In this Book
- Qusayr ‘Amra: Art and the Umayyad Elite in Late Antique Syria
- Book
- 2004
- Published by: University of California Press
- Series: Transformation of the Classical Heritage
summary
From the stony desolation of Jordan's desert, it is but a step through a doorway into the bath house of the Qusayr 'Amra hunting lodge. Inside, multicolored frescoes depict scenes from courtly life and the hunt, along with musicians, dancing girls, and naked bathing women. The traveler is transported to the luxurious and erotic world of a mid-eighth-century Muslim Arab prince. For scholars, though, Qusayr 'Amra, probably painted in the 730s or 740s, has proved a mirage, its concreteness dissolved by doubts about date, patron, and meaning. This is the first book-length contextualization of the mysterious monument through a compelling analysis of its iconography and of the literary sources for the Umayyad period. It illuminates not only the way of life of the early Muslim elite but also the long afterglow of late antique Syria.
Table of Contents
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- Maps and Illustrations
- pp. xi-xiv
- Abbreviations
- pp. xv-xix
- 1. MUSIL'S FAIRY-TALE CASTLE
- pp. 1-30
- 2. LUXURIES OF THE BATH
- pp. 31-84
- 3. THE HUNT
- pp. 85-114
- 4. "O GOD, BLESS THE AMĪR"
- pp. 115-141
- 5. THE PRINCELY PATRON
- pp. 142-174
- 6. MAINTAINING THE DYNASTY
- pp. 175-196
- 7. THE SIX KINGS
- pp. 197-226
- 8. A CAPTIVE SASANIAN PRINCESS
- pp. 227-247
- 9. QUSAYR 'AMRA CONTEXTUALIZED
- pp. 248-290
- 10. UMAYYAD SELF-REPRESENTATION
- pp. 291-324
- Bibliography
- pp. 335-374
Additional Information
ISBN
9780520929609
Related ISBN(s)
9780520236653
MARC Record
OCLC
57516692
Pages
419
Launched on MUSE
2014-01-01
Language
English
Open Access
No