In the years following the revelations of the Prophet Muhammad in the early seventh century AD, the new religion of Islam spread rapidly through Arabia to North Africa and Spain in the west and Cental Asia and India in the east. Through the following 1000 years, artists and craftsmen in the areas influenced by Islam produced some of the world's most beautiful works of art: from the Albrahmra to the Taj Mahal, from illuminated copies of the Koran to exquisite decorative arts: ceramics, textiles and metalwork. This work highlights the characteristics of Islamic Art and focuses on the differences between the various arts of the Islamic lands. Dividing the era into three periods (600-900, 900-1500, and 1500-1800) the artistic development is set within historical context. In each period the book describes developments in architecture, the arts of the book, the loom and the fire - metalwork, ceramics and glassware. In every medium the examples are chosen to illuminate the sources, characteristics and achievements of Islamic art.