This volume is an inter-disciplinary endeavour which brings together recent research on aspects of urban life and structure by architectural and textual historians and archaeologists, engendering exciting new perspectives on urban life in the pre-modern Islamic world.

1. Introduction Amira K. Bennison The Genesis of 'Islamic' Cities 2. An Urban Structure for the Early Islamic City: An Archaeological Hypothesis Donald Whitcomb 3. The Foundation Legend of Fez and other Islamic Cities in Light of the Life of the Prophet Simon O'Meara 4. The City of Sultan Kala, Merv, Turkmenistan: Communities, Neighbourhoods and Urban Planning from the Eighth to Thirteenth Centuries Tim Williams Power and the City 5. Power and the City in the Islamic West from the Umayyads to the Almohads Amira K. Bennison 6. Ceremonial and Sacred Space in Early Fatimid Cairo Jonathan M. Bloom 7. Fîrûzkûh: The Summer Capital of the Ghurids David Thomas 8. Fathpur Sikri and Isfahan: The Founding and Layout of Capital Cities in Mughal India and Safavid Iran Stephen P. Blake The Impact of Religion on Urban Life 9. The Water Supply of Tinnîs: Public Amenities and Private Investments Alison L. Gascoigne 10. Health, Spirituality and Power in Medieval Iberia: The Mâristân and its Role in Nasrid Granada Athena C. Syrakoy 11. Commerce and Spirituality: The Urbanism of Ridwân Bey Nicholas Warner