The site of Hasanlu Tepe in Iran is today known mainly for its Iron Age archaeology. In this report Michael Danti has re-examined the records from excavations between 1956 and 1962 to reconstruct the sequence of occupation on the mound from the late 13th to early 14th centuries.
This book traces the origins, history, and memory of the Jalayirid dynasty, a family that succeeded the Mongol Ilkhans in Iran and Iraq in the 14th and early 15th centuries. The story of how the Jalayirids came to power is illustrative of the political dynamics that shaped much of the Mongol and post-Mongol period in the Middle East. The Jalayirid sultans sought to preserve the social and political order of the Ilkhanate, while claiming that they were the rightful heirs to the rulership of that order. Central to the Jalayirids' claims to the legacy of the Ilkhanate was their attempt to control the Ilkhanid heartland of Azarbayjan and its major city, Tabriz. Control of Azarbayjan meant control of a network of long-distance trade between China and the Latin West, which continued to be a source of economic prosperity through the 8th/14th century. Azarbayjan also represented the center of Ilkhanid court life, whether in the migration of the mobile court-camp of the ruler, or in the complexes of palatial, religious and civic buildings constructed around the city of Tabriz by members of the Ilkhanid royal family, as well as by members of the military and administrative elite.
The century after the conquests of Timur witnessed the division of eastern and western Iran between his Turko-Mongol successors, and a flowering of Persian culture in the great cities of Herat, Samarqand and Tabriz, among others. In this, the ninth volume in The Idea of Iran series, leading scholars analyse the ways that Timurid contemporaries viewed their traditions and their environment, asking questions such as: what was the view of outsiders, and how does modern scholarship define the distinctive aspects of the period? Essential reading for scholars, students, and all those interested in the history of Iran, the book considers the political, religious and cultural history of this rich and highly productive interval that was the springboard for the formation of new imperial Ottoman, Safavid, Mughal and Ozbek orders of succeeding centuries.
A new understanding of the transformation of Anatolia to a Muslim society in the thirteenth-fourteenth centuries based on previously unpublished sources.
This expansive dictionary contains over 4,500 entries covering the essential vocabulary for everyday archaeological work in the English language, from about 3 million years ago down to about AD 1700. There is coverage of principles, theories, techniques, artefacts, materials, people, places, monuments, equipment, and descriptive terms - from amphora to ziggurat, and Beaker Culture to molluscan analysis. Now in its third edition, this in-depth A-Z has been updated with over 100 new entries, including actor-network theory, Alfred Marshall Cubbon, Dadiwan Culture, Amelia Edwards, Shangshan Culture, and Thera Eruption. This dictionary covers key archaeological sites around the world, with special focus placed on Europe, the Old World, and the Americas. In addition, the coverage of Near East and Asia has been expanded for this edition. Most entries are fully cross-referenced and it also includes a selection of eleven useful appendices. Written by a leading authority, the dictionary's detailed but clear entries provide an essential reference source for students, teachers, professionals, and enthusiasts alike.
This introduction to the archaeology of the Islamic world traces the history of the discipline from its earliest manifestations through to the present, evaluating the contribution made by archaeology to the understanding of key aspects of Islamic culture.
Cities of Medieval Iran brings together studies in urban geography, archaeology, and history of medieval Iranian cities, covering the millennium from 500 to 1500 AD, with a focus on urban actors themselves.
Byzantine rule over Anatolia ended in the eleventh century, leaving the population and its Turkish rulers to build social and economic institutions throughout the region. The emerging Anatolian society comprised a highly heterogeneous population of Christians and Muslims whose literati produced legal documents in Arabic, literary texts in Persian, and some of the earliest written works in the Turkish language. Yet the cultural landscape that emerged as a result has received very little attention—until now. Investigating daily life in Anatolia during the fourteenth century, Foodways and Daily Life in Medieval Anatolia draws on a creative array of sources, including hagiographies, archaeological evidence, Sufi poetry, and endowment deeds, to present an accessible portrait of a severely under-documented period. Grounded in the many ways food enters the human experience, Nicolas Trépanier’s comprehensive study delves into the Anatolian preparation of meals and the social interactions that mealtime entails—from a villager’s family supper to an elaborately arranged banquet—as well as the production activities of peasants and gardeners; the marketplace exchanges of food between commoners, merchants, and political rulers; and the religious landscape that unfolded around food-related beliefs and practices. Brimming with enlightening details on such diverse topics as agriculture, nomadism, pastoralism, medicine, hospitality, and festival rituals, Foodways and Daily Life in Medieval Anatolia presents a new understanding of communities that lived at a key juncture of world history.
Hasanlu V provides archaeologists with a new, more accurate chronology of Hasanlu, the largest and arguably the most important archaeological site in the Gadar River Valley of northwestern Iran. This revised chronology introduces Hasanlu Periods VIa, V, and IVc for the first time. Based on new findings, the report overturns current constructions of the origins of the archaeological culture in Hasanlu, which sought to link the Monochrome Burnished Ware Horizon (formerly known as the Early Western Grey Ware Horizon) to the migration of new peoples into western Iran in the later second millennium B.C. Hasanlu V shows instead that the Monochrome Burnished Ware Horizon developed gradually from indigenous traditions. This reappraisal has important implications for our understanding of Indo-Iranian migrations into the Zagros region.