1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910163939303321

Autore

Kennedy Hugh (Hugh N.)

Titolo

Caliphate : the history of an idea / / Hugh Kennedy

Pubbl/distr/stampa

New York : , : Basic Books, , 2016

ISBN

1-5416-9771-5

0-465-09439-2

Edizione

[First edition.]

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (230 pages) : maps

Disciplina

909/.09767

Soggetti

Caliphs - History

Caliphate - History

Islamic Empire Kings and rulers

Islamic Empire History 622-661

Islamic Empire History 661-75

Islamic Empire History 750-1258

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Nota di contenuto

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 CoĢrdoba -- The Almohad caliphs -- The caliphate under the Mamluks and Ottomans -- The twentieth century and beyond.

Sommario/riassunto

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.