Qusayr 'Amra: Art and the Umayyad Elite in Late Antique Syria

Garth Fowden places Qusayr ‘Amra, the celebrated early Islamic desert complex in present-day Jordan, within the political and cultural world of the Umayyad elite. Its bathhouse frescoes—showing courtly life, hunting, musicians and bathing figures—have long raised questions about the monument’s date, patronage and meaning.

Fowden combines close analysis of the paintings and architecture with literary evidence for the Umayyad period to provide a book-length historical interpretation of the site. The study uses Qusayr ‘Amra to illuminate elite life in the eighth century while also tracing the continuing influence of late antique artistic and cultural traditions in the early Islamic world. Richly illustrated and interdisciplinary, it is a substantial study of art, archaeology and cultural transition.