Islamic Urbanism

<p>Islamic cultures in the Middle East have inherited and developed a legacy of urbanism spanning millennia to the ancient civilizations of the region. In contrast to well-organized states like China in history Muslim peoples formed loose states based on intricate social networks. As a consequence most studies of urban history in the Middle East have focused their gaze exclusively on urban social organization often neglecting the extension of political power to rural areas. Covering Morocco Egypt Syria Iran and Brunei this volume explores the relationship between political power and social networks in medieval and modern Middle Eastern history. The authors examine social religious and administrative networks that governed rural and urban areas and led to state formation providing a more inclusive view of the mechanisms of power and control in the Islamic world.</p>