Rituals Of Islamic Monarchy: Accession And Succession In The First Muslim Empire Accession And Succession In The First Muslim Empire University Press Scholarship Online

This fascinating history explores the ceremony of the oath of allegiance to the caliph from the time of the Prophet Muhammad until the fragmentation of the caliphate in the late ninth and tenth centuries. The study of royal rituals of accession and succession in Christian Rome, Byzantium and the early Medieval West has generated an extensive literature. This has however remained unexplored in scholarship on the Islamic world. This book redresses that by examining the ceremonial of accession to the caliphate in early Islam, covering the following aspects of the subject: * The place of ritual in political practice * Changes and continuities in that practice * The problem of how best to understand accounts of ritual. It also offers a contribution to major, current debates in Islamic history: the development of Arab-Muslim identity and the formation of the 'Islamic state'. It presents an accessible discussion of 'royal' ritual in early Islam which situates developments in the Islamic world in a late antique and early medieval context, adding an important comparative context to the book.Key Features + The first book-length exploration of royal ritual in the Islamic world + Focuses on the oath of allegiance pledged by subjects to their caliph + Contributes to major debates in Islamic history including the development of Arab-Muslim identity and the formation of the 'Islamic state' + Explicitly situates developments in the Islamic world in a late antique and early medieval context Rituals Of Islamic Monarchy Is A History Of The Oath Of Allegiance By Which The Caliph Was Recognised At His Accession. It Begins In Pre-islamic Arabia And Traces The Development Of A Formal Ceremonial Of Islamic Monarchy In Syria And Iraq During The 7th-9th Centuries Ce. It Examines How The Caliphs Sought To Proclaim Their Status As The Representatives Of God's Covenant On Earth Through Syntheses Of Roman And Iranian Royal Ritual And Customs And Practices Brought From Pre-islamic And Early Islamic Arabia. It Engages With Current Debates About The Reliability Of The Islamic Tradition For Early Islamic History And Identifies Key Turning-points In The Formation Of Classical Islamic Political Culture. An Early Chapter Discusses The Importance Of The Qur'an As A Historical Source For The Time Of The Prophet Muhammad. For The Caliphal Period, Close Readings Of The Sources For Specific Rituals Alternate With The Examination Of Later Copies Of Documents Used At These Accession Rituals. This Study Of The Invention And Re-invention Of A Central Institution Of Early Islamic Political Culture Is The First Such Account Of Islamic Accession Ceremonial And Will Appeal To Both Specialists In Early Islamic History And Non-specialists Alike.--jacket. Introduction --- Part I. Late Antique Arabia And Early Islam (c.550-c.660). Introduction -- 1. Alliance And Allegiance In Pre-islamic Arabia -- 2. The Verb Baya'a In The Quran: Allegiance To Muhammad -- 3. The Oath Of Allegiance In The Conquest Society (c.628 -- C.660) --- Part Ii. The Umayyad Caliphate (c.660-750). Introduction -- 4. Sufyanid Accession And Succession, C.660-683 -- 5. The Oath Of Allegiance In The Early Tradition And Poetry, C.680-c.710 -- 6. The Marwanid Patrimony And Dynastic Succession -- 7. Marwanid Rituals Of Accession And Succession -- 8. Writing And The Bay'a In The Marwanid Period -- 9. The Quranic Content Of The Marwanid Documents --- Part Iii. The Early Abbasid Caliphate (c.750-809). Introduction -- 10. The Consolidation Of Abbasid Power: Al-mansur And Al-mahdi (754-785) -- 11. The Caliphates Of Musa Al-hadi (785-786) And Harun Al-rashid (786-809) -- 12. Dispositive Documents For The Early Abbasid Succession --- Part Iv. The Middle Abbasid Caliphate (809-865). Introduction -- 13. From The Civil War To Samarra (809-847) -- 14. The Caliphate Of Al-mutawakkil (847-861) -- 15. The Outbreak Of The Second Ninth-century Civil War (861-865) -- 16. Abbasid Documents For Caliphal Accession --- Conclusion. Andrew Marsham. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 320-337) And Index. This fascinating history explores the ceremony of the oath of allegiance to the caliph from the time of the Prophet Muhammad until the fragmentation of the caliphate in the late ninth and tenth centuries. The study of royal rituals of accession and succession in Christian Rome, Byzantium and the early Medieval West has generated an extensive literature. This has however remained unexplored in scholarship on the Islamic world. This book redresses that by examining the ceremonial of accession to the caliphate in early Islam, covering the following aspects of the subject: The place of ritual in political practice Changes and continuities in that practice The problem of how best to understand accounts of ritual. It also offers a contribution to major, current debates in Islamic history: the development of Arab-Muslim identity and the formation of the 'Islamic state'. It presents an accessible discussion of 'royal' ritual in early Islam which situates developments in the Islamic world in a late antique and early medieval context, adding an important comparative context to the book. Key Features The first book-length exploration of royal ritual in the Islamic world Focuses on the oath of allegiance pledged by subjects to their caliph Contributes to major debates in Islamic history including the development of Arab-Muslim identity and the formation of the 'Islamic state' Explicitly situates developments in the Islamic world in a late antique and early medieval context "Rituals of Islamic Monarchy is a history of the oath of allegiance by which the caliph was recognised at his accession. It begins in pre-Islamic Arabia and traces the development of a formal ceremonial of Islamic monarchy in Syria and Iraq during the 7th-9th centuries CE. It examines how the caliphs sought to proclaim their status as the representatives of God's covenant on earth through syntheses of Roman and Iranian royal ritual and customs and practices brought from pre-Islamic and early Islamic Arabia. It engages with current debates about the reliability of the Islamic tradition for early Islamic history and identifies key turning-points in the formation of classical Islamic political culture. An early chapter discusses the importance of the Qur'anas a historical source for the time of the Prophet Muhammad. For the caliphal period, close readings of the sources for specific rituals alternate with the examination of later copies of documents used at these accession rituals.This study of the invention and re-invention of a central institution of early Islamic political culture is the first such account of Islamic accession ceremonial and will appeal to both specialists in early Islamic history and non-specialists alike." -- from book jacket.