Sea change: Ottoman textiles between the Mediterranean and the Indian Ocean

Abstract

ful additions, including a chronology, a genealogical chart of the Abbasid caliphs, a glossary, three maps, and thirty-two images. The chronology and glossary are extremely useful for those planning to use this book in the classroom. These are wonderful reference tools for anyone approaching Abbasid history for the first time, which will help students find their bearings. The images, twenty-three black and white and nine in full color, appear as plates in the center of the book and include a mixture of coins, architecture and archaeology, details of architectural decoration, and manuscript pages and illuminations. Unfortunately, many of these images are very small and surrounded by a great deal of blank space, suggesting that they could have been enlarged without adding additional pages to the book. Three maps are situated at the front of the book, including one map showing the overall extent of the Abbasid caliphate at its height, along with its 9th-century neighbors, the provinces of Iraq and Iran (taken from Guy LeStrange), and a focused map of Baghdad (taken from Richard Coke). Considering the purposes of the book, it is unfortunate that the maps capture the Abbasid caliphate only in its golden age rather than presenting an evolution of the caliphate into the 10th, 11th, 12th, and 13th centuries. Chapters 4, 5, and 6 would benefit greatly from specialized maps that illustrate the changing nature of the caliphate and the growth of its rivals and successors, especially considering the excellent pedagogical applications possible for the book. Of course, it should be noted that it is not clear if these were choices made by the author or the publisher.