Umayyad Mosque of Damascus (Photo: Emily O'Dell)
Around the Umayyad Mosque of Damascus:
New Data on the Role of Markets in the “Islamic City” of the Middle Ages
Elodie Vigouroux
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Monday, April 7th, 2014
6:00 pm in MIT room 3-133
This lecture will explore the results of a new research on the history of Damascus markets during the Middle Ages with particular attention to the surrounding souks of the Umayyad Mosque. Breaking for good with the long lasting vision of a static and hierarchical organization of the markets around the congregational mosque in the “Islamic city”, it will examine the changes that occurred in their display between the 12th and 16th centuries. The exploitation of historical sources mentioning the souks will lead us to identify shifts. The analysis of the topography of the markets will allow to appreciate progress or decline of the crafts and commercial activities. The aim of this approach is to complete our knowledge of the mamluk economic context. More specifically, it seeks to enlighten the medium-term consequences -on the craft production and trade- of the destruction of Damascus by the troops of the mongol chief Tamerlane in 1400.
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