The First Dynasty of Islam (Hardcover)

by G. R. Hawting (Author) "In the summer or autumn of AD 661, Mu'awiya b. Abi Sufyan, governor of Syria since 639 and already acclaimed by his Syrian followers as..." (more)
Key Phrases: fiscal rescript, des omayyades, third civil war, Abd Allah, Abu Muslim, Middle East (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
'Anyone faced with the somewhat daunting task of teaching Umayyad history to undergraduates will greet Hawting's achievement with relief, gratitude and admiration.' - Journal of Semitic Studies

'Provides the best account now available in English' - Journal of the American Oriental Society

Anyone faced with the somewhat daunting task of teaching Umayyad history to undergraduates will greet Hawtings achievement with relief, gratitude and admiration. - Journal of Semitic Studies

Provides the best account now available in English - Journal of the American Oriental Society --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Product Description

The Umayyad period was a crucial one for the de­velopment of Islam and Islamic culture. At the be­ginning of the ninety years of Umayyad rule over the Middle East, the region had only recently been conquered by the Arabs, and there is little un­ambiguous evidence about the development of Islam at that time. By the time the dynasty was over­thrown, the Arabic languages and culture had made substantial progress among the many non-Arab conquered peoples, many of the religious and social features that we recognize as distinctly Islamic had begun to crystallize, and large numbers of the sub­ject peoples had entered Islam.

 

Hawting provides an introductory survey of the period of the Umayyad dynasty. The historical evi­dence is often susceptible to widely differing in­terpretations. While the author is not mainly con­cerned here with analysis of the sources, he does provide some discussion of them and the problems associated with using them. He discusses the con­tinuing debate about the place of the Umayyads in Arab and Islamic history, a debate that continues to produce heated argument.

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Product Details Hardcover: 160 pages Publisher: Southern Illinois University Press; 1st edition (August 1, 1986) Language: English ISBN-10: 0809313243 ISBN-13: 978-0809313242 Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 0.8 inches Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews) Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,711,931 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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First Sentence:
In the summer or autumn of AD 661, Mu'awiya b. Abi Sufyan, governor of Syria since 639 and already acclaimed by his Syrian followers as caliph (khalifa), religious and political leader of the Muslim state, entered the Iraqi garrison town of Kufa. Read the first page

Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
fiscal rescript, des omayyades, third civil war, second civil war

Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Abd Allah, Abu Muslim, Middle East, Dome of the Rock, Abu Hashim, Abu Sufyan, Darwin Press, Prophet Muhammad, Ibn Hubayra, North Africa, Ibn Surayj, Abu Salama, Ibn Mu'awiya, Martin Hinds, Muslim Studies, Patricia Crone, Abu Musa, Arab Muslim, Banu Hashim, Marj Rahit, Sunni Islam, Shi'a Islam, Abu Muhammad, Khurasani Hashimiyya, Syrian Arabs

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Citations (learn more)

This book cites 8 books:

• Muslim Studies (v. 1) by Ignaz Goldziher on 5 pages
• The Dome of the Rock by Oleg Grabar on page 65, page 71, and Back Matter
• Islamic Historiography (Themes in Islamic History) by Chase F. Robinson on page 132
• Great Britain (Look Inside) by Ian James in Front Matter
• Narratives of Islamic Origins: The Beginnings of Islamic Historical Writing (Studies in Late Antiquity and Early Islam, No. 14) by Fred McGraw Donner on page 131

See all 8 books this book cites

 

4 books cite this book:

• A New Introduction to Islam by Daniel W. Brown on page 49, and Back Matter
• A Concise History of the Middle East (7th Edition) by Arthur Goldschmidt Jr. in Back Matter
• An Introduction to Islam (Introduction to Religion) by David Waines in Back Matter
• An Introduction to Islam (Introduction to Religion) by David Waines in Back Matter

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Books on Related Topics (learn more)

Narratives of Islamic Origins by Fred McGraw Donner

Discusses:

• des omayyades
• Abu Sufyan
• Prophet Muhammad

A History of Palestine, 634-1099 by Moshe Gil

Discusses:

• fiscal rescript
• Abu Muslim
• Dome of the Rock

An Introduction to Islam by Gerhard Endress

Discusses:

• fiscal rescript
• des omayyades
• third civil war

Empire and Elites after the Muslim Conquest by Chase F. Robinson

Discusses:

• fiscal rescript
• des omayyades
• third civil war

Narratives of Islamic Origins by Fred McGraw Donner Discusses: des omayyades Abu Sufyan Prophet Muhammad A History of Palestine, 634-1099 by Moshe Gil Discusses: fiscal rescript Abu Muslim Dome of the Rock An Introduction to Islam by Gerhard Endress Discusses: fiscal rescript des omayyades third civil war Empire and Elites after the Muslim Conquest by Chase F. Robinson Discusses: fiscal rescript des omayyades third civil war Loading...

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Customer Reviews

2 Reviews 5 star:  (1) 4 star:  (1) 3 star:    (0) 2 star:    (0) 1 star:    (0)           Average Customer Review 4.5 out of 5 stars (2 customer reviews)		Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews 8 of 8 people found the following review helpful: 4.0 out of 5 stars Readable introduction, March 14, 2004 By  Michael C Tinkler (Geneva, NY United States) - See all my reviews This review is from: The First Dynasty of Islam: The Umayyad Caliphate AD 661-750 (Paperback) Hawting's history of the Ummayad Caliphate is quite readable -- and straightens out lots of questions I had about the replacement of the Ummayads by the Abbasid dynasty (I had never understood that the jostling went on for so much of the late Ummayad period). Hawting is also helpful on understanding how much Arabisation and Islamisation went hand in hand AND were resisted by the Caliphate for tax-base-preservation reasons (among others). The book is reasonably transparent to the non-specialist. The glossary is useful and he explains most terms both in the text and in the glossary (though there are a few misfires on that score). I've given it 4 rather than 5 stars for the non-specialist reader because it's also SHORT! Those of us who want to know about the early Caliphate without reading, say, reading Madelung's 400-pager on the succession to Muhammad are grateful for a 141-page introduction. 0 of 1 people found the following review helpful: 5.0 out of 5 stars an outstanding brief introduction to the Umayyads, January 18, 2009 By  doc peterson (Portland, Oregon USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    This review is from: The First Dynasty of Islam: The Umayyad Caliphate AD 661-750 (Paperback) The issue of the succession to Mohammad is one of the seminal events in the history of Islam. That the Umayyads - a clan who previously had actively opposed Mohammad and his teachings and who converted to Islam rather late - would lay claim (and be succesful in their pursuit of) the caliphate was tremendously controversial. In fact, this issue is at the core of the scism between the shi'a and sunni. Because of its importance (both politically and dogmatically), a balanced and nuanced history is difficult to find. Hawting, in a little under 150 pages, does this. The political, social and economic climate of the 7th century is vividly depicted, and the personalities, inter-tribal rivalries and competing claims to the succession are concisely told. This is an outstanding history written by a seasoned historian. As a previous reviewer has noted, Madelung's history of the Umayyads is much more detailed, and is certainly recommended for those who are seeking a more definitive history of the period in English. For the rest of us, however, Hawting's treatment is the one I recommend.		Ad feedback   Search Customer Reviews Only search this product's reviews

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 160 pages
• Publisher: Southern Illinois University Press; 1st edition (August 1, 1986)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0809313243
• ISBN-13: 978-0809313242
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,711,931 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Readable introduction, March 14, 2004

By	Michael C Tinkler (Geneva, NY United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The First Dynasty of Islam: The Umayyad Caliphate AD 661-750 (Paperback)

Hawting's history of the Ummayad Caliphate is quite readable -- and straightens out lots of questions I had about the replacement of the Ummayads by the Abbasid dynasty (I had never understood that the jostling went on for so much of the late Ummayad period). Hawting is also helpful on understanding how much Arabisation and Islamisation went hand in hand AND were resisted by the Caliphate for tax-base-preservation reasons (among others).

The book is reasonably transparent to the non-specialist. The glossary is useful and he explains most terms both in the text and in the glossary (though there are a few misfires on that score).

I've given it 4 rather than 5 stars for the non-specialist reader because it's also SHORT! Those of us who want to know about the early Caliphate without reading, say, reading Madelung's 400-pager on the succession to Muhammad are grateful for a 141-page introduction.

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars an outstanding brief introduction to the Umayyads, January 18, 2009

By	doc peterson (Portland, Oregon USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

This review is from: The First Dynasty of Islam: The Umayyad Caliphate AD 661-750 (Paperback)

The issue of the succession to Mohammad is one of the seminal events in the history of Islam. That the Umayyads - a clan who previously had actively opposed Mohammad and his teachings and who converted to Islam rather late - would lay claim (and be succesful in their pursuit of) the caliphate was tremendously controversial. In fact, this issue is at the core of the scism between the shi'a and sunni. Because of its importance (both politically and dogmatically), a balanced and nuanced history is difficult to find. Hawting, in a little under 150 pages, does this.

The political, social and economic climate of the 7th century is vividly depicted, and the personalities, inter-tribal rivalries and competing claims to the succession are concisely told. This is an outstanding history written by a seasoned historian. As a previous reviewer has noted, Madelung's history of the Umayyads is much more detailed, and is certainly recommended for those who are seeking a more definitive history of the period in English. For the rest of us, however, Hawting's treatment is the one I recommend.