Overview

Palaces like the Aljafería and the Alhambra rank among the highest achievements of the Islamic world. In recent years archaeological work at Córdoba, Kairouan and many other sites has vastly increased our knowledge about the origin and development of Islamic palatial architecture, particularly in the Western Mediterranean region. This book offers a comprehensive and up-to-date overview of Islamic palace architecture in Spain, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia and southern Italy. The author, who has himself conducted archaeological field work at several prominent sites, presents all Islamic palaces known in the region in ground plans, sections and individual descriptions. The book traces the evolution of Islamic palace architecture in the region from the 8th to the 19th century and places them within the context of the history of Islamic culture. Palace architecture is a unique source of cultural history, offering insights into the way space was conceived and the way rulers used architecture to legitimize their power. The book discusses such topics as the influence of the architecture of the Middle East on the Islamic palaces of the western Mediterranean region, the role of Greek logic and scientific progress on the design of palaces, the impact of Islamic palaces on Norman and Gothic architecture and the role of Sufism on the palatial architecture of the late medieval period.

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9780190624552

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This a fascinating tour through the architectural creations through which Caliphs, Sultans and others rulers of the Muslim territories of the Iberian Peninsula and North Africa demonstrated their power before subjects and rivals by refined and luxurious residences. This book allows us, through Arnolds in-depth and thoughtful analysis, to understand the genesis and evolution of this architecture and to revive moments of splendor of a civilization that reached cultural summits in the Middle Ages without comparison in Western Europe. * Antonio Almagro Gorbea, Spanish National Research Council * This comprehensive book, with hundreds of accurate plans, many of them available nowhere else, is destined to become a standard reference on western Islamic architecture. New archaeological research in the past decade, some of it conducted by the author himself, has provided fresh insights into how architectural form endures or transitions, as well as how architecture is sited with respect to environment. Arnolds meticulously researched, comparative study of 75 palaces provides a thorough, up-to-date survey of palatine architecture in Islamic Iberia and the Maghreb. * D. Fairchild Ruggles, Urbana-Champaign *

This comprehensive book, with hundreds of accurate plans, many of them available nowhere else, is destined to become a standard reference on western Islamic architecture. New archaeological research in the past decade, some of it conducted by the author himself, has provided fresh insights into how architectural form endures or transitions, as well as how architecture is sited with respect to environment. Arnolds meticulously researched, comparative study of 75 palaces provides a thorough, up-to-date survey of palatine architecture in Islamic Iberia and the Maghreb. D. Fairchild Ruggles, Urbana-Champaign This a fascinating tour through the architectural creations through which Caliphs, Sultans and others rulers of the Muslim territories of the Iberian Peninsula and North Africa demonstrated their power before subjects and rivals by refined and luxurious residences. This book allows us, through Arnolds in-depth and thoughtful analysis, to understand the genesis and evolution of this architecture and to revive moments of splendor of a civilization that reached cultural summits in the Middle Ages without comparison in Western Europe. Antonio Almagro Gorbea, Spanish National Research Council

This comprehensive book, with hundreds of accurate plans, many of them available nowhere else, is destined to become a standard reference on western Islamic architecture. New archaeological research in the past decade, some of it conducted by the author himself, has provided fresh insights into how architectural form endures or transitions, as well as how architecture is sited with respect to environment. Arnold's meticulously researched, comparative study of 75 palaces provides a thorough, up-to-date survey of palatine architecture in Islamic Iberia and the Maghreb. -- D. Fairchild Ruggles, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign This a fascinating tour through the architectural creations through which Caliphs, Sultans and others rulers of the Muslim territories of the Iberian Peninsula and North Africa demonstrated their power before subjects and rivals by refined and luxurious residences. This book allows us, through Arnold's in-depth and thoughtful analysis, to understand the genesis and evolution of this architecture and to revive moments of splendor of a civilization that reached cultural summits in the Middle Ages without comparison in Western Europe. -- Antonio Almagro Gorbea, Spanish National Research Council

Author Information

Felix Arnold is both an architect and archaeologist who has conducted extensive field work in Egypt, Spain and Syria. As a senior research fellow of the German Archaeological Institute in Cairo, he currently directs excavation projects at Córdoba (Spain), Dahshur, and Elephantine (Egypt).

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