Landscapes of the Islamic World

Stephen McPhillips teaches in the Department of Cross-Cultural and Regional Studies at the University of Copenhagen. Paul D. Wordsworth is a member of the Faculty of Oriental Studies at the University of Oxford.

• Preface-Stephen McPhillips and Paul D. WordsworthIntroduction-Tony J. WilkinsonPART I. HYDROECONOMIES: MANAGING AND LIVING WITH WATERChapter 1. The Materiality of Ottoman Water Administration in Eighteenth-Century Rural Damascus: A Historian's Perspective-Astrid MeierChapter 2. The Islamic Occupation of Qatar in the Context of an Environmental Framework-Phillip G. MacumberChapter 3. Water Management in Desert Regions: Early Islamic Qasr Mushash-Karin BartlPART II. AGRICULTURE, PASTORALISM, AND SUBSISTENCEChapter 4. Faunal Distributions from the Southern Highlands of Transjordan: Regional and Historical Perspectives on the Representations and Roles of Animals in the Middle Islamic Period-Robin M. BrownChapter 5. Zooarchaeological Perspectives on Rural Economy and Landscape Use in Eighteenth-Century Qatar-Pernille Bangsgaard and Lisa YeomansPART III. LANDSCAPES OF COMMERCE AND PRODUCTIONChapter 6. Beyond Iron Age Landscapes: Copper Mining and Smelting in Faynan in the Twelfth to Fourteenth Centuries CE-Ian W. N. JonesChapter 7. Ceramic Production in the Central Highlands of Yemen During the Islamic Period-Daniel MahoneyChapter 8. Harnessing Hydraulic Power in Ottoman Syria: Water Mills and the Rural Economy of the Upper Orontes Valley-Stephen McPhillipsPART IV. TRANSIENCE AND PERMANENCE: MOVEMENT AND MEMORY IN THE LANDSCAPEChapter 9. The Architectural Legacy of the Seasonally Nomadic Ghurids-David C. Thomas and Alison L. GascoigneChapter 10. The Northern Jordan Project and the "Liquid Landscapes" of Late Islamic Bilad al-Sham-Bethany J. WalkerChapter 11. "Presencing the Past": A Case Study of Islamic Rural Burial Practices from the Homs Region, Syria-Jennie N. BradburyChapter 12. Sustaining Travel: The Economy of Medieval Stopping Places Across the Karakum Desert, Turkmenistan-Paul D. WordsworthConclusion. Some Reflections on Rural Islamic Landscapes-Alan WalmsleyGlossaryList of ContributorsIndexAcknowledgments

"The goal of the book, to integrate different types of data and domains of inquiry to illustrate the research possible in rural landscapes is admirably accomplished. The volume is well integrated into a comprehensive whole that is greater than the sum of its parts. This book also demonstrates that committed scholars, endeavoring to write clearly to those outside of their immediate specialty, can successfully bring the richness of detail in their work to a broader archaeological audience." (Ethnoarchaeology) "This welcome volume seeks to bring the approaches of landscape archaeology to the rich dataset offered by the rural communities of the Islamic Middle East. Through chapters addressing fundamental social and economic matters-mining and manufacturing, water management, the animal economy, the actuality of burial practices-the contributors deploy and confront both archaeological and documentary evidence in ways that will interest a broad readership." (Graham Philip, Durham University) "This rich and carefully assembled volume is diverse in its theoretical and methodological approaches and scope. It opens numerous windows into the field of Islamic archaeology, suffusing it with fresh new possibilities and horizons. Each study grounds the history of Islamic societies in a rich and dynamic landscape. The volume should be indispensable to all scholars and students of Islamic studies." (A. Asa Eger, University of North Carolina-Greensboro)