Inscriptions of the Medieval Islamic World

Bernard O’Kane is Professor of Islamic Art and Architecture at the American University in 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 University in Cairo.

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.

• 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 AllegranziPart 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. ŞenPart IV: Inscribed Objects 14. The Epigraphic Samarra Horizon: Blue-on-White Ceramics Rebecca Wrightson15. 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