4to. xiii, 210 pp., 85 b/w illustrations, cloth in d/w, notes, biblio, index, copy in mint condition, University of Washington Press, Seatle, 2001.

Synopsis

“The transformation of Islamic architecture during the eleventh and twelfth centuries signalled profound cultural changes in the Islamic world. Yasser Tabbaa explores with exemplary lucidity the geometric techniques that facilitated this transformation, and investigates the cultural processes by which meaning was produced within the new forms. Iran, Iraq, and Syria saw the development of proportional calligraphy, vegetal and geometric arabesque, muqarnas (stalactite) vaulting, and other devices that became defining features of medieval Islamic architecture. Ultimately the forms and themes described in this book shaped the development of Mamluk architecture in Egypt and Syria, and by extension, the entire course of North African and Andalusian architecture as well”.