SOCIAL CHANGE IN EARLY MEDIEVAL IRAN 132-628 AH (750-1231 AD) : the perspectives of persian... historiography

This study contributes to the history of social changes in Iran during the Abbasid Caliphate (AH 132–656, AD 750–1258) by foregrounding the perspective of Persian language historians – from Abu Ali Bal'ami (AH 363, AD 974), the first known Persian historian, to Atamelak Joveyni (AH 623–681, AD 1226–1283), the great historian of the Mongol Era. By applying the insights of Anthony Giddens and the theory of structuration to address the interactions of social agents and structures, this book provides a coherent narrative of social transformation in medieval Iran. Cover 1 Table of Contents 6 Preface 10 Introduction 12 Author’s Notes 40 Part I. The Formation of Iranian Authority under the ʿAbbāsid Caliphate 42 1. The Formation of the ʿAbbāsid Caliphate 46 From Secret Daʿva to the Rise of Siyāh-Jāmegān (The Black Garments) 46 2. Establishment of the ʿAbbāsid Caliphate 64 The Restructuring or Displacement of Agents 64 3. Split in the ʿAbbāsid Political Structure 82 A Prelude to the Independence of Khorāsān 82 Part II. The Structure of Iranian Dynasties. From Dependence to Independence 100 4. The Rule of the Tāherids in the Shadow of the ʿAbbāsid Caliphate 104 5. The Structure of the Sāmānid Government 114 Moving in the Direction of Cultural Independence 114 6. The Saffārid Dynasty 130 A Power outside the ʿAbbāsid Structure 130 7. The ʿAlawites of Tabarestān, the First Shiʿite Dynasty in Iran 142 8. The Buyid Dynasty 152 A Turning Point in Iran’s Social Change 152 Part III. The Rise of Soltānates in the Power Structure 172 9. The Formation of the Ghaznavid Soltānate 176 10. The Saljuq Dynasty 210 The First Islamic Empire in Iran 210 11. The Khwārazmshāhi Dynasty: Emerging from the Saljuq Structure 236 Conclusion 256 Bibliography 264 Index 276