Abstract

BOOK REVIEWS 119 inclusion of prefaces in these albums is idiosyncratic, and the author demonstrates the com- piler’s inventiveness while hinting at a close connection between his artistic choices and an Ottoman appreciation of S  afavid art. Arguing for a date immediately after a devastating earthquake of 1509 for a previously unpublished document that sheds light on the hydraulic network and earliest buildings of the Topkapı Palace, Gülru Necipoğlu (pp. 315–350) clarifies the close relationship between Mehmed II’s (r. 1444–1446; 1451–1481) carefully planned palace complex and the architec- tural interventions of Bayezid II (r. 1481–1512). Finally, Ebba Koch (pp. 351–379) reconstructs the forms and inspiration of the wooden audience halls of Shāh Jahān (r. 1628–1658), which were replaced by stone halls within ten years of their construction. The author examines visual representations and extant architectural evidence from tombs and mosques, along with pane- gyric textual sources, and expands on the iterative relationship between Mughal and S  afavid architecture. Emerging strongly across the volume is the continuing rise of previously marginal areas of study and the growing visibility of minority cultures within the Islamic world. Out of necessity due to the current political and military situation, but also