Selected articles
Book review of “Islamic Empires: Fifteen cities that define a Civilization”, by Justin Marozzi
His chapter on the city of Samarkand, informed by an earlier biography of Tamburlane, is so knowledgeable and intimate that one is in danger of briefly warming to this murderous but garden-loving tyrant, worthy of being listed alongside Stalin, Mao and Hitler.
Review: Assyrian Exhibition at British Museum, 2019
Assyrian stone carvers delight in hairstyles (which double as ethnic identifiers), every detail of horse trappings (which indicate rank) and the musculature of knee and calf.