Acknowledgements
I write these words on the anniversary of the Beirut port explosion of August 4th, 2020, and dedicate my work to its people, ahl Bayrūt.
Foremost, I am forever grateful to my mother Nadā Muḥammad ʿAlī al-Mīqātī. Her constant love, her duʿāʾ, and belief in me kept me going through the decades of exile. I pray I will always be worthy of her riḍā. My late father Muḥammad Saʿīd ʿĀrif al-Mīqātī, the family man who loved us all unconditionally, supported my rash young self in her crazy endeavors. Allahuma ighfir lah wa-irfaʿ darajatah fī al-mahdiyyīn, wa-afsaḥ lah fī qabrih wa-nawwir lah fīh. May we be reunited in Paradise.
I am forever grateful to my husband Garrett Davidson, my partner in life and scholarship. Thank you for your patience and support, for listening to me go on about Beirut and its history, and for reading draft upon draft of this project and others. Your dedication to scholarship is a constant inspiration. Our daughter Karīma was my joy and companion throughout the years of research and writing for this book. She spent hours with me in the office occupying herself with her own book projects.
I thank my sisters Rima and Noura Mikati. Rima is the Archaeology pioneer in our family, who led me to this path. Our discussions about Beirut, its archaeology, and family history re-energized me every time my enthusiasm waned. I am also grateful to my in-laws and my family in the United States, Donna and Howard Attarian, for their love and support.
This book is based on a dissertation completed at the University of Chicago where I had the good fortune to be mentored by Fred Donner and Ahmed el Shamsy. Without Fred Donner’s encouragement, this book would not have seen the light of day. Ahmed el Shamsy gracefully accepted to join my dissertation committee when he first arrived at the University of Chicago and has since become an advisor and friend. I wish to express my gratitude to Wadad Kadi, the late Walter Kaegi, Tahera Qutbuddin, and Kay Heikkinen.
I am grateful to John Meloy and Clare Leader. John Meloy’s courses at the American University of Beirut were my first introduction to Islamic history. I was hooked. I thank Clare for having agreed to read this manuscript and for saving me from many errors. I also thank Paul Reynolds for reading the archaeologically heavy chapters and for correcting my understanding of the ceramic evidence from the area. At the College of Charleston, I must acknowledge my indebtedness to Phyllis Jestice and Jason Coy.
Lastly, I would like to thank my friends from Chicago and Charleston, Sean Anthony, Catherine Bronson, Jennifer Cavalli, and Lisa Pinley Covert. Your friendship has kept me sane.