Empire and Elites after the Muslim Conquest
The Transformation of Northern Mesopotamia

The study of early Islamic historical tradition has flourished with the emergence of an innovative scholarship no longer dependent on more traditional narratival approaches. Chase Robinson's book, first published in 2000, takes full account of the research available and interweaves history and historiography to interpret the political, social and economic transformations in the Mesopotamian region after the Islamic conquests. Using Arabic and Syriac sources to elaborate his argument, the author focuses on the Muslim and Christian élites, demonstrating that the immediate effects of the conquests were in fact modest ones. Significant social change took place only at the end of the seventh century with the imposition of Marwanid rule. Even then, the author argues, social power was diffused in the hands of local élites. This is a sophisticated study in a burgeoning field in Islamic studies.

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'This book is an excellent contribution to early Islamic history. By concentrating on a small area, almost a microcosm, which has a particularly rich historiographical tradition, Robinson has made a major contribution to our understanding of the more general processes of the formation of the Islamic state.' History

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Product details

• Date Published: November 2006
• format: Paperback
• isbn: 9780521028738
• length: 224 pages

• dimensions: 228 x 152 x 15 mm
• weight: 0.351kg
• contains: 1 map
• availability: Available