Islamic cultures have inherited and developed a legacy of urbanism that stretches back to the ancient civilizations of the Middles East. In contrast to well-organized states such as that of historic China, Islamic societies formed themselves into loosely-organized states based on intricate social networks. Network theory and network models seem to fit the actuality of Islamic society and help us to comprehend a society that has a coherent overall order without having a formal structure.

But until now, most studies of Islamic society have focused exclusively on urban social organization, often neglecting the extension of power to rural areas.

Islamic Urbanism in Human History now applies the network approach to both rural and urban Islamic populaces, in a historical span that takes in both the medieval and modern periods, and a geographic scope that embraces Brunei, Morocco, Egypt, Syria and Iran.

In this important work, the authors examine the social, religious and administrative networks that governed rural and urban areas and led to state formation, providing a more inclusive view of the mechanisms of power and control in the Islamic world than has ever been available before.