Baghdād

From Its Beginnings to the 14th Century

Series: 

Volume Editors:
Jens Scheiner
and
Isabel Toral
Baghdād: From its Beginnings to the 14th Century offers an exhaustive handbook that covers all possible themes connected to the history of this urban complex in Iraq, from its origins rooted in late antique Mesopotamia up to the aftermath of the Mongol invasion in 1258.
Against the common perception of a city founded 762 in a vacuum, which, after experiencing a heyday in a mythical “golden age” under the early ʿAbbāsids, entered since 900 a long period of decline that ended with a complete collapse by savage people from the East in 1258, the volume emphasizes the continuity of Baghdād’s urban life, and shows how it was marked by its destiny as caliphal seat and cultural hub.

Contributors
Mehmetcan Akpınar, Nuha Alshaar, Pavel Basharin, David Bennett, Michal Biran, Richard W. Bulliet, Kirill Dmitriev, Desmond Durkin-Meisterernst, Hend Gilli-Elewy, Beatrice Gruendler, Sebastian Günther, Olof Heilo, Damien Janos, Christopher Melchert, Michael Morony, Bernard O’Kane, Klaus Oschema, Letizia Osti, Parvaneh Pourshariati, Vanessa van Renterghem, Jens Scheiner, Angela Schottenhammer, Y. Zvi Stampfer, Johannes Thomann, and Isabel Toral.
Copyright Year:
2022
E-Book (PDF)
Availability:
Published
ISBN:
978-90-04-51337-2
Publication:
25 Jul 2022
Hardback
Availability:
Published
ISBN:
978-90-04-51336-5
Publication:
28 Jul 2022
Paperback
Availability:
Published
ISBN:
978-90-04-76090-5
Publication:
12 Mar 2026
Cover Baghdād

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Front Matter
Preliminary Material
Copyright page
Dedication
Preface
Acknowledgements
Notes on Transliteration and Style
Figures
Abbreviations
Notes on Contributors
Chapter 1 Baghdād’s Topography and Social Composition
Part 1 The Foundation of Madīnat al-Salām and Its Legends
Chapter 2 Legends about the Foundation of a Marvelous City
Chapter 3 Islamic Art and Architecture in Pre-Mongol Baghdād
More-to-Know I The Foundation of al-Manṣūr’s Palatial City and Its Horoscope
More-to-Know II Was Madīnat al-Salām a Round City?
Part 2 A Historical Overview from Late Antiquity to the Mongol Period
Chapter 4 Ctesiphon and Its Surroundings, Precursors of Baghdād
Chapter 5 The Early ʿAbbāsid Caliphs as Commanders and Constructors
Chapter 6 Baghdād under Būyid Rule
Chapter 7 Baghdād under the Saljūqs
Chapter 8 Baghdād under the Late ʿAbbāsid Caliphs
Chapter 9 Baghdād under Mongol Rule
Chapter 10 The Economic Parameters of Baghdād and Its Hinterland
Part 3 Baghdād’s Neighbouring Empires
Chapter 11 The ʿAbbāsids and the Byzantine Empire
Chapter 12 ʿAbbāsid Caliphs and Frankish Kings
More-to-Know III Sino-ʿAbbāsid Relations in the Eighth and Ninth Centuries
Part 4 The ʿAbbāsid Court and Its Legacy
Chapter 13 Sketches of Court Culture in Baghdād
Chapter 14 City of Poets, Poets of the City
Chapter 15 Prose Writing in Baghdād
More-to-Know IV A “Golden Age” in Baghdād?
Part 5 Institutions of Learning and Fields of Knowledge
Chapter 16 Knowledge and Learning in Baghdād
More-to-Know V Medinan Scholars in Early ʿAbbāsid Baghdād
Chapter 17 Philosophical and Scientific Learning in Baghdād
Part 6 The Religious Communities
Chapter 18 The Formation of Sunnī and Shīʿī Traditionalism
More-to-Know VI Rational Theologians
Chapter 19 The Ṣūfī School of Baghdād
Chapter 20 Christian Communities in Baghdād and Its Hinterland
Chapter 21 Jews in Baghdād during the ʿAbbāsid Period
Chapter 22 Zoroastrians, Manichaeans and Gnostics in Baghdād and Its Hinterland
Epilogue
Back Matter
Original Sources Featuring Baghdād
Index
Jens Scheiner, Ph.D. (Radboud Universiteit Nijmegen 2009), is Professor of Islamic Studies at the University of Göttingen. He has published a monograph on the conquest of Damascus (Leiden 2010) and edited a volume on the contexts of learning in Baghdād (Princeton 2014).

Isabel Toral, Ph.D. (Tübingen 1997), Habilitation (Freie Universität Berlin 2008), is Professor of Arabic Studies at that university. She has published extensively on cultural history, literature and history of the Arabs, including Al-Ḥīra (Leiden 2014).

Contributors
Mehmetcan Akpınar, Nuha Alshaar, Pavel Basharin, David Bennett, Michal Biran, Richard W. Bulliet, Kirill Dmitriev, Desmond Durkin-Meisterernst, Hend Gilli-Elewy, Beatrice Gruendler, Sebastian Günther, Olof Heilo, Damien Janos, Christopher Melchert, Michael Morony, Bernard O’Kane, Klaus Oschema, Letizia Osti, Parvaneh Pourshariati, Vanessa van Renterghem, Jens Scheiner, Angela Schottenhammer, Y. Zvi Stampfer, Johannes Thomann, and Isabel Toral.
Preface
Acknowledgements
Notes on Transliteration and Style
List of Figures
AbbreviationsVi
Notes on ContributorsVii

1 Baghdād’s Topography and Social Composition A Historical Sketch
 Jens Scheiner and Isabel Toral

Part 1: The Foundation of Madīnat al-Salām and Its Legends


2 Legends about the Foundation of a Marvelous City
 Isabel Toral

3 Islamic Art and Architecture in Pre-Mongol Baghdād
 Bernard O’Kane

More-to-Know I: The Foundation of al-Manṣūr’s Palatial City and Its Horoscope
 Johannes Thomann

More-to-Know Ii: Was Madīnat al-Salām a “Round City”?
 Jens Scheiner

Part 2: A Historical Overview from Late Antiquity to the Mongol Period


4 Ctesiphon and Its Surroundings, Precursors of Baghdād
 Parvaneh Pourshariati

5 The Early ʿAbbāsid Caliphs as Commanders and Constructors
 Jens Scheiner

6 Baghdād under Būyid Rule
 Nuha Alshaar

7 Baghdād under the Saljūqs
 Vanessa Van Renterghem

8 Baghdād under the Late ʿAbbāsid Caliphs
 Hend Gilli-Elewy

9 Baghdād under Mongol Rule
 Michal Biran

10 The Economic Parameters of Baghdād and Its Hinterland
 Richard W. Bulliet

Part 3: Baghdād’s Neighbouring Empires


11 The ʿAbbāsids and the Byzantine Empire
 Olof Heilo

12 ʿAbbāsid Caliphs and Frankish Kings
 Kirill Dmitriev and Klaus Oschema

More-to-Know IiI: Sino-ʿAbbāsid Relations in the Eighth and Ninth Centuries
 Angela Schottenhammer

Part 4: The ʿAbbāsid Court and Its Legacy


13 Sketches of Court Culture in Baghdād
 Letizia Osti

14 City of Poets, Poets of the City
 Beatrice Gruendler

15 Prose Writing in Baghdād An Overview
 Isabel Toral

More-to-Know IV: A “Golden Age” in Baghdād?
 Isabel Toral

Part 5: Institutions of Learning and Fields of Knowledge


16 Knowledge and Learning in Baghdād
 Sebastian Günther

More-to-Know V: Medinan Scholars in Early ʿAbbāsid Baghdād
 Mehmetcan Akpınar

17 Philosophical and Scientific Learning in Baghdād
 Damien Janos

Part 6: The Religious Communities


18 The Formation of Sunnī and Shīʿī Traditionalism
 Christopher Melchert

More-to-Know Vi: Rational Theologians
 David Bennett

19 The Ṣūfī School of Baghdād Persons and Teachings
 Pavel Basharin

20 Christian Communities in Baghdād and Its Hinterland
 Michael Morony

21 Jews in Baghdād during the ʿAbbāsid Period
 Y. Zvi Stampfer

22 Zoroastrians, Manichaeans and Gnostics in Baghdād and Its Hinterland
 Desmond Durkin-Meisterernst

Epilogue
 Jens Scheiner

Appendix: Original Sources featuring Baghdād
 Jens Scheiner

Index
All interested in the history of Baghdad, Iraq and generally Islamic history before 1400, and anyone concerned with urban, intellectual and social history in the Middle East.
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