Author: Paula Sanders
Publisher: SUNY Press
ISBN: 9780791417812
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 248
Book Description
This book provides an understanding of the complexities of political legitimacy in Islamic dynasties by examining Fatimid political culture in Egypt reconstructed from court rituals. The author approaches ritual as a dynamic process through which claims to political and religious authority in Islamic societies was articulated, and in which complex negotiations of power have taken place.
Ritual, Politics, and the City in Fatimid Cairo
Author: Paula Sanders
Publisher: SUNY Press
ISBN: 9780791417812
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 248
Book Description
This book provides an understanding of the complexities of political legitimacy in Islamic dynasties by examining Fatimid political culture in Egypt reconstructed from court rituals. The author approaches ritual as a dynamic process through which claims to political and religious authority in Islamic societies was articulated, and in which complex negotiations of power have taken place.
Publisher: SUNY Press
ISBN: 9780791417812
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 248
Book Description
This book provides an understanding of the complexities of political legitimacy in Islamic dynasties by examining Fatimid political culture in Egypt reconstructed from court rituals. The author approaches ritual as a dynamic process through which claims to political and religious authority in Islamic societies was articulated, and in which complex negotiations of power have taken place.
Imagining the City
Author: Christian Emden
Publisher: Peter Lang
ISBN: 9783039105335
Category : Architecture
Languages : en
Pages : 392
Book Description
"Based on papers given at the conference 'Imagining the City' held in Cambridge in 2004"--P. [4] of cover, v. 1.
Publisher: Peter Lang
ISBN: 9783039105335
Category : Architecture
Languages : en
Pages : 392
Book Description
"Based on papers given at the conference 'Imagining the City' held in Cambridge in 2004"--P. [4] of cover, v. 1.
Court Ceremonies and Rituals of Power in Byzantium and the Medieval Mediterranean
Author:
Publisher: BRILL
ISBN: 9004258159
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 603
Book Description
Publicly performed rituals and ceremonies form an essential part of medieval political practice and court culture. This applies not only to western feudal societies, but also to the linguistically and culturally highly diversified environment of Byzantium and the Mediterranean basin. The continuity of Roman traditions and cross-fertilization between various influences originating from Constantinople, Armenia, the Arab-Muslim World, and western kingdoms and naval powers provide the framework for a distinct sphere of ritual expression and ceremonial performance. This collective volume, placing Byzantium into a comparative perspective between East and West, examines transformative processes from Late Antiquity to the Middle Ages, succession procedures in different political contexts, phenomena of cross-cultural appropriation and exchange, and the representation of rituals in art and literature. Contributors are Maria Kantirea, Martin Hinterberger, Walter Pohl, Andrew Marsham, Björn Weiler, Eric J. Hanne, Antonia Giannouli, Jo Van Steenbergen, Stefan Burkhardt, Ioanna Rapti, Jonathan Shepard, Panagiotis Agapitos, Henry Maguire, Christine Angelidi and Margaret Mullett.
Publisher: BRILL
ISBN: 9004258159
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 603
Book Description
Publicly performed rituals and ceremonies form an essential part of medieval political practice and court culture. This applies not only to western feudal societies, but also to the linguistically and culturally highly diversified environment of Byzantium and the Mediterranean basin. The continuity of Roman traditions and cross-fertilization between various influences originating from Constantinople, Armenia, the Arab-Muslim World, and western kingdoms and naval powers provide the framework for a distinct sphere of ritual expression and ceremonial performance. This collective volume, placing Byzantium into a comparative perspective between East and West, examines transformative processes from Late Antiquity to the Middle Ages, succession procedures in different political contexts, phenomena of cross-cultural appropriation and exchange, and the representation of rituals in art and literature. Contributors are Maria Kantirea, Martin Hinterberger, Walter Pohl, Andrew Marsham, Björn Weiler, Eric J. Hanne, Antonia Giannouli, Jo Van Steenbergen, Stefan Burkhardt, Ioanna Rapti, Jonathan Shepard, Panagiotis Agapitos, Henry Maguire, Christine Angelidi and Margaret Mullett.
Building the Caliphate
Author: Jennifer A. Pruitt
Publisher: Yale University Press
ISBN: 030024682X
Category : Architecture
Languages : en
Pages : 217
Book Description
A riveting exploration of how the Fatimid dynasty carefully orchestrated an architectural program that proclaimed their legitimacy This groundbreaking study investigates the early architecture of the Fatimids, an Ismaili Shi‘i Muslim dynasty that dominated the Mediterranean world from the 10th to the 12th century. This period, considered a golden age of multicultural and interfaith tolerance, witnessed the construction of iconic structures, including Cairo’s al-Azhar and al-Hakim mosques and crucial renovations to Jerusalem’s Dome of the Rock and Aqsa Mosque. However, it also featured large-scale destruction of churches under the notorious reign of al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah, most notably the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem. Jennifer A. Pruitt offers a new interpretation of these and other key moments in the history of Islamic architecture, using newly available medieval primary sources by Ismaili writers and rarely considered Arabic Christian sources. Building the Caliphate contextualizes early Fatimid architecture within the wider Mediterranean and Islamic world and demonstrates how rulers manipulated architectural form and urban topographies to express political legitimacy on a global stage.
Publisher: Yale University Press
ISBN: 030024682X
Category : Architecture
Languages : en
Pages : 217
Book Description
A riveting exploration of how the Fatimid dynasty carefully orchestrated an architectural program that proclaimed their legitimacy This groundbreaking study investigates the early architecture of the Fatimids, an Ismaili Shi‘i Muslim dynasty that dominated the Mediterranean world from the 10th to the 12th century. This period, considered a golden age of multicultural and interfaith tolerance, witnessed the construction of iconic structures, including Cairo’s al-Azhar and al-Hakim mosques and crucial renovations to Jerusalem’s Dome of the Rock and Aqsa Mosque. However, it also featured large-scale destruction of churches under the notorious reign of al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah, most notably the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem. Jennifer A. Pruitt offers a new interpretation of these and other key moments in the history of Islamic architecture, using newly available medieval primary sources by Ismaili writers and rarely considered Arabic Christian sources. Building the Caliphate contextualizes early Fatimid architecture within the wider Mediterranean and Islamic world and demonstrates how rulers manipulated architectural form and urban topographies to express political legitimacy on a global stage.
Visualizing Medieval Performance
Author: Elina Gertsman
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1351537369
Category : Performing Arts
Languages : en
Pages : 344
Book Description
Taking a fresh look at the interconnections between medieval images, texts, theater, and practices of viewing, reading and listening, this explicitly interdisciplinary volume explores various manifestations of performance and meanings of performativity in the Middle Ages. The contributors - from their various perspectives as scholars of art history, religion, history, literary studies, theater studies, music and dance - combine their resources to reassess the complexity of expressions and definitions of medieval performance in a variety of different media. Among the topics considered are interconnections between ritual and theater; dynamics of performative readings of illuminated manuscripts, buildings and sculptures; linguistic performances of identity; performative models of medieval spirituality; social and political spectacles encoded in ceremonies; junctures between spatial configurations of the medieval stage and mnemonic practices used for meditation; performances of late medieval music that raise questions about the issues of historicity, authenticity, and historical correctness in performance; and tensions inherent in the very notion of a medieval dance performance.
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1351537369
Category : Performing Arts
Languages : en
Pages : 344
Book Description
Taking a fresh look at the interconnections between medieval images, texts, theater, and practices of viewing, reading and listening, this explicitly interdisciplinary volume explores various manifestations of performance and meanings of performativity in the Middle Ages. The contributors - from their various perspectives as scholars of art history, religion, history, literary studies, theater studies, music and dance - combine their resources to reassess the complexity of expressions and definitions of medieval performance in a variety of different media. Among the topics considered are interconnections between ritual and theater; dynamics of performative readings of illuminated manuscripts, buildings and sculptures; linguistic performances of identity; performative models of medieval spirituality; social and political spectacles encoded in ceremonies; junctures between spatial configurations of the medieval stage and mnemonic practices used for meditation; performances of late medieval music that raise questions about the issues of historicity, authenticity, and historical correctness in performance; and tensions inherent in the very notion of a medieval dance performance.
Encyclopedia of African History 3-Volume Set
Author: KEVIN SHILLINGTON.
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1135456704
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 1908
Book Description
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1135456704
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 1908
Book Description
From Byzantine to Islamic Egypt
Author: Maged S. A. Mikhail
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 0857725580
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 445
Book Description
The conquest of Egypt by Islamic armies under the command of Amr ibn al-As in the seventh century transformed medieval Egyptian society. Seeking to uncover the broader cultural changes of the period by drawing on a wide array of literary and documentary sources, Maged Mikhail stresses the cultural and institutional developments that punctuated the histories of Christians and Muslims in the province under early Islamic rule. From Byzantine to Islamic Egypt traces how the largely agrarian Egyptian society responded to the influx of Arabic and Islam, the means by which the Coptic Church constructed its sectarian identity, the Islamisation of the administrative classes and how these factors converged to create a new medieval society. The result is a fascinating and essential study for scholars of Byzantine and early Islamic Egypt.
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 0857725580
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 445
Book Description
The conquest of Egypt by Islamic armies under the command of Amr ibn al-As in the seventh century transformed medieval Egyptian society. Seeking to uncover the broader cultural changes of the period by drawing on a wide array of literary and documentary sources, Maged Mikhail stresses the cultural and institutional developments that punctuated the histories of Christians and Muslims in the province under early Islamic rule. From Byzantine to Islamic Egypt traces how the largely agrarian Egyptian society responded to the influx of Arabic and Islam, the means by which the Coptic Church constructed its sectarian identity, the Islamisation of the administrative classes and how these factors converged to create a new medieval society. The result is a fascinating and essential study for scholars of Byzantine and early Islamic Egypt.
A History of Islamic Societies
Author: Ira M. Lapidus
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1139991507
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 1019
Book Description
This new edition of one of the most widely used course books on Islamic civilizations around the world has been substantially revised to incorporate the new scholarship and insights of the last twenty-five years. Ira Lapidus' history explores the beginnings and transformations of Islamic civilizations in the Middle East and details Islam's worldwide diffusion. The history is divided into four parts. Part I is a comprehensive account of pre-Islamic late antiquity; the beginnings of Islam; the early Islamic empires; and Islamic religious, artistic, legal and intellectual cultures. Part II deals with the construction in the Middle East of Islamic religious communities and states to the fifteenth century. Part III includes the history to the nineteenth century of Islamic North Africa and Spain; the Ottoman, Safavid and Mughal empires; and other Islamic societies in Asia and Africa. Part IV accounts for the impact of European commercial and imperial domination on Islamic societies and traces the development of the modern national state system and the simultaneous Islamic revival from the early nineteenth century to the present.
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1139991507
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 1019
Book Description
This new edition of one of the most widely used course books on Islamic civilizations around the world has been substantially revised to incorporate the new scholarship and insights of the last twenty-five years. Ira Lapidus' history explores the beginnings and transformations of Islamic civilizations in the Middle East and details Islam's worldwide diffusion. The history is divided into four parts. Part I is a comprehensive account of pre-Islamic late antiquity; the beginnings of Islam; the early Islamic empires; and Islamic religious, artistic, legal and intellectual cultures. Part II deals with the construction in the Middle East of Islamic religious communities and states to the fifteenth century. Part III includes the history to the nineteenth century of Islamic North Africa and Spain; the Ottoman, Safavid and Mughal empires; and other Islamic societies in Asia and Africa. Part IV accounts for the impact of European commercial and imperial domination on Islamic societies and traces the development of the modern national state system and the simultaneous Islamic revival from the early nineteenth century to the present.
Mount of Knowledge, Sword of Eloquence
Author: M. Adra
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 0857719998
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 255
Book Description
I.B.Tauris in association with the Institute of Ismaili Studies A distinguished scholar, author and statesman, al-Mu'ayyad fi'l-Din al-Shirazi (c.997-1078 CE) lived during one of the most turbulent periods in Islamic history. The 11th century was characterized, among other things, by an acute struggle for supremacy between the Sunni and Shi'i branches of Islam, represented politically by the Abbasid and Fatimid caliphates. Al-Mu'ayyad was a Fatimid Ismaili da'i (missionary) who first rose to prominence in theservice of Abu Kalijar, the Buyid ruler of the Fars region in south-west Persia, which was then part of the Abbasid empire. Al-Mu'ayyad's proselytizing activities, however, incurred the hostility of the local political and religious establishment. After enduring much persecution, he was forced to flee his homeland for Fatimid Egypt, where he offered his services to the Imam-caliph al-Mustansir bi'llah. Despite initial setbacks, al-Mu'ayyad's outstanding intellectual and literary skills soon came to be recognized and he was appointed to important positions in the Fatimid administration. Eventually, he attained the highest ranks in the religious hierarchy, including that of chief da'i and director of the Dar al-'Ilm (House of Knowledge) academy in Cairo. During the twenty years he served in these positionsuntil his death at an advanced age, he won widespread acclaim for his scholarship and sagacity, as well as his authorship of a number of theological, devotional and literary works. The Diwan of al-Mu'ayyad al-Shirazi is notable for its exceptional poetic quality as well as a personal testimony of his career as a Fatimid da'i. Comprising a total of 62 qasidas (odes) of varying length, the Diwan covers a wide range of political and religious issues, from al-Mu'ayyad's intellectual disputations and personal experience of persecution to devotions in praise of the Prophet Muhammad and his family. In doing so, he provides a rare, first-hand description of some of the political and sectarian tensions that polarized the Muslim community of his time. Al-Mu'ayyad's poetry is rich in imagery, rhetorical techniques and symbolic allusions to the esoteric lore of the Fatimid Ismailis. This first complete English translation of the Diwan seeks to recapture some of the poetic power and flavour of what is undoubtedly one of the masterpieces of medieval Arabic literature.
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 0857719998
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 255
Book Description
I.B.Tauris in association with the Institute of Ismaili Studies A distinguished scholar, author and statesman, al-Mu'ayyad fi'l-Din al-Shirazi (c.997-1078 CE) lived during one of the most turbulent periods in Islamic history. The 11th century was characterized, among other things, by an acute struggle for supremacy between the Sunni and Shi'i branches of Islam, represented politically by the Abbasid and Fatimid caliphates. Al-Mu'ayyad was a Fatimid Ismaili da'i (missionary) who first rose to prominence in theservice of Abu Kalijar, the Buyid ruler of the Fars region in south-west Persia, which was then part of the Abbasid empire. Al-Mu'ayyad's proselytizing activities, however, incurred the hostility of the local political and religious establishment. After enduring much persecution, he was forced to flee his homeland for Fatimid Egypt, where he offered his services to the Imam-caliph al-Mustansir bi'llah. Despite initial setbacks, al-Mu'ayyad's outstanding intellectual and literary skills soon came to be recognized and he was appointed to important positions in the Fatimid administration. Eventually, he attained the highest ranks in the religious hierarchy, including that of chief da'i and director of the Dar al-'Ilm (House of Knowledge) academy in Cairo. During the twenty years he served in these positionsuntil his death at an advanced age, he won widespread acclaim for his scholarship and sagacity, as well as his authorship of a number of theological, devotional and literary works. The Diwan of al-Mu'ayyad al-Shirazi is notable for its exceptional poetic quality as well as a personal testimony of his career as a Fatimid da'i. Comprising a total of 62 qasidas (odes) of varying length, the Diwan covers a wide range of political and religious issues, from al-Mu'ayyad's intellectual disputations and personal experience of persecution to devotions in praise of the Prophet Muhammad and his family. In doing so, he provides a rare, first-hand description of some of the political and sectarian tensions that polarized the Muslim community of his time. Al-Mu'ayyad's poetry is rich in imagery, rhetorical techniques and symbolic allusions to the esoteric lore of the Fatimid Ismailis. This first complete English translation of the Diwan seeks to recapture some of the poetic power and flavour of what is undoubtedly one of the masterpieces of medieval Arabic literature.
The Door of the Caliph
Author: Elsa Cardoso
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
ISBN: 1000878422
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 293
Book Description
This book focuses on the conceptualization of the court, palace and ruler of the Umayyad Caliphate of al-Andalus. Western terminology still plays a normative role in the representation of foreign courts, determining concepts that fit poorly into chronologies with their own dynamics and specificities, which is the case of Muslim courts. While Court Studies is a well-developed field for modern Western societies, Muslim medieval courts lack a consistent field of research. Sources elaborate a specific terminology for medieval Muslim court societies. In the specific case of the Umayyad Caliphate of al-Andalus, the court is usually articulated as Bāb Suddat al-Khalīfa (“The door of the Sudda of the caliph”) – a reference to the symbology of the main city gate of Cordoba – or simply as Bāb. Bāb Suddat al-Khalīfa became the most emblematic concept to name the Umayyad palace and its society, which will be additionally interpreted in the framework of the performance of ceremonial. The strong conceptualization of the Umayyad court of Cordoba was highlighted through the articulation of ceremonial, as the mis-en-scène of the conceptualization, expressed by gestures, insignia and hierarchies. The preliminary comparative perspective with the Umayyad Caliphate of Damascus, the ‘Abbasid and Fatimid Caliphates and the Byzantine Empire further discusses the Umayyad Andalusi model in relation to other dynasties. While this book focuses on the Umayyad conceptualization and articulation of ceremonial, this model will be discussed within the Mediterranean and Eastern framework of the 10th and 11th centuries, which broadens the interest of the book to other fields of research.
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
ISBN: 1000878422
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 293
Book Description
This book focuses on the conceptualization of the court, palace and ruler of the Umayyad Caliphate of al-Andalus. Western terminology still plays a normative role in the representation of foreign courts, determining concepts that fit poorly into chronologies with their own dynamics and specificities, which is the case of Muslim courts. While Court Studies is a well-developed field for modern Western societies, Muslim medieval courts lack a consistent field of research. Sources elaborate a specific terminology for medieval Muslim court societies. In the specific case of the Umayyad Caliphate of al-Andalus, the court is usually articulated as Bāb Suddat al-Khalīfa (“The door of the Sudda of the caliph”) – a reference to the symbology of the main city gate of Cordoba – or simply as Bāb. Bāb Suddat al-Khalīfa became the most emblematic concept to name the Umayyad palace and its society, which will be additionally interpreted in the framework of the performance of ceremonial. The strong conceptualization of the Umayyad court of Cordoba was highlighted through the articulation of ceremonial, as the mis-en-scène of the conceptualization, expressed by gestures, insignia and hierarchies. The preliminary comparative perspective with the Umayyad Caliphate of Damascus, the ‘Abbasid and Fatimid Caliphates and the Byzantine Empire further discusses the Umayyad Andalusi model in relation to other dynasties. While this book focuses on the Umayyad conceptualization and articulation of ceremonial, this model will be discussed within the Mediterranean and Eastern framework of the 10th and 11th centuries, which broadens the interest of the book to other fields of research.