Description
Book SynopsisThis book is a study of Islamic architecture in Anatolia following the Mongol conquest in 1243. Complex shifts in rule, movements of population, and cultural transformations took place that affected architecture on multiple levels. Beginning with the Mongol conquest of Anatolia, and ending with the demise of the Ilkhanid Empire, centered in Iran, in the 1330s, this book considers how the integration of Anatolia into the Mongol world system transformed architecture and patronage in the region. Traditionally, this period has been studied within the larger narrative of a progression from Seljuk to Ottoman rule and architecture, in a historiography that privileges Turkish national identity. Once Anatolia is studied within the framework of the Mongol Empire, however, the region no longer appears as an isolated case; rather it is integrated into a broader context beyond the modern borders of Turkey, Iran, and the Caucasus republics. The monuments built during this period served a number of
Trade Review"... this book is an eye-opening stroll through the monumental architecture of early Islamic Anatolia. Interweaving the historical and economic forces in play during the later 13th and early 14th centuries, through a study of archives, a rich scholarly literature and a personal knowledge of the land and its remains, Patricia Blessing examines the predominantly local architectural patronage under the Mongols in the main centres of Konya, Sivas, and Erzurum, and the smaller towns of Tokat, Amasya, and Ankara ... this attractive and clearly written book is far more than just an examination of architectural developments in Mongol Anatolia, but also a study in history that probes back into the Seljuk period and forwards into Ottoman times."
- Professor Paul Arthur (Universita del Salento, Italy) in the journal of the Society for Medieval Archaeology
"... this book is an eye-opening stroll through the monumental architecture of early Islamic Anatolia. Interweaving the historical and economic forces in play during the later 13th and early 14th centuries, through a study of archives, a rich scholarly literature and a personal knowledge of the land and its remains, Patricia Blessing examines the predominantly local architectural patronage under the Mongols in the main centres of Konya, Sivas, and Erzurum, and the smaller towns of Tokat, Amasya, and Ankara ... this attractive and clearly written book is far more than just an examination of architectural developments in Mongol Anatolia, but also a study in history that probes back into the Seljuk period and forwards into Ottoman times."
- Professor Paul Arthur (Universita del Salento, Italy) in the journal of the Society for Medieval Archaeology
"This book offers a new approach to the study of the architecture of Mongol-era Islamic architecture in Anatolia, highlighting the specific historical circumstances in which the tradition developed. It successfully charts the formation of local styles by comparing monuments within cities or by the same patron. Blessing’s use of historical documentation is thorough and rigorous; the bibliography is ample and up to date, and the images (with some color plates) are copious and mostly the author’s own."
- CAA Reviews
Table of ContentsContents: Introduction: reframing the lands of Rum; A capital without royal patronage: Konya (1240-1280); A capital of learning: three madrasas in Sivas (1271-1272); On the Ilkhanid frontier: Erzurum (1280-1320); Small cities in a global moment: Tokat, Amasya, Ankara (1280-1330); Epilogue; Bibliography; Index.
