Abbasid Research Articles

Islamic Archaeology in the Comoros: The Swahili and the Rock Crystal Trade with the Abbasid and Fatimid Caliphates

Dembeni was one of the largest and richest archaeological sites in East Africa during the early Islamic period. At its height, between the 9th and the 12th centuries, there was a period of intense trading activity, initially with the Abbasids in the Persian Gulf, and then with the Fatimid Caliphate in the Red Sea. Dembeni has yielded archaeological finds indicating an unprecedented degree of wealth for the time, including a large amount of early Chinese and Persian ceramics, as well as glassware from all over the Islamic world. This accumulation of goods did not happen by chance, and since the first excavations at Dembeni archaeologists have sought the origin of the site’s wealth. Recent excavations at Dembeni suggest that the prosperity of the site was linked to the lucrative rock crystal trade, which accounts for the ubiquity of imported goods. Of Malagasy origin, the rock crystal was exported to Mayotte, where Muslim tradesmen exchanged ceramics, fabric, beads, and glass for the precious rock crystal, with only the highest-quality pieces being exported to Baghdad and Cairo. Evidence points to Dembeni as a major distribution centre for the Malagasy rock crystal in the Indian Ocean.

Hodge Mehdi Malek. “Tabaristān During the ‘Abbāsid Period: The Overlapping Coinage of the Governors and Other Officials (144-178H)”

Cet article est principalement consacre aux monnayages des gouverneurs abbassides du Tabarestān, mais l’auteur y traite aussi le monnayage anterieur dans deux chapitres « Tabarestān a la fin de l’epoque sassanide » et « Les Ispahbads au Tabarestān (60 P.Y. – 115 P.Y.) ». Bien que ce dernier chapitre constitue une bonne synthese du monnayage du Tabarestān de cette epoque, on peut regretter d’y trouver tous les lieux communs qui ont fleuri dans la litterature ad hoc et qui proviennent de source...

Andrea Luigi Corsi. “A Brief Note on Early Abbasid Stucco Decoration. Madinat al-Far and the First Friday Mosque of Isfahan”

L’article expose les resultats preliminaires des recherches menees par l’auteur sur le developpement stylistique des decors architecturaux en stuc realises pendant la premiere periode abbasside (mi-VIIIe – mi-IXe s.). Deux cas d’etude sont presentes : le premier porte sur les stucs releves sur le site de Madinat al-Far en Syrie et leurs modeles d’inspiration possibles. En observant les dimensions et la disposition de ces decors, l’auteur distingue deux styles qu’il qualifie de « monumental » ...

The Police and guards in the Abbasid era: جهاز الشرطة والحرس في العصر العباسي

The aim of the study was to know the origins and development of the police and guard institution in the Abbasid era as one of the important administrative institutions in the Islamic State. The concept of the police dealt with language and terminology and dealt with the characteristics that must be met by the police officer. Also, it dealt with the Means and methods followed by the institution in the implementation of its objectives in addition to the weapons and means, the means of transportation used. The study concluded to identify the numbers and ranks of the members of the institution and their data.

Radicalism in Islam: The Politicization of The Mahdawiyah Hadith Among The Mahdi Movement

Mahdism, or the belief in the resurrection of the eschatological figure of the Mahdi remains important in Islam today. This belief, legitimated by the mahdawiyyah hadith, has allowed many individuals throughout Islamic histories to claim themselves to be the Mahdi, as well as to carry out a radical strand of Islamic movement in order to support their claim. Using a historical method, this paper studies the history and development of mahdism, along with their interpretationof the mahdawiyah hadith; and analyzes the connection of such interpretation with the rise of religious radicalism. The study argues, mahdism is linked to the practices of millenarianism, formerly existed in Jewish and Christian theology. The emergence of mahdism related to the political conflict during the power transition from the Umayyad to the Abbasid dynasty. Yet, the rise of the Mahdi movement found its support from the mahdawiyyah Hadith, which are interpreted in such a way as to legitimize the radical-subversive movement of the mahdi’s leaders, enabling mahdism to develop, ideologically, as a radical movement. This study concludes that mahdism is at once a religious and political movement aiming to bring back the glory of Islam. Religion becomes a legitimate and effective ideological framework of a political mission.

Amid-El-Mülk Etkisi, Nizamülmülk Ve Muhammed Gazali’nin Politik Performansı, Abbasi Halifesinin Otoritesindeki Düşüşün Sebepleri Ve Selçuklu Hanedanlığının Otoritesinin Artışı

Despite the fact that Abbasi Caliphate had had lost its socio-military power throughout the Islamic territory even prior to the advent of Saljuqi dynasty, it still preserved a great deal of its spiritual authority. However, some events happened which caused the diminution of Abbasi Caliphate’s spiritual authoritative status in a way that the risk of Caliphate’s collapse seemed highly tangible, while the Saljuq were gaining preliminary ruling strength. As the basis of Al Qaem bi Amrellah Abbasid was undermined because of the rise of Arsalan Basasiri, a warlord planned to dominate Abbasid territory and was supported by Fatimid Caliph Al-Mustansir Billah, Sultan Toghrol the first, the leader of Seljuk Turks, supported Abbasid Caliph. When Sultan Toghrol was sending troops to Baghdad and was battling Arsalan Basasiri, he was considering saving Sunni Caliphate of Abbasid from Ismaili Fatimid Caliphate’s domination. After that Seljuk Sultan defeated Arsalan Basasiri, he gained a favorable position, but then he gradually dominated Abbasid Caliph. After him, other powerful Seljuk Sultans also attempted to decrease the power of Abbasid Caliphs by utilizing instructions and performances of Iranian viziers like Amid al-Mulk and Nizam al-Mulk. To do so, some of the literati and faqihs’ opinions, like Imam Muhammad Ghazali, on the limitations of Abbasid Caliph’s ruling power were also employed by Seljuk rulers. The current study utilizes descriptive-analytic method to explore the issue that Khawaja Amid al-Mulk Kondori, Khawaja Nizam al-Mulk Tusi and Imam Muhammad Ghazali played especial and determining roles in the significant decrease in the authority of Abbasid Caliphate and the increase in the authority of Seljuk Dynasty through their political thought and performance

The Political and Economic Conditions to Abadan City during Abbasid Era

تعد مدينة عبادان من بين المدن المهمة في الدولة العربية الإسلاميــة ، تقع على ساحل البحر حيث مصب نهري دجلة والفرات ، وهي ميناء مهم خلال العصر العباسي، شهدت العديد من الاحداث السياسية والمعارك الحربية. ويعد النشاط الاقتصادي من بين اهم الجوانب الحضارية لكل مدينة ، فهو يبين نشاط الانسان في هذا الجانب في مجال الزراعة ، والصناعة ، والتجارة.

Message of Hilal Son Prince Badr Hasnawy About Imprisoning His Father

Hilal Bin Badr published his noted message after imprisoning his father. The brutality of his illegitimate action gave birth to a lot of resentment among the people. This research is divided into two sections. In the first section, we spoke about the reasons for the spread for Hilal’s message by shedding light on two matters. In the first point, we explained the reaction of people towards (Hilal) and its effect on the spread of his letter. While in the second point we spoke about the credibility, prestige, and legitimacy of the prince (Badir). We pointed out the populace and the Abbasid Caliph had held Prince Badr with high esteem. In the first part of this section, we spoke about the manipulation of religion by (Hilal) to legitimate his coup against his father. and in the second part we pointed out the extent to which (Hilal) has gone by attributing an exaggerated image of himself and drawing a negative and unauthentic picture of the prince (Badr). It became obvious to us that this accusation was against of what historians and historical sources that mentioned prince (Badir) respectfully and for being innocent from this accusation.

Samāǧaperformances in third/ninth-century Abbasid courts

AbstractLiterary sources from the Abbasid period record few descriptions of courtly masquerades and plays calledsamāǧa, which closely resemblesumozheplays from eighth-century China. On the basis of thesesamāǧadescriptions, the present paper argues that it is possible to understand howsamāǧaplays were carried out. Moreover, I argue thatsamāǧaperformances were a Central Asian custom imported to the Abbasid court with the establishment of the Turkish corps, and that its disappearance after the caliphate of al-Muʿtaḍid signals a substantial shift in the nature of the Turkish presence in the Abbasid heartland, marked by the establishment of themamlūksystem.

MODEL PROFESIONALISME GURU PADA MASA KHALIFAH HARUN AL-RASYID

Starting from the city of Baghdad the golden age of Islamic civilization was achieved by the Abbasid dynasty which was headed by the Caliph Harun al-Rasyid. The city of a thousand nights was made a source of motivation throughout the world for a transformation of civilization. The various fields were repaired by Harun al-Rasyid starting from administration, governance, and Social-ekonomi. But he was more in science and education. It proved to be the leadership of Harun al-Rasyid giving birth to scholars, and Muslim scholars and development on a number of educational institutions. Harun al-Rasyid as the Caliph intervened in scholarly development affairs, ranging from education curriculum, educational methods, the character of an educator who must conform to the established criteria and welfare of an educator Note. Until an educator at the time of caliphate Aaron Al-Rasheed obtained a glorious place. Writing This article uses the 'library' approach with historical-descriptive methods. Keywords: Islamic civilization, Harun al-Rasyid, Education, Teacher Position

Historical Highlights on Mental Health Education in Iraq

This article aims to cast a shadow over the history of mental health education and training in Iraq and a projection of Islamic scientific heritage in Baghdad during the seventh century. It also discloses the foundation of first teaching and training centers in psychiatry focusing on the marked contribution of the pioneer psychiatrists. Introduction. Up to our knowledge there is no elaborate published literature focusing on historical role of Iraq in mental health education and training and its current reality apart from scares data about mental health in Mediterranean region as a whole. In this article, we try calling the attention to the outstanding contribution of Iraq in mental health and medical education in general which appeared to be established during the golden era of Abbasid Caliphs in Baghdad during the seventh century. After several decades of scientific and cultural deterioration associated withOttomans colonization , Baghdad intellectuals started to build the first medical school in Iraq at the end of twentieth century , teaching mental illnesses as part of the curriculum took place and continue to progress through establishing the national training programs .

Longing for the Lost Caliphate: A Transregional History (bt Mona Hassan)

In her superbly learned book, Mona Hassan sets out to explain the enduring meaning of Muslim lamentations after two of the greatest Muslim caliphates were abolished in 1258 and 1924 CE. 1258 marks the date when the last Abbasid Caliph, al-Musta‘sim, knelt before the Mongol Commander Hulegu outside the walls of Baghdad, shortly before he was executed. Hassan is not here directly concerned with the history of either the Abbasid Caliphate or the Mongol conquest; rather, she seeks to understand what was a novel problem for the Muslim community, namely, the absence of a caliph, which then lasted three and a half years.

Historisitas Aliran Neo-Klasik Dalam Kesusastraan Arab

Arabic literature has undergone such a long journey from the time of the beginning of the time of Jahili, the period of Islam, the period of Muawiyah service, Abasiah, the Ottoman dynasty, and the modern period until now. In each period of this development, Arabic literature experienced innovations that differentiated it from other periods. In the modern phase in particular, it turns out that Arabic literature has a variety of literary schools that have appeared alternately, both because of the motivation of criticism of the literary models that emerged before and because of refining other streams that emerged in the same period of time.
 The emergence of this neoclassical school was initially a reaction to Napoleon's arrival in Egypt in 1798, which marked the entry of French culture into the Arab world. This school also maintains strong Arabic poetry rules, for example the necessity to use wazan, qāfiyah, the number of words is very large, the uslūb is very strong, the themes still follow the previous period, such as madah, ritsa (lamentations), ghazal, fakhr, and the movement from one topic to another in one qasidah (ode) 
 Problems raised in this study include: 1. What is the history of Arabic literature? 2. What are the factors that arouse Arabic literature? 3. Who are the pioneers of the neoclassical school? The results in this study are: 1. The history of Arabic literature has experienced such a long journey from the period beginning at the time of Jahili, the period of Islam, the period of Muawiyah's service, Abasiah, the Ottoman dynasty, and the modern period until now. During the Abbasid period there was a period of emotion in Arabic literature, and suffered a setback during the Ottoman period until the beginning of this phase since the reign of Muhammad Ali in Egypt after colonialization Francis ended in 1801. 2. The factors include: Al-Madaris (School -school), Al-Mathba'ah (Printing), Ash-Shuhuf / Al-Jaro'id (Newspaper), and Tarjamah.3. One of the pioneers of the neoclassical school of Arabic poetry or commonly called al-Muhāfizun is Mahmud Sami al Barudi
 Keywords: arabic literary history, factors, flow, neo classical figure

On the Transmission of Indian Medical Texts to the Arabs in the Early Middle Ages

Abstract The transmission of Indian scientific and, notably, medical texts to the Arabs during the heyday of the Abbasid caliphate in Baghdad (ca 158/775-205/820) is still largely shrouded in myth; its investigation continues to be hampered not only by serious methodological problems but also by a lack of philological groundwork and a shortage of trained researchers. This article, which in essence is meant to serve as a rough guide into one prospective field of “Indo-Arabic” studies, focuses on a badly neglected though highly promising cluster of texts, namely those that relate to the translation and adaptation of certain Ayurvedic key works from Sanskrit into Arabic. A general assessment of the current state of research, of the factors that condition our knowledge and of the obstacles and limitations posed by the very nature of the subject, is followed by a bio-bibliographical survey of Ayurvedic texts which were subject to transmission; the article is rounded off by six Sanskrit-into-Arabic text samples, with English translations for both.

An Ordinary Ship and Its Stories of Early Globalism

An ordinary ship and its cargo can tell the story of far-flung global markets, human voyaging, and early industrialization in China that supplied exports to the world. Sometime after 825 CE an Arab dhow set sail from the port of Guangzhou in coastal south China, having unloaded its goods from the Near East, and reloaded with some estimated 70,000 ceramics and other items, on its return voyage to the Abbasid empire. Taking the route that has been called “the maritime silk road,” this hand-sewn ship made of planks fastened with coconut fiber (without any nails) seems to have decided to offload some cargo first in maritime Southeast Asia, perhaps intending to pick up a secondary cargo of spices, resins, and aromatics for which the Indonesian islands were famed. The dhow sank near the island of Belitung, at a reef called Batu Hitam (“Black Rock”). Fifty-five thousand ceramic wares, along with gold and silver ornaments, ingots, mirrors, ewers, vases, jars, cups, incense burners, boxes, flasks, bottles, graters, and the like—and two objects that may have been children’s toys, and a re-soldered gold bracelet sized for a woman’s wrist—were excavated intact in 1998, and are housed at the Asian Civilisations Museum in Singapore. This ninth-century dhow is the only ship of its kind ever recovered, though hand-sewn ships that plied the Indian Ocean are described in travel accounts from as early as the first-century CE. The dhow is a remarkable example of the global ships carrying people, goods, ideas, religion, and culture, which knit the world into relationship along transoceanic routes. Its vast trove of ceramics is the earliest physical evidence attesting the industrial production of ceramics in China for export to foreign markets as early as the Tang Dynasty (618–907). Designs painted on the great majority of the ceramic wares were favored in the export market, not in China. Part of the trove includes prototypes of blue-and-white ceramics for which China would become famous 400 years later: ceramic experiments that feature Iraqi designs attesting global interrelationships in art and the exchange of ideas. The crews of ships such as this one were multiracial, multireligious, and assembled from everywhere: The cargo, knowledges, and stories these diverse, anonymous voyagers helped to transfer across the world transform our understanding of scale, time, and globalism.

A note on Muslim judges and the professional certificate

Este artículo pretende analizar tanto el nombramiento como el cese de los cadíes desde el punto de vista de sus cualificaciones académicas. Se centra en la práctica del cadiazgo en Egipto durante el período ‛abbāsí (132-254/750-868). Las fuentes principales son los Ajbār al-quḍāt de Wakī' y el Kitāb wulāt Miṣr de al-Kindī. Ambas obras contienen material de una gran originalidad y son bastante completas, ofreciendo detallada información sobre temas relativos tanto al nombramiento como al cese de los jueces durante los primeros siglos de la historia islámica de Egipto. Se estudia la biografía de cada juez para averiguar cuáles fueron las razones que determinaron su nombramiento y su cese. Los resultados obtenidos son de interés para comprender las prácticas judiciales y su relación con las aptitudes profesionales que se consideraban necesarias en aquella época.

القصائد الكليات تأصيل وعرض وتحليل

The end of Abbasid poetry was characterized with inactivity and rumination of thoughts and ideas that resulted in the early centuries of the Abbasid Era. Some poems became famous in the Seljuk's era and nothing was new just reformulating the plot or the old poetic subjects. These poem have only the and anything behind that is fake .These poems were written based on origin lines from known poets ,and completed by unknown poets who had no luck in Art and fame .We entitled these poems with last poems because, it’s the final of nonesuch Abbasid era, or the Universals ,because it represented the brief of Abbasid poetry .Shpenkler in his book refers to the deterioration of Western Civilization, but the Civilization is transferring from youth to aging that can lose the ability of giving and liberality leaving the stage of creation and enters the stage of physical enjoyment and mental considerations mentioned by Toynbee ,and he called this void stage when the creative energy of civilization is stopped, and it will be ended and engraved.

KEBIJAKAN POLITIK DAN ORIENTASI KEAGAMAAN DINASTI BUWAYHIYYAH DAN SALJUQ SERTA HUBUNGANNYA DENGAN KEKHALIFAHAN ‘ABBASIYYAH

Policy during the Adud in the past year 977 M. has managed to unite the tiny kingdoms that has emerged since the reign of the Buwayhid in Persia and Iraq. Religious orientation during the reign of Mu’iz al-Dawlah was participating by Shi’ah Zaidiyyah. Another case with the reign of the ‘Izz al-Dawlah and ad}ud al-Dawlah participating Shi’ah Imamiyyah. While the relationship between the Buwayhid with ‘Abbasiyah dynasty is there are linkages between the two. Policy during the reign of the Seljuk dynasty is expanding its territory from Kasygar up to Yerussalem and from Constantinopel up to Kaspia ocean. Besides its religious orientation under the Seljuk dynasty is the Sunni Islam. While the relationship between the Buwayhid with Abbasiyah dynasty it is because of the factor similarity participating and relation marriage, so they have an emotional closeness and influence of Abbasid empire.

Longing for the Lost Caliphate: A Transregional History by Mona Hassan

Reviewed by: Longing for the Lost Caliphate: A Transregional History by Mona Hassan John O. Voll Longing for the Lost Caliphate: A Transregional History. By mona hassan. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2016. 408 pp. $45.00 (hardcover). The Caliphate is a set of historical Muslim institutions in specific times and places. The Caliphs were the leaders of the community of Muslim believers following the death of the Prophet Muhammad and the title continued to be used by various rulers in the following centuries. The Caliphate is also a symbol of the ideal Islamic society, especially for Sunni Muslims. Mona Hassan presents a broadly conceived discussion of the relationships between these two [End Page 325] dimensions as they are viewed in the historical memory of Muslims. The core of her analysis is an examination of how Muslims understood the caliphate in the contexts of its absence – in the thirteenth century, when the Mongols destroyed the Abbasid caliphate of Baghdad, and in the twentieth century, when the Ottoman caliphate was abolished in 1924 by the new Turkish Republic of Mustafa Kemal Pasa. Hassan argues that "the caliphate signifies a pivotal cultural symbol that Muslims have imbued with different meanings according to their particular social contexts" (p. 19). The continuing power of this symbol, even in the twenty-first century, is shown in the appeal of the "emotive rhetoric of a caliphate" used by militant extremists in the self-proclaimed caliphate of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (p. 254). Narratives of Muslim history commonly present a story of a great Golden Age of the early Caliphates followed by a long decline. Similarly, Ottoman history is commonly presented as a story of a dynamic early empire followed by a long decline. The ending of the caliphates, in this narrative, is seen as a culmination of the decline. However, Hassan argues that the military and political defeats of the Baghdad and Ottoman caliphates did not bring an end to the importance of the concept of the caliphate in Muslim historical memories. A major theme in Hassan's analysis is showing how Muslims understood the loss, so that they could "redefine the caliphate for their times" (p. 2). These efforts often represented significant intellectual dynamism rather than manifestations of a long civilizational decline. Hassan sets the foundations for her analysis in an introduction that provides historical and conceptual contexts for understanding the ways that Muslims have "striven to reconfigure their political and intellectual constructs as a part of a living and dynamic cultural memory" (p.16). The introduction provides summaries of the histories of the caliphates but this is primarily a study of historical memory rather than chronological history. The trauma of the destruction of the caliphate in 1258 inspired a broad spectrum of responses, which are analyzed in chapter one. Poets as well as scholars responded to the events and the cultural memories of those events. The comprehensive nature of Hassan's study is emphasized by her distinctive discussion of popular musical responses which created an "emotive soundscape" (p. 52) in the Muslim collective memory. Following the destruction of Baghdad, the Mamluk military rulers of Egypt established a member of the Abbasid family as caliph in Cairo. The Mamluks worked "to reinvent the Abbasid Caliphate for their times" (p. 67). The common historical narrative as developed by Orientalists such as Bernard Lewis is that these caliphs were "minor [End Page 326] Court pensioners with purely ceremonial duties to perform."1 Hassan, in chapter 2, presents a well-documented, contrasting view: "the Abbasid Caliphate was resurrected in the Mamluk State as a significant religio-political institution" (p. 95). The conceptualizations of the caliphate after the destruction of Baghdad presented in chapter 3 are the product of dynamic intellectual life of Muslim scholars in the Mamluk era like Ibn Taymiyya and Ibn Khaldun and others. Again, as with the Mamluk Caliphate, the picture presented by Hassan counters the old narrative of Muslim decline. The end of the Ottoman Empire following World War I is usually viewed through the lens of the creation of the Kemalist Turkish Republic and triumph of Turkish nationalism. However, Hassan shows in chapter 4 that even among nationalists there was eloquent...

Divorce: A View from Abbasid <em>Adab</em> Collections

Divorce: A View from Abbasid <em>Adab</em> Collections