13064 eup Milwright:layout 9/2/09 12:33 Page 1 AN INTRODUCTION AN INTRODUCTION TO ISLAMIC ARCHAEOLOGY T TO ISLAMIC O I A S L N ARCHAEOLOGY A I M N - InthebeginningwastheQur’an,thefirstbookofIslamandalsothefirst I T bookofArabicliterature.Occasionedbytheneedtounderstandand C R interpretthewordofGod,andtheteachingsoftheProphetMuh.ammad, A O Muslimsmadeaninventoryandstudyoftheirtradition.Thisinvolvedthe R D collection,transmissionandinstructionofthesacredtext,ofthewordsand C deedsofMuh.ammad,andalsoofpoetry,frombothbeforeandaftertherise U H ofIslam–indeedofallmattersregardedaspertinenttotheproperand C scholarlystudyofthetradition. A T E I Thisactivity,whichbeganinthelastthirdoftheseventhcentury,relied O O predominantlyonauralstudywithamaster,thatis,onoralcommunication L N betweenteacherandstudent,althoughwritingwasalreadyanintegralpart O ofthisprocess. G Y InthepresentworkGregorSchoelerexplainshowMuslimscholarshipevolved fromauraltoread.Theresultwasthegenesisofoneoftherichestliteratures oflateantiquityandtheearlymiddleages,asisclearfromthewidespread disseminationofscholarshipthroughwritingandtheattendantproliferation ofbooks. GregorSchoelerisProfessorandChairofIslamicStudiesintheOrientalisches SeminarattheUniversityofBasel.HismanypublicationsincludeTheOraland theWritteninEarlyIslam(2006). ShawkatM.ToorawaisAssociateProfessorofArabicLiteratureandIslamic StudiesatCornellUniversity.HeistheauthorofIbnAbiTahirTayfurand ArabicWriterlyCulture(2005). M A R C Seriescoverdesignconcept:RiverDesign,Edinburgh U Coverillustration:Lesséances.Al-Maqamat, S Arabe5847,Folio152. M SuppliedbytheBibliothèquenationaledeFrance. I L W EdinburghUniversityPress R 22GeorgeSquare,EdinburghEH89LF I MARCUS MILWRIGHT G www.euppublishing.com H T ISBN9780748624683 E THE NEW EDINBURGH ISLAMIC SURVEYS d THE NEW EDINBURGH ISLAMIC SURVEYS i n b SERIES EDITOR: CAROLE HILLENBRAND SERIES EDITOR: CAROLE HILLENBRAND u r g h An introduction to Islamic archaeology The New Edinburgh Islamic Surveys Series Editor: Carole Hillenbrand titles available or forthcoming Contemporary Issues in Islam Asma Asfaruddin The New Islamic Dynasties Clifford Edmund Bosworth Media Arabic (2nd Edition) Julia Ashtiany Bray An Introduction to the Hadith John Burton A History of Islamic Law Noel Coulson Medieval Islamic Political Thought Patricia Crone A Short History of the Ismailis Farhad Daftary Islam: An Historical Introduction (2nd Edition) Gerhard Endress A History of Christian–Muslim Relations Hugh Goddard Medieval Islamic Science Robert Hall ShiÆism (2nd Edition) Heinz Halm Islamic Science and Engineering Donald Hill Muslim Spain Reconsidered Richard Hitchcock Islamic Law: From Historical Foundations to Contemporary Practice Mawil Izzi Dien Sufism: The Formative Period Ahmet T. Karamustafa Islamic Aesthetics Oliver Leaman Persian Historiography Julie Scott Meisami Pilgrims and Pilgrimage Josef Meri The Muslims of Medieval Italy Alex Metcalfe An Introduction to Islamic Archaeology Marcus Milwright Twelver ShiÆism: Unity and Diversity in the Life of Islam Andrew Newman Muslims in Western Europe (3rd Edition) Jørgen Nielsen Medieval Islamic Medicine Peter E. Pormann and Emilie Savage-Smith Islamic Names Annemarie Schimmel The Genesis of Literature in Islam Gregor Schoeler Modern Arabic Literature Paul Starkey Islamic Medicine Manfred Ullman Islam and Economics Ibrahim Warde A History of Islamic Spain W. Montgomery Watt and Pierre Cachia Introduction to the Qur’an W. Montgomery Watt Islamic Creeds W. Montgomery Watt Islamic Philosophy and Theology W. Montgomery Watt Islamic Political Thought W. Montgomery Watt The Influence of Islam on Medieval Europe W. Montgomery Watt An introduction to Islamic archaeology MARCUS MILWRIGHT EDINBURGH UNIVERSITY PRESS © Marcus Milwright, 2010 Edinburgh University Press Ltd 22 George Square, Edinburgh www.euppublishing.com Typeset in Goudy by Koinonia, Manchester, and printed and bound in Great Britain by CPI Antony Rowe, Chippenham and Eastbourney Cromwell Press, Trowbridge, Wilts A CIP Record for this book is available from the British Library isbn 978 0 7486 2310 5 (hardback) isbn 978 0 7486 2311 2 (paperback) The right of Marcus Milwright to be identified as author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. Published with the support of the Edinburgh University Scholarly Publishing Initiatives Fund. Contents List of figures vi Acknowledgements ix Notes on transliteration and dating xi List of abbreviations xii 1 Introduction 1 2 Early Islam and late antiquity 24 3 New directions in the early Islamic period 44 4 The countryside 59 5 Towns, cities and palaces 75 6 Religious practice in the Islamic world 124 7 Crafts and industry 143 8 Travel and trade 159 9 The ‘post-medieval’ Islamic world 174 10 Conclusion 192 Glossary 223 Dynasties and periods 227 Bibliography 229 Index 256 Figures Note The maps have been prepared by Chris Mundigler Following chapter 5 1.1 Gilded bronze plate with enamel decoration, twelfth century 1.2 Map showing principal locations discussed in the book 2.1 a ‘Orans’ type dirham b ‘Standing caliph’ dinar c Epigraphic dinar 2.2 Bilingual (Greek and Arabic) papyrus: a Recto b Verso 2.3 Excavated plan of the Dar al-Imara at Kufa, Iraq, seventh century 2.4 a Plan of the qasr of Bakhra’, Syria b Qasr and surrounding buildings 2.5 View along the main colonnaded street towards the Temple of Bel, Palmyra 2.6 Diagram showing the encroachment of building onto a colonnaded street 2.7 Plan of the Byzantine–Umayyad town of Umm al-Jimal 2.8 Main sites of Arabia and the Persian Gulf in late antiquity 2.9 The distribution of the Umayyad qusur and related towns and cities in Greater Syria 2.10 Exterior of Qasr al-Kharana, Jordan (before 92/710) 2.11 Late Roman castrum known as Qasr al-Bashir, Jordan (293–305) 3.1 Turquoise-glazed storage jar, sixth/seventh century, Iran or Iraq 3.2 Distribution of Islamic coins in Europe 3.3 ‘Dinar’ minted by Offa, king of Mercia 3.4 a Two construction phases of the mosque at Wasit b Early eighth-century mosque excavated at the citadel of ‘Amman 3.5 Distribution of the principal congregational mosques constructed during the seventh and eighth centuries Figures vii 3.6 Computer reconstructions of the Haram al-Sharif (Temple Mount) and the Umayyad buildings to the south and west before 749: a view from the south-west b view from the north-east 4.1 Plan of the last occupation phase of Hasanlu Tepe 4.2 Principal sites of southern Jordan during the Islamic and crusader periods 4.3 Diagram of a typical qanat 4.4 Settlements and canals in the Diyala plain, Iraq, during the Islamic period 4.5 Sugar pot and molasses jars found in Karak Castle 4.6 Plan of the milling chamber excavated at Tawahin al-Sukkar 5.1 Plan of ‘Anjar, Lebanon, early eighth century 5.2 Plan of Ayla, Jordan, seventh–eleventh century 5.3 Plan of the larger compound at Qasr al-Hayr East, Syria, early eighth century 5.4 Plan of the citadel of ‘Amman, Jordan, in the early Islamic period 5.5 Plan of Raqqa-Rafiqa showing the principal historical and archaeo- logical sites 5.6 Carved stucco panel from the Abbasid period palaces of Raqqa-Rafiqa 5.7 Plan of Samarra, Iraq showing the principal monuments of the Abbasid phase 5.8 Balkuwara and surrounding cantonments, Samarra 5.9 Fatimid period house excavated at Fustat 5.10 Pottery gathered from surface collection in Barqiya 5.11 Satellite map with the distribution of Ottoman period fountains and mosques in Nafpaktos 5.12 Detail of the sanitary infrastructure on the upper terrace of Madinat al-Zahra’ Following chapter 10 6.1 a Plan of the Aqsa mosque, Jerusalem b Reconstruction of ‘Aqsa II’ c Reconstruction of ‘Aqsa I’ 6.2 The mosque of c.1000 excavated at Shanga 6.3 The congregational mosque at Siraf: a Plan of Phase I b Plan of Phase II 6.4 Modern pressed clay pilgrim tokens in the Pa Minar Mosque 6.5 Adult female burial, looking south-west 6.6 Detail of the mosaic pavement at the east end of the naos of the church of St Stephen, Umm al-Rasas viii An introduction to Islamic archaeology 6.7 Mosaic from the church of the Acropolis, Ma‘in, Jordan 7.1 Linen tabby textile with tiraz embroidered in dark blue silk 7.2 Distribution of late eighth- and early ninth-century kilns excavated by the Raqqa Ancient Industries Project at Tal Aswad, Raqqa 7.3 Pottery from Raqqa, Syria 7.4 Lustre painted and glazed ceramic jar, Egypt, eleventh century 7.5 Plan of the Abbasid period glass workshop excavated at Tal Zujaj 7.6 Sixth- or seventh-century clay oven (tabun) excavated in Mudaybi‘ 7.7 a Handmade slip-painted ceramic jar, thirteenth/fourteenth century, ‘Amman Citadel Museum b Handmade slip-painted jug, thirteenth/fourteenth century, Karak Castle Museum 8.1 View of Ribat-i Sharaf, early twelfth century 8.2 Route of Darb Zubayda from Kufa to the Hijaz 8.3 Tin-glazed bowl with cobalt decoration. Probably Basra, early ninth century 8.4 a Detail of the Bove pulpit in San Giovanni del Toro, Ravello b Detail of the north side of the church of San Piero a Grado, Pisa 8.5 Mihrab in al-Shawadhina mosque, ‘Aqr, Oman 8.6 Map of Greater Syria showing major cities, towns and castles of the crusader states 8.7 The ‘Luck of Edenhall’ 8.8 Dark and light blue dyed cotton tabby textile fragment with block- printed resist pattern, tenth century, India 8.9 Major ports around the Indian Ocean operating during the medieval period 9.1 Ottoman period archaeological sites in Greater Syria and Anatolia 9.2 Clay tobacco pipes recovered during French excavations in Jerusalem 9.3 Coffee cups found during Franco-Syrian excavations in the citadel of Damascus directed by Sophie Berthier 9.4 Reduction-fired storage vessel, late nineteenth or early twentieth century, Jordan 9.5 Plans of Qasr al-Saghir, Morocco: a During the Islamic phase b During the Portuguese period c Excavated house from the Islamic phase 9.6 Reconstructed plans of the three phases of the ‘Hormuzi-Portuguese fort’ at Qal‘at Bahrain 9.7 Main towns and ports in southern Greece during the Ottoman period 9.8 Eighteenth-century fountain on Kapadistriou street, Nafplio Acknowledgements Much of the initial research for the book was undertaken in 2006, during fellowships at the Aga Khan Programs for Islamic Architecture at Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. I would like to express my gratitude to Gülru Neçipoglu and Nasser Rabbat for their hospi- tality during my time in Cambridge, MA. Grants from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada have allowed me to undertake fieldwork in the Middle East, Britain and Greece. In assembling the illustrations for this book I have relied upon the generosity of many scholars. It is a pleasure to acknowledge those who have contributed site plans, diagrams and photographs, as well as information on where images could be located. The following list is doubtless incomplete: James Allan, Antonio Almagro, Ruth Barnes, Yuval Baruch, Alessandra Cereda, Keith Challis, Katya Cytryn-Silverman, Michael Danti, Erica Dodd, Denis Genequand, Véronique François, Oleg Grabar, Stefan Heidemann, Julian Henderson, Mark Horton, Jeremy Johns, Richard Jones, Kenneth Jonsson, Ruba Kana‘an, Robert Mason, Alastair Northedge, Konstantinos Politis, Kay Prag, Julian Raby, Charles Redman, Mariam Rosser-Owen, Lisa Snyder, Cristina Tonghini, Luke Treadwell, Antonio Vallejo Triano, Bert de Vries, Donald Whitcomb, and David Whitehouse. I have also bene- fited greatly from scholars who have shared with me their archaeological expertise. Aside from those already mentioned above, the following are due particular thanks: Glaire Anderson, Robin Brown, Lynda Carroll, Joseph Greene, Mahmoud Hawari, Stephen McPhillips, Chase Robinson, and Dede Fairchild Ruggles. The maps in this volume were prepared by Chris Mundigler. I also thank Mike Huston for his invaluable help in preparing many of the images for publication; and I thank the staff of the Maltwood Museum and Special Collections, McPherson Library, at the University of Victoria. I am most grateful to Carole Hillenbrand for the invitation to write this volume and for the comments that she and Robert Hillenbrand have offered on earlier drafts. My editor, Nicola Ramsey, has been a fount of knowledge