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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 secondlargest world
religion. But who were these people? What do we know of their
lives, and the ways in which they influenced their societies? Chase
F. Robinson draws on the long tradition in Muslim scholarship of
commemorating in writing the biographies of notable figures, but
weaves these ambitious lives together to create a rich narrative of
early Islamic civilization, from the Prophet Muhammad to fearsome
Tamerlane. Beginning in Islam's heartland, Mecca, we move across
Arabia to follow Islam's journey across North Africa, as far as
Spain in the West, and eastwards through Central and East Asia; we
see the rise and fall of Islamic states through the political and
military leaders working to secure peace or expand their power,
and, within this political climate, the development of Islamic law,
scientific thought and literature through the words of the scholars
who devoted themselves to these pursuits. Alongside the famous
characters who coloured this landscape, including Muhammad's
controversial cousin, 'Ali; the first Sultan of Egypt, Saladin; and
the poet Rumi, the reader will also meet less wellknown figures,
such as Shajar al-Durr, slave-turned-Sultana of Egypt, and Ibn
Fadlan, whose travels in Eurasia brought first-hand accounts of the
Volka Vikings to the Abbasid Caliph.
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 historians' principal genres, assumptions and methods, and stresses the social and political functions of historical writing. It is an authoritative guide for students with little or no background in Islamic history or Arabic.
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
period mask underlying commonalities in narrating the past? The
volume, which assembles 28 contributions from leading historians,
tackles these and other questions. Part I provides comprehensive
overviews of the development of historical writing in societies
that range from the Korean Peninsula to north-west Europe, which
together highlight regional and cultural distinctiveness. Part II
complements the first part by taking a thematic and comparative
approach; it includes essays on genre, warfare, and religion
(amongst others) which address common concerns of historians
working in this liminal period before the globalizing forces of the
early modern world.
The study of early Islamic history has flourished in recent years. Chase Robinson's book takes full account of the latest research, interweaving history and historiography to interpret the political, social, and economic transformations in the Mesopotamian region after the Islamic conquests. Using Arabic and Syriac sources, the author focuses on the Muslim and Christian élites, demonstrating that significant social change took place only at the end of the seventh century. This is a sophisticated study at the cutting-edge of a burgeoning field in Islamic studies.
Volume One of The New Cambridge History of Islam, which surveys the
political and cultural history of Islam from its Late Antique
origins until the eleventh century, brings together contributions
from leading scholars in the field. The book is divided into four
parts. The first provides an overview of the physical and political
geography of the Late Antique Middle East. The second charts the
rise of Islam and the emergence of the Islamic political order
under the Umayyad and the Abbasid caliphs of the seventh, eighth
and ninth centuries, followed by the dissolution of the empire in
the tenth and eleventh. 'Regionalism', the overlapping histories of
the empire's provinces, is the focus of Part Three, while Part Four
provides a cutting-edge discussion of the sources and controversies
of early Islamic history, including a survey of numismatics,
archaeology and material culture.
The Works of Ibn Wadih al-Ya'qubi, a three volume set, contains a
fully annotated translation of the extant writings of Abu al-'Abbas
al-Ya'qubi, a Muslim imperial official and polymath of the
third/ninth century, along with an introduction to these works and
a biographical sketch of their author. The most important of the
works are the History (Ta'rikh) and his Geography (Kitab
al-buldan). It also contains a new translation of al-Ya'qubi's
political essay (Mushakalat al-nas) and a set of fragmentary texts
drawn from other Arabic medieval works. Al-Ya'qubi's writings are
among the earliest surviving Arabic-language works of the Islamic
period, and thus offer an invaluable body of evidence on patterns
of early Islamic history, social and economic organization, and
cultural production. Contributors: Laila Asser, Paul Cobb, Lawrence
I. Conrad, Elton Daniel, Fred Donner, Michael Fishbein, Matthew S.
Gordon, Sidney H. Griffith, Wadad Kadi (al-Qadi), Lutz
Richter-Bernberg, Chase F. Robinson, Everett K. Rowson
The Works of Ibn Wadih al-Ya'qubi, a three volume set, contains a
fully annotated translation of the extant writings of Abu al-'Abbas
al-Ya'qubi, a Muslim imperial official and polymath of the
third/ninth century, along with an introduction to these works and
a biographical sketch of their author. The most important of the
works are the History (Ta'rikh) and his Geography (Kitab
al-buldan). It also contains a new translation of al-Ya'qubi's
political essay (Mushakalat al-nas) and a set of fragmentary texts
drawn from other Arabic medieval works. Al-Ya'qubi's writings are
among the earliest surviving Arabic-language works of the Islamic
period, and thus offer an invaluable body of evidence on patterns
of early Islamic history, social and economic organization, and
cultural production. Contributors: Laila Asser, Paul Cobb, Lawrence
I. Conrad, Elton Daniel, Fred Donner, Michael Fishbein, Matthew S.
Gordon, Sidney H. Griffith, Wadad Kadi (al-Qadi), Lutz
Richter-Bernberg, Chase F. Robinson, Everett K. Rowson
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 historians' principal genres, assumptions and methods, and stresses the social and political functions of historical writing. It is an authoritative guide for students with little or no background in Islamic history or Arabic.
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 elites, 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 elites. This is a
sophisticated study in a burgeoning field in Islamic studies.
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