Short description:

Baghd?d: From Its Beginnings to the 14th Century offers an exhaustive handbook that covers all possible themes connected to the history of this urban complex from its beginnings up to the 14th century.

Long description:

Baghd?d: From its Beginnings to the 14th Century offers an exhaustive handbook that covers all possible themes connected to the history of this urban complex in Iraq, from its origins rooted in late antique Mesopotamia up to the aftermath of the Mongol invasion in 1258.

Against the common perception of a city founded 762 in a vacuum, which, after experiencing a heyday in a mythical ?golden age? under the early ?Abb?sids, entered since 900 a long period of decline that ended with a complete collapse by savage people from the East in 1258, the volume emphasizes the continuity of Baghd?d?s urban life, and shows how it was marked by its destiny as caliphal seat and cultural hub.


Contributors

Mehmetcan Akp?nar, Nuha Alshaar, Pavel Basharin, David Bennett, Michal Biran, Richard W. Bulliet, Kirill Dmitriev, Desmond Durkin-Meisterernst, Hend Gilli-Elewy, Beatrice Gruendler, Sebastian Günther, Olof Heilo, Damien Janos, Christopher Melchert, Michael Morony, Bernard O?Kane, Klaus Oschema, Letizia Osti, Parvaneh Pourshariati, Vanessa van Renterghem, Jens Scheiner, Angela Schottenhammer, Y. Zvi Stampfer, Johannes Thomann, Isabel Toral.

Table of Contents:

Preface


Acknowledgements


Notes on Transliteration and Style


List of Figures


AbbreviationsVi


Notes on ContributorsVii





1 Baghd?d?s Topography and Social Composition A Historical Sketch


 Jens Scheiner and Isabel Toral

Part 1: The Foundation of Mad?nat al
-Sal?m and Its Legends

Part 2: A Historical Overview from Late Antiquity to the Mongol Period

Part 3: Baghd?d?s Neighbouring Empires

Part 4: The ?Abb?sid Court and Its Legacy

Part 5: Institutions of Learning and Fields of Knowledge

Part 6: The Religious Communities