Publications Search

2026

Industry and Industrialism in the Late Antique and Early Islamic Near East

Editor(s): Fred M. Donner.

Series / Volume

Late Antique and Medieval Islamic Near East 7

This volume examines forms of economic production in the late antique and medieval Islamic Near East that qualify as “industrial” in some sense—in particular because of their scale, the involvement… Learn More

Buy Download PDF

2026

A Connecting Polemic in the Medieval Mediterranean: The Correspondence of Leo III and ʿUmar II

Editor(s): Thomas E. Burman, Nuria de Castilla, Seonyoung Kim, Sergio La Porta, Jeremy Pearson, Alison M. Vacca.

Series / Volume

Late Antique and Medieval Islamic Near East 6

This book offers the first comprehensive edition and translation of all surviving versions—Latin, Armenian, Arabic, and Aljamiado—of the polemical correspondence attributed to the Byzantine emperor… Learn More

Buy Download PDF

2025

Insights into Islamic Archaeology and Material Culture: A Conference in Jerusalem

Editor(s): Katia Cytryn, Kristoffer Damgaard, Donald Whitcomb.

Series / Volume

Studies in Ancient Cultures 4

Insights into Islamic Archaeology and Material Culture explores the evolution of this dynamic field, highlighting new methodologies, interdisciplinary approaches, and shifting paradigms. Stemming… Learn More

Buy Download PDF

2024

An Armenian Futūḥ Narrative: Łewond’s Eighth-Century History of the Caliphate

Author(s): Sergio La Porta, Alison M. Vacca.

Series / Volume

Late Antique and Medieval Islamic Near East 4

The History of the Armenian priest Łewond is an important source for the history of early Islamic rule and the only contemporary chronicle of second/eighth-century caliphal rule in Armenia. This… Learn More

Buy Download PDF

2022

Scripts and Scripture: Writing and Religion in Arabia circa 500–700 CE

Editor(s): Fred M. Donner, Rebecca Hasselbach-Andee.

Series / Volume

Late Antique and Medieval Islamic Near East 3

How did Islam’s sacred scripture, the Arabic Qurʾān, emerge from western Arabia at a time when the region was religiously fragmented and lacked a clearly established tradition of writing to render… Learn More

Buy Download PDF

2021

The Sheikh's House at Quseir al-Qadim: Documenting a Thirteenth-Century Red Sea Port

Author(s): Katherine Strange Burke.

Series / Volume

Oriental Institute Publications 144

This study of a thirteenth-century dwelling on Egypt’s Red Sea Coast draws on multiple lines of evidence—including texts excavated at the site—to reconstruct a history of the structure and the people… Learn More

Buy Download PDF

2020

The Damascus Psalm Fragment: Middle Arabic and the Legacy of Old Ḥigāzī

Author(s): Ahmad Al-Jallad.

Series / Volume

Late Antique and Medieval Islamic Near East 2

The Damascus Psalm Fragment investigates Arabic’s transformative historical phase, the passage from the pre-Islamic to the Islamic period, through a new approach. It asks, what would Arabic’s early… Learn More

Buy Download PDF

2016

Christians and Others in the Umayyad State

Editor(s): Antoine Borrut, Fred M. Donner.

Series / Volume

Late Antique and Medieval Islamic Near East 1

The papers in this first volume of the new Oriental Institute series LAMINE are derived from a conference entitled "Christians, Jews, and Zoroastrians in the Umayyad State," held at the University of… Learn More

Buy Download PDF

2015

The Mosaics of Khirbet el-Mafjar: Hisham's Palace

Author(s): Ḥamdān Tāhā, Donald Whitcomb.

Series / Volume

Miscellaneous Publications

This is a presentation of beautiful colored mosaics. They originate from buildings in the oasis of Jericho and all date from the first half of the eighth century, during the time of Umayyad caliphate… Learn More

Buy Download PDF

2004

Changing Social Identity with the Spread of Islam: Archaeological Perspectives

Editor(s): Donald Whitcomb.

Series / Volume

ISAC Seminars 1

This volume addresses the topical interest in Islam, studying the process of its spread throughout the medieval world and the process of conversion to this religion and adoption of this cultural… Learn More

Buy Download PDF

1994

Ayla: Art and Industry in the Islamic Port of Aqaba

Author(s): Donald Whitcomb.

Series / Volume

Miscellaneous Publications

Featured are thirty-seven illustrations that highlight the magnificence that was the great Islamic port of Ayla on the Gulf of Aqaba. The site is located in modern Aqaba, Jordan and has been… Learn More

Buy Download PDF

1981

Islamic Bindings & Bookmaking: A Catalogue of an Exhibition in the Oriental Institute Museum, University of Chicago, May 18–August 18, 1981

Author(s): Gulnar Bosch, John Carswell, Guy Petherbridge.

Series / Volume

Miscellaneous Publications

From the multiplication of the pre-eminent Book of Islam an organization mushroomed for the production and marketing of books throughout the Islamic world. It did not appear like a jinn out of the… Learn More

Download PDF

1953

Medieval Islam: A Study in Cultural Orientation

Author(s): Gustave E. von Grunebaum.

Series / Volume

Miscellaneous Publications

This important work on the Islam of the Middle Ages explains the structure of its universe, its social and religious framework, and its relationship to the two other great contemporary powers --… Learn More

Download PDF

1946

Two Queens of Baghdad: Mother and Wife of Harun al-Rashid

Author(s): Nabia Abbott.

Series / Volume

Miscellaneous Publications

The historical and legendary fame of Harun al-Rashid, the most renowned of the caliphs of Baghdad and hero of many Arabian Nights’ tales, has rendered him for centuries a potent attraction for… Learn More

Download PDF

1942

Aishah: The Beloved of Mohammed

Author(s): Nabia Abbott.

Series / Volume

Miscellaneous Publications

Abbot’s work, the first full-length biography of Aishah, was launched on its way partly by an urge to know and to make known more of the life of this First Lady of Islam and partly as a tribute to… Learn More

Download PDF

Visit the Museum

Galleries

Plan Your Visit

People

About ISAC

Who We Are

Events & Programs

Education

Discover with Us

Museum

Archives

Library

Collections at ISAC

Research Projects

Publications

Centers

Research in Action

Join

Volunteer

Donate

Upcoming Tour

Publications