Ayyubid

Jerusalem
The Holy City in Context
1187-1250

edited by
Robert Hillenbrand
and
Sylvia Auld

Al-Aqsa Mosque,
Nur al-Din minbar.
Photo Alistair
Duncan.

Ayyubid Jerusalem
The Holy City in Context
1187-1250
edited by
Robert Hillenbrand
and
Sylvia Auld

Ayyubid rule marks a new beginning for Islamic Jerusalem, after almost a century of Crusader domination, and it served as
a curtain-raiser for the thorough transformation which the city experienced under the Mamluks.This renewed interest in Jerusalem
was triggered by the Crusader presence and by the supreme effort that it took to dislodge them from the city. Nevertheless, it
proved problematic to sustain the momentum generated by Saladins victory at Hattin in July 1187 and his capture of Jerusalem
a few months later. This was a time of transition, whenafter the shock administered by the CrusadersJerusalem reclaimed its
Islamic identity once more.
This work, edited by Robert Hillenbrand and Sylvia Auld, looks at the city, its history and its monuments, and at Ayyubid
art in general during this critical period; it examines their context and what influenced them. It draws on the expertise of a wide
range of disciplines represented by internationally acknowledged academics and specialists who have produced a corpus of material
which will serve as a standard work on the subject for the foreseeable future.
This monumental work stands as the third element in a great trilogy on the Islamic heritage of Jerusalem which the
Altajir Trust (and its predecessor The World of Islam Festival Trust) has published in the last 25 years. Thus Ayyubid Jerusalem takes
its place alongside Mamluk Jerusalem (1987) and Ottoman Jerusalem (2000)three works which will endure as a magisterial record
of the fortunes and achievements of the city from the 12th to the 20th centuries.
CONTENTS

Ayyubid Jerusalema Historical Introduction Carole Hillenbrand

The Art of the Ayyubids: an Overview Robert Hillenbrand
Cross-currents and Coincidences: a Perspective on Ayyubid Metalwork Sylvia Auld
The Minbar of Nur al-din in Context Sylvia Auld
The Wooden Balustrade in the Sakhra Sylvia Auld
The Power of the Word: Ayyubid Inscriptions in Jerusalem Sheila S Blair
Woodwork in Syria, Palestine and Egypt During the 12th and 13th Centuries
Jonathan M Bloom
8
Smaller Domes in the Haram al-sharif reconsidered in Light of a Recent Survey
Michael Hamilton Burgoyne
9
Ayyubid Illustrated Manuscripts and their North Jaziran and cabbasid Neighbours
Anna Contadini
10
Religious Circles in Jerusalem in the Ayyubid Period Anne-Marie Edd
11
An Ambiguous Aesthetic: Crusader Spolia in Ayyubid Jerusalem Finbarr Barry Flood
12
Ayyubid Monuments in Jerusalem Mahmoud Hawari
13
Economic Growth and Currency in Ayyubid Palestine Stefan Heidemann
14
The Ayyubid Aqsa: Decorative Aspects Robert Hillenbrand
15
Eastern Christian Art and Culture in the Ayyubid and Early Mamluk Periods:
Cultural Convergence between Jerusalem, Greater Syria and Egypt Lucy-Anne Hunt
16
Qurans and Calligraphers of the Ayyubids and Zangids David James
17
From Monastic Cloisters to Sahn: the Transformation of the Open Space of

the Masjid al-aqsa under Saladin Sabri Jarrah
18
Ayyubid Mosaics in Jerusalem Lorenz Korn
19
Ayyubid Jerusalem in Perspective: the Context of Ayyubid Architecture in Bilad al-sham
Lorenz Korn
20
The Pottery of Ayyubid Jerusalem Marcus Milwright
21
Science as the Handmaiden of Power: Science, Art and Technology in Ayyubid Syria
Martina Mller-Wiener
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