1/9 - Islamic Art and Archaeology

courses
ID:
1/9
Duration (hours):
54
CFU:
9
SSD:
Archeology and History of Muslim Art
Located in:
UNIVERSITÀ DEGLI STUDI DI NAPOLI "L'ORIENTALE"
Url:
ANCIENT CULTURES AND ARCHAEOLOGY: ASIA, AFRICA AND THE MEDITERRANEAN/Percorso comune Year: 3
ANCIENT CULTURES AND ARCHAEOLOGY: ASIA, AFRICA AND THE MEDITERRANEAN/Percorso comune Year: 1
ANCIENT CULTURES AND ARCHAEOLOGY: ASIA, AFRICA AND THE MEDITERRANEAN/Percorso comune Year: 2
Year:
2025

Overview

Date/time interval

Primo Semestre (29/09/2025 - 16/01/2026)

Syllabus

Course Objectives

Expected Learning Outcomes

The course aims to provide theoretical and methodological training in the archaeology, architecture, and material culture of Islamic territories, covering the period from the mid-7th century to the end of the 12th century.

To support a solid understanding of the various cultural phenomena, students will also be encouraged to strengthen their historical knowledge of the period under investigation.


Ability to Apply Knowledge and Understanding

Students are expected to demonstrate the ability to apply their knowledge in the field of Islamic archaeology, to formulate well-founded arguments, and to engage with issues related to new scientific topics, especially within broader and interdisciplinary research contexts.


Additional Expected Learning Outcomes

Independent Judgment: Students should be able to manage the knowledge acquired with critical thinking and independent judgment, and to formulate evaluations even on the basis of limited or incomplete data.

Communication Skills: Students should be able to clearly communicate the outcomes of the knowledge acquired and effectively use the methodological tools learned.

Learning Skills: Students should have developed the necessary skills to pursue further studies with a good degree of autonomy.


Course Prerequisites

There are no prerequisites for this course.


Teaching Methods

Knowledge and understanding are achieved through attendance of in-person lectures, which are delivered using PowerPoint presentations. A direct analysis of ceramic material housed at the University’s Museo Orientale is also planned.


Assessment Methods

The exam will be oral, conducted in Italian, and will assess the level of learning and the ability for critical analysis. With the support of visual materials, students will be required to demonstrate their ability to describe, analyze, and contextualize archaeological sites, monuments, and artifacts studied during the course.

There will be no mid-term assessments. Erasmus students who are not fluent in Italian may take the exam in English, French, or Spanish.


Texts

8 and 9 CFU

K.A.C. Creswell, A Short Account of Early Muslim Architecture (Revised and supplemented by James W. Allan). Aldershot 1989 (pp. 3-17, 73-90, 331-376).

R. Ettinghausen, O. Grabar, The Art and Architecture of Islam, 650-1250. Harmondsworth 1987 (pp. 17-208).

U. Monneret de Villard, Introduzione allo studio dell’archeologia islamica. Venezia-Roma 1968.

U. Scerrato, I grandi monumenti. Islam. Milano 1972 (pp. 6-55).

S. Vernoit, “The Rise of Islamic Archaeology”, Muqarnas 14, 1997, pp. 1-10.


Contents

8 CFU

1. Brief overview of the history of studies

2. The Hijaz

3. The Umayyad Caliphate: settlements, early mosques and dār al-imāra; the amṣār

4. Jerusalem and Damascus

5. Archaeological investigations in Bilād al-Shām: the quṣūr and newly founded cities

6. The early Abbasid period: Baghdad; excavations at Raqqa and Samarra

7. The Umayyads of Spain: main sites and monuments of al-Andalus

8. The first emirates in North Africa: Aghlabid and Tulunid production

9. The Fatimid Imamate in Ifriqiya and Egypt

10. Main ceramic classes (7th–11th centuries)


9 CFU

11. The Emirate of Sicily: main archaeological research


Course Language

Italian


More information

There is no differentiated syllabus for non-attending or Erasmus students.


Degrees

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People

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Main module

Islamic Art and Archaeology