Baghdād: From its Beginnings to the 14th Century offers an exhaustive handbook that covers all possible themes connected to the history of this urban complex in Iraq, from its origins rooted in late antique Mesopotamia up to the aftermath of the Mongol invasion in 1258.
Against the common perception of a city founded 762 in a vacuum, which, after experiencing a heyday in a mythical “golden age” under the early ʿAbbāsids, entered since 900 a long period of decline that ended with a complete collapse by savage people from the East in 1258, the volume emphasizes the continuity of Baghdād’s urban life, and shows how it was marked by its destiny as caliphal seat and cultural hub.
Contributors Mehmetcan Akpınar, Nuha Alshaar, Pavel Basharin, David Bennett, Michal Biran, Richard W. Bulliet, Kirill Dmitriev, Desmond Durkin-Meisterernst, Hend Gilli-Elewy, Beatrice Gruendler, Sebastian Günther, Olof Heilo, Damien Janos, Christopher Melchert, Michael Morony, Bernard O’Kane, Klaus Oschema, Letizia Osti, Parvaneh Pourshariati, Vanessa van Renterghem, Jens Scheiner, Angela Schottenhammer, Y. Zvi Stampfer, Johannes Thomann, Isabel Toral.
Jens Scheiner, Ph.D. (Radboud Universiteit Nijmegen 2009), is Professor of Islamic Studies at the University of Göttingen. He has published a monograph on the conquest of Damascus (Leiden 2010) and edited a volume on the contexts of learning in Baghdād (Princeton 2014).
Isabel Toral, Ph.D. (Tübingen 1997), Habilitation (Freie Universität Berlin 2008), is Professor of Arabic Studies at that university. She has published extensively on cultural history, literature and history of the Arabs, including
Al-Ḥīra (Leiden 2014).
Contributors Mehmetcan Akpınar, Nuha Alshaar, Pavel Basharin, David Bennett, Michal Biran, Richard W. Bulliet, Kirill Dmitriev, Desmond Durkin-Meisterernst, Hend Gilli-Elewy, Beatrice Gruendler, Sebastian Günther, Olof Heilo, Damien Janos, Christopher Melchert, Michael Morony, Bernard O’Kane, Klaus Oschema, Letizia Osti, Parvaneh Pourshariati, Vanessa van Renterghem, Jens Scheiner, Angela Schottenhammer, Y. Zvi Stampfer, Johannes Thomann, Isabel Toral.
Preface Acknowledgements Notes on Transliteration and Style List of Figures AbbreviationsVi Notes on ContributorsVii
1
Baghdād’s Topography and Social Composition A Historical Sketch Jens Scheiner and Isabel Toral
Part 1: The Foundation of Madīnat al-Salām and Its Legends
2
Legends about the Foundation of a Marvelous City Isabel Toral
3
Islamic Art and Architecture in Pre-Mongol Baghdād Bernard O’Kane
More-to-Know I: The Foundation of al-Manṣūr’s Palatial City and Its Horoscope Johannes Thomann
More-to-Know Ii: Was Madīnat al-Salām a “Round City”? Jens Scheiner
Part 2: A Historical Overview from Late Antiquity to the Mongol Period
4
Ctesiphon and Its Surroundings, Precursors of Baghdād Parvaneh Pourshariati
5
The Early ʿAbbāsid Caliphs as Commanders and Constructors Jens Scheiner
6
Baghdād under Būyid Rule Nuha Alshaar
7
Baghdād under the Saljūqs Vanessa Van Renterghem
8
Baghdād under the Late ʿAbbāsid Caliphs Hend Gilli-Elewy
9
Baghdād under Mongol Rule Michal Biran
10
The Economic Parameters of Baghdād and Its Hinterland Richard W. Bulliet
Part 3: Baghdād’s Neighbouring Empires
11
The ʿAbbāsids and the Byzantine Empire Olof Heilo
12
ʿAbbāsid Caliphs and Frankish Kings Kirill Dmitriev and Klaus Oschema
More-to-Know IiI: Sino-ʿAbbāsid Relations in the Eighth and Ninth Centuries Angela Schottenhammer
Part 4: The ʿAbbāsid Court and Its Legacy
13
Sketches of Court Culture in Baghdād Letizia Osti
14
City of Poets, Poets of the City Beatrice Gruendler
15
Prose Writing in Baghdād An Overview Isabel Toral
More-to-Know IV: A “Golden Age” in Baghdād? Isabel Toral
Part 5: Institutions of Learning and Fields of Knowledge
16
Knowledge and Learning in Baghdād Sebastian Günther
More-to-Know V: Medinan Scholars in Early ʿAbbāsid Baghdād Mehmetcan Akpınar
17
Philosophical and Scientific Learning in Baghdād Damien Janos
Part 6: The Religious Communities
18
The Formation of Sunnī and Shīʿī Traditionalism Christopher Melchert
More-to-Know Vi: Rational Theologians David Bennett
19
The Ṣūfī School of Baghdād Persons and Teachings Pavel Basharin
20
Christian Communities in Baghdād and Its Hinterland Michael Morony
21
Jews in Baghdād during the ʿAbbāsid Period Y. Zvi Stampfer
22
Zoroastrians, Manichaeans and Gnostics in Baghdād and Its Hinterland Desmond Durkin-Meisterernst
Epilogue Jens Scheiner
Appendix: Original Sources featuring Baghdād Jens Scheiner
Index
All interested in the history of Baghdad, Iraq and generally Islamic history before 1400, and anyone concerned with urban, intellectual and social history in the Middle East.