Inscriptions of the Medieval Islamic World

by Bernard O'Kane (Editor), A. C. S. Peacock (Editor), Mark Muehlhaeusler (Editor)

Overview

This volume offers an overview of the state of the field, and shows the importance of Islamic inscriptions for disciplines such as art history, history and literature. The chapters range from surveys to detailed exploration of individual topics, providing an insight to some of the most recent cutting-edge work on Islamic inscriptions. It focuses on the period from the rise of Islam to the fifteenth century, ranging across the Islamic world from the Maghreb to India and Central Asia, and inscriptions in Arabic, Persian and Turkish.The five sections of the book draw together some of the principal themes: 'Royal Power' investigates the role of sultanic patronage in epigraphy, and the use of inscriptions for projecting royal power. 'Piety' examines the relationship between epigraphy and religious practice. 'Epigraphic Style and Function' explores the relationship between the use of specific epigraphic styles and scripts and the function of a monument. 'Inscribed Objects' moves from monumental inscriptions to those on objects such as ceramics and pen-cases. The final section considers the interplay between inscriptions and historical sources as well as the utility of inscriptions as historical sources.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781474489447
Publisher:	Edinburgh University Press
Publication date:	06/09/2023
Series:	Edinburgh Studies in Islamic Art
Pages:	752
Product dimensions:	6.69(w) x 9.61(h) x (d)

About the Author

Bernard O’Kane is Professor of Islamic Art and Architecture at the American Universityin Cairo. He is the author of Timurid Architecture in Khurasan (1987), Studies in Persian Art and Architecture (1996) and Early Persian Painting (2003); and the editor of Treasures of Islamic Art in the Museums of Cairo (2006).

A.C.S. Peacock is Professor of Middle Eastern and Islamic History at the University of St Andrews, and holds a PhD from the University of Cambridge. His previous publications include The Great Seljuk Empire (2015) and Early Seljuq History (2010).

Mark Muehlhaeusler is a Senior Instructor at the American Universityin Cairo.

Table of Contents

1. Introduction Bernard O’Kane and A. C. S. Peacock

Part I: Inscriptions and Royal Power

2. The Fatimid Public Text Revisited Jonathan M. Bloom

3. Micro and Macro Power Projection in the Medieval Islamic World: The Architectural and Numismatic Epigraphic Evidence Richard P. McClary

4. The Monumental Inscriptions of the Great Seljuqs Malikshåh and Tutush. Observations on Texts, Protocols and Writing Styles Roberta Giunta

5. New Epigraphic Data from a Ghurid Monument at Chisht-i Sharif: Expressing Power and Piety in Sixth/Twelfth-Century Afghanistan Viola Allegranzi

Part II: Inscriptions and Piety

6. Stars and Symmetry: The Name of the Prophet Muhammad in Architectural Inscriptions Bernard O’Kane

7. Barakat Muhammad. Notes on Square Kufic Epigraphy in the History of Morocco Umberto Bongianino and Péter T. Nagy

8. Islamic Supplications of the Funerary Architecture of Medieval Castile Razan Francis

9. The Shaykh and the Amir: Reflections on the non-Quranic Epigraphic Programme in the Buildings of Shaykhi al-Umari al-NasiriNoha Abou-Khatwa

Part III: Inscriptions, History and Society

10. Tombstones from Aswan in the British Museum Venetia Porter

11. Marwanid Inscriptions Carole Hillenbrand

12. The Rise of New Epigraphic Languages in the Medieval Islamic East. The Interplay of Persian, Turkish and Arabic on Inscriptions A. C. S. Peacock

13. Inscriptions from the Golden Horde Period and the Crimean Khanate in Crimea: a Body of Hitherto Neglected Material within the Study of the Inscriptions of Islamic Lands Nicole Kançal-Ferrari and Fatma M. Şen

Part IV: Inscribed Objects

14. The Epigraphic Samarra Horizon: Blue-on-White Ceramics Rebecca Wrightson

15. Art with Poetry: Inscriptions on Mamluk Metalwork Doris Behrens-Abouseif

16. ‘The Calligrapher is an Ape!’ Arabic Epigrams on Pen Boxes (Sixth/Twelfth–Ninth/Fifteenth Centuries) Frédéric Bauden

17. Between the Artist and the Patron: Painted Inscriptions of the Khamsa of Shah Tahmasb Selin Ünlüönen

Part V: Epigraphic Style and Function

18. The Influence of Aesthetics on Orthographic Decisions in the Early Islamic Graffiti of Wadi al-Khirqa, Northern Hijaz Risa Tokunaga

19. The Here and the Hereafter: Rounded and AngularInscriptions in Medieval Syria, Anatolia and the Jazira Scott Redford

20. Luted Letters: The Relief Inscriptions on Kashan Lustre Mihrabs Sheila Blair

21. Carved Letters, Designs and Ornaments: Ilkhanid Stuccos and ‘Signatures’ of their Craftsmen Ana Marija Grbanovic

22. The Qutb Minar: Epigraphic Notes Robert Hillenbrand

Index

Editorial Reviews

This anthology alerts to the diversity of visual and textual themes in epigraphic cultures of medieval Islam. It demonstrates what we gain from seeing inscriptions in their context of a specific time, place, and function. And it shows the relevance of discussing epigraphy as a historically distinct product across its general taxonomic categories in philology and art history.

Markus Ritter

Inscriptions of the Medieval Islamic World explores the importance of epigraphic languages stretching from Spain to the Crimea between the 7th and 16th century CE. This landmark volume offers fresh interdisciplinary insights on the significance of the written word, prompting renewed attention on one the Islamic world’s most pivotal art forms.

Christiane Gruber