Baghdād : : from its beginnings to the 14th century / / edited by Jens Scheiner and Isabel Toral.

• Superior document: Handbook of Oriental Studies. Section 1 The Near and Middle East ; 166
• TeilnehmendeR: Scheiner, Jens,; Toral, Isabel,
• Place / Publishing House: Leiden ;, Boston : : Brill,, 2022.
• Year of Publication: 2022
• Edition: 1st ed.
• Language: English
• Series: Handbook of Oriental Studies. Section 1 The Near and Middle East ; 166.
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (945 pages)
• Notes: 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 from its beginnings up to the 14th century.

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, Isabel Toral.

Table of Contents

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.