Islamic History Series Well it's been quite a while since I did one of these, and I apologize for that. I enjoy writing these long historical pieces but they are not fast and real life often intervenes. Also, this particular bit of our tale is really important, and I wanted to be very careful as … Continue reading Islamic History, Part 12: Ali’s Accession to the Caliphate (656)
Category: islamic history
Sermons, Coins, and Sovereignty
There are two symbols of sovereignty that were historically crucial for any serious claimant to authority. One is called, in Arabic, the khutbah, which is the communal sermon preached at the mosque every Friday. In pre-modern times, when there was no internet or even a newspaper and a person might conceivably not know who was … Continue reading Sermons, Coins, and Sovereignty
Islamic History, Part 11: The Qurʾan
Islamic History Series There's a strong argument to be made that a series on Islamic history should begin with a look at the Qurʾan. European travelers and commentators, from the first reports of a new Arabian movement in the seventh century until the mid-20th century at least, often used some variation of the term Muhammadanism … Continue reading Islamic History, Part 11: The Qurʾan
Islamic History, Part 10: the Caliphate of Uthman b. Affan (644-656), and the Seeds of Civil War
Islamic History Series When Muhammad became the ruler of his own polity after relocating to Medina and eventually conquering Mecca, he naturally wanted to conduct diplomacy with other rulers around him. Any ruler worth his salt back then had to stamp his diplomatic correspondence with his own personal seal in order to verify his identity, … Continue reading Islamic History, Part 10: the Caliphate of Uthman b. Affan (644-656), and the Seeds of Civil War
Islamic History, Part 9: The Caliphate of Umar b. al-Khattab (634-644)
Islamic History Series The reign of Umar b. al-Khattab, or Umar I as he is sometimes known, was one of the most important periods in early Islamic history. While Abu Bakr's caliphate was really an exercise in succession and consolidation, establishing that the community founded by Muhammad would live on past his death and expending … Continue reading Islamic History, Part 9: The Caliphate of Umar b. al-Khattab (634-644)
Islamic History, Part 8: The Caliphate of Abu Bakr (632-634)
Islamic History Series Muhammad's death in 632 seems to have caught his followers by surprise, because the sources describe a period of effective chaos right after he died and I think this is one area in which the sources can be mostly trusted. Yes, the sources are late and unreliable, but if they were doctored … Continue reading Islamic History, Part 8: The Caliphate of Abu Bakr (632-634)
Islamic History, Part 7: Alternative theories of the early Islamic community
Islamic History Series When you combine a major world-changing historical event with a near-total dearth of reliable primary sources, you inevitably get a lot of revisionist attempts to reconstruct the "real" history. For the origins of Islam and the nature of its earliest community, we have arguably the most world-changing event of the past 1500 … Continue reading Islamic History, Part 7: Alternative theories of the early Islamic community
Islamic History, Part 6: The problem with early sources
Islamic History Series We've reached a point in our overview of Islamic history where we need to stop talking about history and talk historiography, or the study of how history gets studied. Because the material regarding the life of Muhammad is so slim and presents so many challenges to the historian, I feel like I … Continue reading Islamic History, Part 6: The problem with early sources
Islamic History, Part 5: Muhammad in Medina, war with Mecca, and Muhammad’s death (622-632)
Islamic History Series Having established Muhammad's initial ministry in Mecca and his eventual flight from that city, just ahead of a plot to assassinate him, we now pick up the story with Muhammad having arrived in the oasis city of Yathrib, although it wasn't "Yathrib" much longer. The city soon became known as "The City … Continue reading Islamic History, Part 5: Muhammad in Medina, war with Mecca, and Muhammad’s death (622-632)
Islamic History, Part 4: Muhammad’s Revelations and the Hijrah (~570-622)
Islamic History Series I was trying to decide how to approach the story of Muhammad, obviously the single most important episode in the development of Islam and Islamic civilization. I could start with the traditional narrative of Muhammad's life, but that risks people reading the narrative and treating it as though it were settled fact. … Continue reading Islamic History, Part 4: Muhammad’s Revelations and the Hijrah (~570-622)
The Foreign Exchanges Companion 