
Caught in a Whirlwind: Cultural History of Ottoman Baghdad as Reflected in Illustrated Manuscripts
Sophie Kazan
Melis Taner
2020, Brill, 978-9-00441-269-9, $154 hb.
Caught in a Whirlwind describes the short decade of relative peace following the Treaty of Constantinople in 1590 between the warring Safavid Persians, led by Abbas the Great, and the Sunni Muslim Ottoman Empire, led by Sultan Ahmed I. Located in the disputed Mesopotamian and Southern Caucasus territory, Baghdad became the site of bitter conflict. Melis Taner observes some of the manuscripts created during this short decade of intense creativity. Like an academic detective, she considers what individual manuscripts reveal about the two empires’ heated rivalry, the creativity of individual artists, and the visual culture and patronage at the time. Taner’s mastery of her subject as well as the detail and artistry of the illuminations provide tremendous insight into a rare period of creativity under pressure.
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.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.Umayyad Family Dynasty Creates Unprecedented Empire
Explore the development and history of the Umayyad Caliphate, one of the most consequential empires the world has ever known.