Includes bibliographical references and index.

Preface -- List of Abbreviations and Illustrations -- Contributors -- 1. The Seljuks in Jerusalem / Shimon Gat...1 -- 2. The Frankish Impact on the Urban Landscape of Medieval Palestine / Michael Ehrlich...41 -- 3. Tripoli Reinvented: A Case of Mamluk Urbanization / Nimrod Luz...53 -- 4. Hospices and Hospitals in Mamluk Jerusalem / Dan Bahat...73 -- 5. The Cadi and the Urban Society: The Case Study of Medieval Egypt, 9th-12th Centuries / Yaacov Lev...89 -- 6. Is There an Islamic Space? Urban and Social Issues, as Reflected in the Qadi (Cadi) Courts of Egpyt and Syria (13th-16th Centuries) / Yehoshua Frenkel...103 -- 7. The History of the Paper Industry in al-Sham in the Middle Ages / Zohar Amar...119 -- 8. Medieval Mediterranean Textiles, Basketry, and Cordage Newly Excavated in Israel / Orit Shamir, Alisa Baginski...135 -- 9. Trade of Medical Substances in the Medieval and Ottoman Levant (Bilad al-Sham) / Efraim Lev...159 -- Index...185.

This volume focuses on the interplay between urban society and material culture in the medieval and Ottoman Middle East. The history of Jerusalem in the middle ages is discussed by a number of papers as well as Mamluk Tripoli and the urban history of Palestine during the Crusades. The multi-role of the cadi in the Muslim city is illuminated by two studies cases concerning the Fatimid and Mamluk periods. Three aspects of material culture; the production and spread of paper, textiles and the trade in medicinal substances also are dealt with.

Description based on print version record.