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Abbasid Caliphate

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  1. Introduction
  2.  
  3. The Abbasid dynasty ruled the central and eastern Islamic lands, at least nominally, and headed the Sunni Muslim community for five centuries from its capital Baghdad. The Abbasid claim to the caliphate was based on kinship with the Prophet through his uncle al-ʿAbbas (hence the name). For that reason they restored a truly Muslim government. The first Abbasid caliph, Abu al-ʿAbbas al-Saffah, replaced the Umayyad Marwan II in 132AH/749 CE; the surviving members of the Umayyad family fled to al-Andalus, where they ruled the Islamic West for the next six centuries. The last Abbasid caliph, Abu Ahmad al-Mustaʿsim, was killed during the Mongol sack of Baghdad in 656 AH/1258 CE. By that time the political significance of the Abbasids had long been greatly reduced. The caliph, while retaining his religious authority, had lost a large part of his political and military influence. The caesura between the periods of prosperity and decadence is conventionally identified with the appointment of the military governor of Wasiṭ, Ibn Raʾiq, to the newly minted office of amir al-umaraʾ (chief commander) in 324 AH/936 CE, which made him the de facto ruler in Baghdad. Some of the most famous caliphs in history, such as Harun al-Rashid and al-Maʾmun, were Abbasids, and their times are considered the golden age of the Muslim Empire. The foundations of practices that survived into later times were laid down under the Abbasids, for instance, armies made up of slave soldiers (mamluk) and standard administrative practices.
  4.  
  5. General Overviews
  6.  
  7. Bennison 2009 and Kennedy 2004a are introductory textbooks on the Abbasids that can be used in undergraduate courses. Hodgson 1958–1974 and Kennedy 2004b treat the Abbasids as part of larger overviews also intended as introductory textbooks. Frye 1975; Holt, et al. 1977; and Cook 2010 are surveys aimed at specialists.
  8.  
  9. Bennison, Amira K. The Great Caliphs: The Golden Age of the Abbasid Empire. London: Tauris, 2009.
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  11. A nonchronological overview of the Abbasid period. After a first chapter on the political history of the caliphate, it deals with cities, social life, trade, and learning. Useful as an introductory text.
  12. Bennison, Amira K. The Great Caliphs: The Golden Age of the Abbasid Empire. London: Tauris, 2009.
  13. Find this resource:
  14. Cook, Michael, ed. The New Cambridge History of Islam. 6 vols. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2010.
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  16. Replaces Holt 1977 as the standard history of Islamic lands. Of interest for Abbasid studies are Volume 1 (The Formation of the Islamic World, Sixth to Eleventh Centuries, edited by Chase Robinson), Volume 4 (Islamic Cultures and Societies to the End of the Eighteenth Century, edited by Robert Irwin), and for the late Abbasids Volume 3 (The Eastern Islamic World, Eleventh to Eighteenth Centuries, edited by David O. Morgan and Anthony Reid). Each volume contains chronological and thematic entries.
  17. Cook, Michael, ed. The New Cambridge History of Islam. 6 vols. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2010.
  18. Find this resource:
  19. Frye, Richard Nelson, ed. The Cambridge History of Iran. Vol. 4, The Period from the Arab Invasion to the Saljuqs. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1975.
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  21. The chapter by Roy Mottahedeh (“The ʿAbbāsid Caliphate in Iran,” pp. 57–89) is of interest as an overview of the late Abbasid period in the East.
  22. Frye, Richard Nelson, ed. The Cambridge History of Iran. Vol. 4, The Period from the Arab Invasion to the Saljuqs. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1975.
  23. Find this resource:
  24. Hodgson, Marshall G. S. The Venture of Islam: Conscience and History in a World Civilization. 3 vols. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1958–1974.
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  26. A monumental history starting with the context in which Islam began and reaching modern times. The Abbasids are seen here in the global context of world history. Relevant chapters are in Volume 1, Book 2 (“The Classical Civilization of the High Caliphate,” pp. 231–495), and Volume 2, Book 3 (“The Establishment of an International Civilization,” pp. 1–368). The book features many detailed charts and maps.
  27. Hodgson, Marshall G. S. The Venture of Islam: Conscience and History in a World Civilization. 3 vols. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1958–1974.
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  29. Holt, Peter Malcolm, Ann K. S. Lambton, and Bernard Lewis, eds. The Cambridge History of Islam. Vol. 1a, The Central Islamic Lands from Pre-Islamic Times to the First World War. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1977.
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  31. Chapters 4 and 5 (“The ʿAbbasid Caliphate,” pp. 104–139, by Dominique Sourdel, and “The Disintegration of the Caliphate in the East,” pp. 143–174, by B. Spuler, respectively) provide a comprehensive overview of the period as a whole.
  32. Holt, Peter Malcolm, Ann K. S. Lambton, and Bernard Lewis, eds. The Cambridge History of Islam. Vol. 1a, The Central Islamic Lands from Pre-Islamic Times to the First World War. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1977.
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  34. Kennedy, Hugh N. The Court of the Caliphs: The Rise and Fall of Islam’s Greatest Dynasty. London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 2004a.
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  36. A narrative history of the Abbasid caliphs up to al-Mutawakkil (r. 232 AH/847 CE–247 AH/861 CE) giving particular attention to court culture. Useful for nonspecialists and undergraduates. Published in the United States as When Baghdad Ruled the Muslim World: The Rise and Fall of Islam’s Greatest Dynasty (Cambridge, MA: Da Capo, 2005).
  37. Kennedy, Hugh N. The Court of the Caliphs: The Rise and Fall of Islam’s Greatest Dynasty. London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 2004a.
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  39. Kennedy, Hugh N. The Prophet and the Age of the Caliphate: The Islamic Near East from the Sixth to the Eleventh Century. 2d ed. London: Longman, 2004b.
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  41. This account of Islamic history from the advent of Islam to the 5th century AH/11th century CE also contains a chapter discussing the primary sources available for the period. It is widely used as a university textbook.
  42. Kennedy, Hugh N. The Prophet and the Age of the Caliphate: The Islamic Near East from the Sixth to the Eleventh Century. 2d ed. London: Longman, 2004b.
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  44. Social and Economic Histories
  45.  
  46. Lapidus 2002 is a general history of the Muslim world devoting particular attention to social and cultural topics. Rotter 1967, Ashtor 1969, and Shatzmiller 1994 are overviews on specific topics with sections on the Abbasids. Ahsan 1979 concentrates on the Abbasids, and Samarraie 1972 and Sabari 1981 look at the middle period. Except for Lapidus 2002, none of these monographs is aimed at the lay reader, although non-Arabist scholars of social and economic history may find them of use.
  47.  
  48. Ahsan, Muhammad Manazir. Social Life under the Abbasids: 170–289 AH, 786–902 AD. London: Longman, 1979.
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  50. An account of daily life and material culture in the central centuries of the Abbasid period offering a discussion of the primary sources. Reprint, London: Stacey International, 2007.
  51. Ahsan, Muhammad Manazir. Social Life under the Abbasids: 170–289 AH, 786–902 AD. London: Longman, 1979.
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  53. Ashtor, Eliyahu. Histoire des prix et des salaires dans l’Orient médiéval. Paris: S.E.V.P.E.N., 1969.
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  55. The standard monograph for the economic history of medieval Iraq, Egypt, and Syria. It is widely referred to in other secondary sources.
  56. Ashtor, Eliyahu. Histoire des prix et des salaires dans l’Orient médiéval. Paris: S.E.V.P.E.N., 1969.
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  58. Lapidus, Ira M. A History of Islamic Societies. 2d ed. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2002.
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  60. This is the updated edition of a classic textbook of Islamic history. It divides the Abbasid period into the two standard halves, the first being part of the early caliphate, ending in 334 AH/945 CE. It devotes more space than Kennedy 2004b (cited under General Overviews) to social and cultural themes.
  61. Lapidus, Ira M. A History of Islamic Societies. 2d ed. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2002.
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  63. Rotter, Gernot. “Die Stellung des Negers in der islamisch-arabischen Gesellschaft bis zum XVI. Jahrhundert.” PhD diss., Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität, 1967.
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  65. A study of the social status of black people in Islamic societies, particularly interesting for the survey of descriptions and stereotypes in literary and historical sources.
  66. Rotter, Gernot. “Die Stellung des Negers in der islamisch-arabischen Gesellschaft bis zum XVI. Jahrhundert.” PhD diss., Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität, 1967.
  67. Find this resource:
  68. Sabari, Simha. Mouvements populaires à Bagdad à l’époque ‘abbasside, IXe–XIe siècles. Études de civilization et d’histoire islamiques. Paris: Maisonneuve, 1981.
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  70. A social history of Baghdad during the central centuries of Abbasid rule. It focuses especially on popular movements but contributes in general to the economic history of the period. It is not advisable as an introduction to the subject.
  71. Sabari, Simha. Mouvements populaires à Bagdad à l’époque ‘abbasside, IXe–XIe siècles. Études de civilization et d’histoire islamiques. Paris: Maisonneuve, 1981.
  72. Find this resource:
  73. Samarraie, Husam. Agriculture in Iraq during the Third Century AH. Beirut: Librairie du Liban, 1972.
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  75. An extensive survey of land administration and agricultural tools and methods in Iraq. It was originally the author’s doctoral dissertation and therefore aimed at specialists.
  76. Samarraie, Husam. Agriculture in Iraq during the Third Century AH. Beirut: Librairie du Liban, 1972.
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  78. Shatzmiller, Maya. Labour in the Medieval Islamic World. Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill, 1994.
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  80. Although it covers a vast area and period, this monograph is useful to Abbasid studies for its lists of different professions and other economic issues, which it collects and classifies on the basis of a wide range of primary sources.
  81. Shatzmiller, Maya. Labour in the Medieval Islamic World. Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill, 1994.
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  83. Reference Works, Bibliographies, Resources
  84.  
  85. Other than the publications of the School of Abbasid Studies, there are no journals or general references specifically devoted to the Abbasid caliphate. However, the period has been studied perhaps more extensively than any other in Islamic history, and therefore most journals and encyclopedias in the field will be of interest to the student of the Abbasids. Bleaney 1990– and Bearman, et al. 1960–2009 remain the standard reference works for specialists in Islamic and Middle East studies. Yarshater 1982– has the advantage of being freely accessible online. Meisami and Starkey 1998 and Meri 2006 are general and accessible surveys. Bosworth 1996 is especially useful for information on regional dynasties. Humphreys 1991 is an essential tool for the beginner in Islamic history. Kahhala 1957–1961 and al-Zirikli 2002 follow closely the primary sources.
  86.  
  87. Bearman, P. J., T. Bianquis, C. E. Bosworth, E. van Donzel, and W. P. Heinrichs, eds. Encyclopaedia of Islam. New ed. Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill, 1960–2009.
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  89. Contains among the best Western scholarship on Islam of the second half of the 20th century. Many articles are in-depth studies. The third edition (Kate Fleet, Gudrun Krämer, Denis Matringe, John Nawas, and Everett Rowson, eds., Encyclopaedia of Islam Three, Leiden: Brill, 2007–) aims at being less Eurocentric and more open to modern and contemporary topics.
  90. Bearman, P. J., T. Bianquis, C. E. Bosworth, E. van Donzel, and W. P. Heinrichs, eds. Encyclopaedia of Islam. New ed. Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill, 1960–2009.
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  92. Bleaney, C. H., ed. Index Islamicus. Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill. 1900–.
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  94. A constantly updated bibliography of publications (monographs, periodicals, and collections of essays) in European languages on Arabic and Islamic subjects published as a quarterly in print and online. It covers a much wider range of publications than general bibliographies or databases such as JSTOR, although it is updated less quickly (see also Online Resources).
  95. Bleaney, C. H., ed. Index Islamicus. Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill. 1900–.
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  97. Bosworth, Clifford Edmund. The New Islamic Dynasties: A Chronological and Genealogical Manual. Rev. and exp. ed. New York: Columbia University Press, 1996.
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  99. Contains genealogies for 186 dynasties up to the 20th century. Useful because it provides details for all regional ruling families contemporary with the Abbasids. A paperback edition was published in 2004 by Edinburgh University Press.
  100. Bosworth, Clifford Edmund. The New Islamic Dynasties: A Chronological and Genealogical Manual. Rev. and exp. ed. New York: Columbia University Press, 1996.
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  102. Humphreys, R. Stephen. Islamic History: A Framework for Inquiry. Rev. ed. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1991.
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  104. A very useful survey of the main tools for the study of medieval Islamic history and a discussion of major points of debate in the field, including the Abbasid revolution. It is essential reading for all beginners in medieval Islamic history.
  105. Humphreys, R. Stephen. Islamic History: A Framework for Inquiry. Rev. ed. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1991.
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  107. Kahhala, ʿUmar Rida. Muʿjam al-muʾallifīn. Cairo: al-Maktaba al-ʿArabiyya, 1957–1961.
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  109. A biographical dictionary of authors writing in Arabic, offering compact biographies and references to primary sources. Many reprints.
  110. Kahhala, ʿUmar Rida. Muʿjam al-muʾallifīn. Cairo: al-Maktaba al-ʿArabiyya, 1957–1961.
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  112. Meisami, Julie Scott, and Paul Starkey. Encyclopedia of Arabic Literature. 2 vols. London: Routledge, 1998.
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  114. Contains short biographies of literary authors up to the 20th century as well as entries on major literary genres, historical periods, stylistic figures, and so forth. For each author, it indicates the best editions and translations in a format easier to consult than that of the Encyclopaedia of Islam (Bearman, et al. 1960–2009).
  115. Meisami, Julie Scott, and Paul Starkey. Encyclopedia of Arabic Literature. 2 vols. London: Routledge, 1998.
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  117. Meri, Josef W. Medieval Islamic Civilization: An Encyclopedia. 2 vols. Routledge Encyclopedias of the Middle Ages 13. London: Routledge, 2006.
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  119. Aimed at nonspecialists but written by specialists, it contains compact entries both on individuals and on specific themes and issues.
  120. Meri, Josef W. Medieval Islamic Civilization: An Encyclopedia. 2 vols. Routledge Encyclopedias of the Middle Ages 13. London: Routledge, 2006.
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  122. Yarshater, Ehsan, ed. Encyclopaedia Iranica. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1982–.
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  124. Although it focuses on Iran, many of its entries overlap with those of the Encyclopaedia of Islam (Bearman, et al. 1960–2009). Its contents are freely accessible online in full (see also Online Resources), and therefore it is especially useful for those without a readily accessible library.
  125. Yarshater, Ehsan, ed. Encyclopaedia Iranica. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1982–.
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  127. al-Zirikli, Khayr al-Din. Al-Aʿlām: Qāmūs tarājim li-ashhar al-rijāl wa’l-nisāʼ min al-ʻArab wa-al-mustaʻribīn wa-al-mustashriqīn. 15th ed. Beirut: Dar al-ʿIlm lil-Malayin, 2002.
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  129. A modern biographical dictionary of Arab and Muslim individuals from pre-Islamic times to the 20th century.
  130. al-Zirikli, Khayr al-Din. Al-Aʿlām: Qāmūs tarājim li-ashhar al-rijāl wa’l-nisāʼ min al-ʻArab wa-al-mustaʻribīn wa-al-mustashriqīn. 15th ed. Beirut: Dar al-ʿIlm lil-Malayin, 2002.
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  132. Online Resources
  133.  
  134. Most reference works published by Brill, including the Encyclopaedia of Islam (Bearman, et al. 1960–2009, cited under Reference Works, Bibliographies, Resources), first and second editions, and Index Islamicus (Bleaney 1900–, cited under Reference Works, Bibliographies, Resources) for publications after 1960, are also available online through subscription. They are accessed through the individual libraries’ electronic media portals and can be queried together with all other Brill online products. Yarshater 1982– (cited under Reference Works, Bibliographies, Resources) is freely accessible online in full. Oxford Islamic Studies Online is not specific to the Abbasids but contains much material on the period. Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History is a general resource.
  135.  
  136. Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. Metropolitan Museum of Art.
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  138. A freely accessible resource containing timelines, maps, thematic essays, and naturally images from the museum’s collection. It can be queried by keyword, period, geographic area, and specific work of art.
  139. Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. Metropolitan Museum of Art.
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  141. Oxford Islamic Studies Online. Oxford University Press.
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  143. This resource puts together all reference works on Arabic, Middle Eastern, and Islamic Studies published by Oxford University Press as well as individual articles and chapters and original content. It is regularly updated and can be queried in sophisticated ways.
  144. Oxford Islamic Studies Online. Oxford University Press.
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  146. School of Abbasid Studies
  147.  
  148. The School of Abbasid Studies, founded in 1979, is an association for the academic study of the Abbasid caliphate. The Occasional Papers of the School of ʿAbbasid Studies were published biennially between 1986 and 1992 and will be downloadable in full from the school’s website. The school was revived in 2002 and has been meeting regularly since then, producing to date two volumes (Montgomery 2004, Nawas 2010) and a themed issue for the journal Oriens (Montgomery 2010). The papers in these collections are representative of the most current research on the Abbasid caliphate.
  149.  
  150. Montgomery, James E., ed. ʿAbbasid Studies: Occasional Papers of the School of ʿAbbasid Studies, Cambridge, 6–10 July 2002. Leuven, Belgium: Peeters, 2004.
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  152. This is the first collection of essays of the revived School of Abbasid Studies. Its guiding principle is promoting communication between students of different disciplines. It contains sixteen articles divided into three sections: “Institutions and Concepts,” “Figures,” and “Archeology of a Discipline.”
  153. Montgomery, James E., ed. ʿAbbasid Studies: Occasional Papers of the School of ʿAbbasid Studies, Cambridge, 6–10 July 2002. Leuven, Belgium: Peeters, 2004.
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  155. Montgomery, James E., ed. Special Issue: Abbasid Studies III; Occasional Papers of the Meetings at St. Andrews, 26–29 June 2006, and Cambridge, 7–9 July 2008. Oriens 38 (2010).
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  157. These ten essays are divided into studies on caliphs and those on poets and scholars. One paper looks at the image of the Abbasids in al-Andalus. As in the other collections in this section, the focus is on the early and middle caliphate.
  158. Montgomery, James E., ed. Special Issue: Abbasid Studies III; Occasional Papers of the Meetings at St. Andrews, 26–29 June 2006, and Cambridge, 7–9 July 2008. Oriens 38 (2010).
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  160. Nawas, John A., ed. ʿAbbasid Studies II: Occasional Papers of the School of ʿAbbasid Studies, Leuven, 28 June–1 July 2004. Leuven, Belgium: Peeters, 2010.
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  162. Contains fifteen articles divided into three sections: “Political History,” “Cultural History,” and a special section on the caliphate of al-Muqtadir exploring cultural, political, and social aspects of the period.
  163. Nawas, John A., ed. ʿAbbasid Studies II: Occasional Papers of the School of ʿAbbasid Studies, Leuven, 28 June–1 July 2004. Leuven, Belgium: Peeters, 2010.
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  165. Occasional Papers of the School of ʿAbbasid Studies. 4 vols. Fife, UK: University of St. Andrews, 1986–1992.
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  167. These four volumes contain a total of twenty-five articles concentrating on the early and middle Abbasid caliphate and covering topics such as historiography, literature, grammar, philosophy, and the sciences.
  168. Occasional Papers of the School of ʿAbbasid Studies. 4 vols. Fife, UK: University of St. Andrews, 1986–1992.
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  170. Sources in Translation
  171.  
  172. There are few documentary sources available for the study of the Abbasid caliphate; the nature of the terrain in Baghdad, the early adoption of paper by the Abbasid administration, and successive sacks and invasions have left no archival material and limited archeological and numismatic evidence. (Part 4, Volume 1, of Cook 2010, cited under General Overviews, discusses documentary sources for the first centuries of Islamic history.) On the other hand, narrative sources (historiographical as well as literary material) are abundant and have been studied extensively. The most detailed survey of works and authors, including extant manuscripts and editions, is Fuat Sezgin’s Geschichte des Arabischen Schrifttums (Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill, 1967–, fifteen volumes to date). It is divided into disciplines and covers up to 430 AH/1040 CE, although some volumes go up to the 15th century. This section is a selection of sources useful to political historians that are available in translation. Several of these translations have long been out of print, but they are available in research libraries. Although the subdivision into genres is a modern imposition, it is nevertheless useful for practical purposes to divide sources into chronicles (works describing events in a loose chronological order, either by year or by reign) and other works (encyclopedias, treatises, literary works).
  173.  
  174. Chronicles
  175.  
  176. Although all these works are technically chronicles, they differ in breadth and focus. Amedroz 1920–1921 collects annals of the caliphate, al-Masʿudi 1989 is organized more loosely into caliphates, al-Tabari 1985–2007 is a universal annalistic chronicle, and Ibn al-Athir 2002 and Ibn al-Athir 2006–2008 have even broader geographic and temporal boundaries.
  177.  
  178. Amedroz, H. F., and D. S. Margoliouth, eds. The Eclipse of the ʿAbbasid Caliphate: Original Chronicles of the Fourth Islamic Century. 7 vols. Oxford: Blackwell, 1920–1921.
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  180. Edition and translation of the chronicles of Miskawayh (d. 421 AH/1030 CE), Hilal b. al-Muhassin al-Sabiʾ (d. 448 AH /1056 CE), and Abu Shujaʿ al-Rudhrawari (d. 488 AH/1095 CE) covering the 4th century AH/10th century CE. Miskawayh in particular is an essential source for the caliphates of al-Muqtadir, al-Qahir, and al-Radi (295 AH/908 CE–329 AH/940 CE) and has been used extensively for secondary literature on the period.
  181. Amedroz, H. F., and D. S. Margoliouth, eds. The Eclipse of the ʿAbbasid Caliphate: Original Chronicles of the Fourth Islamic Century. 7 vols. Oxford: Blackwell, 1920–1921.
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  183. Ibn al-Athir, ʿIzz ad-Din. The Annals of the Saljuq Turks: Selections from al-Kāmil fīʾl-Taʾrīkh of ʿIzz al-Dīn Ibn al-Athīr. Translated by D. S. Richards. London: RoutledgeCurzon, 2002.
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  185. ʿIzz ad-Din Ibn al-Athir, d. 630 AH/1233 CE. An abridged translation of Ibn al-Athir’s universal history for the years 491 AH/1097 CE–629 AH/1231 CE. It is useful for the late Abbasid period, although its focus is not on the caliphs.
  186. Ibn al-Athir, ʿIzz ad-Din. The Annals of the Saljuq Turks: Selections from al-Kāmil fīʾl-Taʾrīkh of ʿIzz al-Dīn Ibn al-Athīr. Translated by D. S. Richards. London: RoutledgeCurzon, 2002.
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  188. Ibn al-Athir, ʿIzz ad-Din. The Chronicle of Ibn al-Athīr for the Crusading Period from al-Kāmil fīʾl-taʾrīkh. Translated by D. S. Richards. Aldershot, UK: Ashgate, 2006–2008.
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  190. ʿIzz ad-Din Ibn al-Athir, d. 630 AH/1233 CE. An abridged translation of Ibn al-Athir’s universal history for the years 420 AH/1029 CE–490 AH/1097 CE.
  191. Ibn al-Athir, ʿIzz ad-Din. The Chronicle of Ibn al-Athīr for the Crusading Period from al-Kāmil fīʾl-taʾrīkh. Translated by D. S. Richards. Aldershot, UK: Ashgate, 2006–2008.
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  193. al-Masʿudi, Abu-l-Hasan ‘Ali b. al-Husayn. The Meadows of Gold: The Abbasids. Translated by Paul Lunde and Caroline Stone. London: Kegan Paul, 1989.
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  195. Abu-l-Hasan ‘Ali b. al-Husayn al-Masʿudi, d. 345 AH/956 CE. An abridged translation of the Murūj al-dhahab wa-ma‘ādhin al-jawhar, a literary-historical work arranged by caliphate containing anecdotes, poetry, and historical information. It is particularly useful for the middle Abbasid caliphate.
  196. al-Masʿudi, Abu-l-Hasan ‘Ali b. al-Husayn. The Meadows of Gold: The Abbasids. Translated by Paul Lunde and Caroline Stone. London: Kegan Paul, 1989.
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  198. al-Tabari, Abu Ja‘far Muhammad b. Jarir. The History of al-Ṭabarī. 40 vols. Edited by Ehsan Yarshater. Albany: State University of New York Press, 1985–2007.
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  200. Abu Ja‘far Muhammad b. Jarir al-Tabari, d. 310 AH/923 CE. This extensive history starts from the creation of the world and ends a few years before the death of its author during the caliphate of al-Muqtadir. It is the blueprint for all accounts of the early and middle Abbasid caliphate, covered in Volumes 27–38.
  201. al-Tabari, Abu Ja‘far Muhammad b. Jarir. The History of al-Ṭabarī. 40 vols. Edited by Ehsan Yarshater. Albany: State University of New York Press, 1985–2007.
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  203. Other Works
  204.  
  205. These sources are important for the study of political and cultural history, and because of their availability in English translation they have been studied by scholars of medieval Christendom as well as of Islamic history. They are examples of different genres. Ibn Khallikan 1843–1871 is a biographical dictionary, al-Sabiʾ 1977 is a treatise, and al-Tanukhi 1921–1922 is a work of belles lettres. Ibn al-Nadim 1970 is a biographical dictionary but also a catalogue documenting the cultural life of Baghdad in the 4th century AH/10th century CE.
  206.  
  207. al-Sabiʾ, Hilal b. al-Muhassin. Rusūm dār al-khilāfa: The Rules and Regulations of the ‘Abbāsid Court. Translated by Elie A. Salem. Beirut: Lebanese Commission for the Translation of Great Works, 1977.
  208. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  209. Hilal b. al-Muhassin al-Sabiʾ, d. 448 AH/1056 CE. A treatise on Abbasid court and chancery ceremonials by an administration official and historian. It is useful for court and economic history and also contains more anecdotal accounts on the relationship between the different members of the court and the administration.
  210. al-Sabiʾ, Hilal b. al-Muhassin. Rusūm dār al-khilāfa: The Rules and Regulations of the ‘Abbāsid Court. Translated by Elie A. Salem. Beirut: Lebanese Commission for the Translation of Great Works, 1977.
  211. Find this resource:
  212. al-Tanukhi, Abu ʻAli al-Muhassin. The Table-Talk of a Mesopotamian Judge: Being the First Part of the Nishwār al-muḥāḍarah or Jāmiʻ al-tawārīkh. Edited and translated by D. S. Margoliouth. London: Royal Asiatic Society, 1921–1922.
  213. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  214. Abu ʻAli al-Muhassin al-Tanukhi, d. 384 AH/994 CE. A collection of anecdotes concerning mainly government officials contemporary to the author or his father. It is a classic work of adab, literature that aims at being entertaining as well as instructive.
  215. al-Tanukhi, Abu ʻAli al-Muhassin. The Table-Talk of a Mesopotamian Judge: Being the First Part of the Nishwār al-muḥāḍarah or Jāmiʻ al-tawārīkh. Edited and translated by D. S. Margoliouth. London: Royal Asiatic Society, 1921–1922.
  216. Find this resource:
  217. Ibn al-Nadim, Muhammad b. Ishaq. The Fihrist of al-Nadīm: A Tenth-Century Survey of Muslim Culture. 2 vols. Translated by Bayard Dodge. New York: Columbia University Press, 1970.
  218. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  219. Muhammad b. Ishaq Ibn al-Nadim, d. 380 AH/990 CE. This unique source is the catalogue of all books known by a late–4th century AH/10th-century CE Baghdadi bookseller with biographical information on the authors. It provides an overview of the cultural and scientific interests of the Abbasid capital at the peak of its prosperity.
  220. Ibn al-Nadim, Muhammad b. Ishaq. The Fihrist of al-Nadīm: A Tenth-Century Survey of Muslim Culture. 2 vols. Translated by Bayard Dodge. New York: Columbia University Press, 1970.
  221. Find this resource:
  222. Ibn Khallikan, Ahmad b. Muhammad. Kitāb Wafayāt al-a‘yān: Ibn Khallikān’s Biographical Dictionary. Translated by B. MacGuckin de Slane. Paris: Oriental Translation Fund, 1843–1871.
  223. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  224. Ahmad b. Muhammad Ibn Khallikan, d. 681 AH/1282 CE. A biographical dictionary of important personalities (but excluding the caliphs) of the Islamic lands covering up to the author’s own time. Besides providing fundamental information on its biographees, this source is also interesting as an example of a very important genre of Arabic literature, the biographical collection.
  225. Ibn Khallikan, Ahmad b. Muhammad. Kitāb Wafayāt al-a‘yān: Ibn Khallikān’s Biographical Dictionary. Translated by B. MacGuckin de Slane. Paris: Oriental Translation Fund, 1843–1871.
  226. Find this resource:
  227. Archaeology: Baghdad and Samarra
  228.  
  229. There is almost no archaeological trace left of Abbasid Baghdad partly because of the terrain on which it is built and partly because the modern city overlaps with the ancient one. Therefore everything we know comes from medieval descriptions of the city and references in narrative sources. The city of Samarra, on the other hand, has left ample archaeological evidence that is still being investigated. Le Strange 1900, al-Duri 1960–2009, Susah 1963–1965, and Lassner 1970 study the topography of Baghdad and propose maps of the medieval city. Robinson 2001 and Northedge 2008 look at Samarra.
  230.  
  231. al-Duri, ʿAbd al-ʿAziz. “Baghdād.” In Encyclopaedia of Islam. New ed. Vol. 1. Edited by P. J. Bearman, T. Bianquis, C. E. Bosworth, E. van Donzel, and W. P. Heinrichs, 895–908. Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill, 1960–2009.
  232. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  233. A comprehensive history of Baghdad containing a map attempting a reconstruction of the medieval city superimposed on the modern one.
  234. al-Duri, ʿAbd al-ʿAziz. “Baghdād.” In Encyclopaedia of Islam. New ed. Vol. 1. Edited by P. J. Bearman, T. Bianquis, C. E. Bosworth, E. van Donzel, and W. P. Heinrichs, 895–908. Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill, 1960–2009.
  235. Find this resource:
  236. Lassner, Jacob. The Topography of Baghdad in the Early Middle Ages: Text and Studies. Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 1970.
  237. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  238. A translation of and commentary on the description of Baghdad by al-Khatib al-Baghdadi (d. 463 AH/1071 CE).
  239. Lassner, Jacob. The Topography of Baghdad in the Early Middle Ages: Text and Studies. Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 1970.
  240. Find this resource:
  241. Le Strange, Guy. Baghdad during the Abbasid Caliphate: From Contemporary Arabic and Persian Sources. Oxford: Clarendon, 1900.
  242. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  243. The first attempt at a reconstruction of the topography of Baghdad on the basis of medieval descriptions. Although the maps included contain mistakes, it is still the most widely used reference for the topography of Baghdad.
  244. Le Strange, Guy. Baghdad during the Abbasid Caliphate: From Contemporary Arabic and Persian Sources. Oxford: Clarendon, 1900.
  245. Find this resource:
  246. Northedge, Alastair. The Historical Topography of Samarra. 2d rev. ed. Samarra Studies 1. London: British School of Archaeology in Iraq, 2008.
  247. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  248. An extensive discussion of the topography of Samarra accompanied by illustrations and maps.
  249. Northedge, Alastair. The Historical Topography of Samarra. 2d rev. ed. Samarra Studies 1. London: British School of Archaeology in Iraq, 2008.
  250. Find this resource:
  251. Robinson, Chase F., ed. A Medieval Islamic City Reconsidered: An Interdisciplinary Approach to Samarra. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2001.
  252. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  253. A collection of essays on Samarra based on both textual and archeological sources dealing with art, architecture, literature, material culture, and also the military stationed in the city.
  254. Robinson, Chase F., ed. A Medieval Islamic City Reconsidered: An Interdisciplinary Approach to Samarra. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2001.
  255. Find this resource:
  256. Susah, Ahmad. Fayaḍānāt Baghdād fī al-tārīkh: Baḥth fī tārīkh fayaḍānāt anhur al-ʻIrāq wa-taʼthīruhā bi-al-nisbah li-madīnat Baghdād. 3 vols. Baghdad: al-Adib, 1963–1965.
  257. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  258. Study and map collating information from pre-Islamic through modern times on the watercourses surrounding the Baghdad area and the frequent floods that affected it.
  259. Susah, Ahmad. Fayaḍānāt Baghdād fī al-tārīkh: Baḥth fī tārīkh fayaḍānāt anhur al-ʻIrāq wa-taʼthīruhā bi-al-nisbah li-madīnat Baghdād. 3 vols. Baghdad: al-Adib, 1963–1965.
  260. Find this resource:
  261. The Abbasid Revolution and Early Caliphate
  262.  
  263. A major point of debate has been how the Abbasid family came to power and the ethnic composition of the supporters of the Abbasid revolution. Lassner 1986, Sharon 1983, Sharon 1990, and others maintain that it was predominantly Arab, while Daniel 2007– and Agha 2003, among others, argue for a strong Iranian element. Kennedy 1981 and Cobb 2001 look instead at early Abbasid rule.
  264.  
  265. Agha, Saleh Said. The Revolution Which Toppled the Umayyads: Neither Arab nor ʿAbbāsid. Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill, 2003.
  266. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  267. Argues for the non-Arab nature of the Abbasid revolution based on a prosopographical analysis. It is best read after other more introductory studies.
  268. Agha, Saleh Said. The Revolution Which Toppled the Umayyads: Neither Arab nor ʿAbbāsid. Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill, 2003.
  269. Find this resource:
  270. Cobb, Paul M. White Banners: Contention in ʿAbbāsid Syria, 750–880. Albany: State University of New York Press, 2001.
  271. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  272. Discusses the political history of Syria, starting from the Abbasid revolution and the defeat of the Umayyads and ending with the takeover by the Abbasid governor of Egypt, Ibn Tulun, in 263 AH/877 CE. It adds an important perspective, as the conventional overviews of Islamic history concentrate on Syria for the Umayyad period but move to Iraq after the Abbasid revolution.
  273. Cobb, Paul M. White Banners: Contention in ʿAbbāsid Syria, 750–880. Albany: State University of New York Press, 2001.
  274. Find this resource:
  275. Daniel, Elton L. “ʿAbbāsid Revolution.” In Encyclopaedia of Islam Three. Edited by Kate Fleet, Gudrun Krämer, Denis Matringe, John Nawas, and Everett Rowson. Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill, 2007–.
  276. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  277. A discussion of the main events leading to the Abbasid takeover using recently discovered primary sources and providing references to secondary literature. It takes into account and updates the author’s own seminal work, The Political and Social History of Khurasan under Abbasid Rule, 747–820, Publication of the Iran-America Foundation (Minneapolis: Bibliotheca Islamica, 1979), and other of his later works.
  278. Daniel, Elton L. “ʿAbbāsid Revolution.” In Encyclopaedia of Islam Three. Edited by Kate Fleet, Gudrun Krämer, Denis Matringe, John Nawas, and Everett Rowson. Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill, 2007–.
  279. Find this resource:
  280. Kennedy, Hugh. The Early ʿAbbāsid Caliphate. London: Croom Helm, 1981.
  281. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  282. A narrative political history of the first century of Abbasid rule, from the revolution to the death of al-Maʿmun in 218 AH/833 CE. Particularly useful as an introduction for academic nonspecialists.
  283. Kennedy, Hugh. The Early ʿAbbāsid Caliphate. London: Croom Helm, 1981.
  284. Find this resource:
  285. Lassner, Jacob. Islamic Revolution and Historical Memory: An Inquiry into the Art of ʿAbbasid Apologetics. New Haven, CT: American Oriental Society, 1986.
  286. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  287. Through a close reading of the primary sources, identifies elements of Abbasid propaganda in the accounts of the revolution that have come down to us. Although Lassner’s conclusions have been disputed, the methodology he proposes has become a necessary (although not the only) step for the researcher in Islamic historiography.
  288. Lassner, Jacob. Islamic Revolution and Historical Memory: An Inquiry into the Art of ʿAbbasid Apologetics. New Haven, CT: American Oriental Society, 1986.
  289. Find this resource:
  290. Sharon, Moshe. Black Banners from the East: The Establishment of the ʿAbbāsid State; Incubation of a Revolt. Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill, 1983.
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  292. The first of two monographs on the Abbasid revolution, it is a history of the early stages of the revolution. Part of Sharon’s analysis and conclusions has been disputed, but his work remains important for its extensive use of primary sources, which allows him to provide a very detailed narrative of how Abbasid rule came about.
  293. Sharon, Moshe. Black Banners from the East: The Establishment of the ʿAbbāsid State; Incubation of a Revolt. Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill, 1983.
  294. Find this resource:
  295. Sharon, Moshe. Black Banners from the East. Vol. 2, Revolt: The Social and Military Aspects of the ʿAbbāsid Revolution. Jerusalem: Hebrew University, 1990.
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  297. The second of two monographs on the Abbasid revolution, dealing with its military phase. Like its companion volume (Sharon 1983), it is still useful for its extensive use of primary sources.
  298. Sharon, Moshe. Black Banners from the East. Vol. 2, Revolt: The Social and Military Aspects of the ʿAbbāsid Revolution. Jerusalem: Hebrew University, 1990.
  299. Find this resource:
  300. The Middle Abbasid Caliphate
  301.  
  302. This period, which is considered the golden age of the Abbasids, saw civil strife as well as prosperity and cultural effervescence. The caliphates most discussed in the primary sources, and consequently by modern scholarship, are those of Harun al-Rashid (r. 170 AH/786 CE–193 AH/809 CE) and of his son al-Maʾmun (r. 189 AH/813 CE–218 AH/833 CE). In the late 20th and early 21st centuries there has been interest in the caliphate of al-Muqtadir (r. 295 AH/908 CE–320 AH/932 CE). Nawas 2010 (cited under School of Abbasid Studies) devotes a special section to it. Abbot 1946, Bowen 1928, Massignon 1982, and Popovic 1976 provide narrative accounts of specific periods and figures based on the primary sources. Since the late 1990s these sources have also been the subject of debate on how to read classical Arabic narratives and what kind of information they yield in a discussion parallel to that happening for the origins of Islam (Cooperson 2000, El-Hibri 1999, Shoshan 2004, Vogt 2006). Volume 1 of Cook 2010 (cited under General Overviews) devotes two chapters to the political history of this period (Tayeb El-Hibri, “The Empire in Iraq, 763–861,” pp. 269–304; Michael Bonner, “The Waning of Empire, 861–945,” pp. 305–357).
  303.  
  304. Abbot, Nabia. Two Queens of Baghdad: Mother and Wife of Hārūn al-Rashīd. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1946.
  305. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  306. An account based on narrative sources of the lives and times of Khayzuran, the concubine of the caliph al-Mahdi, and Zubayda, the Abbasid princess who married Harun al-Rashid. It paints a vivid image of the Abbasid court and its harem that is still enjoyable to read in the early 21st century.
  307. Abbot, Nabia. Two Queens of Baghdad: Mother and Wife of Hārūn al-Rashīd. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1946.
  308. Find this resource:
  309. Bowen, Harald. The Life and Times of ʿAlì ibn ʿIsà, “the Good Vizier.” Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1928.
  310. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  311. A vivid narration of the biography of ʿAli b. ʿIsa, one of the most influential figures of the early 4th century AH/10th century CE and one of the last viziers to have effective power over the state treasury.
  312. Bowen, Harald. The Life and Times of ʿAlì ibn ʿIsà, “the Good Vizier.” Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1928.
  313. Find this resource:
  314. Cooperson, Michael. Classical Arabic Biography: The Heirs of the Prophets in the Age of al-Maʾmūn. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2000.
  315. DOI: 10.1017/CBO9780511497469Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  316. A study of biography writing providing accounts of the lives of the caliph al-Maʾmun and three prominent contemporary religious leaders. As well as for the immediate information in the four case studies, the book is useful as a guide to reading medieval Arabic narrative sources in general.
  317. Cooperson, Michael. Classical Arabic Biography: The Heirs of the Prophets in the Age of al-Maʾmūn. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2000.
  318. Find this resource:
  319. El-Hibri, Tayeb. Reinterpreting Islamic Historiography: Hārūn al-Rashīd and the Narrative of the ‘Abbāsid Caliphate. Edited by David Morgan. Cambridge Studies in Islamic Civilization. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1999.
  320. DOI: 10.1017/CBO9780511497476Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  321. Focusing on the first century of Abbasid rule and especially on the lives of Harun al-Rashid and his sons al-Amin and al-Maʾmun, El-Hibri argues in favor of the literary analysis of historiographical texts, which are to be seen as ways of providing commentary and not facts.
  322. El-Hibri, Tayeb. Reinterpreting Islamic Historiography: Hārūn al-Rashīd and the Narrative of the ‘Abbāsid Caliphate. Edited by David Morgan. Cambridge Studies in Islamic Civilization. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1999.
  323. Find this resource:
  324. al-Kabīsī, Ḥamdān ʿAbd al-Majīd. ‘Aṣr al-khalīfa al-Muqatdir billāh (295–320/907–932): Dirāsa fī aḥwāl al-‘Irāq al-dākhiliyya. Al-Najaf, Iraq: Maṭbaʻat al-Nuʿmān, 1974.
  325. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  326. An account of the reign of al-Muqtadir. Although it dates back to 1974, it is the latest work on this caliphate in any language.
  327. al-Kabīsī, Ḥamdān ʿAbd al-Majīd. ‘Aṣr al-khalīfa al-Muqatdir billāh (295–320/907–932): Dirāsa fī aḥwāl al-‘Irāq al-dākhiliyya. Al-Najaf, Iraq: Maṭbaʻat al-Nuʿmān, 1974.
  328. Find this resource:
  329. Massignon, Louis. The Passion of al-Ḥallāj, Mystic and Martyr of Islam. Translated by Herbert Mason. 4 vols. Bollingen Series 98. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1982.
  330. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  331. While reconstructing the biography of the mystic al-Hallaj, who was executed for heresy in Baghdad in 309 AH/922 CE, Massignon paints a vivid picture of the intellectual life of 4th-century AH/10th-century CE Baghdad and discusses the sources for this period.
  332. Massignon, Louis. The Passion of al-Ḥallāj, Mystic and Martyr of Islam. Translated by Herbert Mason. 4 vols. Bollingen Series 98. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1982.
  333. Find this resource:
  334. Popovic, Alexandre. La révolte des esclaves en Iraq au IIIe/IXe siècle. Paris: Librairie Orientaliste Paul Geuthner, 1976.
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  336. An account of the Zanj revolt (255–270 AH/869–883 CE) based on the narrative provided by primary sources, such as al-Tabari 1985–2007 (cited under Chronicles). It is aimed at specialists and has a better index and bibliography than its simplified English translation, The Revolt of African Slaves in Iraq in the 3rd/9th Century, translated by Léon King (Princeton, NJ: Markus Wiener, 1999).
  337. Popovic, Alexandre. La révolte des esclaves en Iraq au IIIe/IXe siècle. Paris: Librairie Orientaliste Paul Geuthner, 1976.
  338. Find this resource:
  339. Shoshan, Boaz. Poetics of Islamic Historiography: Deconstructing Ṭabarī’s History. Islamic History and Civilization, Studies and Texts. Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill, 2004.
  340. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  341. Applies structuralist theory to al-Tabari 1985–2007 (cited under Chronicles) in the attempt not to reconstruct facts and separate them from fiction but to understand how Abu Ja‘far Muhammad b. Jarir al-Tabari, whom Shoshan understands as an editor rather than author, worked. He concentrates on the same period as El-Hibri 1999 and proposes a totally different interpretation from the latter’s. The two monographs are best read alongside each other.
  342. Shoshan, Boaz. Poetics of Islamic Historiography: Deconstructing Ṭabarī’s History. Islamic History and Civilization, Studies and Texts. Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill, 2004.
  343. Find this resource:
  344. Vogt, Matthias. Figures de califes entre histoire et fiction: Al-Walīd b. Yazīd et al-Amīn dans la représentation de l’historiographie arabe de l’époque ʿabbāside. Beiruter Texte und Studien 106. Beirut: Ergon Verlag Würzburg in Kommission, 2006.
  345. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  346. Looks at the figures of the Umayyad al-Walid b. al-Yazid and the Abbasid al-Amin as case studies for discussing the interconnections between fact and fiction in Abbasid historiography.
  347. Vogt, Matthias. Figures de califes entre histoire et fiction: Al-Walīd b. Yazīd et al-Amīn dans la représentation de l’historiographie arabe de l’époque ʿabbāside. Beiruter Texte und Studien 106. Beirut: Ergon Verlag Würzburg in Kommission, 2006.
  348. Find this resource:
  349. The Late Abbasid Caliphate and the Ascent of Regional Dynasties
  350.  
  351. Because of the loss of political and military power on the part of the caliphs, this period has been studied the least. Hanne 2007 tries to redress the balance, arguing the continuing importance of the Abbasid family, at least on a regional level, in the 5th AH/11th CE and 6th AH/12th CE centuries. Other studies focus on the dynasties of emirs and sultans ruling Iraq in the late Abbasid period, the Buyids and the Saljuqs (Donohue 2002, Hartmann 1975, Makdisi 1990, Mottahedeh 2001). Boyle 1968 frames the late Abbasids in the wider context of Islamic history. Volume 1 of Cook 2010 (cited under General Overviews) devotes a chapter to this period (Hugh Kennedy, “The Late ʿAbbāsid Pattern, 945–1050,” pp. 360–393).
  352.  
  353. Boyle, J. A., ed. The Cambridge History of Iran. Vol. 5, The Saljuq and Mongol Periods. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1968.
  354. DOI: 10.1017/CHOL9780521069366Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  355. Of particular interest for the history of the later Abbasid caliphate are chapters by C. E. Bosworth, “The Political and Dynastic History of the Iranian World (AD 1000–1217),” pp. 1–202; and A. K. S. Lambton, “The Internal Structure of the Saljuq Empire,” pp. 203–282.
  356. Boyle, J. A., ed. The Cambridge History of Iran. Vol. 5, The Saljuq and Mongol Periods. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1968.
  357. Find this resource:
  358. Donohue, John J. The Buwayhid Dynasty in Iraq 223H./945 to 403H./1012: Shaping Institutions for the Future. Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill, 2002.
  359. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  360. A very accessible study of the first century of Buyid rule in Iraq.
  361. Donohue, John J. The Buwayhid Dynasty in Iraq 223H./945 to 403H./1012: Shaping Institutions for the Future. Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill, 2002.
  362. Find this resource:
  363. Hanne, Eric J. Putting the Caliph in his Place: Power, Authority, and the Late Abbasid Caliphate. Madison, NJ: Fairleigh Dickinson University Press, 2007.
  364. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  365. Covers the 5th AH/11th CE and 6th AH/12th CE centuries, looking specifically at the Abbasid family, the caliphal household, and its relations with the successive dynasties ruling Iraq, the Buyids and the Saljuqs.
  366. Hanne, Eric J. Putting the Caliph in his Place: Power, Authority, and the Late Abbasid Caliphate. Madison, NJ: Fairleigh Dickinson University Press, 2007.
  367. Find this resource:
  368. Hartmann, Angelika. An-Nāṣir li-Dīn Allāh (1180–1225): Politik, Religion, Kultur in d. späten ʻAbbāsidenzeit. Studien zur Sprache, Geschichte und Kultur des islamischen Orients. Berlin: de Gruyter, 1975.
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  370. Seminal work on late-12th-century Abbasids exploring the life and times of one of the last Abbasid caliphs and providing detailed lists of names of individuals found in the sources. These are surveyed extensively.
  371. Hartmann, Angelika. An-Nāṣir li-Dīn Allāh (1180–1225): Politik, Religion, Kultur in d. späten ʻAbbāsidenzeit. Studien zur Sprache, Geschichte und Kultur des islamischen Orients. Berlin: de Gruyter, 1975.
  372. Find this resource:
  373. Makdisi, George. History and Politics in Eleventh-Century Baghdad. Aldershot, UK: Variorum, 1990.
  374. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  375. A collection of reprinted articles on late Abbasid Baghdad dealing with both historical and cultural issues.
  376. Makdisi, George. History and Politics in Eleventh-Century Baghdad. Aldershot, UK: Variorum, 1990.
  377. Find this resource:
  378. Mottahedeh, Roy P. Loyalty and Leadership in an Early Islamic Society. Rev. ed. London: Tauris, 2001.
  379. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  380. The standard study for 10th- through 11th-century society in Buyid Iraq illustrating a cohesive social system in a politically fragmented environment.
  381. Mottahedeh, Roy P. Loyalty and Leadership in an Early Islamic Society. Rev. ed. London: Tauris, 2001.
  382. Find this resource:
  383. Army and Administration
  384.  
  385. In Abbasid military history, two issues are mostly discussed: that of the army supporting the Abbasid revolution (Amabe 1995) and that of the Turkish military of Samarra (Gordon 2001, La Vaissière 2007). Robinson 2001 (cited under Archaeology: Baghdad and Samarra) also discusses the military of Samarra. Kennedy 2001 is a more general overview. Sourdel 1959–1960 is the main reference for the Abbasid administration. Katbi 2009 and Marsham 2009 look into specific administrative practices.
  386.  
  387. Amabe, Fukuzo. The Emergence of the ʿAbbāsid Autocracy: The ʿAbbāsid Army, Khurāsān, and Adharbayjān. Kyoto: Kyoto University Press, 1995.
  388. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  389. Discusses several issues connected to the caliphal army: the Abbasid revolution, Khurasan, the army of different caliphs, and rebel armies. It is a volume for specialists.
  390. Amabe, Fukuzo. The Emergence of the ʿAbbāsid Autocracy: The ʿAbbāsid Army, Khurāsān, and Adharbayjān. Kyoto: Kyoto University Press, 1995.
  391. Find this resource:
  392. Gordon, Matthew S. The Breaking of a Thousand Swords: A History of the Turkish Military of Samarra (A.H. 200–275/815–889 C.E.). Albany: State University of New York Press, 2001.
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  394. A study of the period during which the caliphs succeeding al-Maʿmun moved their residence from Baghdad to Samarra and were, to varying degrees, hostages of their own army.
  395. Gordon, Matthew S. The Breaking of a Thousand Swords: A History of the Turkish Military of Samarra (A.H. 200–275/815–889 C.E.). Albany: State University of New York Press, 2001.
  396. Find this resource:
  397. Katbi, Ghaida Khazna. Islamic Land Tax = Al-Kharāj: From the Islamic Conquests to the ʿAbbasid Period. London: Tauris, 2009.
  398. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  399. Being able to collect the kharaj, the land tax, was essential to the survival of a ruler. This monograph is a history of the theory and practices connected to this tax.
  400. Katbi, Ghaida Khazna. Islamic Land Tax = Al-Kharāj: From the Islamic Conquests to the ʿAbbasid Period. London: Tauris, 2009.
  401. Find this resource:
  402. Kennedy, Hugh. The Armies of the Caliphs: Military and Society in the Early Islamic State. London: Routledge, 2001.
  403. DOI: 10.4324/9780203458532Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  404. Devotes three chapters to the Abbasid army and offers a discussion of the available sources as well as the numbers they provide; a good introduction to the topic.
  405. Kennedy, Hugh. The Armies of the Caliphs: Military and Society in the Early Islamic State. London: Routledge, 2001.
  406. Find this resource:
  407. La Vaissière, Étienne de. Samarcande et Samarra: Élites d’Asie centrale dans l’empire abbaside. Paris: Association pour l’Avancement des Études Iraniennes, 2007.
  408. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  409. Intended as an expansion on Gordon 2001, it discusses the origin and development of the central Asian military elites and their role in the Abbasid army.
  410. La Vaissière, Étienne de. Samarcande et Samarra: Élites d’Asie centrale dans l’empire abbaside. Paris: Association pour l’Avancement des Études Iraniennes, 2007.
  411. Find this resource:
  412. Marsham, Andrew. Rituals of Islamic Monarchy: Accession and Succession in the First Muslim Empire. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2009.
  413. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  414. Looks at the rituals of accession and succession up to the mid–3rd AH/9th CE century, concentrating on the practice of the bayʿa, the oath of allegiance, as it is recorded by the extant narrative sources.
  415. Marsham, Andrew. Rituals of Islamic Monarchy: Accession and Succession in the First Muslim Empire. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2009.
  416. Find this resource:
  417. Sourdel, Dominique. Le vizirat ‘abbāside de 749 à 936 (132 à 324 de l’Hégire). 2 vols. Damascus: Institut Français de Damas, 1959–1960.
  418. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  419. The fundamental reference for the history of Abbasid administration, making extensive use of primary sources and providing chronologies, genealogical tables, and narrative accounts. This is the most important publication of a scholar who made an enormous contribution to the study of the Abbasids both with critical editions and with historical studies.
  420. Sourdel, Dominique. Le vizirat ‘abbāside de 749 à 936 (132 à 324 de l’Hégire). 2 vols. Damascus: Institut Français de Damas, 1959–1960.
  421. Find this resource:
  422. The “Golden Age” of Arabic Culture
  423.  
  424. The first two centuries of Abbasid rule are widely considered to be the golden age of Arabic culture and have naturally attracted much study. The secondary works selected here are those aimed at portraying the environment in which such culture was produced and discussing specific controversial issues.
  425.  
  426. Surveys
  427.  
  428. Ashtiany, et al. 1990 and Young, et al. 1990 are surveys of genres and prominent authors of the Abbasid period. Volume 4 of Cook 2010 (cited under General Overviews) is more up to date, although none of the articles is restricted to the Abbasid period. The other titles are overviews of specific genres (Miquel 1967–1988, Robinson 2003), issues (Ali 2010, Makdisi 1981, Makdisi 1990, Schoeler 2010), or periods (Kraemer 1986).
  429.  
  430. Ali, Samer M. Arabic Literary Salons in the Islamic Middle Ages: Poetry, Public Performance, and the Presentation of the Past. Notre Dame, IN: University of Notre Dame Press, 2010.
  431. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  432. An account of the dynamics of culture in the medieval Islamic world. Although the book covers a very long period (6th–13th centuries), much space is devoted to Abbasid Iraq. Suitable for undergraduates and nonspecialists as an introduction to more complex texts, such as Schoeler 2010.
  433. Ali, Samer M. Arabic Literary Salons in the Islamic Middle Ages: Poetry, Public Performance, and the Presentation of the Past. Notre Dame, IN: University of Notre Dame Press, 2010.
  434. Find this resource:
  435. Ashtiany, Julia, T. M. Johnstone, J. D. Latham, R. B. Serjeant, and G. Rex Smith, eds. ʿAbbasid Belles-Lettres. Cambridge History of Arabic Literature. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1990.
  436. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  437. A collection of essays on nontechnical Abbasid literature containing surveys of genres and studies on specific authors. It is complemented by Young, et al. 1990 (the subdivision is a modern imposition, as the editors explicitly state). Although some of the studies are now outdated, it is still a useful reference.
  438. Ashtiany, Julia, T. M. Johnstone, J. D. Latham, R. B. Serjeant, and G. Rex Smith, eds. ʿAbbasid Belles-Lettres. Cambridge History of Arabic Literature. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1990.
  439. Find this resource:
  440. Kraemer, Joel L. Humanism in the Renaissance of Islam: The Cultural Revival during the Buyid Age. Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill, 1986.
  441. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  442. Provides a fascinating overview of some of the intellectual currents of the Buyid period.
  443. Kraemer, Joel L. Humanism in the Renaissance of Islam: The Cultural Revival during the Buyid Age. Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill, 1986.
  444. Find this resource:
  445. Makdisi, George. The Rise of Colleges: Institutions of Learning in Islam and the West. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 1981.
  446. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  447. Argues that European scholasticism and humanism originated in movements that had begun some centuries earlier in the Middle East and, through Spain and Sicily, reached the West. It focuses on the 5th AH/11th CE century and the birth of the madrassa as the standard institution of learning.
  448. Makdisi, George. The Rise of Colleges: Institutions of Learning in Islam and the West. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 1981.
  449. Find this resource:
  450. Makdisi, George. The Rise of Humanism in Classical Islam and the Christian West: With Special Reference to Scholasticism. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 1990.
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  452. Companion volume to Makdisi 1981. Muslim humanism is understood as the study of grammar and of all the subjects related to and originating from it. Although Makdisi’s thesis is controversial and has not been widely accepted, his books have become standard references for the great number of examples from a variety of sources on the theory and practices of Muslim education.
  453. Makdisi, George. The Rise of Humanism in Classical Islam and the Christian West: With Special Reference to Scholasticism. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 1990.
  454. Find this resource:
  455. Miquel, André. La géographie humaine du monde musulman jusqu’au milieu du 11e siècle. 4 vols. Paris: Mouton, 1967–1988.
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  457. This monumental study of early Muslim geography offers a thorough discussion of geographic primary sources for the Abbasid period in its first volume. The second volume looks at how Muslim geographers described foreign lands, while the third and fourth concentrate on the Muslim world.
  458. Miquel, André. La géographie humaine du monde musulman jusqu’au milieu du 11e siècle. 4 vols. Paris: Mouton, 1967–1988.
  459. Find this resource:
  460. Robinson, Chase F. Islamic Historiography. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2003.
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  462. An introduction to Arabic historiographical writing from its inception during the Umayyad caliphate up to the 15th century, it discusses genres of historiography emerging during the Abbasid period. Useful for students and specialists.
  463. Robinson, Chase F. Islamic Historiography. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2003.
  464. Find this resource:
  465. Schoeler, Gregor. The Oral and the Written in Early Islam. Edited by James E. Montgomery. Translated by Uwe Vagelpohl. London: Routledge, 2010.
  466. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  467. English translation of a series of seminal articles on the transmission of knowledge in the first centuries of Islam, updated for this edition.
  468. Schoeler, Gregor. The Oral and the Written in Early Islam. Edited by James E. Montgomery. Translated by Uwe Vagelpohl. London: Routledge, 2010.
  469. Find this resource:
  470. Young, M. J. L., J. D. Latham, and R. B. Serjeant, eds. Religion, Learning, and Science in the ʿAbbasid Period. Cambridge History of Arabic Literature. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1990.
  471. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  472. Complementary to Ashtiany, et al. 1990.
  473. Young, M. J. L., J. D. Latham, and R. B. Serjeant, eds. Religion, Learning, and Science in the ʿAbbasid Period. Cambridge History of Arabic Literature. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1990.
  474. Find this resource:
  475. Studies on Individual Authors
  476.  
  477. The works in this section are on single authors and also portray the wider context of their intellectual environment. Pellat 1953 and Toorawa 2005 investigate the lives and works of two contemporaries whom the latter author compares as examples of different mentalities. Kilpatrick 2003 concentrates on the magnum opus of Abu l-Faraj al-Isbahani.
  478.  
  479. Kilpatrick, Hilary. Making the Great Book of Songs: Compilation and the Author’s Craft in Abū l-Faraj al-Iṣbahānī’s Kitāb al-Aghānī’s Kitāb al-Aghānī. RoutledgeCurzon Studies in Arabic and Middle Eastern Literature 5. London: RoutledgeCurzon, 2003.
  480. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  481. The Kitab al-aghani by Abu l-Faraj al-Isbahani (d. c. 363 AH/972 CE), one of the greatest works of Arabic literature but also one of its most complex, organized around a collection of the hundred best songs selected for the enjoyment of caliphs but providing an enormous amount of historical and literary information, is also a rich depository of poetry. This is the first comprehensive study of this work and of its literary and historical context.
  482. Kilpatrick, Hilary. Making the Great Book of Songs: Compilation and the Author’s Craft in Abū l-Faraj al-Iṣbahānī’s Kitāb al-Aghānī’s Kitāb al-Aghānī. RoutledgeCurzon Studies in Arabic and Middle Eastern Literature 5. London: RoutledgeCurzon, 2003.
  483. Find this resource:
  484. Pellat, Charles. Le milieu basrien et la formation de āḥiẓ. Paris: Maisonneuve, 1953.
  485. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  486. Investigates the cultural environment in which the polymath al-Jahiz (d. 255 AH/868–869 CE), one of the most important classical Arabic writers, grew and developed.
  487. Pellat, Charles. Le milieu basrien et la formation de āḥiẓ. Paris: Maisonneuve, 1953.
  488. Find this resource:
  489. Toorawa, Shawkat M. Ibn Abī Ṭāhir Ṭayfūr and Arabic Writerly Culture: A Ninth-Century Bookman in Baghdad. RoutledgeCurzon Studies in Arabic and Middle Eastern Literature 7. London: RoutledgeCurzon, 2005.
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  491. Focuses on the life of the Baghdadi intellectual Ibn Abi Tahir Tayfur (d. 280 AH/893 CE) as an illustration of the shift from aural/oral to writerly culture connected to the diffusion of paper in Iraq.
  492. Toorawa, Shawkat M. Ibn Abī Ṭāhir Ṭayfūr and Arabic Writerly Culture: A Ninth-Century Bookman in Baghdad. RoutledgeCurzon Studies in Arabic and Middle Eastern Literature 7. London: RoutledgeCurzon, 2005.
  493. Find this resource:
  494. Religious Sciences
  495.  
  496. The 3rd and 4th centuries of Islam see the flourishing of religious thought and the establishment of disciplines that constitute the foundations of Islam as we know it. Therefore the vast majority of studies of these disciplines (Hadith, jurisprudence, kalam, etc.) concentrate on the Abbasid period. In addition to Young, et al. 1990 (cited under Surveys) and Volume 4 of Cook 2010 (cited under General Overviews), the works in this section survey particular aspects of religious thought in the Abbasid period: Islamic thought (van Ess 1991–1997), jurisprudence (Melchert 1997), and religious minorities (Thomas 2003).
  497.  
  498. Melchert, Christopher. The Formation of the Sunni Schools of Law, 9th–10th Centuries C.E. Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill, 1997.
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  500. Describes the formative decades of Islamic law as we know it and its solidification into different schools. It is part of the debate, initiated by Joseph Schacht some decades earlier in The Origins of Muhammadan Jurisprudence (Oxford: Clarendon, 1950), on when exactly the six classical schools of law, four of which still exist, were first established. This is a complex work best suited to graduate students and specialists.
  501. Melchert, Christopher. The Formation of the Sunni Schools of Law, 9th–10th Centuries C.E. Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill, 1997.
  502. Find this resource:
  503. Thomas, David. Christians at the Heart of Islamic Rule: Church Life and Scholarship in ʿAbbasid Iraq. History of Christian-Muslim Relations 1. Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill, 2003.
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  505. A collection of essays on Christians in Abbasid Iraq concentrating particularly on the 3rd AH/9th CE and 4th AH/10th CE centuries and on theological debates, both internal to the Christians and with Islam.
  506. Thomas, David. Christians at the Heart of Islamic Rule: Church Life and Scholarship in ʿAbbasid Iraq. History of Christian-Muslim Relations 1. Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill, 2003.
  507. Find this resource:
  508. van Ess, Josef. Theologie und Gesellschaft im 2. und 3. Jahrhundert Hidschra: Eine Geschichte des religiösen Denkens im frühen Islam. 6 vols. Berlin: de Gruyter, 1991–1997.
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  510. This monumental history of Islamic theology is a detailed discussion of all currents of kalam and their development in the first Abbasid century. Two of the six volumes consist of translations of relevant primary sources. It is an essential reference for the student of early Islamic doctrine.
  511. van Ess, Josef. Theologie und Gesellschaft im 2. und 3. Jahrhundert Hidschra: Eine Geschichte des religiösen Denkens im frühen Islam. 6 vols. Berlin: de Gruyter, 1991–1997.
  512. Find this resource:
  513. Foreign Sciences
  514.  
  515. These are disciplines that classical Arabic culture classified as foreign, such as philosophy, mathematics, and medicine. Their development is connected with the so-called translation movement during the caliphate of al-Maʾmun and had its acme in Iraq during the Abbasid caliphate. Gutas 1998 is the standard study of the translation movement as a whole, whereas Pormann and Savage-Smith 2006 and Pormann 2010 concentrate on medicine.
  516.  
  517. Gutas, Dimitri. Greek Thought, Arabic Culture: The Graeco-Arabic Translation Movement in Baghdad and Early ‘Abbāsid Society (2nd–4th/8th–10th Centuries). London: Routledge, 1998.
  518. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  519. A seminal study of why and how many classical Greek works were collected and translated into Arabic in the first centuries of Abbasid rule.
  520. Gutas, Dimitri. Greek Thought, Arabic Culture: The Graeco-Arabic Translation Movement in Baghdad and Early ‘Abbāsid Society (2nd–4th/8th–10th Centuries). London: Routledge, 1998.
  521. Find this resource:
  522. Pormann, Peter, ed. Islamic Medical and Scientific Tradition. 4 vols. London: Routledge, 2010.
  523. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  524. A large collection of essays dealing with different branches of life, physical, and mathematical sciences. It is useful for specialists but also contains essays of a more introductory nature.
  525. Pormann, Peter, ed. Islamic Medical and Scientific Tradition. 4 vols. London: Routledge, 2010.
  526. Find this resource:
  527. Pormann, Peter E., and Emilie Savage-Smith. Medieval Islamic Medicine. New Edinburgh Islamic Surveys. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2006.
  528. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  529. Discusses the emergence and development of Islamic medicine up to the 16th century, treating it not as a mere expansion on Greek medicine but as a developing discipline in its own right.
  530. Pormann, Peter E., and Emilie Savage-Smith. Medieval Islamic Medicine. New Edinburgh Islamic Surveys. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2006.
  531. Find this resource:
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