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CALIPHS & MERCHANTS:CITIES & ECON POWER IN NEAR EAST, 700-950
Caliphs and Cities and Economies of Power in the Near East (700-950) offers fresh perspectives on the origins of the economic success of the early Islamic Caliphate, identifying a number of previously unnoticed or underplayed yet crucial developments, such as the changing conditions of labour, attitudes towards professional associations, and the interplay between the state, Islamic religious institutions, and the economy.
Moving beyond the well-studied transition between the death of Justinian in 565 and the Arab-Muslim conquests in the seventh century, the volume focuses on the period between 700 and 950 during which the Islamic world asserted its identity and authority. Whilst the extraordinary prosperity of Near Eastern cities and economies during this time was not unprecedented when one considers the early Imperial Roman world, the aftermath of the Arab-Muslim conquests saw a deep transformation of urban retail and craft which marked a distinct break from the past. It explores the mechanisms effecting these changes, from the increasing involvement of caliphs and their governors in the patronage of urban economies, to the empowerment of enriched entrepreneurial tā%gir from the ninth century.
Combining detailed analysis of a large corpus of literary sources in Arabic with presentation of new physical and epigraphic evidence, and utilizing an innovative approach which is both comparative and global, the discussion lucidly locates the Middle East within the contemporary Eurasian context and draws instructive parallels between the Islamic world and Western Christendom, Byzantium, South-East Asia, and China.
Moving beyond the well-studied transition between the death of Justinian in 565 and the Arab-Muslim conquests in the seventh century, the volume focuses on the period between 700 and 950 during which the Islamic world asserted its identity and authority. Whilst the extraordinary prosperity of Near Eastern cities and economies during this time was not unprecedented when one considers the early Imperial Roman world, the aftermath of the Arab-Muslim conquests saw a deep transformation of urban retail and craft which marked a distinct break from the past. It explores the mechanisms effecting these changes, from the increasing involvement of caliphs and their governors in the patronage of urban economies, to the empowerment of enriched entrepreneurial tā%gir from the ninth century.
Combining detailed analysis of a large corpus of literary sources in Arabic with presentation of new physical and epigraphic evidence, and utilizing an innovative approach which is both comparative and global, the discussion lucidly locates the Middle East within the contemporary Eurasian context and draws instructive parallels between the Islamic world and Western Christendom, Byzantium, South-East Asia, and China.
392 pages, Hardcover
Published October 27, 2020
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January 20, 2021
This book is about economic changes from Late Antiquity to the Middle Ages as the first Islamic caliphates came to replace the Roman and Persian empires in the Near East. It is a dense and challenging book intended for specialists. A number of photos and diagrams are based on the author’s archeological fieldwork in Jordan.
I found it difficult as a layperson, but there were still a few interesting takeways: the info about labor specialization, the geographic separation of production from trade, the emergence of public versus private spheres of work, and the rise of commerce as a mode of wealth creation distinct from landownership. The book complicates the 'great transformation' narrative from fuedalism to capitalism.
I found it difficult as a layperson, but there were still a few interesting takeways: the info about labor specialization, the geographic separation of production from trade, the emergence of public versus private spheres of work, and the rise of commerce as a mode of wealth creation distinct from landownership. The book complicates the 'great transformation' narrative from fuedalism to capitalism.
Displaying 1 of 1 review