Reinterpreting Islamic Historiography: Harun al-Rashid and the Narrative of the Abbasid Caliphate (Cambridge Studies in Islamic Civilization) [Hardcover]

Tayeb El-Hibri (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 28, 1999 | ISBN-10: 0521650232 | ISBN-13: 978-0521650236

The reigns of the caliph Harun al-Rashid and his successor al-Ma'mun have long been viewed as the golden age of the medieval Islamic caliphate. Yet how did chroniclers represent this crucial period? Tayeb El-Hibri's book applies a new literary-critical reading to the sources to demonstrate how medieval narrators devised various elusive ways of shedding light on controversial religious, political and social issues, while ostensibly presenting a history loyal to the 'Abbasid dynasty. This is an important book that represents a landmark in the field of early Islamic historiography.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Al-Hibri's analysis is a careful argument for an 'Islamic salvation history'..." Journal of the American Academy of Religion.

"...a significant contribution to contemporary scholarship of classical Islamic narratives. It stands out for its literary-critical approach to the question of intentions and meanings...students of both classical Islamic literature and historiography will find it useful and informative." Arab Studies Journal

"El-Hibri...breaks with the traditional approach to the history of the Abbasid caliphate in the eighth and ninth centuries...He shows how decoding Isalmic historiography through study of its narrative strategies and thematic motifs can uncover important new layers of meaning." Book News

"...the book is very clearly written..." Religious Studies Review

"Reinterpreting Islamic Historiography is a pioneering work filled with powerful arguments that challenge historians to read Abbasid chronicles in fresh ways, to embrace techniques of literary criticism, and to consider their own assumptions carefully." Kate Lang, Journal of Near Eastern Studies

Book Description

The reigns of the caliph Harun al-Rashid and his successor al-Ma'mun have long been viewed as the golden age of the medieval Islamic caliphate. Yet how did chroniclers represent this crucial period? Tayeb El-Hibri's book applies a new literary-critical reading to the sources to demonstrate how medieval narrators devised various elusive ways of shedding light on controversial religious, political and social issues, while ostensibly presenting a history loyal to the 'Abbasid dynasty. This is an important book which represents a landmark in the field of early Islamic historiography.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 246 pages
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press (December 28, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0521650232
• ISBN-13: 978-0521650236
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.3 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,336,369 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars narrating caliphate from Rashid to Mutawakkil, September 6, 2004

By 

Tron Honto - See all my reviews

This review is from: Reinterpreting Islamic Historiography: Harun al-Rashid and the Narrative of the Abbasid Caliphate (Cambridge Studies in Islamic Civilization) (Hardcover)

El-Hibri has taken a new approach to the historical sources relating to the Abbasid caliphate in order to clarify the factual from the fanciful. I personally would summarize it as follows. The early historical narratives that we read were written without a concern for the most prominent questions modern intellectuals desire to be answered (e.g., political causation, economic realities, psychological motivations, etc.); therefore, the best way to approach these text before pursuing our questions is to ask what the aims and questions of the authors of these works were trying to accomplish and answer. Rather than these modern questions, the narratives of the Abbasid caliphate, he argues, were more interested in events from a moralizing and religious perspective. Thus, El-Hibri makes the convincing case that these are not factual recollections of political realities or events but are rather embellished narratives either serving ideology or in the service of demonstrating some religious moral.
Taking invdividual accounts relating to caliphal reigns from Harun al-Rashid to al-Mutawakkil, he makes a convincing case for the 'literary character' of narratives while providing useful methodological tools for identifying these moralizing currents.