CITIES IN THE PRE-MODERN ISLAMIC WORLD

This volume is an interdisciplinary endeavour that 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 in?uenced 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 ?ction; the impact of Muslim rulers upon urban planning and development; and the degree to which a religious ethos affected the provision of public services.