Islamic Art and Visual Culture: An Anthology of Sources

1 Foundations: Religious, Political, Juridical, and Administrative Documents from Early Islam and Places in Transition.

1.1 The Qur'an: On Paradise.

1.2 The Qur'an: On the Qibla.

1.3 The Hadith: On Waqf.

1.4 Ibn ^cAsakir: The Pact of cUmar.

2 Behavior, Gifts, Treasuries, and Collections.

2.1 Kitab al-hadaya wa al-tuhaf: A Description of Wedding Gifts.

2.2 Al-Muqaddasi: A Description of the Shiraz Library.

2.3 Kutadgu Bilig: A "Mirror for Princes"on the Qualifications of a Gatekeeper and the Etiquette for Feasts.

2.4 Kitab al-hadaya wa al-tuhaf: On the Looting of the Fatimid Treasury.

2.5 Al-Ghazali: On the Magnanimity of Kings.

2.6 Ibn Khaldun: On the Emblems of Sovereignty.

2.7 Safiye: Letter to Queen Elizabeth I.

2.8 Tavernier: On the Ottoman Mosaic Collection.

3 Art.

Workshops, Guilds, and Crafts in General.

3.1 The Ikhwan al-Safa': On the Education of Craftsmen.

3.2 Clavijo: On Timurid Trade with China.

3.3 Ahmad Ibn cArabshah: On Timur's Seizure and Relocation of Artisans.

3.4 Khwandamir: On Guilds and an Extraordinary Work of Glass.

3.5 A Report from a Book Workshop.

3.6 Bernier: On Artisans in Delhi.

Calligraphy and Scribes.

3.7 Ibn Qutayba: On the Education of a Scribe.

3.8 Ibn al-Nadim: On the Transmission and Authorization of Books.

3.9 Al-Ghazali: On Pens and Secretaries.

3.10 Rashid al-Din: On His Atelier Endowment.

3.11 Simi Nishapuri: A Treatise on Papers, Color, and Ink.

3.12 Mawlana Sultan-cAli: A Treatise on Writing.

3.13 Khwandamir: A Biographical Sketch of a Timurid Calligrapher.

3.14 Calligraphy Sample Sheet.

3.15 Qadi Ahmad: On the Invention of the Pen.

Painting.

3.16 Sadiqi Beg: A Treatise on Painting.

3.17 Abu'l-Fazl cAllami: On Painting the Human Figure.

3.18 Jahangir: A Painting of a Flying Rodent and a Portrait Gallery.

3.19 Evliya Celebi: An Account of Manuscript Defacement.

Textiles.

3.20 Al-Bayhaqi: On Tiraz-stamped Paper and Textiles.

3.21 Al-Mascudi: On the Patronage of Textiles.

3.22 An Egyptian Tiraz Inscription.

3.23 Narshakhi: On Bukhara's Cloth.

3.24 Ibn al-Balkhi: On Linen Manufacture.

3.25 A Geniza Letter Regarding Trade and Market Prices.

Ceramics, Glass, Ivory, and Other Media.

3.26 Abu al-Qasim: On Ceramic Luster and Gilding.

3.27 Ibn Battuta: On Chinese Porcelain.

3.28 Mosque Lamp with Blazon.

3.29 Clavijo: On Timurid Emblems.

3.30 Clavijo: A Golden Tree.

3.31 Four Coins.

3.32 Jahangir Strikes a New Kind of Coin.

Geometry, Aesthetics.

3.33 Ibn Hazm: On Vision.

3.34 Ibn al-Haytham: On Vision.

4 Space: Architecture and Urbanism.

4.1 cAbd al-Rahman III: On Architecture and Immortality.

Architectural Technique.

4.2 Ibn Khaldun: On Mudbrick and Stucco.

4.3 Abu'l-Fazl cAllami: On Building Materials and Technique.

4.4 Cacfar Efendi: On Names of Colors and Marbles.

Architectural Types and Elements.

4.5 Al-Bukhari: A Hadith on the First Minbar.

4.6 Ibn Khaldun: On the Adoption of the Maqsura.

4.7 Al-Maqrizi: The Dar al-imara of the Mosque of Ibn Tulun.

4.8 Badi al-Zaman al-Hamadani: A Bathhouse Visit.

4.9 Al-Wansharisi Answers a Query about Qibla.

4.10 Abu'l-Fazl: On Illumination and Candlesticks.

Urbanism and Land.

4.11 Hilal al-Sabi': Estimating the Number of Bathhouses in Baghdad.

4.12 Ibn cAbdun: A Hisba Manual for Seville.

4.13 Ibn Khaldun: On the Role of the Market Supervisor.

4.14 Al-Wansharisi Answers a Query about Waqf Violation.

5 Places.

Pre-Islamic.

5.1 The Qur'an: Bilqis and the Glass Floor.

The Arabian Peninsula.

5.2 Nasir-i Khusraw: A Description of the Kaaba.

5.3 Ibn Jubayr: A Description of the Mosaics in the Medina Mosque.

Syria, Jordan, and Environs.

5.4 Dome of the Rock Inscriptions.

5.5 Al-Yacqubi: On the Dome of the Rock as a Pilgrimage Site.

5.6 Al-Baladhuri: How the Muslim Community Obtained the Site for the Mosque of Damascus.

5.7 Ibn Shaddad: On Rusafa.

5.8 Ibn Jubayr: A Description of Aleppo's Citadel.

Iraq.

5.9 Al-Baladhuri: On the Founding of Kufa.

5.10 Al-Mascudi: On the Founding of Samarra.

5.11 Kitab al-hadaya wa al-tuhaf: A Reception of Byzantine Ambassadors in Baghdad.

Al-Andalus.

5.12 Ibn cIdhari: On the Mosque of Cordoba.

5.13 Signatures of Stone Masons in the Mosque of Cordoba.

5.14 cAbd al-Rahman I: Ode to a Palm Tree.

5.15 Ibn Ghalib: On the Construction of Madinat al-Zahra'.

5.16 Al-Maqqari: A Description of a Glass Pavilion in Toledo.

5.17 Navagero: On the Alhambra.

The Maghreb, Africa, and Sicily.

5.18 Ziza Palace Inscriptions.

5.19 Ibn Naji al-Tanukhi: The Mihrab of the Great Mosque of Kairouan.

5.20 Al-Muqaddasi: A Description of Sabra al-Mansuriyya.

5.21 Ibn Marzuq: On Merinid Madrasas and Zawiyas.

5.22 Ibn Marzuq: On Merinid Bridges and Fountains.

5.23 cAbd Salam Shabeni: A Description of Timbuktu.

Egypt.

5.24 Mufaddal ibn Abi al-Fada'il: On the Fatimid Processions to the Four Mosques.

5.25 Nasir-i Khusraw: A Description of the Fatimid Palace in Cairo.

5.26 Ibn Battuta: A Description of Cairo's Cemeteries.

5.27 Al-Maqrizi: On the Foundation of the Madrasa-Mausoleum of Sultan Salih Nejm al-Din Ayyub.

5.28 Baybars al-Jashankir's Waqfiyya.

5.29 Al-Maqrizi: On the Organization of the Sultan Qala'un Hospital in Cairo.

5.30 Inscription on the Facade of the Madrasa-Mausoleum of Sultan Qala'un.

5.31 Al-Maqrizi: A Description of the Madrasa al-Nasiriya's Gothic Portal.

Turkey and the Ottoman Empire.

5.32 Ibn Battuta: On a Church Conversion in Bursa.

5.33 Evliya Celebi: A Description of the Ulu Cami in Bursa.

5.34 Kritovoulos: On the Ottoman Conquest and Reconstruction of Istanbul.

5.35 The Inscription on the Imperial Gate of the Topkapı Palace.

5.36 Evliya Celebi: A Description of the Topkapı Palace.

5.37 Sinan: On Building the Selimiye Mosque.

5.38 Hafiz H'useyin al-Ayvansarayi: A Description of the S'uleymaniye Mosque.

5.39 Mustafa b. Ahmed cAli: On Building with Booty.

5.40 Tavernier: A Description of the Topkapı Diwan.

5.41 Lady Mary Wortley Montagu: Harem Visits.

Iran and Central Asia.

5.42 Narshakhi: On the Images on the Doors of the Bukhara Mosque.

5.43 Inscription on the Gunbad-i Qabus.

5.44 Abu cAmr al-Juzjani: A Description of the Ghurid Palace in Firuz-Kuh.

5.45 Babur: A Description of Samarkand.

5.46 Babur: On the Construction of the Bagh-i Wafa.

5.47 Clavijo: A Description of the Aq Saray near Samarkand.

5.48 Sharaf al-Din cAli Yazdi: A Description of the Dilgusha Garden.

5.49 Junabadi: A Description of Isfahan.

5.50 Iskandar Beg Munshi: A Description of the Masjid-i Shah in Isfahan.

5.51 Olearius: A Description of Uljaytu's Tomb in Sultaniyya.

South Asia.

5.52 Ibn Battuta: A Description of Delhi and the Qutb Minar.

5.53 Firuz Shah: On Architectural Restoration.

5.54 The Tarikh-i Da'udi: On the Destruction of Hindu Idols.

5.55 Babur Plans a Garden in Agra.

5.56 Gulbadan Begam: On Building Projects in Agra and Dholpur.

5.57 Nizam al-Din Ahmad Haravi: On the Foundation of Fatehpur-Sikri.

5.58 cInayat Khan: On the Building of the Diwan-i Amm in the Agra Fort.

5.59 cInayat Khan: On the Construction of the Taj Mahal.

5.60 cInayat Khan: On Water Problems at the Shalimar Gardens in Lahore.

5.61 Francois Bernier: A Description of Shahjahanabad.

5.62 Thevenot: A Description of Aurangzeb’s Birthday Celebration.

East Asia.

5.63 Ibn Battuta: On Caravanserais and Mosques in China.

Acknowledgments.

Index.