ADMINISTRATIVE, CULTURAL, URBAN AND ECONOMIC CONDITIONS IN JERUSALEM IN THE EARLY ABBASID PERIOD (132-247 AH/749-861 AD)

This article sheds light on the history of the city of Jerusalem during the early Abbasid period (132-247 AH/749-861 AD), after the city had reached the most advanced stages of architectural and cultural development in the Umayyad period, based on it being a religious and political center competing with the Two Holy Mosques in the Hijaz. After the fall of the Umayyad Caliphate, the political role of the city of Jerusalem lessened, once the center of the caliphate moved to Baghdad, despite the continued care of the Abbasid caliphs for the city, especially regarding restorations of the holy sites, after the natural disasters that afflicted the city. The study also sheds light on the cultural and economic role of the city during the period.

A Tale of Two Legacies: Byzantine and Egyptian Influences in the Manufacture and Supply of Glass Tesserae under the Umayyad Caliphate (661–750 AD)

The connection between Umayyad and Byzantine mosaic manufacture is a debated issue: on the one hand, Arab sources report that Umayyad caliphs received craftspeople and materials to adorn religious buildings from the Byzantine emperor; on the other hand, the reliability of these texts has long been disputed among scholars, and other possible influences have been hypothesised. Was early Islamic mosaic manufacture related to Byzantine tradition and to what extent? Were materials and artisans gathered from Byzantium and/or territories under the Byzantine control? Based on a multi-analytical approach, glass tesserae from Khirbat al-Mafjar, the Great Mosque of Damascus, and the Dome of the Rock have been analysed. Results speak of a tale of two legacies, demonstrating that, parallel to a continuity with the manufacture of glass tesserae in the late antique Levant—pointing, more specifically, to a re-use of materials from abandoned buildings—legacies other than Byzantine occurred. It emerged that Egypt definitively played a role in mosaic making during the Umayyad caliphate, acting as a supplier of skilled artisans and materials.

[Muhammad Ibn Abi ‘Amir’s Political Involvement According to The Chronicle Of Ibn Hayyan Al-Qurtubi] Penglibatan Politik Muhammad Ibn Abi ‘Amir Menurut Catatan Ibn Hayyan Al-Qurtubi

Muhammad ibn Abi ‘Amir was a de facto leader of al-Andalus during the Umayyad rule based in Cordoba. Caliph al-Hakam II had appointed him to hold some political positions to strengthen Umayyad rule in Cordoba (al-Andalus) and al-Maghrib (North Africa). Muhammad ibn Abi ‘Amir’s political appointment was seen as a special position in Cordoba administration. This analysis is seen through the readings of the authoritative primary source written by Ibn Hayyan al-Qurtubi. Hence, the purpose of this article is to scrutinize Ibn Hayyan al-Qurtubi’s biography as an al-Andalus historian in the 5H/11AD Century in his work, al-Muqtabas fi Akhbar Balad al-Andalus. In addition, this research also describes the involvement of Muhammad ibn Abi ‘Amir in the Umayyad administration in Cordoba during the reign of Caliph al-Hakam II based on the chronicle of Ibn Hayyan al-Qurtubi. On the whole, this article is a qualitative research using historical study and content analysis in gathering and analyzing data from relevant primary and secondary sources. Based on Ibn Hayyan al-Qurtubi’s description in al-Muqtabas, this research argues that Muhammad ibn Abi ‘Amir was an authoritative political figure in 4H/10AD Century of the Umayyad rule in Cordoba. His political appointments were held in the fields, of administration, judiciary, military, security, international relations and finance. This research also concludes that Ibn Hayyan al-Qurtubi was a preeminent historian in al-Andalus through his work, al-Muqtabas fi Akhbar Balad al-Andalus, which is seen as his biggest contribution in the corpus of knowledge on Islamic history and civilization in al-Andalus. Keywords: Political history, al-Andalus, Cordoba, Muhammad ibn Abi ‘Amir, Umayyad Caliphate, Caliph al-Hakam II, Ibn Hayyan al-Qurtubi Abstrak Muhammad ibn Abi ‘Amir ialah seorang pemimpin de facto al-Andalus pada zaman pemerintahan Kerajaan Umawiyyah di Cordoba. Pihak Khalifah al-Hakam II telah melantik beliau untuk menjawat beberapa jawatan politik utama bagi memperkukuh pengaruh Kerajaan Umawiyyah di Cordoba (al-Andalus) dan di al-Maghrib (Afrika Utara). Pelantikan politik Muhammad ibn Abi ‘Amir ini turut memperlihatkan kedudukan istimewa yang diterima beliau dalam pemerintahan di Cordoba. Pencerakinan tersebut dilihat menerusi penelaahan terhadap sumber primer berwewenang yang ditulis oleh Ibn Hayyan al-Qurtubi. Oleh itu, penulisan ini bertujuan untuk meneliti biografi Ibn Hayyan al-Qurtubi sebagai tokoh sejarawan al-Andalus pada abad ke-5H/11M melalui karyanya, al-Muqtabas fi Akhbar Balad al-Andalus. Di samping itu, kajian ini turut memerihalkan penglibatan Muhammad ibn Abi ‘Amir dalam Kerajaan Umawiyyah di Cordoba pada era pemerintahan Khalifah al-Hakam II berdasarkan catatan Ibn Hayyan al-Qurtubi. Secara keseluruhannya, artikel ini merupakan kajian kualitatif dengan menggunakan reka bentuk kajian sejarah dan analisis kandungan dalam mengumpul serta menganalisis maklumat daripada sumber primer dan sekunder yang relevan. Berasaskan pemerian Ibn Hayyan al-Qurtubi dalam al-Muqtabas, kajian ini menghujahkan bahawa Muhammad ibn Abi ‘Amir ialah seorang tokoh politik berwibawa abad ke-4H/10M era Kerajaan Umawiyyah di Cordoba. Antara penglibatan politik yang disandang oleh Muhammad ibn Abi ‘Amir adalah meliputi bidang pentadbiran, kehakiman, ketenteraan, keselamatan, hubungan antarabangsa dan juga kewangan. Kajian ini turut menatijahkan Ibn Hayyan al-Qurtubi sebagai seorang tokoh sejarawan terulung di al-Andalus menerusi hasil karyanya, al-Muqtabas fi Akhbar Balad al-Andalus yang dilihat sebagai sumbangan terbesar beliau dalam korpus kelimuan sejarah dan tamadun Islam di al-Andalus. Kata kunci: Sejarah politik, al-Andalus, Cordoba, Muhammad ibn Abi ‘Amir, Kerajaan Umawiyyah, Khalifah al-Hakam II, Ibn Hayyan al-Qurtubi

Using The Doctrine of Determinism to Guide Policy in The Umayyad Caliphate"

All political authorities to strengthen the pillars of their power rely on a set of foundations and principles in order to justify their strength and ability. Likewise, the Umayyads wanted to use various methods, especially if we knew that the Umayyad's opponents were strong in terms of their legitimacy and personality, because they were from the family of the Messenger of God. This is what made the Umayyads to search for legitimacy. One of the techniques they used is the ideas of determinism and political determinism. And the summery of the idea is, that man is a transcendent power and it is God who imposed everything on them, as well as the Umayyad's political and authority rule within that inevitable scope, so the people must accept it, and submit to it, because their authority was derived from God. To impose this idea, the Umayyads benefited from the roots of that idea that is prevalent among Muslims and had many followers who defended it.

المساعي السياسية والإصلاحية للإمام أبي الوليد الباجي

After the fall of the Umayyad Caliphate, the Andalusian Islamic state witnessed a political rupture as a result of chaos, rivalries and sectarian conflicts throughout the fifth century AH corresponding to the eleventh century AD. These dangerous security breakdowns led to the disintegration and division of the Islamic Caliphate in Andalusia into a group of independent kingdoms and small emirates which ultimately found themselves on one hand in permanent wars between them, and on the other in skirmishes with the neighbouring Christian forces. This fact contributed to lack of stability and peace of these lands and the establishment of weak governing systems for a long time. This political situation stressed the worsening of their social conditions and their scientific life. Nevertheless, this situation generated a motivating nostalgia and rage in some scholars and jurists such as Imam Abū al-Walīd al-Bājī who is considered one of the key-figures and scholars of Andalusia. He had a prominent role in pushing forward and reviving scientific life by setting various new foundations in order to reform some fields. His writings were directed for educational purposes. Besides, he included the reform of Islamic jurisprudence, which was aimed primarily for jurists and rulers. Furthermore, some of his writings were sermons and ethical moral instructions for commoners. His endeavours led him to enter the political life as he assumed the judicial profession of a judge, that enabled him to be in more touch with the various kings of sects giving him the chance to advise and guide them. His efforts in that end resulted in seeking to reunite the kings of the sects and their princes under the banner of Islam and unite their forces for the defence of Muslim presence in Andalusia against the Christian threat.

Precursors of Conversion Themes under the Umayyads

Chapter 2 is devoted to sources attributed to pre-ᶜAbbāsid writers, who lived and wrote during the Umayyad Caliphate: Sulaym ibn Qays (d. 76/695), Ibn Shihāb al-Zuhrī (d. 124/741), and Mūsā ibn ᶜUqba (d. 135/752). These sources are problematic for various reasons, examined extensively in the first section of the chapter. The chapter then focuses on the literary descriptions of conversion and detectable themes. This chapter demonstrates how the earliest available historical reports include precursors of conversion themes, which are to be developed, used, or reinterpreted under the ᶜAbbāsid rule. Chapter 2 argues that, since the genesis of Muslim historical writing, religious historians not only emphasized conversion but also used it to advance their religious views and support their political agendas.

From the history of the formation of the economic system of the Caliphate

The era of the rise and prosperity of the Caliphate puts before researchers many problems of political, economic and social history. Among these problems, the history of the formation of the economic system of the Caliphate is one of the most relevant for medieval studies. This article examines the process of feudalization in the Caliphate, in particular, the administrative and tax practice of the new state, the monetary reform of the Caliph Abd al-Malik, as well as the financial policy of the Umayyad Caliphate. Based on the extensive material of medieval sources and numismatic data the place and role of the city in the economic structure of the Caliphate are investigated.

Armenian

Recognizing Hellenism and Greek as the hemispherically dominant culture and language of late antiquity, this chapter applies a dynamic model to chart the incremental Armenian reception of such trends over the fifth–eighth centuries. Acknowledging the contemporary affinity between elite literacy and Christianity’s regional integration, it analyses the resulting bifurcation in Armenian society and literature whereby Persianate aristocratic epic persists in an oral verse repertoire, while the novel written medium largely in prose propagated by a new literate class not only appropriates all the ecclesiastical genres but reconceptualizes the Armenian worldview within a Christian dispensation from a Greek cultural ethos. Adopting the trivium and quadrivium from Antioch and Alexandria, scholars replicate lay schools in Armenia and contribute to those disciplines by their commentaries. Elaborating an indigenous theological literature in continuity with Syria and Egypt, Armenians defend it in dialogue with Constantinople as the eastern Mediterranean littoral enters into the Umayyad Caliphate.

U-12 Muslim-Non-Muslim Relations in the Abbasid Era of the Subcontinent: A Research Review

The era of the Abbasid Caliphate (750 -1258AD) is a period of cultural rise of Muslims. Although the Abbasid Caliphate was less extensive than the Umayyad Caliphate, the Abbasid Caliphate was still the largest political entity in the world. In this era the five independent governments of Subcontinent, are particularly noteworthy: 1. Daulat Mahaniya Sanjan (Subcontinent) 2. Habariya, Mansura (Sindh) 3. Daulat Samia Multan (Punjab) 4. Makran 5. Turan.In addition to these five permanent governments, some of them were permanent rulers who belonged directly to the Caliph of Baghdad. But their status was no more than that of big landowners and feudal lords. The article aims to analyze Muslim and non-Muslim relations, during the Abbasid’s rule in Subcontinent in historical context. During this era the government did not intervene in the people’s affairs. Any disputes or problems relating to the law were referred to the judge but this Islamic rule was only restricted to the Muslims. The non-Muslims were not bound to follow it. Every place had its own local meeting which would deal with any case according to its own rules and customs. Hence, they could design and implement their own law. In short the Muslim ruling period of Sub-continent provides a practical base in the way of Muslim, non- Muslim relation in present age.

Arabic-Persian Motifs of ʿUd̲h̲rī Love in the Georgian Romantic Poem of "The Man in the Panther's Skin"

"The Man in the Panther's Skin" is the masterpiece of Shota Rustaveli (c. 1160—after c. 1220), the greatest Georgian Christian poet, who has been translated into nearly 45 languages in the world so far. In this article we are going to study the Motifs of ʿUd̲h̲rī Love (AR: al-ḥubb al-ʿud̲h̲rī) in Rustaveli's book. The Ghazal (ode) of Ud̲h̲rī is a literary product of the Islamic-Arab community in which love derives its principles from religion of Islam and the like. In fact, during the era of the Umayyad caliphate (661-750 BCE) was born ʿUd̲h̲rī as a new kind of ode in the Arabic poetry in the Arabian Peninsula and has made its way into other lands, including Iran, and this kind of love poem penetrated through Iran into Rustavli's poetry.ʿUd̲h̲rī poem was narration of true, intense and chaste love between lover and a beloved far from sensuality, debauchery and lechery. Therefore, their lifestyles were very similar to mystic. The main purpose of this study is to find out the extent to which Rustaveli was influenced by ʿUd̲h̲rī poem. The research method in this article is to compare the specific and objective features which inferred from the Arabic-PersianʿUd̲h̲rī literature with the narrative in the Rustaveli's work. This does not mean, of course, that we will examine all the ʿUd̲h̲rī poetry works written before Rustaveli's book in the world; rather, we mean matching the specific Motifs of Arabic-Farsi works with the Rustaveli's poem. The results of this study show that there is a complete similarity between the motifs in the poems of Rustaveli's work and the motifs of the ʿUd̲h̲rī poets in all its components. This study also confirms that if we omit some details of the story in Rustaveli's book, we will find that Rustaveli was thoroughly familiar with Islamic ʿUd̲h̲rī literature and implemented it in his book "The Man in the Panther's Skin".