures, first baikas and later houses, is evidence for a presumed reduction in mobility. This shift towards an agricultural economy was in part facilitated by the Fellahin/villagers who were hired by the Bedouin to assist in the harvest. This shift and consequential decline in mobility, however, is voluntary and not a result of direct coercion by the Mandate government.","PeriodicalId":41225,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Islamic Archaeology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.2,"publicationDate":"2019-07-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1558/jia.37242","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41832896","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}