The ‘Mosque of the Prophet’ and beyond: a tentative reconstruction of the early Islamic topography of Madīna al-Munawwara (622- 750) based on written sources

This lecture is part of the Michaelmas Term Research Seminar Series.

The lecture will be held in the Lecture Room at The Khalili Research Centre, 3 St John Street, Oxford, OX1 2LG.

Abstract

Due to the massive and highly disruptive interventions which have affected the Ḥaram of Madīna in recent decades, the archaeological landscape of the city has been irremediably lost. That has prevented scholars from undertaking research about the early urban planning of the city of the Prophet which, despite its importance, remains one of the lesser known in the Islamicate world. Starting with the ‘House of the Prophet’ vs ‘Mosque of the Prophet’ debate, the seminar will encompass the first attempt to reconstruct the layout of the city centre throughout the earliest stages of its history by combining the study of written sources and historical cartography.