List of figures and maps -- List of contributors -- Acknowledgements -- List of abbreviations -- Note on transliteration -- Introduction / Amira K. Bennison -- The genesis of "Islamic" cities -- An urban structure for the early Islamic city: an archaeological hypothesis / Donald Whitcomb -- The foundation legend of Fez and other islamic cities in light of the life of the prophet / Simon O'Meara -- The city of Sultan Kala, Merv, Turkmenistan: communities, neighbourhoods and urban planning from the eighth to thirteenth centuries / Tim Williams -- Power and the city -- Power and the city in the Islamic west from the Umayyads to the Almohads / Amira K. Bennison -- Ceremonial and sacred space in early Fatimid Cairo / Jonathan M. Bloom -- Firuzkuh: the summer capital of the Ghurids / David Thomas -- Fathpur Sikri and Isfahan: the founding and layout of capital cities in Mughal India and Safavid Iran / Stephen P. Blake -- The impact of religion on urban life -- The water supply of Tinnis: public amenities and private investments / Alison L. Gascoigne -- Health, spirituality and power in medieval Iberia: the Maristan and its role in Nasrid Granada / Athena C. Syrakoy -- Commerce and spirituality: the urbanism of Ridwan Bey / Nicholas Warner -- Index.