Mamluk History Through Architecture: Monuments Culture and Politics in Medieval Egypt and Syria by Nasser Rabbat

Mamluk History Through Architecture: Monuments Culture and Politics in Medieval Egypt and Syria by Nasser RabbatMamluk History Through Architecture: Monuments Culture and Politics in Medieval Egypt and Syria by Nasser Rabbat

Release date: November 15, 2010 | ISBN-10: 1845119649 | ISBN-13: 978-1845119645

The most enduring testament to the Mamluk Sultanate is its architecture.  Not only do Mamluk buildings embody one of the most outstanding medieval architectural traditions, Mamluk architecture is actually a key to the social history of the period.  Analyzing Mamluk constructions as a form of communication and documentation as well as a cultural index, Mamluk History Through Architecture shows how the buildings mirror the complex -- and historically unique -- military, political, social and financial structures of Mamluk society.

With this original and authoritative study Nasser Rabbat offers an innovative approach to the history of the Mamluks -- through readings of the spectacular architecture of the period. Drawing on examples from throughout both Egypt and Syria, from the Citadel and Al-Azhar Mosque of Cairo to the Mausoleum of al-Zahir Baybars in Damascus, Rabbat demonstrates how Mamluk architecture served to reinforce visually the spirit of the counter-Crusade, when the Muslim world rebounded from the setbacks of the First Crusade. Both holistically and in case studies, Rabbat demonstrates how history is inscribed into and reflected by a culture’s artifacts. This is a groundbreaking work in the study of architecture and social history in the Middle East and beyond.

Mamluk History Through Architecture: Monuments Culture and Politics in Medieval Egypt and Syria by Nasser Rabbat