Akhtar Philosophers, Sufis, and Caliphs

Politics and Authority from Cordoba to Cairo and Baghdad
Erscheinungsjahr 2017
ISBN: 978-1-316-85963-6
Verlag: Cambridge University Press
Format: PDF
Kopierschutz: Adobe DRM (»Systemvoraussetzungen)

E-Book, Englisch, 0 Seiten

What was the relationship between government and religion in Middle Eastern history? In a world of caliphs, sultans, and judges, who exercised political and religious authority? In this book, Ali Humayun Akhtar investigates debates about leadership that involved ruling circles and scholars of jurisprudence and theology. At the heart of this story is a medieval rivalry between three caliphates: the Umayyads of Cordoba, the Fatimids of Cairo, and the Abbasids of Baghdad. In a fascinating revival of Late Antique Hellenism, Aristotelian and Platonic notions of wisdom became a key component of how these caliphs debated their authority as political leaders. By tracing how these political debates impacted the theological scholars and their own conception of communal guidance, Akhtar offers a new picture of premodern political authority and the connections between Western and Islamic civilizations. It will be of use to students and specialists of the premodern and modern Middle East.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Akhtar, Ali Humayun

Fachgebiete

• Geisteswissenschaften Islam & Islamische Studien Islam: Leben & Praxis
• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Weltgeschichte & Geschichte einzelner Länder und Gebietsräume Geschichte einzelner Länder Naher & Mittlerer Osten

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Introduction: politics, law, and authority in the Abbasid and Fatimid eras; Part I. Graeco-Arabic Philosophy in Tenth-Century Political Culture and Theological Writing: 1. Philosophical caliphs in Baghdad and Cairo and the debate about falsafa: Ibn Masarra in the shadow of the Abbasid-Fatimid rivalry; 2. A new caliph in Cordoba and a theologian's reform of philosophy: 'Abd al-Rahman III's and Ibn Hazm's response to the Fatimids and Ibn Masarra; 3. Political reform in Baghdad and its legacy in Seville: al-Ghazali's and Abu Bakr b. al-'Arabi's nuanced critique of the Fatimids and philosophy; Part II. The Rise of Sufi Metaphysics and the Evolution of Political Legitimacy in the Twelfth Century: 4. Sufis among scholars in the Almoravid era: Ibn Barrajan and the rise of Sufi metaphysics; 5. A Sufi revolt in Portugal and its patonizing political leadership: Ibn Qasi's platonizing Sufi metaphysics and theory of political reform; 6. Almohad political culture and the patronage of philosophy and mysticism: Ibn Tufayl and the revival of philosophy and Sufi metaphysics in political culture; Bibliography; Index.

Über Autor(innen)

Akhtar, Ali Humayun
Ali Humayun Akhtar is an Assistant Professor at Bates College, Maine. He is also the Robert M. Kingdon Fellow at the Institute for Research in the Humanities at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. Akhtar holds a PhD in History and Middle Eastern Studies from New York University.