The Rise of Islam

by Gordon, Mary

• ISBN13: 9780313325229
• ISBN10: 0313325227
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2005-05-30
• Publisher: Greenwood Pub Group

Summary

The birth of Islam in the 7th century and its subsequent outward expansion from the Arab world has been one of the most influential occurrences in world history. During its first few decades, the new faith inspired conquests from Spain to northern India. In this illuminating study, the author tracks the rise of Islam from it 7th century beginnings with the life of the Prophet Muhammad to the collapse of the Islamic empire in the early 10th century. He demonstrates how a sophisticated, new religion and society emerged to become one of the world's most vital and sustained cultures. The opening chapter provides an outline of the history of early Islamic society over a period of roughly three centuries, from the early 7th to the early 10th centuries, concentrating on pre-Islamic Arab countries and the life of the Prophet. Subsequent chapters treat Arab-Islamic conquests; the early Islamic empire; and society and religion, particularly in the early Abbasid period (750-925 C.E.). The spread of urbanization throughout the early Islamic world is highlighted. Fifteen brief biographies of key figures such as Qur'an commentators, empire-building caliphs, scholars, and military leaders help to add a personal human element to the data, and 15 translated primary documents ranging from key Qur'annic passages to contemporary accounts of military campaigns bring the history to life. A glossary of terms, a timeline, and selected bibliography aid student research. The work is fully indexed.

Table of Contents

Series Foreword	xi
Advisory Board	xxiii
Preface	xxv
Acknowledgments	xxvii
Chronology	xxix
Chapter 1. Historical Overview	1	(14)
Chapter 2. The Arab-Islamic Conquests and the Medinan State	15	(18)
Chapter 3. The Umayyad Caliphate (661-750) and the Crisis of Authority	33	(16)
Chapter 4. Cities in the Early Abbasid Period: Soldiers, Merchants, and Scholars	49	(20)
Chapter 5. Religious Practice, Law, and Spirituality in the Early Abbasid Era	69	(20)
Chapter 6. The Islamic World in the Early Tenth Century	89	(8)
Biographies	97	(18)
Abdallah al-Ma'mun	97	(1)
Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan	98	(1)
Abu Ja'far al-Mansur	99	(1)
Abu Musa Bugha the Elder	100	(1)
Abu Ubayda al-Buhturi	101	(1)
Ahmad ibn Hanbal	102	(1)
A'isha bint Abi Bakr	103	(1)
Ali ibn Abi Talib	104	(2)
Amr ibn Bahr al-Jahiz	106	(1)
Arib al-Ma'muniya	107	(1)
Harun al-Rashid	108	(1)
Khadija bint Khuwaylid	109	(1)
Mu'awiya ibn Abi Sufyan	110	(1)
Muhammad ibn Jarir al-Tabari	111	(1)
Umar ibn al-Khattab	112	(3)
Primary Documents	115	(40)
1. Selections from the Qur'an	115	(5)
2. Muhammad and the Quraysh	120	(3)
3. The Conquest of Syria	123	(2)
4. The Spoils of War	125	(3)
5. Harun al-Rashid and the Succession Arrangement	128	(2)
6. Housing the Turkish Units at Samarra	130	(2)
7. The Cities of Egypt: Alexandria and al-Fustat	132	(3)
8. The Wealth of the Abbasid Court	135	(2)
9. The Markets of Baghdad	137	(2)
10. The Prophet's Wisdom	139	(2)
11. The Rules of Marriage	141	(3)
12. The Death of al-Husayn ibn Ali	144	(2)
13. Arib's Visit to Her Former Lover	146	(3)
14. A New Capital in Egypt	149	(2)
15. Abd al-Rahman III of al-Andalus	151	(4)
Glossary	155	(8)
Annotated Bibliography	163	(8)
Index	171