Annual History Seminar: Cities in Context(s)

One of the often-repeated statements about Islamic history is that this was very much an urban civilization.
Since the Arab conquests of the seventh century, Muslim rulers and regimes often established and confirmed
their power through urban projects. Urban expansion and the establishment of new cities were a main way in
which regimes practiced their power. These urban centers were in turn loci of cultural and economic production,
creating new hubs in various regions and establishing connections beyond their hinterland. These networks and
connections would change over different periods of history. With modernization, cities were among the first
areas to experience sharp change both in their scales, expansion, development as well as in their connections
with the worlds beyond them. New cities were built to serve new functions and new classes reflecting the
change both within and without. Despite this, cities and neighborhoods within them are sometimes studied in
isolation as coherent but self-contained entities.

This round of the Annual History Seminar aims to focus on studying cities and urban centers in their relation
with their wider contexts; their environs, hinterland, trade networks and imperial contexts.

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