Architecture of the Islamic World: Its History and Social Meaning

From mosques to markets, from citadels to cemetries, this text is a survey of the entire field of Islamic architecture. Although Islamic buildings may make an immediate visual impact, it can be useful to know something of the society which they serve. This text relates the architecture to the social areas of religion, power structure, commerce and communal life, placing emphasis on function and meaning rather than on style and chronology.