2021
First Published
4.25
Average Rating
360
Number of Pages
The period of the Abbasid Caliphate (750–1258) has long been recognized as the formative period of Islamic civilization with its various achievements in the areas of science, literature, and culture. This history of the Abbasid Caliphate from its foundation in 750 and golden age under Harun al-Rashid to the conquest of Baghdad by the Mongols in 1258 examines the Caliphate as an empire and institution, and probes its influence over Islamic culture and society. Ranging widely to survey the entire five-century history of the Abbasid dynasty, Tayeb El-Hibri examines the resilience of the Caliphate as an institution, as a focal point of religious definitions, and as a source of legitimacy to various contemporary Islamic monarchies. The study revisits ideas of 'golden age' and 'decline' with a new reading, tries to separate Abbasid history from the myths of the Arabian Nights, and shows how the legacy of the caliphs continues to resonate in the modern world in direct and indirect ways.
Avg Rating
4.25
Number of Ratings
28
5 STARS
46%
4 STARS
36%
3 STARS
14%
2 STARS
4%
1 STARS
0%
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Author
Tayeb El-Hibri
Author · 3 books
Tayeb El-Hibri is currently professor of Arabic and Near Eastern Studies at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. He obtained his BA in History from Stanford University (1986) and Ph.D. in Islamic history from Columbia University (1994). He has published: Reinterpreting Islamic Historiography: Harun al-Rashid and the Narrative of the Abbasid Caliphate (1999), and Parable and Politics in Early Islamic History: The Rashidun Caliphs (2010), and a range of articles in journals such as: International Journal of Middle East Studies, Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient, Journal of Near Eastern Studies and Der Islam
