Description
Book SynopsisThis book presents general readers and specialists alike with a broad survey of Islamic political thought in the six centuries from the rise of Islam to the Mongol invasions.
Trade ReviewA volume that is bound both to set a standard and to cause some controversy! Crone's contribution ought to achieve iconic status as a volume of broad scope and, based on her outstanding scholarly reputation will set a standard for all such subsequent works. This rich and wide-ranging book ! is stimulating and provocative ! Crone's lucid style aims to make a complex, ostensibly alien, tradition intelligible to the general reader as well as to the Islamic specialist. The book combines erudition with analytical brilliance. The author knows how to make sense of things, highlight them, and put them in perspective. Readers should come away with a satisfying depth of understanding of the full range of medieval Islamic political thought. -- Professor Michael Cook, Princeton University 'Patrica Crone's wide-ranging study is a substantial achievement, as it succeeds in clarifying the political thought of six centuries ... Written in a lively and unpretentious style, this is an excellent introduction to the subject which deserves to be widely read outside academic circles. -- Abeer Al-Abbasi, University of Leeds British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies A volume that is bound both to set a standard and to cause some controversy! Crone's contribution ought to achieve iconic status as a volume of broad scope and, based on her outstanding scholarly reputation will set a standard for all such subsequent works. This rich and wide-ranging book ! is stimulating and provocative ! Crone's lucid style aims to make a complex, ostensibly alien, tradition intelligible to the general reader as well as to the Islamic specialist. The book combines erudition with analytical brilliance. The author knows how to make sense of things, highlight them, and put them in perspective. Readers should come away with a satisfying depth of understanding of the full range of medieval Islamic political thought. 'Patrica Crone's wide-ranging study is a substantial achievement, as it succeeds in clarifying the political thought of six centuries ... Written in a lively and unpretentious style, this is an excellent introduction to the subject which deserves to be widely read outside academic circles.
Table of ContentsPreface; Part 1: The Beginnings; 1. The Origins of Government; 2. The First Civil War and Sect Formation; 3. The Umayyads; Part 2: The Waning of the Tribal Tradition, c.700-900; 4. General; 5. The Kharijites; 6. The Mu'tazilites; 7. The Shi'ites of the Umayyad Period; 8. The 'Abbasids and Shi'ism; 9. The Zaydis; 10. The Imamis; 11. The Hadith Party; Part 3: Coping with a Fragmented World; 12. General; 13. The Persian Tradition and Advice Literature; 14. The Greek Tradition and 'Political Science'; 15. The Ismailis; 16. The Sunnis; Part 4: Government and Society; 17. The Nature of Government; 18. The Functions of Government; 19. Visions of Freedom; 20. The Social Order; 21. Muslims and Non-Muslims; (a) Infidels; (b) Muslisms as Infidels; 22. Epilogue: Religion, Government and Society Revisited; Bibliography, Abbreviations and Conventions; Index and Glossary.
