Ibn Tulun: His Lost city and Great Mosque
Tom Verde
Tarek Swelim
2015, AUC Press, 978-9-77416-691-4, $49.95 hb.
This elegant, richly illustrated volume covers the history, architecture, folklore and cultural significance of Africa's "longest surviving" mosque. Built by Abbasid Governor Ahmad Ibn Tulun between 867 and 879, it was the centerpiece of his new city of al-Qata’i, northeast of Fustat, the earliest Arab settlement in Egypt (both now part of Cairo). Tarek Swelim comprehensively documents the building's "glorious architecture," focusing on its elegant inscriptions, pointed arches (among Egypt's first), famed scroll-shaped minaret and more. He also examines periods of neglect, e.g., during the Crusades of the 13th century when Mamluk sultans had their hands full elsewhere, and restoration, such as the work undertaken early in the 20the century by King Fuad. Filled with modern and historical images, maps and illustrations, including 3D renderings of the structure throughout its history, the book's design provides visual context for the mosque's important role in the history of Egypt and Islamic architecture.
You may also be interested in...
In the Aftermath of Rome's Collapse, These Communities Shaped the Mediterranean
Three regions of the post-Roman Mediterranean, from 400 CE to 1000 CE—the Latin West, Byzantium and the early Islamic world—are the focus of this work.
Naguib Mahfouz Medal for Literature Winner Gives Voice to Marginalized
“No one else will be destined to write a life story as squalid as mine, although it’s all true,” comments the elusive protagonist of Algerian author Ahmed Taibaoui’s noir novel.
The Ebb and Flow of History on the Zambezi River
In tracing the past six centuries of history, historian Malyn Hewitt captures the cyclical rise and fall of the river and its people.