Introduction

This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book analyses the concept of textual representation and the method of integrated interpretation in more depth. It examines samples of texts composed after the foundation of the round city of Baghdad until the eighteenth century. This examination is part of the integrated interpretation approach that applies studying the urban history intermittently. The book also analyses texts from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, to highlight unveiled depictions of the urban history of Baghdad at that time. It aims to add to current understanding of the urban history of Baghdad. Further studies are imperative, though, to reveal more factual aspects about this history. The indefinite nature of history writing allows modification, depending on the purpose of writing; whether it is for political purposes, entertainment or just a documentation of events.