The 20th Annual Meeting of the European Association of Archaeologists
Istanbul, Turkey on September 10-14, 2014
Theme 1 - Connecting Seas – Across the Borders
Panel on ‘Ports and Forts in the Islamic World. Coastal military architecture
from the Arab Conquest to the Ottoman Period’
Islam was always associated with merchants and trade. This session seeks to
understand the development of cities and fortifications related to port
areas as places of exchange, but also as places of conflict. Coastal
fortifications were often related to port facilities, to protect them or to
control them. Understanding the relationship between port functions and
defensive structures requires an in depth examination of archaeological
remains and written sources, to distinguish what is mere desire to defend
the territory against threats coming from the sea, the desire to control the
flow of goods and passengers, or just to isolate the port from the
surrounding area. What sort of transformation and evolution can we observe
in the fortified port sites from the first Arab conquests to the Ottoman
Period? Can we determine different strategies of port organisation in the
Mediterranean Sea or in the Indian Ocean? The presentation and study of the
coastal military architecture will help us to understand this "Muslim Mare
Nostrum", from the Mediterranean Islamic West to the Indian Ocean.
Unfortunately, this panel is organised without any funding. The participants
will have to pay a registration fee and also their own travel and
accommodation costs.
The opening call for paper proposals starts the 16 December, 2013.
Proposed papers (title and abstract of 250-300 words approx.) should be sent
before 27 January, 2014 to the following:
Dr. Stéphane Pradines (stephane.pradines@aku.edu) Associate Professor, Aga
Khan University, ISMC, London
Dr. Eric Vallet (Eric.Vallet@univ-paris1.fr) Lecturer, Sorbonne University,
Paris I, Paris
Accepted papers will be selected by the scientific committee of the
international round table.
Authors will be informed in February 2014.
Languages of the round table: Arabic, English, French & Turkish For further
information on the conference please visit the following website:
https://www.eaa2014istanbul.org/site