Caliphate: The History of an Idea - Hardcover
Synopsis
From a preeminent scholar of Islamic history, the authoritative history of caliphates from their beginnings in the 7th century to the modern day
In Caliphate, Islamic historian Hugh Kennedy dissects the idea of the caliphate and its history, and explores how it became used and abused today. Contrary to popular belief, there is no one enduring definition of a caliph; rather, the idea of the caliph has been the subject of constant debate and transformation over time. Kennedy offers a grand history of the caliphate since the beginning of Islam to its modern incarnations. Originating in the tumultuous years following the death of the Mohammad in 632, the caliphate, a politico-religious system, flourished in the great days of the Umayyads of Damascus and the Abbasids of Baghdad. From the seventh-century Orthodox caliphs to the nineteenth-century Ottomans, Kennedy explores the tolerant rule of Umar, recounts the traumatic murder of the caliph Uthman, dubbed a tyrant by many, and revels in the flourishing arts of the golden eras of Abbasid Baghdad and Moorish Andalucía. Kennedy also examines the modern fate of the caliphate, unraveling the British political schemes to spur dissent against the Ottomans and the ominous efforts of Islamists, including ISIS, to reinvent the history of the caliphate for their own malevolent political ends.
In exploring and explaining the great variety of caliphs who have ruled throughout the ages, Kennedy challenges the very narrow views of the caliphate propagated by extremist groups today. An authoritative new account of the dynasties of Arab leaders throughout the Islamic Golden Age, Caliphate traces the history-and misappropriations-of one of the world's most potent political ideas.
"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.
About the Author
Hugh Kennedy is a professor of Arabic at SOAS, University of London. The author of many books, including The Courts of the Caliphs and The Great Arab Conquests, Kennedy lives in London and Scotland, Great Britain.
Review
"The doctrine of the caliphate still animates the imagination of Muslim theologians, politicians and ideologues, as Hugh Kennedy shows powerfully in Caliphate."―Wall Street Journal
"Hugh Kennedy demonstrates in Caliphate: The History of an Idea, his readable but scholarly account, [the caliphate] was present throughout centuries of Muslim history, in a variety of guises."
― New York Review of Books
"[A] sweeping, yet deeply researched, history of popular and scholarly efforts-from the mid-seventh century to the present day....extraordinarily important..."
―Choice
"British historian Hugh Kennedy takes it upon himself to recover the caliphate's meaning, and he succeeds with welcome doses of erudition, accuracy and, when necessary, empathy."―Washington Post
"An engaging portrait of a fascinating, multifaceted history."―Times Literary Supplement
"[An] engrossing and entertaining introduction... Kennedy clearly shows the continuing power of this idea to incite controversy."―Publishers Weekly
"Enlisting significant Arab-language scholarship, Kennedy provides a carefully calibrated, timely chronicle for nonacademic readers."―Kirkus Reviews
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- PublisherBasic Books
- Publication date2016
- ISBN 10 0465094384
- ISBN 13 9780465094387
- BindingHardcover
- Edition number1
- Number of pages336
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Caliphate: The History of an Idea
Published by
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ISBN 10: 0465094384
ISBN 13: 9780465094387
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Hardcover. Condition: Good. First Edition. From a preeminent scholar of Islamic history, the authoritative history of caliphates from their beginnings in the 7th century to the modern dayIn Caliphate, Islamic historian Hugh Kennedy dissects the idea of the caliphate and its history, and explores how it became used and abused today. Contrary to popular belief, there is no one enduring definition of a caliph; rather, the idea of the caliph has been the subject of constant debate and transformation over time. Kennedy offers a grand history of the caliphate since the beginning of Islam to its modern incarnations. Originating in the tumultuous years following the death of the Mohammad in 632, the caliphate, a politico-religious system, flourished in the great days of the Umayyads of Damascus and the Abbasids of Baghdad. From the seventh-century Orthodox caliphs to the nineteenth-century Ottomans, Kennedy explores the tolerant rule of Umar, recounts the traumatic murder of the caliph Uthman, dubbed a tyrant by many, and revels in the flourishing arts of the golden eras of Abbasid Baghdad and Moorish Andaluc Kennedy also examines the modern fate of the caliphate, unraveling the British political schemes to spur dissent against the Ottomans and the ominous efforts of Islamists, including ISIS, to reinvent the history of the caliphate for their own malevolent political ends.In exploring and explaining the great variety of caliphs who have ruled throughout the ages, Kennedy challenges the very narrow views of the caliphate propagated by extremist groups today. An authoritative new account of the dynasties of Arab leaders throughout the Islamic Golden Age, Caliphate traces the history-and misappropriations-of one of the world's most potent political ideas. Seller Inventory # SONG0465094384
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ISBN 13: 9780465094387
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Hardcover. Condition: Very Good. Dust Jacket Condition: Very Good. 1st. xxiii, 309 pages; 25 cm. Near fine. Tight, clean copy. Age toning. Dust jacket with a small corner crease/front flap. "Caliphate is a grand and sweeping history of the caliphate since the death of the prophet Mohammed until the last official caliph in the 13th Century, and its modern incarnations under various Islamist groups today. Contrary to popular belief, Islamic law is not a codified set of legislations, and thus there cannot be one definition of the role of the caliph. Rather, this title has been the subject of serious debate and transformation over time. In Caliphate, historian and Middle East expert Hugh Kennedy lifts the veil on the changing and contested position of the caliph and explores the fascinating succession of various leaders of the Islamic world since the death of the Prophet in 632 until the modern day. Kennedy begins in 7th century Medina, the Prophet Muhammad's city in the Hejaz desert, in the hours following the prophet's death. In the end, Kennedy delves into the modern fate of the caliphate, as the British manipulate the 19th Century caliphs to spur dissent against the Ottomans in the Arab provinces, and Islamist leaders call for the creation of a Muslim caliphate. We witness the emergence of another Abu Bakr as 'caliph' in 2014, as Kennedy untangles the twisted and distorted Qur'anic history ISIS uses to justify its barbaric acts. An authoritative new account of the dynasties of leaders who shaped the Arab world, The Caliphate reveals the legacy of one of the most potent political ideas in modern history." - Publisher. CONTENTS: The first caliphs; The executive caliphate: the rule of the Umayyads; The early Abbasid Caliphate; The culture of the Abbasid Caliphate; The later Abbasid Caliphate; Three authors in search of the caliphate; The caliphate of the Shi'ites; The Umayyads of Co rdoba; The Almohad caliphs; The caliphate under the Mamluks and Ottomans; The twentieth century and beyond. Size: 8vo. Seller Inventory # 108194
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