Beyond Dynasties: An Alternative Periodization of Islamic Built Environments—Interplay of Power,Jurisprudence,and Knowledge

Abstract

By adopting Western historiographical methods, Orientalists applied a linear system of periodization to the study of Islamic architecture and urbanism. This approach segmented Islamic history according to ruling dynasties (Rashidun Caliphate, Umayyad, Abbasid, and so forth) rendering it fragmented and disjointed, despite its coherence within the broader unifying framework of Islam. Emphasizing the physical architectural end products over the underlying mechanisms that shaped them, each dynastic period was associated with a distinct architectural style. Yet, does this mode of periodization align with the actual history of Islamic architecture? This paper seeks to move beyond the Orientalist approach of dynastic-based periodization by proposing an alternative framework grounded in the actual mechanisms of built environment production across Islamic history. It examines how transformations in political power, jurisprudence, and knowledge intersected to shape built environments across Islamic history. The paper adopts Ibn Khaldun’s perspective on political modes and the cyclical rise and fall of states as its theoretical framework. It argues that the transition toward political royal modes and the emergence of rational political practices progressively shifted the mechanisms of built environment production from ones rooted in Sharīʿa rights-based mechanisms to those driven by political power and rationalized statecraft. This shift gave rise to authoritarian built environments. As the dominant discourse remains centered on these politicized built environments, the paper reveals the misconceptions embedded in the prevailing periodization framework, ultimately challenging the validity of its orientalist bases.