Format: 260 x 200 mm
Page: 496 [illustrations & maps] 
Binding: Hardcover
Language: English
Publisher: Melisende, UK
Year: 2006
ISBN: 1 901764 44 3
ISBN 13: 978 1 901764 44 4

ABOUT THIS BOOK

The region known as al-Jazirah comprises today much of northern Iraq and south eastern Turkey. In the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, up to the period of the Mongol invasions, this area of northern Mesopotamia was the setting in its major cities for a flourishing material culture. Situated on the great traditional trade routes between the Middle East and Europe a central component of this culture evolved around the development of public figural imagery. An impetus for this development was the perceived need for political iconography with the coming to power throughout the region of a group of Turkish dynasties where each needed to establish itself and enhance its image, legitimacy and authority. This was particularly reflected in those traditional cynosures of Islamic hegemony: coinage and architecture.

Two large sections of this unrivalled and detailed work contain extensively researched material considering numismatic and architectural details. These sections describe and investigate the iconography employed with special attention to sources of the various images, their precedents and use in related disciplines. Over 300 pages are devoted to numismatics with original inscriptions and images, and there are over 100 pages discussing architectural decoration, epigraphy and the iconography employed. Furthermore, the historical context of the major dynasties involved is discussed with genealogical charts. The work is supported by an extensive bibliography.