The religious thinkers, political leaders, law-makers, writers and philosophers of the early Muslim world helped to shape the 1,400-year-long development of today’s second-largest world religion. But
Chase Robinson's book is a timely introduction to Islamic historiography, from its origins in the seventh and eighth centuries to the fifteenth century. It covers the rise of the tradition, the histor
The study of early Islamic historical tradition has flourished with the emergence of an innovative scholarship no longer dependent on more traditional narratival approaches. Chase Robinson's book, first published in 2000, takes full account of the research available and interweaves history and historiography to interpret the political, social and economic transformations in the Mesopotamian region after the Islamic conquests. Using Arabic and Syriac sources to elaborate his argument, the author focuses on the Muslim and Christian élites, demonstrating that the immediate effects of the conquests were in fact modest ones. Significant social change took place only at the end of the seventh century with the imposition of Marwanid rule. Even then, the author argues, social power was diffused in the hands of local élites. This is a sophisticated study in a burgeoning field in Islamic studies.
An accessible introduction to pre-modern Islam, showcasing the individuals - caliphs, law-makers, theologians, poets, mystics and scholars - who shaped the course of early Islamic history.
The religious thinkers, political leaders, law-makers, writers and philosophers of the early Muslim world helped to shape the 1,400-year-long development of today''s second-largest world religion. But
?Abd al-Malik, who came to prominence during the second civil war of early Islam, ruled the Islamic empire from 692 until 705. Not only did he successfully suppress rebellion within the Muslim world a
How was history written in Europe and Asia between 400-1400? How was the past understood in religious, social and political terms? And in what ways does the diversity of historical writing in this per
How was history written in Europe and Asia between 400-1400? How was the past understood in religious, social and political terms? And in what ways does the diversity of historical writing in this per
What little is known of Ya'qubi's life suggests that he was of notable Iraqi birth and education, and spent much of his professional life in the employment of provincial governing families of the
Representing some of the earliest secular literature of Islam, al-Ya'qubi seems to have been of notable Iraqi birth and education and to have spent his professional life in the service of provincia
The Works of Ibn Wa?i? al-Ya?qubi (3 vols.) contains a translation of the writings of Abu al-`Abbas al-Ya`qubi, a Muslim polymath of the third/ninth century. The works include the History (Ta’rikh); t
