This beautifully conceived and produced survey of Islamic architecture explores the glorious world of the caravansarai, mausoleum, palace, and mosque. Focusing on the multifaceted relation of architecture to society, Robert Hillenbrand covers public architecture in the Middle East and North Africa from the medieval period to 1700. Extensive photographs and ground plans-- among which are hundreds of newly executed three-dimensional drawings that provide an accurate and vivid depiction of the structure--are presented with an emphasis on the way the specific details of the building fulfilled...

Unlike previous studies, which follow a chronological record of individual buildings, Hillebrand's prize-winning and comprehensive survey of pre-modern Islamic architecture is organised around building types, with chapters on religious and secular architecture as well as one on the architecture between heaven and earth. This illustrated volume has become a reference guide to Islamic architecture.