Empire and Elites after the Muslim Conquest
The Transformation of Northern Mesopotamia

The history of northern Mesopotamia from the Islamic conquests until the early Abbasids, first published in 2000.

Chase F. Robinson (Author)

9780521028738, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 2 November 2006

224 pages, 1 map
22.8 x 15.2 x 1.5 cm, 0.351 kg

'… rich in detail … a definitive work …' Bulletin of the School of Oriental & African Studies

The study of early Islamic historical tradition has flourished with the emergence of an innovative scholarship no longer dependent on more traditional narratival approaches. Chase Robinson's book, first published in 2000, takes full account of the research available and interweaves history and historiography to interpret the political, social and economic transformations in the Mesopotamian region after the Islamic conquests. Using Arabic and Syriac sources to elaborate his argument, the author focuses on the Muslim and Christian élites, demonstrating that the immediate effects of the conquests were in fact modest ones. Significant social change took place only at the end of the seventh century with the imposition of Marwanid rule. Even then, the author argues, social power was diffused in the hands of local élites. This is a sophisticated study in a burgeoning field in Islamic studies.

Preface
Acknowledgements
List of abbreviations
Note on dates and citations
Map: the fertile crescent in the early Abbasid period
1. Conquest history and its uses
2. The seventh-century Jazira
3. From garrison to city: the birth of Mosul
4. A Christian élites in the Mosuli hinterland: the shaharija
5. Islam in the north: Jaziran Kharijism
6. Massacre and narrative: the Abbasid Revolution in Mosul I
7. Massacre and élite politics: the Abbasid Revolution in Mosul II
Conclusion
Bibliography
Index.

Subject Areas: Early history: c 500 to c 1450/1500 [HBLC], Asian history [HBJF]