In the years following the revelations of the Prophet Muhammad in the earlyeventh century AD, the new religion of Islam spread rapidly through Arabiao North Africa and Spain in the west and Cental Asia and India in the east.hrough the following 1000 years, artists and craftsmen in the areasnfluenced by Islam produced some of the world's most beautiful works of art:rom the Albrahmra to the Taj Mahal, from illuminated copies of the Koran toxquisite decorative arts: ceramics, textiles and metalwork.;This workighlights the characteristics of Islamic Art and focuses on the differencesetween the various arts of the Islamic lands. Dividing the era into threeeriods (600-900, 900-1500, and 1500-1800) the artistic development is setithin historical context. In each period the book describes developments inrchitecture, the arts of the book, the loom and the fire - metalwork,eramics and glassware. In every medium the examples are chosen to illuminatehe sources, characteristics and achievements of Islamic art.