The course presents Muslim material cultures in a very specific context: warfare in Egypt and Middle East during the Medieval and Modern Ages. War played a very important role in Muslim cultures and through the study of military architecture and arms and amour, the course will explore art and architecture in a war context to explain identity and changes in Muslim societies from the Arab conquest to the eve of the colonial period.

Aims of the course

Analyse and understand monumental military architecture, fortresses, castles, and city walls
Describe and interpret oriental arms and armour, their origins and influences, and their symbolic, aesthetic and social meanings
Receive a methodological background on the historiography of Muslim warfare
Have a systematic and nuanced understanding of the Arab conquests, the Crusades and jihad
Understand the impact of the religion in Muslim Arts and Architecture, and how they relate to their wider Islamic and Mediterranean contexts.

Course Leader

Professor Stéphane Pradines (Ph.D. in Islamic Archaeology from Sorbonne University, Paris, 2001), is Professor of Islamic Art, Architecture and Archaeology at AKU-ISMC, London and an arc