The Articulation of Power in Medieval Iberia and the Maghrib

by Bennison, Amira K.

• ISBN13: 9780197265697
• ISBN10: 0197265693
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2014-06-24
• Publisher: British Academy

Author Biography

Amira K. Bennison is Reader in the History and Culture of the Maghrib at the University of Cambridge and a fellow of Magdalene College. Her research interests include the medieval Islamic West (Islamic Iberia and Morocco), Maghribi modes of legitimation and cultures of power, and 18th-19th century Muslim religio-political discourse and engagement with modernity. In addition, Amira is an experienced cultural tour lecturer who has led numerous trips to Morocco, southern Spain, Syria and Egypt. She also contributes regularly to television programmes on Islamic history and is a frequent guest on BBC Radio 4's 'In Our Time'. Her publications include The Great Caliphs: the Golden Age of the 'Abbasid Empire, Cities in the Premodern Islamic World: The Urban Impact of Religion, State and Society, edited with Alison L. Gascoigne, Jihad and its Interpretations in Pre-Colonial Morocco, as well as numerous articles.

Table of Contents

Section 1: Laying the Groundwork
1. Introduction, Amira K. Bennison
2. Islam and the 'Great Divergence': The case of the Moroccan Marinid Empire 1269-1465 CE., Maya Shatzmiller
3. Writing History as a Political Act: Ibn Khaldun, Asabiyya, and Legitimacy., Allen J. Fromherz
Section 2: Genealogy, Titulature and Propaganda
4. The Genealogical Legitimisation of the Nasrid Dynasty: The Alleged Ansari Origins of the Banu Nasr., Barbara Boloix-Gallardo
5. Jihad as a Means of Political Legitimation in Thirteenth-Century Sharq al-Andalus., Abigail Krasner Balbale
6. Honouring the Prophet's Family: A Comparison of the approaches to Political Legitimacy of Abul-Hasan Ali al-Marini and Ahmad al-Mansur al-Sa'di., Stephen Cory
Section 3: Ceremonies and Ritual Performances
7. 'Azafid Ceuta, Mawlid al-Nabi and the Development of Marinid Strategies of Legitimation., James A. O. C. Brown
8. On Muhammad V, Ibn al-Khatib and Sufism., Cynthia Robinson and Amalia Zomeno
9. Hospitality, Charity and Political Legitimacy in Pre-modern Morocco., Mohamed El Mansour
Section 4: Legitimation outside the City
10. Drums, Banners and Baraka: Symbols of authority during the first century of Marinid rule, 1250-1350., Amira K. Bennison
11. The Ransom Industry and the Expectation of Refuge on the Western Mediterranean Muslim-Christian Frontier 1085-1350., Camilo Gomez-Rivas
12. Nomadic Populations and the Challenge to Political Legitimacy: Three Cases from the Medieval Islamic West., Russell Hopley