"Some sections of this book were previously published in The art and architecture of Islam 650-1250 by Penguin Books Ltd, 1987"--T.p. verso.

Includes bibliographical references (p. [329]-335) and indexes.

The Rise of Islam and the Artistic Climate of the Period -- Early Islamic Art and Architecture (c.650-c.1000) -- Prologue: Historical and Cultural Setting -- Central Islamic Lands -- Western Islamic Lands -- Eastern Islamic Lands -- Medieval Islamic Art and Architecture (c.1000-1250) -- Prologue: Historical and Cultural Setting -- Eastern Islamic Lands -- Central Islamic Lands -- The Fatimids in Egypt, Palestine, and Syria -- The Saljuqs, Artuqids, Zangids, and Ayyubids in Iraq, Anatolia, Syria, Palestine, and Egypt -- Western Islamic Lands -- Architecture and Architectural Decoration -- The Art of the Object -- The Art of the Book -- Conclusion: The Impact of Islamic Art -- Islamic Art and non-Muslims.

This richly illustrated book provides an unsurpassed overview of Islamic art and architecture from the seventh to the thirteenth centuries, a time of the formation of a new artistic culture and its first, medieval, flowering in the vast area from the Atlantic to India. Inspired by Ettinghausen and Grabar's original text, this book has been completely rewritten and updated to take into account recent information and methodological advances. The volume focuses special attention on the development of numerous regional centers of art in Spain, North Africa, Egypt, Syria, Anatolia, Iraq, and Yemen as well as the western and northeastern provinces of Iran. It traces the cultural and artistic evolution of such centers in the seminal early Islamic period and examines the wealth of different ways of creating a beautiful environment. The book approaches the arts with new classifications of architecture and architectural decoration, the art of the object, and the art of the book.