The Ebb and Flow of the Ghurid Empire

Description

The iconic minaret of Jam stands in a remote mountain valley in central Afghanistan, the finest surviving monument of the enigmatic 12th-century Ghurid dynasty. The rediscovery of the minaret half a century ago prompted renewed interest in the Ghurids, and this has intensified since their summer capital at Jam became Afghanistan's first World Heritage site in 2002. Two seasons of archaeological fieldwork at Jam, the detailed analysis of satellite images and the innovative use of Google Earth have resulted in a wealth of new information about known Ghurid sites, and the identification of hundreds of previously undocumented archaeological sites across Afghanistan. Drawing inspiration from the Annales school and the concept of an 'archipelagic landscape', David Thomas has used this data to reassess the Ghurids and generate a more nuanced understanding of this significant Early Islamic polity.

David C. Thomas is an honorary associate in archaeology at La Trobe University.

'This book is very well researched and draws on a wide range of sources, both written and archaeological, and does a great deal to place Ghurid studies into the historiographic continuum.' -- Richard McClary * Plekos * 'Thomas's book is interesting not only for its subject matter - it is arguably the first detailed analysis of archaeological work carried out in the Ghurid heartland of central Afghanistan - but also for its process that integrates the traditional with the technological. Satellite archaeology has facilitated the desktop studies of specific sites and entire regions through free, high-resolution, geo-referenced images.' -- Asma Ibrahim * Dawn * ' ... this work of synthesis is quite significant, constructing an interdisciplinary image of Ghurid urbanism at Jam as well as the broader material footprint of Ghurid territorial politics through multiple Afghan landscapes.' -- Kathryn Franklin * Antiquity *