Deutsches Orientalisten Tag 2022Western Islamic CitiesRomanIslam Panel Sep.12, 2022

12 September 2022

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Western Islamic Cities, RomanIslam Panel Sep. 12, 2022

Islamization and urban changes in the Western Mediterranean: the case of Córdoba (al-Andalus)
Dr. Carmen González Gutiérrez (RomanIslam Center / University of Córdoba)

This paper aims to illustrate some dynamics of (re)occupation, (re)conditioning and general change occurred progressively in urban spaces with the arrival of Islam to the Iberian Peninsula in the 8th c. In order to do so, the city of Cordoba (Madinat Qurtuba), capital of al-Andalus under the Umayyad rule, has been chosen as a study case. The relationship between the religious and political changes occurred in the city from the early 8th century onwards and the associated changes in urban spaces and forms of life will be explored using archaeology as the main source of information. Due to their extension, relevance and also due to the very recent findings located in the frame of contemporary archaeological interventions, particular attention will be paid to the urban areas developed beyond
the wall

Urbanization and City Walls in al-Andalus
Joud Nassan Agha (RomanIslam Center/ Universität Hamburg)

Islamic city walls were part of many different types of military/urban foundations in al-Andalus which have participated in expanding our knowledge of the Andalusi social formations following the Arab conquest. This presentation will examine the concept of Islamication of specific Andalusi cities. The examination of this concept will be through the Islamic walls, which were established according to different political and economic circumstances. Three different cases of erecting a city-wall will be explored. The wall of Calatrava (Sūr Qalʿit Rabāḥ), the wall of Seville (Sūr Īshbīliyya), and the wall of Carmona (Sūr Qarmūna). These three wall-cases will allow me to present a comparative study in which I shall demonstrate the importance of each one of them in the Islamication process of the Andalusi cities, in addition to their influences on the social, economic, and urban formation of each city. What are the differences between these three cases? Their characteristics should be presented in a variety of ways.

Islamic Cities in the West the View from the East
Stefan Heidemann (RomanIslam Center/ Universität Hamburg)

In the Eastern Mediterranean during the Umayyad and Early Abbasid period the Late Antique Cities were still well preserved. Also the Hellenistic traditions of city planning with rectangular insulae was continued but now adapted to the needs of a changing society. In the Islamic West the function of the Roman urban model had mostly lost its power. The region experienced two waves of conquering communities, the Visigoth and Vandals, and the Muslim armies. One of the main factors in the transformation of the cities by the conquering Muslim communities was the non-celibatarian character of the army, which led to polycentric even segregated cities. The absence of public property in Islamic law, might have contributed to the absence of public and communal spaces within the cities.

The Islamication of Coastal Sites in Aghlabid Ifrīqiya
Dr. Antonia Bosanquet (RomanIslam Center/ Universität Hamburg)

This presentation examines the Islamication of the smaller settlements along the Ifrīqiyan coastline following the stabilization of Aghlabid rule in the mid-3rd/9th century. How did the Aghlabid rulers use the construction and administration of built structures to influence a cultural-religious development in which they played an important role? How does their approach to shaping the cultural and material environment of Ifrīqiya relate to initiatives by Ifrīqiyan religious scholars to create an Ifrīqiyan identity oriented towards the Islamic Empire in the east, despite the province’s ambiguous relation to the Abbasid ruling dynasty?

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