2nd Edition
A History of the Muslim World to 1750 The Making of a Civilization
A History of the Muslim World to 1750 traces the development of Islamic civilization from the career of the Prophet Muhammad to the mid-eighteenth century. Encompassing a wide range of significant events within the period, its coverage includes the creation of the Dar al-Islam (the territory ruled by Muslims), the fragmentation of society into various religious and political groups including the Shi'ites and Sunnis, the series of catastrophes in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries that threatened to destroy the civilization, and the rise of the Ottoman, Safavid, and Mughal empires.
Including the latest research from the last ten years, this second edition has been updated and expanded to cover the fifteenth to eighteenth centuries. Fully refreshed and containing over sixty images to highlight the key visual aspects, this book offers students a balanced coverage of the Muslim world from the Iberian Peninsula to South Asia, and detailed accounts of all cultures. The use of maps, primary sources, timelines, and a glossary further illuminates the fascinating yet complex world of the pre-modern Middle East.
Covering art, architecture, religious institutions, theological beliefs, popular religious practice, political institutions, cuisine, and much more, A History of the Muslim World to 1750 is the perfect introduction for all students of the history of Islamic civilization and the Middle East.
Part One The Formative Period, 610–950
1. Origins
Southwestern Asia in the Seventh Century
The Byzantine Empire
The Sasanian Empire
The Arabian Peninsula
The Rise of Islam
The Meccan Environment
Muhammad
A Framework for a New Community
Conclusion
notes
further reading
2. Arab Imperialism
Arab Conquests
Arabia and the Fertile Crescent
Iran
North Africa and the Iberian Peninsula
Transoxiana and the Indus River Valley
Umayyad Administration
The Caliphate
The Administration of Non-Muslims
The Administration of Muslims
The Rationalization of Society
Dissolution of the Arab Empire
Conclusion
notes
further reading
3. The Development of Sectarianism
‘Ali and the Politics of Division
Political Dissension
‘Ali’s Caliphate: Shi‘ites and Kharijites
Karbala
The Abbasid Revolution
Shi‘ite Identities
The Ghulat and the Zaydis
The Husayni Alids
The Shi‘ite Movement
The Sunni Consensus
Conclusion
further reading
4. The Center Cannot Hold: Three Caliphates
The Abbasid Caliphate
The Early Period
Military and Economic Problems
The Assertion of Regional Autonomy
The Fatimid Caliphate
Isma‘ili Activism
A Second Caliphate in the Umma
The Umayyad Caliphate of Cordoba
The Consolidation of Umayyad Power
A Third Caliphate in the Umma
Economic Networks
A Single Economy
Overland Trade
Maritime Commerce
Conclusion
notes
further reading
5. Synthesis and Creativity
The Origins of Islamic Law
Assimilation and Adaptation
Groping Toward an Islamic Jurisprudence
The Development of the Shari‘a
Early Sufism
The Contemplative Life
Testing the Limits of Transcendence
The Accommodation of Sufism
The Reception of Science and Philosophy
Science and Mathematics
Philosophy
The Development of an Islamic Theology
The Reception of Rationalism
The Critique of Rationalism
Conclusion
notes
further reading
PART TWO Civilization vs. Chaos, 950–1260
6. Filling the Vacuum of Power, 950–1100
The Buyid Sultanate
The Advent of the Turks
Origins
The Saljuq Invasion
The Great Saljuqs and the Saljuqs of Rum
The Fatimid Empire
The Conquest of Egypt and Palestine
Religious Policies
The New Egyptian Economy
Ominous Developments
The Nizaris ("Assassins")
The Muslim West
Norman Invasions of Muslim Territory
The "Hilali Invasion" of Ifriqiya
A Berber Empire
The Collapse of the Umayyad Caliphate of Andalus
The Incorporation of Andalus into the Maghrib
Conclusion
further reading
7. Barbarians at the Gates, 1100–1260
The Loss of Andalus
Provisional Solutions: The Great Berber Empires
The Disintegration of the Almohads and of Andalus
The Period of the Crusades
The First Crusade
The Franks on the Defensive
Realignment in the East
The Collapse of the Great Saljuqs
Sunni–Nizari Rapprochement
The Mongol Campaigns
Conclusion
further reading
8. The Consolidation of Traditions
Science and Philosophy
Mathematics and the Natural Sciences
Philosophy
The Sunni Resolution to the Tension between Reason and Revelation
Consolidating Institutions: Sufism
The Emergence of Lodges and Tariqas
Speculative Mysticism
Consolidating Institutions: Shi‘ism
Twelver Shi‘ites
The Isma‘ilis
The Impact of "the Foreign Sciences" and Jurisprudence
The Transmission of Knowledge
Schools
The Legacy to Europe
english words derived from arabic
Conclusion
notes
further reading
9. The Muslim Commonwealth
Frontiers and Identities
Frontiers Defining the Dar al-Islam
Frontiers within the Dar al-Islam
Identities
The City and the Countryside
The City
The Countryside
Conversion to Islam
A Muslim Minority
The Pace of Conversion Quickens
The Issue of Authority in the Muslim World
Conclusion
notes
further reading
Part Three Mongol Hegemony, 1260–1405
10. The Great Transformation
The Mongol Khanates
The Qipchaq Khanate
The Il-khanate
The Chaghatay Khanate
New Centers of Islamic Culture
The Mamluke Empire
The Delhi Sultanate
The Ottoman Sultanate
Scourges
Plague
Timur Lang
Conclusion
further reading
11. Unity and Diversity in Islamic Traditions
Intellectual Life in the Fourteenth Century
The End of the "Golden Age"?
Against All Odds
Law
The Queen of the Sciences
The "Closing of the Gate of Ijtihad"?
The Varieties of Religious Expression
"Orthodoxy" and "Heterodoxy"
The Proliferation of Sufi Groups
Conclusion
further reading
PART FOUR MUSLIM ASCENDANCY, 1405–1750
12. THE CENTRAL MUSLIM LANDS
The Ottoman Empire
The Creation of an Empire
Society
The State
The Economy
Culture
From Dominance to Parity
The Arabian Peninsula
The Holy Cities
Yemen and Oman
The Eurasian Steppes
Conclusion
further reading
13. THE UMMA IN THE WEST
The Iberian Peninsula
Mudejars
Granada
Moriscos
The Maghrib
The Land
The Berber States
Crusaders, Corsairs, and Janissaries
The Regencies
Alawite Morocco
The Sudan
Trans-Saharan Trade
The Islamization of the Western and Central Sudan
The Islamization of the Eastern Sudan
The Intensification of the Slave Trade
Islam in the Sudan
Conclusion
further reading
14. CENTRAL ASIA AND IRAN
Central Asia
The Timurids
The Uzbek Khanate
The Islamization of Central Asia
Iran
The Nizaris Regroup
The Safavids: A Militant Sufi Order
The First Twelver Shi‘ite Empire
The Apocalypse Postponed
Society
The State
The Decline of Tariqa Sufism in Iran
The Economy
Culture
The End of an Empire
Conclusion
further reading
15. SOUTH ASIA
South Asia after the Delhi Sultanate
Southern and Central South Asia
The Indo–Gangetic Plain
Islam in South Asia
Patterns of Muslim Influence
South Asian Sufism
An Isma‘ili Revival
The Timurids in South Asia: The Mughals
The Formation of the Mughal Empire
Society
The State
The Economy
Culture
The End of Imperial Rule
Conclusion
further reading
16. THE INDIAN OCEAN BASIN
A Muslim Lake
The East Coast of Africa
Berbera and the Land of the Zanj
The Impact of Imperialism
Kerala
The Land of Pepper
The Impact of Imperialism
Southeast Asia
The Malayo–Polynesian Lands
Muslims Establish a Presence in Southeast Asia
The Impact of Imperialism
The Appeal of a Universal Faith
A Loss of Dynamism
Conclusion
further reading
Glossary
Index
Biography
Vernon O. Egger is Professor Emeritus of Middle Eastern and Islamic History at Georgia Southern University. His other books include The Muslim World Since 1260 and A Fabian in Egypt: Salamah Musa and the Rise of the Professional Classes in Egypt, 1909–1939.
"Egger's history of the Islamic world from its civilizational foundation in the 7th century to the gradual ending of its political predominence in the mid-18th century provides an excellent overview for students embarking on the study of world history, the Middle East, or Islamic history. Resisting a still common Arabocentric and early Islamic bias in the field, Egger provides a balanced account of the civilization's development through a series of tightly constructed historical and thematic chapters."
Nabil Al-Tikriti, University of Mary Washington, USA