Synopses & Reviews
In 929 C.E., the eighth Umayyad ruler of al-Andalus (Islamic Iberia) assumed caliphal titles and prerogatives. Against the ambitions of his contemporary rivals, the Abbasids and the Fatimids, he quickly reasserted Umayyad dynastic claims to the unique and universal leadership of the Muslims. As he and his successor promoted their legitimacy, they generated an ideology that infused and defined the political culture of al-Andalus.
The Second Umayyad Caliphate recovers the Andalusi Umayyad argument for caliphal legitimacy through an analysis of caliphal rhetoric--based on proclamations, correspondence, and panegyric poetry--and caliphal ideology, as shown through monuments, ceremony, and historiography. This study of the tenth-century caliphates deepens our understanding of the political culture of the Iberian Peninsula at the height of centralized Islamic rule.
Synopsis
understanding of the political culture of the Iberian Peninsula at the height of centralized Islamic rule.
Synopsis
The Second Umayyad Caliphate recovers the Andalusi Umayyad argument for caliphal legitimacy through an analysis of caliphal rhetoric--based on proclamations, correspondence, and panegyric poetry--and caliphal ideology, as shown through monuments, ceremony, and historiography.
Description
Includes bibliographical references (p. 249-264) and index.
About the Author
Janina M. Safran is Assistant Professor of History at Pennsylvania State University.
Pennsylvania State University
Table of Contents
Acknowledgments
Introduction PART I: MAKING THE CLAIM
CALIPHAL ARTICULATIONS OF LEGITIMACY
Defining the Caliphate
The Symbolic Articulation of Legitimacy: Monuments and Ceremony
The Caliphate in Captivity
PART II: STAKING THE CLAIM
HISTORIOGRAPHICAL CONSTRUCTIONS OF LEGITIMACY
Introduction
The Conquest Histories: The Foundations of the Umayyad Caliphate in al-Andalus
Al-Andalus: Land of the Umayyads
CONCLUSION
THE ANDALUSI UMAYYAD CALIPHATE IN RETROSPECT
Endnotes
Bibliography
Index