The Prophet and the Age of the Caliphates: The Islamic Near East from the Sixth to the Eleventh Century PDF
Preview The Prophet and the Age of the Caliphates: The Islamic Near East from the Sixth to the Eleventh Century
The Prophet and the Age of the Caliphates The Prophet and the Age of the Caliphates is an accessible history of the Near East from c.600 to 1050 AD, the period in which Islamic society was formed. Beginning with the life of Muhammad and the birth of Islam, Hugh Ken- nedy goes on to explore the great Arab conquests of the seventh century and the golden age of the Umayyad and Abbasid caliphates when the world of Islam was politically and culturally far more developed than the West. The crisis of the tenth century put an end to the political unity of the Muslim world and saw the emergence of the Fatimid caliphate in Egypt and inde- pendent dynasties in the Eastern Islamic world. The book concludes with the advent of Seljuk Turkish rule in the m id-e leventh century. This new edi- tion is fully updated to take into account recent research and there are two entirely new chapters covering the economic background during the period, and the north-e ast of Iran in the post-‘Abbasid period. Based on extensive reading of the original Arabic sources, Kennedy breaks away from the Ori- entalist tradition of seeing early Islamic history as a series of ephemeral rulers and pointless battles by drawing attention to underlying long- term social and economic processes. The Prophet and the Age of the Caliphates deals with issues of contin- uing and increasing relevance in the twenty- frst century, when it is, per- haps, more important than ever to understand the early development of the Islamic world. Students and scholars of early Islamic history will fnd this book a clear, informative and readable introduction to the subject. Hugh Kennedy is Professor of Arabic at SOAS, University of London. His previous publications include The Armies of the Caliphs: Military and Soci- ety in the Early Islamic State (2 001), The Great Arab Conquests: How the Spread of Islam Changed the World We Live In (2 007) and (a s editor) Warfare and Poetry in the Middle East ( 2013). A History of the Near East The Prophet and the Age of the Caliphates The Islamic Near East from the Sixth to the Eleventh Century Hugh Kennedy The Age of the Crusades The Near East from the Eleventh Century to 1517 P. M. Holt The Making of the Modern Near East 1792– 1923 M. E. Yapp The Near East since the First World War M. E. Yapp Medieval Persia 1 040–1 797 David Morgan The Formation of Turkey C. Cahen The Arab Lands under Ottoman Rule, 1516– 1800 J. Hathaway https://w ww.routledge.com/A - H istory- o f- t he- N ear- E ast/b ook- s eries/ P EAHNE The Prophet and the Age of the Caliphates The Islamic Near East from the Sixth to the Eleventh Century Fourth Edition Hugh Kennedy Cover image: “ A street in old Yazd, Iran.” Photo: the author. Fourth edition published 2023 by Routledge 4 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 4RN and by Routledge 605 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10158 Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business © 2023 Hugh Kennedy The right of Hugh Kennedy to be identified as author of this work has been asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe. First edition published by Pearson Education Limited 1986 Third edition published by Routledge 2016 British Library C ataloguing-i n-P ublication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging- in- Publication Data Names: Kennedy, Hugh ( Hugh N.), author. Title: The prophet and the age of the Caliphates: the Islamic Near East from the sixth to the eleventh century / Hugh Kennedy. Other titles: Islamic Near East from the sixth to the eleventh century | History of the Near East. Description: Fourth edition. | Abingdon, Oxon; New York, NY: Routledge, 2022. | Series: A history of the Near East | Includes bibliographical references and index. Identifiers: LCCN 2021057075 ( print) | LCCN 2021057076 ( ebook) Subjects: LCSH: Islamic Empire—History— 622– 661. | Islamic Empire— History— 661– 750. | Islamic Empire—History—750– 1258. Classification: LCC DS38.5.K38 2022 ( print) | LCC DS38.5 ( ebook) | DDC 956/. 013— dc23/ eng/ 20211214 LC record available at https:// lccn.loc.gov/ 2021057075 LC ebook record available at https:// lccn.loc.gov/ 2021057076 ISBN: 978- 0- 367- 36690- 2 ( hbk) ISBN: 978- 0- 367- 36689- 6 ( pbk) ISBN: 978- 0- 429- 34812- 9 ( ebk) DOI: 10.4324/ 9780429348129 Typeset in Times New Roman by codeMantra In memory of my daughter, Susannah Louise, who died far too young. Loved and remembered every day, bright star. Contents List of maps ix List of genealogical tables x Preface to the first edition xi Preface and acknowledgements xiii Notes on names, titles and dates xv 1 The matrix of the Muslim world: the Near East in the early seventh century 1 2 The birth of the Islamic state 14 3 Conquest and division in the time of the Rāshidūn caliphs 45 4 The Umayyad caliphate 74 5 The early ‘ Abbasid caliphate 112 6 The middle ‘ Abbasid caliphate 142 7 The early Islamic economy 179 8 The structure of politics in the Muslim commonwealth 192 9 The Buyid confederation 203 10 The Kurds 237 11 The Hamdanids 252 12 Bedouin political movements and dynasties 268 viii Contents 13 The Eastern Iranian world in the tenth and early eleventh centuries 289 14 Early Islamic Egypt and the Fatimid empire 310 Postscript: the coming of the Seljuks 342 Principal sources for the history of the Near East, 600– 1050 345 Suggested further reading 376 Glossary 388 Index 391 Maps 1 The Central Islamic Lands xvii 2 Syria and the Byzantine Frontier xviii 3 Iran and the Caucasus xix Genealogical tables 1 Muḥammad and the Descent of the Caliphs xx 2 The Umayyad Caliphs xxi 3 The ‘Abbasid Caliphs xxii 4 The Principal Buyid Rulers xxiii 5 The ‘Uqaylids of Mosul xxiv 6 The Hamdanids of Aleppo and Mosul xxv
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