Acknowledgements to the French Edition (2011)

After long years of research conducted over three continents, I have incurred a great many debts. Christophe Picard has been a dominant influence, as he helped guide my first foray into the research that would become my doctoral dissertation (defended in February 2007) and, ultimately, this monograph. He constantly made himself available and gave invaluable advice and support throughout the process of completing this study. Over the years, he has become much more than an academic adviser. The members of my dissertation committee also offered helpful remarks and suggestions, all of which I have tried to put into practice in revising this manuscript. Gratitude is due to Christian Décobert, Fred M. Donner, Anne-Marie Eddé, Gabriel Martinez-Gros and Françoise Micheau.

I am also particularly indebted to André Binggeli, Paul M. Cobb, Denis Genequand and Frédérique Woerther, who willingly read and re-read drafts of the various chapters in this volume. Their advice has been indispensable and saved me many errors; any that remain are, of course, my responsibility alone.

Thanks go out to Wadād al-Qāḍī and Sebastian Günther, who graciously agreed to publish this volume in the series they oversee. Its publication owes a great deal to the editorial team at Brill, especially Kathy van Vliet and Marjolein Schaake. I am grateful also to Anna Olivier of Index à la page for her knowledge and expertise in compiling the index.

This study is in large part the result of many productive discussions with friends and colleagues, some of whom I am sure to forget here: Paul M. Cobb, Denis Genquand, André Binggeli, Muriel Debié, Denise Aigle, Fred M. Donner, Christian Décobert, Gabriel Martinez-Gros, Sophie Makariou, Donald Whitcomb, Wadād al-Qāḍī, Alastair Northedge, Christian Robin, Jean Durliat, Alain Ducellier, Louis Pouzet, Alfred-Louis de Prémare, Dominique Valérian, Marie-Laure Derat, Thierry Bianquis, Sylvie Denoix, Hugh Kennedy, Chase F. Robinson, Robert G. Hoyland, Arietta Papaconstantinou, Jens Scheiner, Cyrille Jalabert, Petra Sijpesteijn, Élise Voguet, Wissem Gueddich, Sobhi Bouderbala, Anne Troadec, Emma Gannagé, Marie-Odile Rousset, Yves Gonzalez-Quijano, Peter Wien, Madeline Zilfi, Kenneth Holum, Vanessa Guéno, Nicolas and Magalie Peaudeau, Yvonne Alfonso-Castel, Delphine Roques, Fabienne Landou, Vanina Carcenac and Mathilde Basselier.

Several academic institutions provided ideal conditions for my research, beginning with the Université de Toulouse-Le Mirail, where my academic journey started. I then had the privilege of spending four years in Syria as a scholar at the Institut Français du Proche-Orient. During my time in Damascus, I was fortunate to benefit from the library’s rich resources as well as constant contact with other researchers, foremost among them Cyrille Jalabert, who gave me a warm welcome when I first arrived in Syria and served as my guide through Damascus and the Institut. Issam Chehadat was another of my Syrian guides, as were many of the other scholars at the IFPO. I am particularly grateful to Maher Chérif, Sylvia Chiffoleau, and Fanny Lafourcade, with whom I shared a tiny but happy office. Denise Aigle and her invaluable wisdom also accompanied me on much of this Syrian journey, as did Christian Décobert, the director of IFPO at the time, who showed me constant support. These years in the Near East eventually led me to Lebanon, where I taught for several years at Université Saint-Joseph in Beirut and profited from the assistance of Anne Troadec, Emma Gannagé and Lévon Nordiguian. After Syria, I completed my dissertation in Paris during my tenure as a visiting professor at the Université Paris 8. I then revised the manuscript for publication during my post-doctorate in the Arabic department of the Institut de recherche et d’histoire des textes (CNRS), a task completed after I crossed the Atlantic to join the faculty at the University of Maryland.

I was also fortunate to study numerous times at the University of Chicago and its incomparable libraries. These stays were made possible and even more enjoyable with the help of Fred M. Donner, Donald Whitcomb, and Wadād al-Qāḍī. The “Héritages omeyyades/Umayyad Legacies” program I led with Paul M. Cobb between 2004 and 2006 occasioned many valuable conversations over the course of two roundtables held in Damascus and at the University of Notre Dame (Indiana) and during a final colloquium. My gratitude goes out to all those who participated in these discussions. Denis Genequand, Marie-Odile Rousset, Ian B. Straughn, Donald Whitcomb and Alastair Northedge shared their vast knowledge of Near Eastern archaeological sites over multiple trips to Lebanon, Syria and Jordan. Thanks are also due to Naoum Abi Rached and Father Simon Légasse, who patiently taught me Arabic and Syriac.

During a somewhat sudden return to France several years ago, my father, Georges, Florence, and Armand welcomed me back with open arms and provided the perfect environment to write my dissertation. Many thanks as well to my mother, Sabine, my brother, Clément, and my grandparents, who always encouraged me to continue my academic journey to the East. And finally, to Juliette, who generously and with great tolerance shared her husband with obscure Umayyad and Abbasid figures across the Syrian space.