Description
Book SynopsisHow widespread was authorship among rulers in the premodern Islamic world? The writings of different types of rulers in different regions and periods are analyzed in this book, from the early centuries in the central lands of Islam to 19th century Sudan. The composition of poetry appears as the most fertile area for authorship among rulers. Prose writings show a wide variety, from astrology to bookmaking, from autobiography to creeds. Some of the rulers made claims to special knowledge, but in all cases authorship played a special role in the construction of the rulers' authority and legitimacy. Contributors: Ahmed Ibrahim Abushouk, Sean W. Anthony, María Luisa Ávila†, Teresa Bernheimer, Philip Bockholt, Sonja Brentjes, Christiane Czygan, David Durand-Guédy, Anne-Marie Eddé, Sinem Eryılmaz, Maribel Fierro, Adam Gaiser, Angelika Hartmann†, Livnat Holtzman, Maher Jarrar, Robert S. Kramer, Christian Mauder, Matthew Melvin-Koushki, Letizia Osti, Jürgen Paul, Petra Schmidl, Tilman Seidensticker.
Table of ContentsList of Figures List of Tables Notes on Contributors Introduction Maribel Fierro, Sonja Brentjes and Tilman Seidensticker Part 1 The Early Period 1 Rulers as Authors: ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib and the Other Twelver Imams Teresa Bernheimer 2 Eloquent Exchange: Asceticism and Shirāʾ in the Poetry of Qaṭarī b. al-Fujāʾa Adam Gaiser 3 A ‘Rediscovered’ Letter of the Umayyad Caliph ʿUmar b. ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz (r. 99–101/717–720) Caliphal Authorship and Legal Authority in al-Risāla fī l-fayʾ Sean W. Anthony 4 Abbasid Rulers and Their Standing as Authors Letizia Osti Part 2 Caliphs and Messianic Figures 5 Zaydī Rulers as Authors: A Quest for Legitimacy Maher Jarrar 6 The Caliph al-Qādir bi-llāh and the Qādirī Creed Livnat Holtzman 7 Do Caliphs Write? The View from the Islamic West María Luisa Ávila † and Maribel Fierro 8 Authority, ijāzāt and Politics: Caliph al-Nāṣir li-Dīn Allāh’s Kitāb Rūḥ al-ʿārifīn (7Th/13th Century, Baghdad) Angelika Hartmann † 9 The Pen and the Sword: The Case of the Sudanese Mahdi (1844–1885) Ahmed Ibrahim Abushouk and Robert S. Kramer Part 3 Emirs and Sultans 10 Entre l’épée et le calame : Abū l-Fidāʾ, prince et savant ayyoubide Anne-Marie Eddé 11 The Quatrains of Toghrïl III. Some Reflections about the Literacy and Culture of the Saljuqs David Durand-Guédy 12 Royal Quatrains: Rulers of the Anūshteginid Line of Khwārazmshāhs as Poets Jürgen Paul 13 Rulers as Authors in 13th-Century Yemen: the Oeuvre of al-Ashraf ʿUmar Petra Schmidl 14 Non-caliphal Rulers and Their Writings in the Islamic West (2nd–9th/8th–15th Centuries) Maribel Fierro 15 Legitimating Sultanic Rule in Arabic, Turkish and Persian—Late Mamluk Rulers as Authors of Religious Poetry Christian Mauder Part 4 The Great Empires: Timurids-Mughals, Ottomans, Safavids 16 The Ottoman Ruler Poet Sultan Süleyman I, His Third Divan, and His Reception beyond the Palace Walls Christiane Czygan 17 The Power of Poetry in the Ottoman Context Fatma Sinem Eryılmaz 18 Timurid-Mughal Philosopher-Kings as Sultan-Scientists Matthew Melvin-Koushki 19 Shah Ṭahmāsp and the Taẕkira: A Sixteenth-Century Ruler’s Justification of His Policies Philip Bockholt Index
