The Great Caliphs: The Golden Age of the 'Abbasid Empire

255 Pages·2009·3.8 MB·English

by  Amira K. Bennison

The Great Caliphs
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The Great Caliphs
THE GOLDEN AGE OF THE ‘ABBASID EMPIRE
A M I R A K . B E N N I S O N
Yale University Press New Haven & London
Published in the United States in 2009 by Yale University Press.
Published in the United Kingdom in 2009 by I.B.Tauris & Co. Ltd.
Copyright ∫ 2009 by Amira Bennison
All rights reserved.
This book may not be reproduced, in whole or in part, including
illustrations, in any form (beyond that copying permitted by Sections 107
and 108 of the U.S. Copyright Law and except by reviewers for the public
press), without written permission from the publishers.
Typeset in Adobe Caslon Pro by A. & D. Worthington,
Newmarket, Su√olk.
Printed in the United States of America.
Library of Congress Control Number: 2009922520
ISBN 978-0-300-15227-2 (hardcover : alk. paper)
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
This paper meets the requirements of ANSI/NISO Z39.48-1992
(Permanence of Paper).
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Contents
List of Illustrations vii
Acknowledgements ix
Note on Transliteration and Arabic Conventions x
Introduction 
. A Stormy Sea: The Politics of the ‘Abbasid Caliphate
The making of an empire • The Umayyads: Islam’s first caliphal
dynasty • The rise of the ‘Abbasids • The early ‘Abbasid caliphate •
The Samarran interlude • The Shi‘i century • The Saljuq sultan-
ate and the ‘Sunni revival’ • The Crusades and the twilight of the
caliphate 0
2. From Baghdad to Cordoba: The Cities of Classical Islam
Arab urbanism at the dawn of Islam • The first Muslim towns •
Umayyad urbanism • ‘Abbasid imperial cities and their imitators •
Provincial cities in the ‘Abbasid age 54
3. Princes and Beggars: Life and Society in the ‘Abbasid Age
Peasants and country folk • The people of the city • Women and
children • The religious minorities • Beggars and tricksters 94
4. The Lifeblood of Empire: Trade and Traders in the ‘Abbasid
Age
Routes and commodities • Merchants and pilgrims • Trade
facilities 37
5. Baghdad’s ‘Golden Age’: Islam’s Scientific Renaissance
The foundations of Islamic learning • The flowering of knowledge
under the ‘Abbasids • The ‘Abbasid translation movement • Trans-
lations, translators and scientists • Knowledge and science after the
translation movement 58
6. The ‘Abbasid Legacy 203
Notes 26
Bibliography 225
Index 235

Illustrations
Maps and diagrams
. The Middle East and North Africa before the Islamic conquest 2
2. The ‘Abbasid empire, 750–900 CE 3
3. The Islamic World c. 00 CE 49
4. The Round City: Plan of Baghdad. (After Lassner, The Shaping of
‘Abbasid Rule, pp 86, 90) 7
5. A Simplified Family Tree of the Prophet and the Caliphal
Dynasties 25
Figures
. Saljuq Minaret of the Great Mosque of Aleppo. (Author’s
photograph) 46
2. Illustration of the Ayyubid citadel of Homs from a History of the
City of Homs written by Constantine b. Da’ud in 863 at the behest
of the French consul. (Manuscript Add 338, p 6. Reproduced by
kind permission of the Syndics of Cambridge University Library) 5
3–5. Two of the many Graeco-Roman sites that inspired early Muslim
architects and city planners, Apamea in Syria (left) and Palmyra in
Syria (top right, bottom right). (Author’s photographs) 55
6. East Gate of Damascus, constructed in Graeco-Roman times and
restored by the Muslims. (Author’s photograph) 63
7. Byzantine-inspired mosaics on the treasury in the Great Mosque
of Damascus. (Author’s photograph) 66
8. Umayyad city of ‘Anjar in Lebanon, originally thought to be a
Graeco-Roman site. (Author’s photograph) 67
9. Umayyad desert palace of Qasr al-Hayr al-Sharqi. (Author’s
photograph) 68
0. Tomb of Elibol at Palmyra. (Author’s photograph) 68
. Baghdad Gate in Raqqa showing the typical monumental brick-
work of the ‘Abbasid era which originally graced Baghdad and
Samarra. (Author’s photograph) 73
vii
2. ‘Abbasid-style Mosque of Ibn Tulun in Cairo. (Author’s
photograph) 73
3. Great Mosque of Qayrawan which achieved its current form under
the Aghlabids who ruled Tunisia in the name of the ‘Abbasids. 73
(Author’s photograph)
4. Umayyad royal city of Madinat al-Zahra’ outside Cordoba.
(Author’s photograph) 75
5. Portal of the Fatimid Great Mosque of Mahdiyya which evokes
the Roman arches dotted across the Tunisian landscape. (Author’s
photograph) 76
6. Roman arch at Sbeitla in Tunisia. (Author’s photograph) 77
7. Fatimid Mosque of al-Hakim in Cairo. (Author’s photograph) 78
8. Fatimid al-Aqmar Mosque in Cairo. (Author’s photograph) 78
9. The Fatimid Gate of Victory and minaret of the Mosque of al-
Hakim, Cairo. From David Roberts, Egypt and Nubia (London,
846–49), vol. 3, plate 3, tab.b.9. (Reproduced by kind permission
of the Syndics of Cambridge University Library) 78
20. Minaret of the Almohad Great Mosque of Seville. (Author’s
photograph) 8
2. Courtyard of the Almohad Great Mosque of Seville planted with
orange trees. (Author’s photograph) 83
22. Portal of the hospital of Nur al-Din in Damascus showing its re-
used Byzantine lintel. (Author’s photograph) 90
23. A caravan of pilgrims or merchants at rest near Asyut, Upper
Egypt. From David Roberts, Egypt and Nubia (London, 846–49),
vol. , plate 37, tab.b.9. (Reproduced by kind permission of the
Syndics of Cambridge University Library) 39
24. Fragment of a Kufic Qur’an, probably dating to the eighth–ninth
century CE. (Manuscript Add 24, p 48 verso. Reproduced by kind
permission of the Syndics of Cambridge University Library) 64
25. A page from a thirteenth-century copy of the version of Euclid
composed by the ‘Abbasid mathematician Thabit b. Qurra. (Manu-
script Add 075, p 43. Reproduced by kind permission of the Synd-
ics of Cambridge University Library) 88
26. The entry for Cinque Foil in a Botanicum antiquum illustrating
Dioscorides’ botanical dictionary with captions in Hebrew, Greek,
Arabic and Turkish. (Manuscript Ee.5.7, p 269. Reproduced by
kind permission of the Syndics of Cambridge University Library) 99

Acknowledgements
o book is ever written without incurring numerous debts of both
Na tangible and intangible nature. In this case, I am grateful to all
those who taught me not only to examine the fine detail of Arabic
texts but also to question and consider the history of the Islamic Middle
East as a grand panorama. This includes not only lecturers and professors
but also the undergraduates who have sat through my survey courses for
over a decade and asked me many a stimulating and provocative question
about the hows and whys of Islamic history. My thanks also to Alex Wright
of I.B.Tauris who thought that I might be just the person to write this book
and has patiently waited for it to be completed. While writing, I have had
occasion to consult many friends and colleagues on all manner of points and
I am grateful to them all, but special thanks are due to James E. Montgom-
ery, who has offered consistent encouragement and invaluable references as
well as making incisive comments on draft chapters, and to María Angeles
Gallego, Christine van Ruymbeke and Ian Bennison, who also took the
time to read and comment on various chapters. I also owe a debt of thanks
to Theodore and Tshiami who have kept me sane and reminded me that
there are other things to life than book-writing. Finally, in the words of the
tenth-century geographer al-Muqaddasi, whom I have had frequent occa-
sion to quote in the course of writing,
Of course I do not acquit myself of error, nor my book of defect; neither
do I submit it to be free of redundancy and deficiency, nor that it is above
criticism in every respect.
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