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Al-Masaq: Journal of the Medieval

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An Introduction to Islamic Archaeology

a
Jamie Wood
a
University of Lincoln, UK
Published online: 03 Mar 2014.

To cite this article: Jamie Wood (2014) An Introduction to Islamic Archaeology, Al-Masaq: Journal
of the Medieval Mediterranean, 26:1, 113-115, DOI: 10.1080/09503110.2014.878443

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 Book Reviews 113

roughly the same time period. For an explanation of the varied connotations of
hikma we must still turn to Franz Rosenthal’s Knowledge Triumphant: The Concept
˙ Knowledge in Medieval Islam (Leiden: Brill, 2006), which examines each Sufi
of
manual separately and investigates the differences between them. Rosenthal’s
research provided a clear argument for how and why Sufi manuals treat the
notion of knowledge differently and created opportunities for further investigation.
While Yaman’s work is carefully prepared and thorough in its approach, it may leave
the reader wanting more in terms of analysis. That said, it is a useful addition to the
field and a portal for future scholars to explore the theory of knowledge in Islam,
both within and outside the confines of Sufi literature.

ELIZA TASBIHI
Concordia University, Montreal, Canada
Eliza.Tasbihi@mail.mcgill.ca
© 2014, Eliza Tasbihi
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09503110.2014.878442
Downloaded by [Jamie Wood] at 08:37 05 March 2014

An Introduction to Islamic Archaeology

MARCUS MILWRIGHT, 2010
Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press
xii + 260pp.
£24.99 (paperback)
ISBN 9780748623112

This is an ambitious book that deals effectively with a vast subject that spans a huge
geographical area: Islamic archaeology. Using a series of broadly thematic chapters
illustrated through judicious use of well-chosen case studies, Marcus Milwright
ranges with confidence from the seventh to the early twentieth century and from
Central Asia to Spain. The introduction (pp. 1–23) defines the term “Islamic
archaeology” as both the material culture recovered from excavations in the
Islamic world and also (and more importantly in the opinion of the author of this
review) archaeological approaches to engaging with the history of Islam (p. 3).
Milwright then moves on to offer an overview of the contents of the volume
before providing a brief history of Islamic archaeology, which is traced back to the
late nineteenth and early twentieth century (pp. 11–20).
Chapters two and three focus on the early Islamic period. Chapter two (“Early
Islam and Late Antiquity”, pp. 24–43) unpacks what the archaeological evidence
may be able to tell us about the origins of Islam and the establishment of the earliest
Islamic polities in the seventh century. Milwright’s point that “the extant objects,
inscriptions, and buildings dating between 622 and 692 represent too small and
too fragmentary a body of data on which to formulate an independent vision of
the earliest phase of Islam” (p. 28) is well made and bears repetition. A subsequent
case study on “The archaeology of late antiquity” places the material record of early
Islam into its proper context before a fascinating section on “The Umayyad qusur of
Greater Syria” illuminates the strong degree of continuity between late antique and
Umayyad architectural forms and transport networks.
The third chapter, “New Directions in the Early Islamic Period”, provides a brief
overview of developments in the archaeology of the eighth to tenth centuries before
 114 Book Reviews

offering two case studies: “Early Islamic trade with the north”, which explores differ-
ent interpretations of the famous coin hoards of western Russia and Scandinavia;
and “New buildings: mosque and dar al-imara”, which explores the two new build-
ing forms that transformed the urban environment during the early Islamic period.
The next five chapters explore a number of key themes in the study of Islamic
archaeology. In chapter four (“The countryside”, pp. 59–74), Milwright deals
with rural life and economy. After noting the huge variety of demographic and settle-
ment patterns, means of exploiting the landscape and material remains on which
archaeologists can draw, he provides extended discussion of: “Rural settlement pat-
terns: methods and interpretation”; “The archaeology of water transport and con-
servation”; and “Sugar production”.
Chapter five (“Towns, Cities and Palaces”, pp. 75–123) is the longest in the
book and again proceeds through a series of chronological sections and thematic
discussions: “Archaeology and the early Islamic city”; “Urban life in medieval
Islam”; and “Fresh water and sanitation”. In chapter six (“Religious Practice in
the Islamic World”, pp. 124–42), the author leads us expertly through sections
Downloaded by [Jamie Wood] at 08:37 05 March 2014

on the different ways in which the evolution of the mosque has been interpreted
over time, burial practices in different Islamic communities (which do not
conform consistently to “orthodox” Muslim burial practices, p. 135), and the
archaeological record for non-Muslim religious communities before and after the
Islamic conquest.
Chapters seven and eight deal primarily with economic matters (“Crafts and
Industry”, pp. 143–58; “Travel and Trade”, pp. 159–173). In the seventh
chapter, there are sections on the tracking of industrial activity in the archaeological
record and the relationship between technological innovation and the movement of
craftsmen and artefacts. There follows an interesting short case study, “The revival
of handmade pottery”, which suggests that, contrary to normal assumptions of tech-
nological and economic decline, the growth of handmade pottery in Greater Syria
from the twelfth to the fourteenth century took place in a time of relative prosperity
and high levels of rural settlement. Chapter eight has case studies on: “Pilgrimage
and trade routes”; “Mediterranean trade from the eleventh to the fifteenth
century”; and “Indian Ocean trade”.
In chapter nine (pp. 174–91) Milwright offers an overview of the archaeology of
the “post-medieval” Islamic world, in which he treats the reader to two fascinating
case studies: “Tobacco, coffee and the importation of glazed pottery into Islamic
lands”; and “The archaeology of colonisation”, by both the Ottoman and Western
European empires. In the conclusion (pp. 192–7), the author addresses the develop-
ment of Islamic archaeology as a distinct field of study and its relationship to other
disciplines, notably historical studies of Islam, that draw mainly on textual sources.
Milwright argues persuasively that Islamic archaeology and history have a lot to gain
by working together to understand the past experiences of individual Muslims and of
the Islamic communities to which they belonged.
There are a few typographical errors, but overall the book is well produced
and includes a large number of high-quality maps, site plans and black and
white images of relevant objects and sites. These are well integrated into the
volume and aid understanding of the topics under discussion. The glossary
and lists of dynasties (pp. 223–6 and pp. 227–8 respectively) are invaluable
aids to those with minimal knowledge of relevant archaeological terminology.
The bibliography (pp. 229–255) offers full references to works that are cited
 Book Reviews 115

using the author-date format at the end of each chapter. The index seems to be
limited to names of people and places mentioned in the book, which is some-
thing of a weakness.
As stated at the beginning of this review, An Introduction to Islamic Archaeology is
a timely and very accomplished book. It is not without its problems, however.
Some chapters lack synthesis, particularly in the concluding paragraphs, the
focus is decidedly on the medieval rather than the modern period, and I would
argue that it will better serve archaeologists who know little of Islam than students
of Islamic Studies who do not know much about archaeology. Despite these rela-
tively minor quibbles, I have no hesitation in recommending this book to scholars
and students at all levels, but particularly to those wishing for an affordable,
concise and accessibly survey of Islamic archaeology and its development over
time and space.

JAMIE WOOD
University of Lincoln, UK
Downloaded by [Jamie Wood] at 08:37 05 March 2014

jamie.wood@lincoln.ac.uk
© 2014, Jamie Wood
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09503110.2014.878443

In the Shadow of Arabic: The Centrality of Language to Arabic Culture.

Studies Presented to Ramzi Baalbaki on the Occasion of his Sixtieth
Birthday
BILAL ORFALI (Ed.), 2011
[Studies in Semitic Languages and Linguistics, 63]
Boston, Mass., and Leiden: Brill
xxiii + 572 pp.
€174.00/US$227.00 (hardback)
ISBN 9789004215375

Almost every English-speaking student of Arabic is familiar with the Baalbaki name.
Among American students, Al-Mawrid dictionaries are almost as common and cher-
ished as the ever-present copies of Hans Wehr’s A Dictionary of Modern Written
Arabic. This festschrift for Ramzi Baalbaki is comprised of twenty chapters written
by well-established scholars. Rather than describing every chapter, this review
focuses on a select group. Note that the author of this review is most interested in
the history of Arabic language and literature. The reviewer also teaches only under-
graduate students, and, therefore, is always reading to find new course materials.
Linguists and litterateurs may therefore find other chapters more relevant to their
own sub-fields.
Orfali starts the work with a very strong chapter by Yasir Suleiman, “Ideology,
Grammar-Making and the Standardization of Arabic”, which argues that the extra
linguistic motives for grammar-making deserve more attention than they have
received. As Suleiman points out, it is impossible to divorce the ideology of stan-
dardisation from the social, political, and religious environment in which it was
born. In the case of Arabic, the need to sanctify a pagan language was part of the
motivation for studying and codifying Arabic grammar. Sanctifying the Arabs them-
selves was a by-product of this process. The sanctification of the Arabic language and