Internationaler Workshop: A Landscape of Its Own, or a Cultural Interspace? Art, Economies and Politics in the Medieval Jazira (Northern Mesopotamia)

Veranstalter: Islamische Kunstgeschichte und Archäologie

Northern Mesopotamia (al-Jazira) is without doubt one of the regions with the richest and most varied artistic production of the Middle Ages in the Near East. Manuscript illustration, artistic objects like metalwork, coins, and works of architecture offer a fascinating wealth of forms and iconographic contents. Chronologically, a climax in this respect was reached between the 11th and 15th century, under the rule of comparatively ‘small’ dynasties like the Zangids and Artuqids. While the Jazira has been highlighted as one of the cultural ‘melting pots’ of the Middle Ages in the Near East, iconographic approaches have dominated the discussion of its artistic development. As a contrast, the various factors contributing to the cultural diversity of the Jazira have been hardly questioned, particularly economic and political conditions have played a comparatively small part. At the same time, trans-disciplinary attempts integrating scholars who are familiar with the economic and political history and art history of the Jazira have remained comparatively isolated. The medieval Jazira, with its intricate web of different peoples, languages, religions, and economies offers itself as an area of study for the interplay between different cultural factors. The conference intends to look at the history, society, economy and artistic production of the medieval Jazira from different angles. Particular attention will be placed on the question in which way the central geographical situation within the Islamic World influenced its cultural, economic, and political role, and to the relations between the Jazira and neighbouring regions: Anatolia, Northern Syria, Iraq, Northwestern Iran, and the Caucasus. Papers will be arranged under the following topics:

• Traffic Routes, Mobility and Interaction
• State, art and society in the Jazira
• Semiotic systems of identity, and the delineation of frontiers

Kontakt:

Diethelm, Elisabeth Telefon 0951 863 2182, E-Mail: elisabeth.diethelm@uni-bamberg.de

Der Termin wird im Veranstaltungskalender angezeigt.