1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910811327503321

Autore

Safran Janina M

Titolo

Defining boundaries in al-Andalus : Muslims, Christians, and Jews in Islamic Iberia / / Janina M. Safran

Pubbl/distr/stampa

Ithaca [NY], : Cornell University Press, 2013

ISBN

0-8014-6801-9

9780801468018

Edizione

[1st ed.]

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (261 p.)

Disciplina

946.8/02

Soggetti

Christianity and other religions - Islam - History - To 1500

Dhimmis (Islamic law) - Spain - Andalusia - History - To 1500

Islam - Relations - Christianity - History - To 1500

Islam - Relations - Judaism - History - To 1500

Islamic law - Spain - Andalusia - History - To 1500

Judaism - Relations - Islam - History - To 1500

Spain Civilization 711-1516

Andalusia (Spain) Ethnic relations

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Note generali

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Nota di contenuto

Frontmatter -- Contents -- Acknowledgments -- Introduction -- 1. The Structuring of Umayyad Rule -- 2. Society in Transition -- 3. Between Enemies and Friends -- 4. Borders and Boundaries -- Conclusion -- Bibliography -- Index

Sommario/riassunto

Al-Andalus, the Arabic name for the medieval Islamic state in Iberia, endured for over 750 years following the Arab and Berber conquest of Hispania in 711. While the popular perception of al-Andalus is that of a land of religious tolerance and cultural cooperation, the fact is that we know relatively little about how Muslims governed Christians and Jews in al-Andalus and about social relations among Muslims, Christians, and Jews. In Defining Boundaries in al-Andalus, Janina M. Safran takes a close look at the structure and practice of Muslim political and legal-religious authority and offers a rare look at intercommunal life in Iberia during the first three centuries of Islamic rule.Safran makes creative



use of a body of evidence that until now has gone largely untapped by historians-the writings and opinions of Andalusi and Maghribi jurists during the Umayyad dynasty. These sources enable her to bring to life a society undergoing dramatic transformation. Obvious differences between conquerors and conquered and Muslims and non-Muslims became blurred over time by transculturation, intermarriage, and conversion. Safran examines ample evidence of intimate contact between individuals of different religious communities and of legal-juridical accommodation to develop an argument about how legal-religious authorities interpreted the social contract between the Muslim regime and the Christian and Jewish populations. Providing a variety of examples of boundary-testing and negotiation and bringing judges, jurists, and their legal opinions and texts into the narrative of Andalusi history, Safran deepens our understanding of the politics of Umayyad rule, makes Islamic law tangibly social, and renders intercommunal relations vividly personal.