Jonathan M. Bloom is the author, co-author, editor, or co-editor of fifteen books and hundreds of articles on all aspects of Islamic art and architecture, including the art of the Fatimid dynasty, and the history of paper. He and his wife and colleague Sheila Blair edited the prize-winning 3-volume Grove Encyclopedia of Islamic Art and Architecture (2009) and organize the Hamad bin Khalifa Biennial Symposia on Islamic Art and Culture.

Superb...From the aesthetic charm of the minaret, to its sociopolitical implications, this book is a must-read for those seeking to understand the powerful impact that bricks and mortar can have on society.

• List of FiguresSeries Editor’s ForewordPrefaceMapINTRODUCTIONPART I:CHAPTER 1 The History of Scholarship and the Nature of the ProblemCHAPTER 2 The Adhan, the Mi’dhana and the Sawma‘aCHAPTER 3 Manārs and ManārasCHAPTER 4 The Mosque TowerCHAPTER 5 Why Were Towers Added to Mosques?PART II: CHAPTER 6 The Minaret in the Maghrib in the Ninth CenturyCHAPTER 7 The Triumph of the Cordoban Minaret in the MaghribCHAPTER 8 The Minaret in Egypt through the Ayyubid PeriodCHAPTER 9 The Minaret in the Eastern Islamic Lands before the SeljuqsCHAPTER 10 The Seljuq MinaretPART III: CHAPTER 11 The Minaret after the Mongol Conquest CHAPTER 12 The Minaret Beyond the Persianate WorldCHAPTER 13 The Minaret in the Modern WorldBibliographyIllustration AcknowledgmentsIndex