Institute of Islamic Studies – McGill University
Rula J. Abisaab
Winter 2017
F. 2:35-5:25
Morris Hall, Rm. 328
Office Hrs: T. 3:10-4:00 & F. 1:45-2:35
e-mail: [email protected]
ISLA 511
The Islamic Civilization-Medieval Period, 945-1500
Course Description
The course explores the formation of medieval Islamic cultures in distinct
geographical settings, particularly Arabia, Mesopotamia, Persia, the Fertile
Crescent/Syria, Egypt, and North Africa. It examines the transformation of the
Caliphate and the evolution of provincial dynasties under new socio-economic and
political conditions. It sheds light on diverse and shifting notions of piety, religious
orthodoxy, and political authority. The integration of Arab, Berber, Mongol, Persian,
and Turkish dynasties into the context of a unified Islamic history represents a
noteworthy historiographical problem: How can the major historical shifts of the
medieval period and the co-existence of caliphate(s) and sultanate(s) be adequately
conceptualized and understood? How do different original historical documents (tarikh,
adab, rihla/safarnameh, nasihat-nameh, ...etc) of the period represent and articulate these
shifts? In this respect, the course offers students the chance not only to study the
trajectory of medieval Islamic history, but also to examine the way modern historians,
particularly in the West, have theorized about Islamic states and societies. It gives them
an opportunity to investigate the arguments, which dominate the field today.
McGill University values academic integrity. Therefore all students must
understand the meaning and consequences of cheating, plagiarism and other
academic offences under the Code of Student Conduct and Disciplinary
Procedures (see http://www.mcgill.ca/integrity for more information).
L'université McGill attache une haute importance à l’honnêteté académique. Il
incombe par conséquent à tous les étudiants de comprendre ce que l'on entend
par tricherie, plagiat et autres infractions académiques, ainsi que les
conséquences que peuvent avoir de telles actions, selon le Code de conduite de
l'étudiant et des procédures disciplinaires (pour de plus amples renseignements,
veuillez consulter le site http://www.mcgill.ca/integrity ).
In accord with McGill University’s Charter of Students’ Rights, students in this course have
the right to submit in English or French any written work that is to be graded.
This right applies to all written work that is to be graded, from one-word answers to
dissertations.
Required Reading: Texts, Articles and Excerpts
A. Books (on reserve shelf, Islamic Studies Library)
M.G.S. Hodgson, The Venture of Islam, vol.2
B. Articles and Chapters (Coursepack/Online reading)
Wael Hallaq, “The Formation of Legal Schools” Chapter 7 in The Origins and Evolution of
Islamic Law, pp. 150-177. (on-line)
________ . “Was the Gate of Ijtihad Closed?” IJMES, 16 (1984), pp. 3-41. (on-line)
Leila Ahmed, Women and Gender in Islam (New Haven, 1992), Chapters 5 and 6.
Mohammad Taher Ya’ghoubi & Asghar Montazerolghaem, “The Shi`a of Baghdad at the
time of the `Abbasid Caliphs and the Seljuq Sultanate (447–575 AH)” Journal of
Shi`a Islamic Studies, vol.6, Issue 1 (2013): 53-74.
Poetry of Ibn 'Arabi, see the article by Claude Addas, The Ship of Stone.
http://www.ibnarabisociety.org/articles/shipofstone.html
Farhad Daftari, “Hasan-i Sabbah and the Origins of the Nizari Isma’ili movement,“ in
Medieval Isma’ili History and Thought, ed. F. Daftari (Cambridge, 1996).
M. Kerawala, “What is Islamic Art?” pp. 1-3.
http://www.iis.ac.uk/SiteAssets/pdf/What%20is%20Islamic%20Art%20Minaz%20Kerawala.pdf
Kroger & Najjar, “Figurative Decoration” in Museum with No Frontiers, Discover Islamic
Art in the Mediterranean, pp. 51-58.
Brend, chapter on: “The Legacy of Empires,” in Islamic Art pp. 20-45.
C. Primary Sources (Excerpts of the sources below will be discussed in class.
They are in package or placed on reserve at the Islamic Library)
. On Social Life and the Lower Classes
1-“al-Jahiz,” Islamic Philosophy Online
http://www.muslimphilosophy.com/ei2/JAHIZ.htm
2- Kitab al-Bukhalā’ (The Book of Misers at the Islamic Library PJ7745 J3 B78 2000), The
Story of Maryam al-Ṣ annā`.
. On the Caliphate
Abu al-Hasan `Ali al-Mawardi, Al-Ahkam al-Sultaniyya wa-al-Wilaya al-Diniyya (Beirut,
1985). Also available in translation: The Ordinances of Government, trans. Wafaa Wahba
(London, 1996), pp. 1-8.
. On Army Composition, Hostages, Slaves (Optional)
Nizam al-Mulk, Siyasat Nameh. Also available in translation The Book of Government,
trans. Hubert Darke (London), pp. 102-108.
. On al-Batiniyya (Shi’ites, Isma`ilis, Nizaris)
Ibn al-Qalanisi (1077-1160), Dhayl Tarikh Dimashq, pp. 351-355.
Ibn al-Athir (1160-1233), Al-Kamil fi al-Tarikh, vol. 9, (Beirut, 1995), pp. 250-1.
. On the Making of a Medieval Sultan: Salah al-Din al-Ayyubi
Baha’ al-Din ibn Shaddad, Al-Nawadir al-Sultaniyya wa-al-Mahasin al-Yusufiyya, trans.
D.S. Richards, The Rare and Excellent History of Saladin (Aldershot, 2001), pp. 35-8;
42-3.
Ibn al-Athir (1160-1233), Al-Kamil fi al-Tarikh, vol. 10, (Beirut, 1995), pp. 16-17.
General Reference Works
Encyclopaedia of Islam
J. Sauvaget & C. Cahen, Introduction to the History of the Muslim East
(an annotated bibliography)
C.J. Adams, A Reader's Guide to the Great Religions (2nd edition)
R. Roolvink, Historical Atlas of the Muslim Peoples
W. C. Brice, An Historical Atlas of Islam
Course Requirements and Evaluation
Students are expected to attend class regularly, prepare the assigned readings, respond
to questions, participate in the discussion of assigned materials, and inquire about
central historical points. One student will lead the discussions of a main part of the
readings each session. S/he will summarize the main points of the reading as well as
raise a set of questions, to which students should respond and add their own comments.
There will be one Exam on Wednesday, March 17th. It will be a comprehensive written
exercise, combining One essay question and 15 specific questions. A week before each
exam students will receive a list of two essay questions, one of which will come in the
exam.
By late February you should have a paper topic and start researching. The paper is
around 12-15 pages long Only. It should have a well-defined area or theme in Medieval
Islamic history. Students can focus on a socio-political/religious/intellectual
development or a military event, a figure, or a distinct feature of a historical epoch. Your
paper is due April 18th, 2016.
Your final grade is based on the following division:
Attendance & Active Participation (15%)
Class Presentation & Leading Discussion (25%)
Exam (25%)
Final Paper (35%)
------------------------------------------------------------------In terms of style, use a consistent form of citation for notes and bibliography, preferably
The Chicago Manual of Style. A simplified and concise sample for endnotes, footnotes and
bibliography in historical writing is provided by Mary Lynn Rampolla’s, A Pocket Guide
to Writing in History, 4th edn., St. Martin’s Press, 2004, 77-134.
Friday, Jan. 6
Week 1
Introduction to the Course
Geo-historical Overview
Map of the Islamic empire in the Umayyad period
On the hajj (pilgrimage)
Friday, Jan. 13
Week 2
Geo-historical Overview
Film, “Islam, Empire of Faith” Part 1
Map of the Islamic empire in the Abbasid period (1)
Map of the Islamic empire in the Abbasid period (2)
Caliphal Authority, Provincial States, Shi`ism, and
Sunnism: Venture of Islam, 3-32.
For supplementary reading: Gaston Wiet, Baghdad: Metropolis of the Abbasid Caliphate,
Chapter 5: “The Golden Age of Arab and Islamic Culture”
Friday, Jan. 20
Week 3
Caliphal Authority, Provincial States, Shi`ism, and
Sunnism: Venture, 32-61
Al-Mawardi, The Ordinances (Al-Ahkam alSultaniyya), pp. 1-8.
Student Presentation: Wael Hallaq, “The Formation
of Legal Schools” in The Origins and Evolution, pp.
150-177.
Friday, Jan. 28
Week 4
Student Presentation: Nomadization, Agrarian
Economy, and Government; Pre-Modern Social
Order; Urban Life, and the shari`a: Venture, 81-108
Student Presentation: Military Slavery and iqta`
during the Post-`Abbasid Era: Lapidus, 137-161
Friday, Feb. 3
Week 5
Student Presentation: Social Life and Popular
Culture (Futuwwa, Sexuality, and Gender): Venture,
125-151
1- “al-Jahiz”, an early 9th-Century medieval literary
figure and Mu`tazilite theologian
http://www.muslimphilosophy.com/ei2/JAHIZ.htm
2- Kitab al-Bukhala’ (The Book of Misers), Story of
Maryam al-Sanna`
Student Presentation: Leila Ahmed, Women and
Gender, Chs. 5 & 6
Week 6
Friday, Feb. 10
Friday, Feb. 17
Islamic Library Orientation Session by Ms.
Anaiis Solomon.
Week 7
Student Presentation: Ya`ghoubi &
Montazerolghaem, “The Shi`a of Baghdad
at the time of the `Abbasid Caliphs and the
Seljuq Sultanate (447-575 AH) 53-74”.
The Sufi tariqa(s) (Ibn `Arabi, Rumi), Venture, 201254
Poetry of Ibn `Arabi, see link to Addas, The Ship of
Stone
Friday, Feb. 24
Student (2) Presentation: The Atabeg States:
Venture, 255-268 + Chapters 1&2 Amin Maalouf,
The Crusades through Arab Eyes
(https://archive.org/details/TheCrusadesThroughArabEyes
Abu Hamid al-Ghazali, Ibn `Arabi, Ibn Rushd:
Hourani, 130-146, 158- 205.
Reading Week: February 27-March 3
Friday, March 10
Week 8
Student Presentation: Farhad Daftari, “Hasan-i
Sabbah and the Origins of the Nizari Isma`ili
movement“ in Medieval Isma`ili History
Student Presentation: The Almoravids and
Almohads, Venture, 268-279.
The Rise of Salah al-Din al-Ayyubi
Baha’ al-Din ibn Shaddad, Al-Nawadir alSultaniyya; Rare and Excellent History, pp. 35-8;
42-3.
Map of the Crusader states
Map of the Near East in the early 13th century
Friday, March 17
Friday, March 24
Week 9
Exam
Week 10
Student Presentation: Wael Hallaq, “Was the Gate
of Ijtihad Closed?” IJMES, 16 (1984): 3-41.
On al-Batiniyya (Shi`ites, Isma`ilis, Nizaris)
Ibn al-Qalanisi (1077-1160), Dhayl Tarikh
Dimashq, 351-355. (In Translation, The Damascus
Chronicle of the Crusades, Ibn al-Qalanisi’s
Chronicle by H.A.R. Gibb)
Ibn al-Athir (1160-1233), Al-Kamil fi al-Tarikh, vol. 9,
(Beirut, 1995), 250-1. (In Translation, The Chronicle of
Ibn al-Athir (1097-1146) by D.S. Richards)
Friday, March 31
Friday, April 7
Week 11
Student (2) Presentation: The Mongol CatastropheThe Turks as a Universal Military Elite
Hodgson, Venture, 286-92, 318-23, 362-373, 386-400.
Week 12
Students (2) Presentation: Kerawala, “What is
Islamic Art?” 1-3; Kroger & Najjar, “Figurative
Decoration”, 51-58; Brend, “The Legacy of
Empires,” 20-45.
Audio-Visual Presentation: Themes in Islamic Art
and Architecture
Prophet Muhammad: Face Revealed/Face Hidden
http://zombietime.com/mohammed_image_archi
ve/islamic_mo_full/
http://www.zombietime.com/mohammed_image
_archive/islamic_mo_face_hidden/