Description
Book SynopsisBaghdād: 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.
Table of ContentsPreface 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
