The Caliphate of Al-Andalus

The Court of the
Caliphate of Al-Andalus : New,
'Four Years in Umayyad Cordoba'
*[A5+] Paperback - 480 pages,
by Eduardo Manzano Moreno,
Transl. by Jeremy Roe,
by Edinburgh Studies in Classic Islamic History.

 

 

 

 

Description : 

The Court of the Caliphate of Al-Andalus : 'Four Years in Umayyad Cordoba.'

During the second half of the 10th/4th century, the Umayyad caliphate of al-Andalus became a powerful political formation in Western Europe. Described by the contemporary German nun Hrotsvitha as the ‘ornament of the world’, Cordoba was the destiny of embassies and traders coming from places as far away as Constantinople, the Ottoman empire and Italy. The zenith of this political supremacy coincided with the rule of al-Ḥakam II (961-976 CE), whose name is associated with the enlargement of the Mosque of Cordoba, the magnificent palatine city of MadInat al-Zahraʼ and the rich caliphal library which housed Arab, Latin and Hebrew manuscripts.
 

Offers an in-depth study of the Umayyad Caliphate of al-Andalus in its prime : 

   *** Provides a comprehensive study of the caliphate of Cordoba based on the ‘annals’ by ‘Isa b. Ahmad al-Razi and other Arab sources relating to the period,
   *** Brings together textual evidence with the archaeological record to produce a vivid description of the social formation of al-Andalus in this period,
   *** Analyses the structure and operation of a centralised ‘state’ in the High Middle Ages,
   *** Examines the legitimisation of power and authority in an Islamicate social formation,
   *** Offers a rigorous study of the Caliphate of Cordoba, which is usually the subject of idealised views with little historical base,
   *** Makes accessible to English-speaking audiences the huge advance of recent historical studies on the Umayyad caliphate.

 

This book is based on an extraordinary source that had never been the subject of a comprehensive study: the annals written by an official and chronicler of the caliph’s court, ‘Isa b. Ahmad al-Razi, who carefully annotated the big and small events of the court. Used by Ibn Hayyan to compose one of the volumes of his celebrated Muqtabis, these ‘annals’ have come to us in a substantial fragment of more than 135 folia that cover the period from June 971 to July 975 CE. This source provides an eye-witness account of the caliphate, which describes with stunning detail all the events, characters, places and narratives of the Umayyad caliphate, and is a fundamental work in helping us to understand the configuration of the Mediterranean in the 10th century CE.

 

 

Reviews: 

Eduardo Manzano Moreno has written a gripping account of the court of one of the two most powerful rulers in tenth-century Europe – together with the Byzantine emperor – based on a detailed contemporary history. If you want to know how medieval government worked, this is a book you have to read. It’s all there, from financing war to the culture of urban processions. Manzano Moreno is a master of his field.---Chris Wickham, Chichele Professor of Medieval History Emeritus, University of Oxford.


Manzano Moreno's book is the result of many years of scholarship but it is also lively, compelling and full of the sort of details which bring political and social history to life. His command of the Arabic sources, and the sometimes bizarre history of their survival, adds an extra dimension. This is a masterly account of the caliphate of Cordoba and required reading for anyone interested in the subject.---Hugh Kennedy, SOAS University of London.
 

 

Eduardo Manzano Moreno is Research Professor at the Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas in Madrid and British Academy Global Professor at the University of St. Andrews. Between 2007 and 2012 he was Director of the Centre for Social and Human Sciences of the CSIC He has been visiting professor at the universities of Oxford (St. John's College), Chicago (Tinker Professor) and the School of Oriental and African Studies.

His research has focused on the history of al-Andalus and on the political implications of historical memory. He has directed numerous research projects focusing on both subjects, on which he has also published a large number of articles and book chapters in English, French and German publications. Previous works include Conquistadores, emires y califas. Los omeyas y la formación de al-Andalus (Editorial Crítica) and Épocas Medievales (Editorial Crítica).




Table of Contents : 

---List of Illustrations,
------Images,
------Figures,
---Foreword to the English Edition,

---Introduction,
-------The Caliphate Era,
-------The Finding of a Forgotten Manuscript,
-------The History of the Manuscript,
-------The Muqtabis and the work of 'Isa al-Razi,
-------About this Book.
---Chapter [1]. The Caliphate and the Natural and Human Cycles,
-------Floods and Droughts,
-------The 'Works and Days' of the Caliphs Subjects,
-------The Muslim Religious Cycle,
---Chapter [2]. The Caliphate’s Resources and Wealth,
-------Coercion and Surplus,
-------Income,
-------Manufacture under the Caliphs,
-------Expenditure,
-------Forms of Property.
---Chapter [3]. The Caliph and the Sultan, 
-------The State and it's Problems,
-------The Role of the Ulama,
-------The Caliphs Men,
-------The Structure of the Sultan,
-------An Unstoppable Rise
---Chapter [4]. The Armies of the Caliph,
-------The Professional Soldiers,
-------Freedmen, Clients and Slaves,
-------The Military System in Crisis,
-------The Recruitment of Berber Cavalry and its Consequences,
-------The Dominance of the Cavlary.
---Chapter [5]. The Struggle against the Fatimid Caliphate:
------(I) The Background,
--------The Fatimid Revolution,
--------Society and Power in 10th Century North Africa,
--------The Fatimids against the Umayyads,
---Chapter [6]. The Struggle against the Fatimid Caliphate:
------(II) The Conflict,
--------An Episode of Betrayal,
--------Fatimid Infiltrators in Al-Andalus,
--------The War in Northern Morocco.
---Chapter [7].  Defending the Muslims,
-------The Viking Danger,
-------The Battle for the Duero Valley: The Beginning,
-------The Caliphates' Change of Strategy,
-------The Caliphs Diplomacy,
-------The Enemy Offensive : The Christian Siege of Gormaz,
-------After the Siege,
-------The Battle for the River Duero.
---Chapter [8].  The Authority of the Caliph,
-------The Caliph as a Good Ruler,
-------The Ideological Battle against the Fatimids,
-------The Caliph in the Mosque,
-------The Rejection of Authority; The Slander against Al-Hakam,
-------The Problem of the Succession,
-------The Caliphs Personal Circle.
---Chapter [9].  The Representation of Power,
-------The Caliphates Celebrations and Rituals,
-------The Appearances made by the Caliph,
-------A Reconstruction of the Ummayad Ceremonial at Madinat al-Zahra,
-------The Celebration of the Triumph,
-------The Flags; Symbols and Rituals,
---Chapter [10]. Cordoba and Madinat al-Zahra’: Topography of Power and Urban Space,
-------A History of Two Cities,
-------The Urban Space of the Medina of Cordoba,
-------Almunias, Mosques, Cemeteries and Suburbs,
-------The Caliphs Power and the Foundation of Madinat al-Zahra,
-------The Creation of a 'Disembeddied Capital,'
-------Caliphal Cordoba; an Assessment,

---Sources and Bibliography,
---Index;
------Index of Persons,
------Index of Places.

 

 

 

 

 

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*Dimensions : 23.5 x 15.8cm.