Rayy: From Its Origins to the Mongol Invasion: An Archaeological and Historiographical Study (Arts and Archaeology of the Islamic World)

This book offers a new history of the ancient city of Rayy. Based on the results of the latest excavations on the Citadel and the Shahrestan (the political and administrative nucleus of the city in all periods), the study of historical and geographical texts and on surveys carried out between 2005 and 2007 by the author and the Iranian archaeologist, Ghadir Afround, the complete occupation sequence of the city, from its foundation in the Iron Age and the Parthian reconstructions (2nd to 1st centuries BC), up to the Mongol invasions and rapid depopulation in the 13th century CE, comes to light. Rayy: From Its Origins to the Mongol Invasion: An Archaeological and Historiographical Study 4 Copyright 5 Dedication 6 Contents 8 Foreword 10 Acknowledgements 11 Note on Transliteration 12 List of Figures 13 Introduction 16 1 Geographical Setting 19 2 Historical Setting 26 The Pre-Islamic Era 26 The Islamic Era 28 The First Conquest of Rayy and the First Caliphs 28 The Umayyad Period 30 The 'Abbāsid Period 32 The Sāmānīd Period 35 The Būyid Period 36 The Ġaznawid Period 38 The Salğūq Period 39 The Mongol Invasion 40 3 Previous Surveys and Excavations at Rayy 41 Plans of Rayy in the 19th Century 41 Pascal Coste’s Plan of Rayy 42 Pascal Coste’s Views of Rayy (1840) 43 Eastern Elevation (Folio 62bis) 43 Western Elevation (Folio 63) 46 Previous Archaeological Works at Rayy 46 4 Topography of Rayy 49 Topography of Rayy 49 The Citadel 51 The Šahrestan 56 Rayy Today: Between Modern Urbanisation and Preservation of the Site 64 5 Excavations at Rayy 66 The Šahrestan Rampart 66 Test T1 82 Tests T3 and T4 84 Test T2: Šahrestan 86 The Mosque 94 Citadel Excavation (in Collaboration with Ghadir Afround) 102 The West Fortress 105 The East Fortress 113 6 The Ceramics of the Excavation (2006–2007) 116 Analysis of the Ceramics 116 Description of the Fabrics 116 Chronological Study of the Ceramics: Synthesis and Interpretation 117 7 Urban Development 134 The Urban Framework at the Origins of Rayy 134 Urban Development during the Parthian Period 135 Urban Development during the Sasanian Period 138 Urban Development in the Islamic Period 141 A Glimpse of the Urban Development of Some Major Iranian Cities 154 Conclusion 158 Appendix: The Governors of Rayy 164 Bibliography 171 Index 178 This book offers a new history of the ancient city of Rayy. Based on the results of the latest excavations and surveys, and on the study of historical and geographical texts, the complete occupation sequence of the city comes to light, from its foundation in the Iron Age and the Parthian reconstructions (2nd to 1st centuries BC), up to the Mongol invasions and rapid depopulation in the 13th century CE