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Umayyad and Abbasid History

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lightbulbAbout this topic
Umayyad and Abbasid History refers to the study of the two major Islamic caliphates that succeeded the Prophet Muhammad. The Umayyad Caliphate (661-750 CE) is known for its expansion and administrative organization, while the Abbasid Caliphate (750-1258 CE) is recognized for its cultural, scientific, and intellectual advancements, marking a golden age in Islamic civilization.
lightbulbAbout this topic
Umayyad and Abbasid History refers to the study of the two major Islamic caliphates that succeeded the Prophet Muhammad. The Umayyad Caliphate (661-750 CE) is known for its expansion and administrative organization, while the Abbasid Caliphate (750-1258 CE) is recognized for its cultural, scientific, and intellectual advancements, marking a golden age in Islamic civilization.

Key research themes

1. How did pre-Islamic administrative structures influence the formation of the Umayyad State?

This theme explores the continuity and transformation of administrative frameworks from Byzantine provincial governance to early Islamic state institutions, particularly in the Egyptian context. It investigates the extent to which Islamic administration integrated, adapted, or replaced existing Byzantine and local mechanisms during the Umayyad period, highlighting the processes by which a distinct Islamic polity emerged in its formative decades. Understanding these administrative continuities and reforms is crucial to reevaluating early Islamic state formation beyond religious or ideological narratives, emphasizing practical governance and institutional evolution.

Key finding: This paper reveals that the early Islamic state in Egypt evolved directly from existing Byzantine provincial structures, as demonstrated by papyri in Greek, Coptic, and Arabic that show the governor (duke) of the Thebaid... Read more
Key finding: The research highlights how ʿUbayd Allāh b. al-Ḥabḥāb, as finance director under Caliph Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik, implemented extensive land surveys and tax reforms in Egypt that expanded taxation to previously exempt groups... Read more
Key finding: Analysis of a rare papyrus documenting a tax protest and subsequent administrative investigation in the Nile Delta reveals the practical application of Umayyad-era governance. It provides evidence of formal legal and fiscal... Read more

2. What dynamics defined power, politics, and factionalism during the Abbasid caliphate, especially under al-Muqtadir?

This research theme examines formal and informal political structures within the Abbasid court during the early 10th century, focusing on how bureaucratic families, military leaders, and courtly factions negotiated and contested power. It elucidates the interaction between key offices like the vizierate, chamberlain, and military commanders, as well as the role of the harem and secretarial families. The findings shed light on the nature of governance, institutional instability, and factional competition in Abbasid political culture.

Key finding: Through detailed analysis of administrative offices and political actors, the paper identifies that despite apparent political and economic instability, the vizierate remained a central institution powered by prominent... Read more

3. How do archaeological and material culture studies inform our understanding of early Islamic history, specifically in architecture and urban infrastructure?

This theme investigates the insights gained from archaeological evidence and material artifacts concerning early Islamic religious architecture and urban provisioning. It emphasizes methodological advances in dating and contextual analysis to create independent historical narratives that challenge or complement traditional literary sources. The focus spans mosque construction patterns, water management systems in Abbasid cities like Samarra, and luxury productions, highlighting the diverse and complex manifestations of early Islamic civilization.

Key finding: This study demonstrates a significant discrepancy between late narrative texts and archaeological evidence regarding early mosque locations and typologies. Using independent dating methods such as radiocarbon and... Read more
Key finding: The paper reconstructs the complex hydraulic infrastructure of Samarra, capital of the Abbasid Caliphate, showing continuity of earlier Sasanian canal systems and Abbasid enhancements. This underscores the importance of water... Read more
Key finding: By reconsidering Medieval Islamic rock crystal vessels traditionally attributed exclusively to the Fatimid period, the paper argues for a significant Abbasid provenance of many surviving works. This redirects... Read more

All papers in Umayyad and Abbasid History

Dünyanın etnik ve dini açıdan heterojen bölgelerinden biri olan Kafkasya’nın tarihi, ortaçağ kaynaklarına geniş ölçüde yansımaktadır. Bu kaynaklar arasında X. yüzyıl İslam kaynaklarının özel bir yeri vardır. İbn Fadlan, İbn Havkal,... more
Hz. Hüseyin ve Yezid arasındaki Kerbelâ olayının yansımaları günümüze kadar devam etmektedir. Bu olay, tarih boyunca kendi mecrasından çıkartılıp siyasî ve mezhepsel bir malzeme olarak kullanılmıştır. Dönemin tarihçileri ile günümüz... more
Sayf al-Dīn al-Āmidī’s Proof of God’s Eternal Attributes which are related to the creation
Al-Shāfi'ī (m. 820) es responsable de la resignificación y adaptación de conceptos y precedentes legales y doctrinales que conducen a la sistematización de la doctrina legal sobre la rebelión (al-bughāt) en el Islam. Esto implica un... more
The villages of the southernmost reaches of the Fayyum Oasis are well known to Arabic papyrologists, and the sizeable number of documents they have produced enable ongoing study of the social and economic history of the region in the... more
Habib Abu Ra’ita was a 9th-century Syriac Orthodox theologian and apologist. His writings were edited in Arabic and translated into German by G. Graf in the Corpus Scriptorum Christianorum Orientalium (CSCO). Scholars have studied his... more
The National Curriculum History of Islam for classes XI-XII (2002) explores the development of Islamic civilization from its inception to the modern era. Students learn about the life of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), the Rashidun... more
The Sheikh uses Quran and Sunnah to discuss the points of view of different sects using historic references and reason. He explains the intellectual exchange between famous thinkers' reasoning, in a clear and empathic way. Preface 22... more
This article critiques the hegemonic role of the textual space created by what Gérard Genette called the paratext in constructing a cultural boundary of otherness. Such paratextual strategy shapes the Catholic-oriented readings of "Arab... more
The Medieval Islamic rock crystal industry is often seen as a synonym for the highly sophisticated artistic production of the Fatimid period. This results from the exclusive attribution of these objects to Fatimid Cairo, an attribution... more
When we hear the word "Imperative", the first things that come to our minds are obligations and enforceable orders. This paper presents the Imperative from a different perspective that aims to study the Imperative metaphorically in... more
Abbâsî dönemi Arap şiirinin önde gelen isimlerinden biri olan Ebû Temmâm (ö. 231/846), kendine özgü üslubu ve güçlü teşbihleriyle edebiyat tarihinde seçkin bir konuma sahiptir. Şairin sanatsal yetkinliği özellikle methiyelerinde ve hikmet... more
Information about mosques in the first centuries AH chiefly includes narrative texts, compiled at least 150 years after the events, and architectural remains. Comparing the two source types in relation to mosque typology and mosque... more
Masa pemerintahan Dinasti Bani Umayyah di Andalusia merupakan periode emas dalam sejarah perkembangan pendidikan Islam. Meskipun terpisah secara geografis dan politik dari pusat kekhalifahan di Damaskus, wilayah Andalusia berkembang... more
Bu makalede, Hz.Peygamber’in sunnetine bagliligi, ilmi yonu ve zahidane yasayis tarziyla Ashâb-i Kirâm arasinda dikkat ceken Abdullah b. Omer’in, Emeviler doneminde siyasi, idari ve askeri hayattaki faaliyetleri uzerinde durulacaktir. Bu... more
Abbâsî hilafetinin başkenti ve İslâm dünyasının önemli tarih, ilim, kültür, siyaset ve ticaret merkezlerinden olan Bağdat coğrafyası, İslâm öncesi dönemde Sâsânîlerin idaresinde küçük bir yerleşim yeri konumunda idi. Bununla birlikte... more
Between the raw fact of power and the lofty ideal of legitimacy lies an intermediate realm that seeks to draw on the higher principle and to manifest itself at the lower level. That realm is where Authority, where "claims and decisions... more
Merv-Serahs yolu, tarih boyunca ticaret, kültürel alışveriş ve askerî seferler için önemli bir güzergâh olmuştur. İslam coğrafyacıları, bu yolu çeşitli açılardan ele almış, güzergâh üzerindeki önemli şehirler ve stratejik duraklara... more
The tax reforms introduced in Egypt by ʿUbayd Allāh b. al-Ḥabḥāb (d. 132/750), who served as finance director from 107/726 to 116/734, are known to have triggered the first major peasant rebellion in the province. Recently discovered... more
This paper approaches the city of Samarra through one of its most fundamental attributes - the water supply. In seeking to understand how water was transported to, and distributed throughout, the vast metropolitan area, as well as the... more
This paper opens with a consideration of the biography of a large basin discovered during excavations at the Abbasid capital of Samarra. The large, circular, basin from Samarra closely matches historical descriptions of a fountain located... more
Although many books and articles have been written and published about the characteristics of successful leaders and managers, most have analyzed the topic from philosophical, social, and psychological perspectives. The unique feature of... more
Makalah ini mengkaji peran Dinasti Abbasiyah dalam membentuk peradaban Islam dengan menitikberatkan pada tiga aspek utama, yaitu politik, teknologi, dan ekonomi. Setelah menggulingkan Dinasti Umayyah, Abbasiyah berhasil menerapkan sistem... more
The Umayyad Palace comPlex of Khirbat al-Mafjar, located near Jericho, is the most important cultural symbol of the early Islamic period for Palestine, one comparable to Sāmarrāʾ in ʿIraq and Fusṭāṭ in Egypt. 1 As with many famous sites,... more
In 711, the Arabs (known as the Moors) began their conquest of Spain. Tariq ibn Ziyad led 12,000 Moorish troops across the Mediterranean Sea at the Strait of Gibraltar to the Rock of Gibraltar (Jabal Tariq). He defeated the Visigoths and... more
Luento 5.5.2025 kurssilla 'Myöhäisantiikin ja keskiajan Roomat', Turun yliopisto
Ghatfan was a prominent Adenani-Qaysi Arab tribal confederation in northern Najd, encompassing tribes such as Abs, Dhubyan, (and particularly its renowned sub-tribes Fazara) Murra, and Ashdja. The expansion and endurance of the Umayyad... more
Edinburgh University Press is one of the leading university presses in the UK. Publishing new research in the arts and humanities, EUP connects people and ideas to inspire creative thinking, open new perspectives and shape the world we... more
The article presents for the first time the Syriac text, an English translation and discussion of the surviving fragments of a newly discovered apologetic composition by Timothy I (fl. 780-823), the East Syrian patriarch of Baghdad. In... more
It is remarkable that, within a single century, the Muslims, from their humble abode of the harsh deserts of Arabia, conquered not only much of the Middle East, Persia, North Africa, and the Iberian Peninsula, but also, parts of the... more
A kselend i Ebene liegt im ägäischen G ebiet im Norden der G edizebene. In dieser E bene gibt es ein breiter D ünebereich. D ie Entstehung d ieser Dünen hängt von verschiedenen Entwicklungsprozeßen ab. Starke nördliche W inde waren bei... more
This contribution studies a hitherto unidentified Syriac response to the Muslim charge of biblical falsification (taḥrīf), found in chapter 49 of the introduction to the Commentary on the Gospel of Matthew by the West Syriac Patriarch... more
This paper conceptualizes the term elite for the study of early Islamic history and aims to provide a usable definition for historians of early Islam. It gives an overview of existing terminology referring to socially dominant groups in... more
The eastward expeditions of the Scandinavian Rus (covering the western parts of modern-day Russia including Northern Caucasus (in other word European Part of Russia), Ukraine, and Belarus) and their interactions with the Turkish peoples... more
This two-volume study explores the life of the Muslim scholar Ibn Aʿtham al-Kūfī and his historical work, the Kitāb al-futūḥ (Book of Conquests). This study re-contextualises Ibn Aʿtham within the early fourth/tenth century, highlighting... more
by Tim Greenwood and 
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The Armenian Martyrdom of Vahan of Gołt'n, composed in 744 CE, offers a fresh perspective from which to study the Umayyad caliphate. A sophisticated literary composition assembled in a monastic context, the Martyrdom traces contemporary... more
What I mentioned earlier is the bond and the support that was enjoyed by all Umayyad repels or to anyone who wishes the Umayyad return, but what is the position of the Abbasid state of all of this? This research came to answer this... more
In: Hannah-Lena Hagemann & Alasdair C. Grant, eds, Between Rebels and Rulers in the Early Islamicate World: Power, Contention and Identity, Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2024, 95-118.
Jerusalem– cradle of the three monotheistic religions: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam– is one of the oldest cities in the world, having been founded more than forty-five centuries ago. The city has been known by many different names... more
Abbâsîler 30 yılı aşkın sistemli ve gizli bir propaganda faaliyeti sonucunda Emevîler'i yıkıp iktidara geldiler. İhtilalin başarıya ulaşmasında birçok kişinin katkısı oldu. Ebû Seleme el-Hallâl (öl. 132/750), Süleyman b. Kesîr (öl.... more
Her şeyden önce konunun değişik zaman ve mekânda farklı kullanımlarına bağlı bir kavram yumağı bulunmaktadır. Erken İslam kaynakları daha çok "kabâle" kavramını kullanmıştır. "Taahhütnâme" manasında isim olan kabâle en geniş şekliyle... more
Large cities have always required access to water-a requirement that has been met in different ways over time and place. During the early Islamic period, a variety of sources of evidence survive attesting to the construction of... more
This course engages the relationship between religious convictions and ecological commitments at several key points: a faith that takes our material world seriously; questions about God's creative work in view of modern science; current... more
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