DOCSLIB.ORG

The Aghlabids and Their Neighbors: Art and Material Culture in Ninth-Century North Africa Glaire D

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
The Aghlabids and Their Neighbors: Art and Material Culture in Ninth-Century North Africa Glaire D Al-Masāq Journal of the Medieval Mediterranean ISSN: 0950-3110 (Print) 1473-348X (Online) Journal homepage: https://www.tandfonline.com/loi/calm20 The Aghlabids and Their Neighbors: Art and Material Culture in Ninth-Century North Africa Glaire D. Anderson, Corisande Fenwick, and Mariam Rosser-Owen (Eds), 2018, [Handbook of Oriental Studies / Handbuch der Orientalistik, Section 1: The Near and Middle East, volume 122], Leiden and Boston: Brill, xxxviii + 688 pp., 18 maps, 203 ill. b/w, 10 tables, €189.00/US$218.00 (hardback), ISBN 9-789004-355668 Kordula Wolf To cite this article: Kordula Wolf (2019) The Aghlabids and Their Neighbors: Art and Material Culture in Ninth-Century North Africa, Al-Masāq, 31:3, 376-381, DOI: 10.1080/09503110.2019.1662605 To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1080/09503110.2019.1662605 Published online: 04 Sep 2019. Submit your article to this journal Article views: 38 View related articles View Crossmark data Full Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at https://www.tandfonline.com/action/journalInformation?journalCode=calm20 376 BOOK REVIEWS Perhaps Drayson’s most impressive contribution to this study is her analysis of the way in which memory has been preserved in fictional accounts that have proliferated down the cen- turies and in contrasting popular myth and the expressions of sorrow that have become part of a haunting splendour that is still tangible. And Drayson notes, the passionate grief expressed by the Andalusi poets following Boabdil’s exile attaches no blame to the young monarch himself. Nevertheless, perceptions such as his weakness and apparent incapacity were to emerge in some frontier ballads such as The Ballad of the Boy King, and this allowed erroneous confusion to have an impact on his reputation, which was perpetuated by sixteenth-century Spanish writers such as the Murcian novelist Ginés Pérez de Hita, who portrayed Boabdil as a vengeful and petulant tyrant. Nevertheless, his rehabilitation was to follow and Boabdil’s reputation as a reflective unifying figure was the subject of Dryden’s Conquest of Granada, and the quest to seek out a more flattering and authoritative reputation was pursued by Washing- ton Irving, convinced as he was that the sultan had been woefully misrepresented by Pérez de Hita and others. And the recognition that was to come from other European writers was even- tually reflected in the works of more recent writers and artists from within the Peninsula itself. Drayson has ensured that Boabdil’s legacy, though mixed, has been nudged towards a more positive appraisal. The conspicuous inaccuracies are small and, in terms of the subject, of little account, even if they include some curious insertions. For example, it is not clear why Drayson puzzlingly refers to Hernando de Baeza, Boabdil’s interpreter, as a Morisco author; and early in her book Charles Martel (c. 688–741) is wrongly identified as Charlemagne’s grandson. But the story is a great one, engagingly and wittily told and it has all the elements of high drama, intri- gue, passion, celebration and catastrophe. But this ultimate tragedy had within it elements of true virtue and bravery. For Drayson argues that the sacrifice of Boabdil in slipping quietly away into the Alpujarra Mountains would save the citizens of his beloved city from untold loss of life at the hands of the overwhelming Aragonese-Castilian royal house. While Boabdil enjoyed the idea and glamour of war, his poor leadership undermined his ability as a military strategist. Yet in terms of personal sacrifice he would remain a brave and humane figure – even if his family saw him as a weak and indecisive ruler. Alun Williams University of Exeter, Exeter, UK [email protected] © 2019 Alun Williams https://doi.org/10.1080/09503110.2019.1662603 The Aghlabids and Their Neighbors: Art and Material Culture in Ninth-Century North Africa, Glaire D. Anderson, Corisande Fenwick, and Mariam Rosser-Owen (Eds), 2018, [Handbook of Oriental Studies / Handbuch der Orientalistik, Section 1: The Near and Middle East, volume 122], Leiden and Boston: Brill, xxxviii + 688 pp., 18 maps, 203 ill. b/w, 10 tables, €189.00/US$218.00 (hardback), ISBN 9-789004-355668 Since their rule was commonly considered as peripheral in the Islamic West, the Aghlabid dynasty has received little attention over the past decades. An exception was the Tunisian his- torian and intellectual Mohamed Talbi (1921–2017), who in 1966 published L’émirat BOOK REVIEWS 377 Aghlabide (186–296/800–909): Histoire politique – a monograph that still constitutes a refer- ence work for whoever deals with the ninth- and early tenth-century history of Ifrīqiya and the central Mediterranean. Now this work is accompanied by a comprehensive collection of contributions, dedicated to Talbi and originating from a conference held in London in 2014. Although it is necessarily selective, it impressively documents a renewed interest in early medieval Ifrīqiyan history and provides insights into the current state of research, with special attention to material culture, but less explicit attention to art, although the book title suggests this has an equal weighting. Taking up and going further than Talbi’s monograph, the 29 contributions aim at questioning the alleged peripherality of the Aghlabid reign and regions in Islamic (art) history by highlighting their interconnectedness in the Med- iterranean and far beyond. As the three editors underline in their introduction (chap. 1), North Africa had a key role in the medieval “world system”, because it linked the dār al-Islām with Sub-Saharan Africa, Byzantine dominions and Europe. Furthermore, they rightly point out that the Fātimids (r. 909–1171) cannot be understood without looking back at their ruling pre- decessors. Based on an interdisciplinary and transregional approach, the volume includes international expertise in history, archaeology and art history. It is structured into five major parts whose single chapters often differ substantially from each other. Perhaps a few more cross-references within the book would have given the reader easier access to links with related research topics and questions addressed in other chapters. So reading the intro- duction remains essential, for it contains important cross-connections and background infor- mation. In addition to the illustrations, tables and maps integrated in the individual texts, the Aghlabid timeline, the list of Aghlabid rulers, as well as the maps of the Islamic world in the ninth century, of the Islamic West, and of Aghlabid Ifrīqiya placed at the beginning of the book are also very helpful, as is the index at the end. In order to give an idea of the wide range of methods and content, the following will attempt to sum up some essential points, without trying to be encompassing. The first part, entitled “State-building”, brings to the fore the rule of the Aghlabids and their rise to independent power. Having no coherent focus on art or material culture, it forms a sort of loose historical framework for the following parts of the book. Hugh Kennedy (chap. 2) investigates the cir- cumstances in which the Aghlabids came to power. Stating that the Caliph al-Maʾmūn (r. 813–833) and his successors do not seem to have made much of an effort to restore their auth- ority in Ifrīqiya, he sees the growing autonomy of the provincial governors against the back- drop of the inner collapse of the ʿAbbāsid Empire. The caliphate nevertheless represented an important – not only formal – point of reference. Involving different actors from their family’s client system and from the amīrate’s socio-political structures, the self-representation of the Aghlabids followed in many respects the ʿAbbāsid model, for instance regarding the foun- dation of “royal cities” such as al-Qayrawān and Raqqāda. In this way, they created an “African art” that, according to Mounira Chapoutot-Remadi, constituted “une véritable gram- maire des styles qui va dominer durant un certain temps le reste du Maghreb” (chap. 3, p. 75). The next chapter shifts the interest outside North Africa. Stating “not only that Sicily was at the heart of the Aghlabids’ political construction, but that it shaped their Mediterranean vision and their state”, Annliese Nef is convinced that – regardless of apparent difficulties when attempt- ing to establish control in eastern (still Byzantine) Sicily and in the Strait of Messina – the Ifrī- qiyan rulers would have been able to take over the island completely with their guerrilla and jihād strategy, if they had not consciously decided against it for mainly economic reasons (chap. 4, p. 77). In order to consider these statements, it would be exciting to compare the Agh- labid policies in Sicily with those in Malta, Sardinia, Corsica or the Italian mainland. The “topographies of power” especially in al-Qayrawān are the main concern of Caroline Good- son’s essay (chap. 5). Problematising the term “capital” usually applied to this city, she 378 BOOK REVIEWS highlights the fact that the ruling family’s residence and court was spatially separated from the urban centre. In the strict sense, therefore, al-Qayrawān cannot be characterised as the Agh- labid capital, but only as one major urban centre amongst others, which is why there was room for several alternative topographies of power. The next two contributions follow a numismatic approach: Abdelhamid Fenina (chap. 6) discusses the difficulty locating al-ʿAbbāsiyya, founded in 800 and mentioned as mint on many coins. He proposes to consider this location and al-Qasr al-qadīm (the centre of political power situated only a few kilometres from al- Qayrawān) as related to the same place, although with a different importance during the period of the ʿAbbāsid governors (wullāt) from the importance it held under the Aghlabids. Mohamed Ghodhbane deals, on the other hand, with the changing visual appearance of Agh- labid gold dinars during the crisis years under the rule of the last amīr Ziyādat Allāh III (r.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • The Rise and Fall of the Early ʿabbāsid Political and Military Elite
    Hugh Kennedy The Rise and Fall of the Early ʿAbbāsid Political and MilitaryElite Abstract: This paper explores the composition and role of the military and polit- ical elite of the early ʿ Abbāsid caliphate (750 –809) whose support enabled the caliphs to maintain sovereignty over theirfar-flungdomains. It considers the im- portance of different groups,includingmembers of the ʿAbb āsid family, military commanders from Khurāsānand members of powerful and wealthyfamilies like the Muhallabī sand the Shaybāni tribal chiefs.The paper concludes with adis- cussion of the reasons for the disappearance and effective extinction of this elite in the yearsafter the great civil warthat followed Hā rūnal-Rashīd’s death in 809. Keywords: Caliphs; armies; political power;Syria; Khurāsān The governance of the early ʿAbb āsid caliphate was aremarkable political and organizational achievement.For half acentury, between the establishment of the dynasty in 132H/750 CE and the death of Hārūna l-Rashīdin193 H/809 CE, the area from Tunisia in the west to Sind and Central Asia in the east was governedeffectively and largely peacefullyfrom Iraq. From 145H/762 CE, the city of Baghdad served as the administrativecapital, though the distances which separated it from the far-flungprovinces wereenormous: it is over 2,000 kilometres from Baghdad to Merv,the political centre of the great province of Khurāsān, and 1,500 kilometres from the capital to the HolyCity of Mecca. The barīd postal system inherited from the Umayyads and Sasanians was surprisingly effective at communicatingurgent messages over these huge distan- ces.¹ When the caliph al-Rashīdd ied in the year 809 at Ṭūs( near Mashhad in north-east Iran) amessenger broughtthe news to Baghdadintwelvedays, trav- eling 1,900 kilometres at an averagespeed of 150 kilometres per day.
    [Show full text]
  • Archives in Medieval Islam by ERNST POSNER
    Downloaded from http://meridian.allenpress.com/american-archivist/article-pdf/35/3-4/291/2745727/aarc_35_3-4_x1546224w7621152.pdf by guest on 03 October 2021 Archives in Medieval Islam By ERNST POSNER N A CHAPTER of his Muqaddimah: An Introduction to His- tory, which deals with royalty and government, Ibn-Khaldun I (1332-1406) observes, "Royal authority requires soldiers, money, and the means to communicate with those who are absent. The ruler, therefore, needs persons to help him in the matters concerned with 'the sword,' 'the pen,' and finances; and among them the pen ranks high."1 It may have been thought to rank even higher than the sword and finances, for, according to Muslim tradition, the pen was the first object God created.2 Of its power and creativeness in Islamic culture there can be no doubt, and those who wielded the pen enjoyed great esteem. Poets and literati lent their talents to the business of government and, according to Ibn al-Sayrafl, achieved "with the pen what the sword and the lance over a long period of years had been unable to produce."3 Unfortunately, the use of the pen as an instrument of Muslim policy and the preservation of the products of the pen, namely offi- cial documents, have received too little attention so far. As a re- sult, archives-keeping in the Muslim states during the Middle Ages has not been fully recognized as a continuation of preceding prac- The author, Fellow and past president of the Society, continues with this essay his history of archives administration begun in Archives in the Ancient World [Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Press; xviii, 283 p., illus.; bibliography, index; $>io] pub- lished in May 1972.
    [Show full text]
  • Ba Islamic History
    Maharaja’s College, Ernakulam (A Government Autonomous College) Affiliated to Mahatma Gandhi University, Kottayam Under Graduate Programme in Islamic History 2020 Admission Onwards Board of Studies in Islamic History Sl. Name of Member Designation No. 1 Sri. I K Jayadev, Associate Professor Chairman, BoS Islamic History 2 Dr. A B Aliyar External Member 3 Sri. Anil Kumar External Member 4 Dr. Muhammad Riyaz V B External Member [Industry] 5 Sri. K U Bava External Member [Alumni] 6 Sri. Muhammad Ali Jinnah Sahib I Internal Member 7 Dr.Shajila Beevi S Internal Member 8 Dr. Salooja M S Internal Member 9 Sri. Ajmal P A Internal Member 10 Smt. Subida M D Internal Member 11 Smt. Sheeja O Internal Member MAHARAJA'S COLLEGE, ERNAKULAM (A GOVERNMENT AUTONOMOUS COLLEGE) REGULATIONS FOR UNDER GRADUATE PROGRAMMES UNDER CHOICE BASED CREDIT SYSTEM 2020 1. TITLE 1.1. These regulations shall be called “MAHARAJA'S COLLEGE (AUTONOMOUS) REGULATIONS FOR UNDER GRADUATE PROGRAMMESUNDER CHOICE BASED CREDIT SYSTEM 2020” 2. SCOPE 2.1 Applicable to all regular Under Graduate Programmes conducted by the Maharaja's College with effect from 2020 admissions 2.2 Medium of instruction is English except in the case of language courses other than English unless otherwise stated therein. 2.3 The provisions herein supersede all the existing regulations for the undergraduate programmes to the extent herein prescribed. 3. DEFINITIONS 3.1. ‘Academic Week’ is a unit of five working days in which the distribution of work is organized from day one to day five, with five contact hours of one hour duration on each day.
    [Show full text]
  • Glaze Production at an Early Islamic Workshop in Al-Andalus
    Glaze production at an Early Islamic workshop in al-Andalus Elena Salinas1, Trinitat Pradell1 Judit Molera 2 1Physics Department and Barcelona Research Centre in Multiscale Science and Engineering, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, Campus Diagonal Besòs, Av. Eduard Maristany, 10-14 08019 Barcelona, Spain 2GR-MECAMAT, Universitat de Vic-Universitat Central de Catalunya (UVIC-UCC), Campus Torre dels Frares, C/ de la Laura 13, 08500, Vic, Spain Abstract The study and analysis of the materials found in one of the earliest Islamic glazed ceramics workshop in al-Andalus (Pechina) dating from the second half of the 9th century, including fritting vessels, kiln furniture, wasters and slags, and a glass chunk, has revealed the materials used and methods of production. Galena was oxidised to obtain PbO in the workshop. Fritting of the glaze involved a two-stage process for which two different types of vessels were used. The fritting process ended with a melt which was poured to obtain a high lead glass. The ground glass was applied over the biscuit fired ceramics, and fired to a temperature high enough to soften the glaze and adhere it onto the ceramic surface. Evidences of a similar process was found in a later workshop in San Nicolas (10th century) which demonstrates the persistence of the technique in al-Andalus during the caliphal period. There is little evidence of early Islamic glaze manufacture at kiln sites and in contrast to the glass workshops the glazed ceramics workshops have not been studied. Consequently, this study adds valuable information to the currently very limited knowledge about the early glaze technology in Dar al-Islam.
    [Show full text]
  • Timeline / 400 to 1550 / TUNISIA
    Timeline / 400 to 1550 / TUNISIA Date Country | Description 533 A.D. Tunisia Byzantine reconquest of Africa led by the Byzantine general Belisarius. End of the Vandal kingdom. 534 - 548 A.D. Tunisia Berber insurrections threaten the Byzantine army, which suffered repeated setbacks. 582 - 602 A.D. Tunisia Reorganisation of the Byzantine Empire and institution of the Exarchate of Carthage, consolidating the pre-eminence of the military. 647 A.D. Tunisia First expedition of Muslim Arabs in Ifriqiya. Victory at Sufetula (Sbeitla). 665 A.D. Tunisia Second Arab expedition. Victory at Hadrumetum (Sousse). 670 A.D. Tunisia Third Arab expedition led by ‘Uqba (Okba) ibn Nafi, who founds the town of Kairouan. 698 A.D. Tunisia Carthage conquered by the Arabs under the leadership of Hassan ibn Numan. 705 A.D. Tunisia Musa ibn Nossayr becomes the first governor of Ifriqiya. 711 A.D. Tunisia The Muslims begin the conquest of Spain under the leadership of Tarik ibn Ziyad. 739 - 742 A.D. Tunisia Berber insurrections shake the country. Arab pacification puts an end to the insecurity and prompts economic growth. 827 A.D. Tunisia The Aghlabids begin the conquest of Sicily. Date Country | Description 836 A.D. Tunisia Construction of the Great Mosque of Kairouan. 863 A.D. Tunisia Construction of the Zaytuna Mosque in Tunis. 876 A.D. Tunisia Foundation of the town of Raqqada a few kilometres outside Kairouan. 921 A.D. Tunisia Foundation of the town of Mahdia, capital of the Fatimids. 947 A.D. Tunisia Foundation of princely town of Sabra-al Mansuriya. 971 - 973 A.D.
    [Show full text]
  • The Aghlabids and Their Neighbors: an Introduction
    Please provide footnote text Chapter 1 The Aghlabids and Their Neighbors: An Introduction Glaire D. Anderson, Corisande Fenwick, and Mariam Rosser-Owen This book takes an interdisciplinary and transregional approach to the Aghlabid dynasty and ninth-century North Africa, to highlight the region’s im- portant interchange with other medieval societies in the Mediterranean and beyond. It comprises new invited essays alongside revised versions of select papers presented at the symposium, “The Aghlabids and Their Neighbors: Art and Material Culture in Ninth-Century North Africa,” held in London in May 2014 under the aegis of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.1 This event was originally intended as a small interdisciplinary workshop on the his- tory and material culture of the Aghlabid dynasty of Ifriqiya and its immediate neighbors in the region, but it rapidly became a larger event when we real- ized the scale of scholarly interest in the topic. The workshop brought scholars together from different national as well as disciplinary traditions to consider the Aghlabids and their neighbors, with the aim of moving toward a more in- tegrated understanding of this crucial dynasty and period within the Islamic world. Our stated aim in the call for papers was to consider North Africa not as a peripheral frontier whose artistic production was inferior to or derivative of trends in the Abbasid heartlands of Iraq and Egypt, which is how it has long been situated in the history of Islamic art, but as one of the vibrant centers of the early medieval dār al-Islām. In doing so, we hoped not only to reevaluate problematic yet persistent notions of the region’s peripherality in Islamic (art) history and archaeology, but also to illuminate processes of acculturation and interaction between ninth-century North Africa, Iberia, Sicily/Italy, and other regions.
    [Show full text]
  • History of Islam
    Istanbul 1437 / 2016 © Erkam Publications 2016 / 1437 H HISTORY OF ISLAM Original Title : İslam Tarihi (Ders Kitabı) Author : Commission Auteur du Volume « Histoire de l’Afrique » : Dr. Said ZONGO Coordinator : Yrd. Doç. Dr. Faruk KANGER Academic Consultant : Lokman HELVACI Translator : Fulden ELİF AYDIN Melda DOĞAN Corrector : Mohamed ROUSSEL Editor : İsmail ERİŞ Graphics : Rasim ŞAKİROĞLU Mithat ŞENTÜRK ISBN : 978-9944-83-747-7 Addresse : İkitelli Organize Sanayi Bölgesi Mahallesi Atatürk Bulvarı Haseyad 1. Kısım No: 60/3-C Başakşehir / Istanbul - Turkey Tel : (90-212) 671-0700 (pbx) Fax : (90-212) 671-0748 E-mail : [email protected] Web : www.islamicpublishing.org Printed by : Erkam Printhouse Language : English ERKAM PUBLICATIONS TEXTBOOK HISTORY OF ISLAM 10th GRADE ERKAM PUBLICATIONS Table of Contents TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER I THE ERA OF FOUR RIGHTLY GUIDED CALIPHS (632–661) / 8 A. THE ELECTION OF THE FIRST CALIPH .............................................................................................. 11 B. THE PERIOD OF ABU BAKR (May Allah be Pleased with him) (632–634) ....................................... 11 C. THE PERIOD OF UMAR (May Allah be Pleased with him) (634–644) ............................................... 16 D. THE PERIOD OF UTHMAN (May Allah be Pleased with him) (644–656) ........................................ 21 E. THE PERIOD OF ALI (May Allah be pleased with him) (656-661) ...................................................... 26 EVALUATION QUESTIONS .........................................................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Ancient Lamps in the J. Paul Getty Museum
    ANCIENT LAMPS THE J. PAUL GETTY MUSEUM Ancient Lamps in the J. Paul Getty Museum presents over six hundred lamps made in production centers that were active across the ancient Mediterranean world between 800 B.C. and A.D. 800. Notable for their marvelous variety—from simple clay saucers GETTYIN THE PAUL J. MUSEUM that held just oil and a wick to elaborate figural lighting fixtures in bronze and precious metals— the Getty lamps display a number of unprecedented shapes and decors. Most were made in Roman workshops, which met the ubiquitous need for portable illumination in residences, public spaces, religious sanctuaries, and graves. The omnipresent oil lamp is a font of popular imagery, illustrating myths, nature, and the activities and entertainments of daily life in antiquity. Presenting a largely unpublished collection, this extensive catalogue is ` an invaluable resource for specialists in lychnology, art history, and archaeology. Front cover: Detail of cat. 86 BUSSIÈRE AND LINDROS WOHL Back cover: Cat. 155 Jean Bussière was an associate researcher with UPR 217 CNRS, Antiquités africaines and was also from getty publications associated with UMR 140-390 CNRS Lattes, Ancient Terracottas from South Italy and Sicily University of Montpellier. His publications include in the J. Paul Getty Museum Lampes antiques d'Algérie and Lampes antiques de Maria Lucia Ferruzza Roman Mosaics in the J. Paul Getty Museum Méditerranée: La collection Rivel, in collaboration Alexis Belis with Jean-Claude Rivel. Birgitta Lindros Wohl is professor emeritus of Art History and Classics at California State University, Northridge. Her excavations include sites in her native Sweden as well as Italy and Greece, the latter at Isthmia, where she is still active.
    [Show full text]
  • 337 INDE X 4WD Trips 286 a Abbes 256 Accommodation
    © Lonely Planet Publications 337 Index 4WD trips 286 Jerban 274 books 43, 48, 54, see also literature Punic 49 food 58, 60, 61, 62, 64, 65 A Roman 49 health 315 Abbes 256 arts 44-53, see also calligraphy, carpets, history 24, 28, 29, 31, 32, 40, 43 accommodation 283-5, see also dance, literature, mosaics, painting Islam 40 individual locations ATMs 295 travel 14, 16, 288 activities 285-7, see also camel trek- auberge de jeunesse 284, 290 border crossings 306 INDEX king, cycling, diving, dune skiing, Borj Enna 217 go-karting, golf, hiking, horse- B Borj Ghazi Mustapha 275 riding, microlight flights, quad Barbossa, Khair ed-Din 30, 135, 270 Borj el-Hissar 220 biking, sailing, water sports Bardo Museum 47, 50, 66, 51, 170 Borj Kastil 282 Aeneid, The 25, 49, 90, 91 bargaining 296 Borj el-Kebir 211 Aghlabid basins 203 bars 63 Borj el-Khadra 253 Aghlabids 29, 53, 185, 201, 203 bathrooms 299 Bou Hedma National Park 55, 56 Ain Draham 139-42 El-Bayadha 26 Boujaffa Beach 191 air travel beaches 102, 285-6 Boukornine National Park 56 airfares 303-4 Barrage Port Princes 121 Bourguiba, Habib 24, 28, 31-2, 33, 43, to/from Tunisia 302-5 Bizerte 127 196, 198 within Tunisia 307 Boujaffar Beach 191 briq 59, 64 alcohol 61 Cap Serrat 134 Bulla Regia 49, 145-7, 145, 171 Aleppo pine 55, 179 Hammamet 105 bus travel 308-9 Almohads 30 Hamman Jebli 115 business hours 287 Ammædara 167-8, 177, 168 Korba Lagoon 114 Byrsa Hill 93 animals 54-6, see also birds, camels, El-Mansourah 115 Byzantines 28, 47, 125, 156, 181 cats, crocodiles, elephants, Oued Kassab 115 flamingos
    [Show full text]
  • Name of Object: Circular Chandelier Location: Raqqada, Kairouan
    Name of Object: Circular chandelier Location: Raqqada, Kairouan, Tunisia Holding Museum: Museum of Islamic Art Date of Object: Hegira, 4th–early 5th century / AD 10th–11th century Museum Inventory Number: BZ 22 Material(s) / Technique(s): Cast bronze Dimensions: Diameter 31 cm, thickness 1 cm Period / Dynasty: Fatimid–Zirid Provenance: Kairouan. Description: This chandelier belongs to a series of eight found in the Great Mosque of Kairouan, and which are dispersed today among four Tunisian museums (Raqqada, the Bardo, Mahdiyya and Monastir). The punched cast-bronze base is in the form of a tray designed to carry 10 candles, with a flared bronze corona from which 18 evenly spaced upright arms project. These are similar in size and are all decorated with double, spread fleurons. The stylised vine-leaf motif is commonly used in Ifriqiyan art of the 3rd and 4th centuries (9th and 10th), particularly in the mihrab, the minbar and the maqsura of the Great Mosque of Kairouan. Nine of the 18 arms end in circular rings and the other nine have heart–shaped tops. The two types are placed in alternating sequence on the corona. The heart motif is frequently found in Kairouanese bookbinding and features in stylised form on several Fatimid sculptures. The central ring of the chandelier is surrounded by 18 horseshoe arches linking the uprights, giving the overall effect of a festooned rose. The base-tray is suspended by three chains linked to three rings. The Kairouanese type of chandelier has doubtless been influenced by similar Byzantine designs produced throughout the Islamic period in the Mediterranean region.
    [Show full text]
  • Resources for the Study of Islamic Architecture Historical Section
    RESOURCES FOR THE STUDY OF ISLAMIC ARCHITECTURE HISTORICAL SECTION Prepared by: Sabri Jarrar András Riedlmayer Jeffrey B. Spurr © 1994 AGA KHAN PROGRAM FOR ISLAMIC ARCHITECTURE RESOURCES FOR THE STUDY OF ISLAMIC ARCHITECTURE HISTORICAL SECTION BIBLIOGRAPHIC COMPONENT Historical Section, Bibliographic Component Reference Books BASIC REFERENCE TOOLS FOR THE HISTORY OF ISLAMIC ART AND ARCHITECTURE This list covers bibliographies, periodical indexes and other basic research tools; also included is a selection of monographs and surveys of architecture, with an emphasis on recent and well-illustrated works published after 1980. For an annotated guide to the most important such works published prior to that date, see Terry Allen, Islamic Architecture: An Introductory Bibliography. Cambridge, Mass., 1979 (available in photocopy from the Aga Khan Program at Harvard). For more comprehensive listings, see Creswell's Bibliography and its supplements, as well as the following subject bibliographies. GENERAL BIBLIOGRAPHIES AND PERIODICAL INDEXES Creswell, K. A. C. A Bibliography of the Architecture, Arts, and Crafts of Islam to 1st Jan. 1960 Cairo, 1961; reprt. 1978. /the largest and most comprehensive compilation of books and articles on all aspects of Islamic art and architecture (except numismatics- for titles on Islamic coins and medals see: L.A. Mayer, Bibliography of Moslem Numismatics and the periodical Numismatic Literature). Intelligently organized; incl. detailed annotations, e.g. listing buildings and objects illustrated in each of the works cited. Supplements: [1st]: 1961-1972 (Cairo, 1973); [2nd]: 1972-1980, with omissions from previous years (Cairo, 1984)./ Islamic Architecture: An Introductory Bibliography, ed. Terry Allen. Cambridge, Mass., 1979. /a selective and intelligently organized general overview of the literature to that date, with detailed and often critical annotations./ Index Islamicus 1665-1905, ed.
    [Show full text]
  • Survey of Numismatic Research 2008-2013
    INTERNATIONAL NUMISMATIC COMMISSION SURVEY OF NUMISMATIC RESEARCH 2008-2013 General Editors Carmen Arnold-Biucchi – Maria Caccamo Caltabiano Sub-editors Roger Bland, Hubert Emmerig, Stefan Heidemann, Miguel Ibáñez Artica, Hortensia von Roten, Marguerite Spoerri, Tuukka Talvio, François Thierry, Julio Torres, Lucia Travaini, David Wigg-Wolf, Bernward Ziegaus International Association of Professional Numismatists Special Publication 16 Taormina, 2015 All rights reserved by The International Numismatic Council and The International Association of Professional Numismatists ___________________________________________ © 2015 - Arbor Sapientiae Editore S.r.l. Via Bernardo Barbiellini Amidei, 80 00168 Roma (Italia) - tel. 06 83798683 www.arborsapientiae.com [email protected] [email protected] ISBN: 978-88-97805-42-7 TABLE OF CONTENTS TABLE OF CONTENTS PREFACE IX Arne Kirsch, Eric McFadden INTRODUZIONE GENERALE / GENERAL INTRODUCTION XI Maria Caccamo Caltabiano and Carmen Arnold-Biucchi ANTIQUITY INTRODUCTION / EINLEITUNG 2 Marguerite Spoerri Butcher and Bernward Ziegaus MONETARY INSTRUMENTS IN ANTIQUITY BEFORE COINAGE 5 John H. Kroll LA PENÍNSULA IBÉRICA 8 Manuel Gozalbes MASSALIA, PENISOLA ITALICA, MAGNA GRECIA 17 Renata Cantilena SICILIA 28 Lavinia Sole BALKANRAUM UND NÖRDLICHES SCHWARZMEERGEBIET 39 Ulrike Peter und Vladimir F. Stolba GREECE FROM THE ARCHAIC THROUGH THE HELLENISTIC PERIOD 59 Selene E. Psoma ASIA MINOR IN THE ARCHAIC AND CLASSICAL PERIODS 83 Koray Konuk L’aSIE MINEURE HELLÉNISTIQUE 93 Marie-Christine Marcellesi CYPRUS 107 Evangeline Markou THE LEVANT 111 Danny Syon LES SÉLEUCIDES 126 Frédérique Duyrat THE COINAGE OF ARABIA BEFORE ISLAM 132 Peter G. van Alfen BATTRIANA E PARTIA 135 Fabrizio Sinisi THE PTOLEMIES 142 Catharine Lorber CARTHAGE ET L’aFRIQUE DU NORD 152 Laurent Callegarin THE ROMAN REPUBLIC 161 Bernhard E.
    [Show full text]