Interrogating the dead: re-assessing the cultural identities of the Samma Dynasty (1351-1522) at the necropolis of Makli, Sindh (Pakistan)

Simple item page
dc.contributor.authorAkhtar, Munazzah
dc.contributor.supervisorMilwright, Marcus
dc.date.accessioned2021-01-12T08:02:55Z
dc.date.copyright2020en_US
dc.date.issued2021-01-12
dc.degree.departmentDepartment of Art History and Visual Studiesen_US
dc.degree.levelDoctor of Philosophy Ph.D.en_US
dc.description.abstractDuring the preliminary phase of analytical discourse on South Asia’s medieval history, the scholarship rigidly demarcated the material cultures of the pre-Islamic societies from those of the Muslim communities that were only introduced to the region’s landscapes once the Islamic political rule was established. This was done to simplify the process of examining the regional, religious, ethnic, political, and cultural disparities in the Indian subcontinent’s medieval milieu. Consequently, the exceedingly broad categories of “Muslim” and “Hindu” were conceived to portray the identities of South Asian societies and cultures. However, these categories remain in use even in the current art-historical scholarship that shows a tendency to classify the historical artifacts based on either geographic or sectarian identities. To that end, the sites developed by Muslim rulers are termed as “Islamic/Muslim,” and Hindu temples as “Indian.” Such simplistic classifications, which identify the social and material cultures with singular monolithic identities, overlook the dynamics of intercultural and interfaith interactions between the diverse co-existing communities of South Asian regions that played an active role in shaping those cultures. The Samma dynastic architecture in the vast necropolis of Makli – a UNESCO world heritage site located in the city Thatta (in present-day Sindh province of Pakistan) – presents an opportunity to examine this key methodological issue. Modern scholars classify Samma architecture under the polarities such as “Sindhi,” “Islamic,” and “Indo-Islamic.” The present research challenges these classifications to demonstrate that the overall artistic program of Samma architecture does not reflect any single culture, religion or region. In fact, it evinces a hybridization of style and character, and hence, transcends the standard categorization of architectural artifacts from South Asia. Therefore, by actively engaging with the architecture, decoration, and epigraphy, this study allows for the formulation of important conclusions on the meanings attached to the Samma dynastic architecture, which was a key medium of presenting their social, religious, political and cultural programs. Additionally, this study demonstrates where Samma monuments fit within the broader categories of artistic productions from South Asia as well as the wider Islamic world. Hence, where this research augments the overly broad and simplified classifications, it also aims to produce a more meaningful analytical framework that moves beyond visual analysis, iconography, and typology.en_US
dc.description.embargo2021-11-15
dc.description.scholarlevelGraduateen_US
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/1828/12551
dc.languageEnglisheng
dc.language.isoenen_US
dc.rightsAvailable to the World Wide Weben_US
dc.subjectThattaen_US
dc.subjectSindhen_US
dc.subjectNecropolis of Maklien_US
dc.subjectTimuriden_US
dc.subjectMāru-Gurjaraen_US
dc.subjectIslamicen_US
dc.subjectSamma dynastic architectureen_US
dc.subjecttransculturalen_US
dc.subjecttranslationen_US
dc.subjecthybridityen_US
dc.subjectsyncretismen_US
dc.titleInterrogating the dead: re-assessing the cultural identities of the Samma Dynasty (1351-1522) at the necropolis of Makli, Sindh (Pakistan)en_US
dc.typeThesisen_US

Files

Original bundle
Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
Thumbnail Image
Name:
Akhtar_Munazzah_PhD_2020.pdf
Size:
85.55 MB
Format:
Adobe Portable Document Format
Description:
PhD Dissertation
Download
License bundle
Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
No Thumbnail Available
Name:
license.txt
Size:
2 KB
Format:
Item-specific license agreed upon to submission
Description:
Download

Collections

Electronic Theses and Dissertations (ETD)
Theses (Art History and Visual Studies)
 
University of Victoria Libraries

We acknowledge and respect the Lək̓ʷəŋən (Songhees and Esquimalt) Peoples on whose territory the university stands, and the Lək̓ʷəŋən and W̱SÁNEĆ Peoples whose historical relationships with the land continue to this day.