In its first thousand years--from the revelations to Muhammad in the seventh century to the great Islamic empires of the sixteenth--Islamic civilization flourished. While Europeans suffered through the Dark Ages, Muslims in such cities as Jerusalem, Damascus, Alexandria, Fez, Tunis, Cairo, and Baghdad made remarkable advances in philosophy, science, medicine, literature, and art. This engrossing and accessible book explores the first millennium of Islamic culture, shattering stereotypes and enlightening readers about the events and achievements that have shaped contemporary Islamic...
In its first thousand years--from the revelations to Muhammad in the seventh century to the great Islamic empires of the sixteenth--Islamic civilizati...
In the years following the revelations of the Prophet Muhammad in the early seventh century AD, the new religion of Islam spread rapidly through Arabia to North Africa and Spain in the west and Cental Asia and India in the east. Through the following 1000 years, artists and craftsmen in the areas influenced by Islam produced some of the world's most beautiful works of art: from the Albrahmra to the Taj Mahal, from illuminated copies of the Koran to exquisite decorative arts: ceramics, textiles and metalwork.
In the years following the revelations of the Prophet Muhammad in the early seventh century AD, the new religion of Islam spread rapidly through Arabi...
Joint Winner of the 2007 British-Kuwait Friendship Society Prize for Middle Eastern StudiesWinner of 2008 World Prize for Book of the Year by the Iranian Ministry of Culture and Islamic GuidanceSelected as a 2007 CHOICE Outstanding Academic TitleThe extensive use of writing is a hallmark of Islamic civilization. Calligraphy became one of the main methods of artistic expression from the seventh century to the present in almost all regions from the far Maghrib to India and beyond. Arabic script was adopted for other languages from Persian and Turkish to Kanembu and Malay.Islamic Calligraphy...
Joint Winner of the 2007 British-Kuwait Friendship Society Prize for Middle Eastern StudiesWinner of 2008 World Prize for Book of the Year by the Iran...
The first object created by God, according to early Muslim commentators, was the pen, which he used to chronicle events to come. The word, in its various manifestations, is central to the Islamic faith. Surely a reflection of this centrality, profuse inscriptions mark countless Islamic objects, from the humblest oil lamps and unglazed ceramics to the finest and most expensive rock crystals and jades. The inscriptions serve numerous functions: decorating, proclaiming ownership and patronage, proffering good wishes and proverbs, and spreading religious texts throughout the world. Aside from...
The first object created by God, according to early Muslim commentators, was the pen, which he used to chronicle events to come. The word, in its v...
