Download or read book Towards a Shi i Mediterranean Empire written by Aḥmad ibn ʻAlī Maqrīzī and published by I.B. Tauris. This book was released on 2009-07-30 with total page 264 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "The Imam-caliph Al-Mu'izz li Din Allah, founder of Cairo, transformed the emergent Fatimid state from a regional power of limited influence to an impressive Mediterranean empire whose authority extended from the shores of the Atlantic to the Indian Ocean. His vision and dynamism contributed to the high watermark of Fatimid success in establishing a Shi'I empire, which contributed to the cultural and intellectual efflorescence of the Muslim world [...] The writings of the erudite 15th Mamluk scholar Taqi al-Din al-Maqrizi, presented here for the first time in English, document this Fatimid triumph of the Shi'i, and provide one of the most comprehensive accounts of the era [...] In this text , the only complete history of the Fatimids written by a medieval Sunni historian, al-Maqrizi demonstrates a critical discernment regarding the value and limitations of his sources that is unusual among medieval Muslim historians of the time." -- book jacket.

Download or read book Towards a Shi i Mediterranean Empire written by Aḥmad ibn ʻAlī Maqrīzī and published by . This book was released on 2009 with total page 238 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book The Founder of Cairo written by Shainool Jiwa and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2013-05-30 with total page 357 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The reign of the founder of Cairo, the fourth Fatimid Imam-caliph al-Mu'izz li-Din Allah (341-365/953-975), marks a watershed in the transformation of the Fatimid state from a regional North African dynasty to an expansive Mediterranean empire. It was also under al- Mu'izz that articulations of the supreme authority of the Fatimid Ismaili imamate were written and disseminated across various regions of Fatimid influence. The writings of Idris 'Imad al-Din (d. 872/1468) provide a distinctive presentation of the Fatimid imamate from the perspective of the Ismaili da'wa itself. as the chief d'ai of the Yemeni Tayyib Ismailis, Idris composed his monumental "Uyun al-akhbar wa funun al-athar' as a record of the Ismaili imamate from its inception to his own time. in doing so, Idris drew upon the rich repertoire of Ismaili and non-Ismaili sources that had been part of the corpus of the Fatimid literary tradition, many of which have subsequently been lost due to the vagaries of time and circumstance. As the only surviving medieval Ismaili work documenting the history of the Fatimid dynasty, the "Uy-un al-akhbar' is among its principal primary sources. This book provides the first annotated English translation of the extensive chapter on al-Mu'izz in the "Uy-un', which remains a vital yet relatively unknown Ismaili source. The introduction to this work not only outlines the salient features of al-Mu'izz's reign but also examines Idris' purpose and approach to historical writing. In providing an insider's account of the reign of one of the most influential rulers of the medieval Muslim world, this work will be of particular interest to students of Ismaili history and thought, medieval Mediterranean history and Muslim historiography.

Download or read book The Fatimids written by Shainool Jiwa and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2017-12-18 with total page 160 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: I.B.Tauris in association with the Institute of Ismaili Studies Emerging from a period of long seclusion, the leader of the burgeoning community of Ismaili Shi'i Muslims was declared the first Fatimid Imam-caliph in the year 909. Abd Allah al-Mahdi founded the only sustained Shi'i dynasty (909-1171) to rule over substantial parts of the medieval Muslim world, rivalling both the Umayyads of Spain and the Abbasids. At its peak, the Fatimid Empire extended from the Atlantic shores of North Africa, across the southern Mediterranean and down both sides of the Red Sea, covering also Mecca and Medina. This accessible history, the first of two volumes, tells the story of the birth and expansion of the Fatimid Empire in the 10th century. Drawing upon eyewitness accounts, Shainool Jiwa introduces the first four generations of Fatimid Imam-caliphs -- al-Mahdi, al-Qa'im, al-Mansur, and al-Mu'izz -- as well as the people who served them and those they struggled against. Readers are taken on a journey through the Fatimid capitals of Qayrawan, Mahdiyya, and Mansuriyya and on to the founding of Cairo. In this lively and comprehensive introduction, readers will discover various milestones in Fatimid history and the political and cultural achievements that continue to resonate today.

Download or read book The Shi i World written by Farhad Daftary and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2015-09-25 with total page 408 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: I.B.Tauris in association with the Institute of Ismaili Studies The world's 200 million Shi'i Muslims express their faith in a multiplicity of ways, united by reverence for the ahl al-bayt, the family of the Prophet. In embracing a pluralistic ethic, fourteen centuries of Shi'i Islam have given rise to diverse traditions and practices across varied geographic and cultural landscapes. The Shi'i World is a comprehensive work authored by leading scholars from assorted disciplines, to provide a better understanding of how Shi'i communities view themselves and articulate their teachings. The topics range from Shi'i Islam's historical and conceptual foundations, formative figures and intellectual, legal and moral traditions, to its devotional practices, art and architecture, literature, music and cinema, as well as expressions and experiences of modernity. The book thus provides a panoramic perspective of the richly textured narratives that have shaped the social and moral universe of Shi'i Muslims around the globe.This fourth volume in the Muslim Heritage Series will appeal to specialists and general readers alike, as a timely resource on the prevailing complexities not only of the 'Muslim world', but also of the dynamic Shi'i diasporas of Europe and North America.

Download or read book The Caliph and the Imam written by Toby Matthiesen and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2023-03-09 with total page 961 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The authoritative account of the sectarian division that for centuries has shaped events in the Middle East and the Islamic world. In 632, soon after the prophet Muhammad died, a struggle broke out among his followers as to who would succeed him. The majority argued that the new leader of Islam should be elected by the community's elite. Others believed only members of Muhammad's family could lead. This dispute over whoshould guide Muslims, the appointed Caliph or the bloodline Imam, marks the origin of the Sunni-Shii split in Islam. Toby Matthiesen explores this hugely significant division from its origins to thepresent day. Moving chronologically, his book sheds light on the many ways that it has shaped the Islamic world, outlining how over the centuries Sunnism and Shiism became Islams two main branches, particularly after the Muslim Empires embraced sectarian identity. It reveals how colonial rule institutionalised divisions between Sunnism and Shiism both on the Indian subcontinent and in the greater Middle East, giving rise to pan-Islamic resistance and Sunni and Shii revivalism. It then focuseson the fall-out from the 1979 revolution in Iran and the US-led military intervention in Iraq. As Matthiesen shows, however, though Sunnism and Shiism have had a long and antagonistic history, mostMuslims have led lives characterised by confessional ambiguity and peaceful co-existence. Tensions arise when sectarian identity becomes linked to politics. Based on a synthesis of decades of scholarship in numerous languages, The Caliph and the Imam will become the standard text for readers looking for a deeper understanding of contemporary sectarian conflict and its historical roots.

Download or read book Between Reason and Revelation written by Eric Ormsby and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2012-05-31 with total page 337 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: I.B.Tauris in association with the Institute of Ismaili Studies This is the first English translation of the final philosophical work of the great eleventh-century Ismaili thinker, poet, and Fatimid emissary, N?sir-i Khusraw. Appointed from Cairo by command of the Fatimid Imam-caliph al-Mustansir to serve first as a d?'?, and then as the hujjat, for the entire region of Khur?s?n, he maintained his allegiance both to his mission and his Imam-caliph for the rest of his life, even when threatened and driven into exile. Written during his exile in Badakhsh?n in the year 1070, N?sir-i Khusraw here develops a powerful presentation of both Aristotelian philosophy and Ismaili exegesis, or ta'w?l, and strives to show that they are ultimately in harmony. The work is presented as a learned commentary on a long philosophical poem, written in the previous century and sent to N?sir by the am?r of Badakhsh?n, 'Al? b. al-Asad, who copied the poem out in his own hand from memory and asked the poet-philosopher to explicate it. In doing so, N?sir ranges over a huge span of topics from logic and language to the nature of the physical world, from the spheres of the highest heavens to the plants and animals of the earthly realm, and, most importantly, hidden spiritual realities: the esoteric (b?tin) as well as the exoteric (z?hir) realms. He thus discusses the nature of God, the creation of human beings, and the mysteries concealed in the physical world, itself a reflection of a higher, transcendent realm. Between Reason and Revelation: Twin Wisdoms Reconciled is an annotated translation of the Persian text prepared by Henry Corbin and Mohammed Mu'?n based on the single surviving manuscript of the work, now in the Süleymaniye Mosque Library in Istanbul. It is a work of great philosophical and spiritual insight, which is also a pioneering attempt to tackle difficult intellectual problems in the Persian language; it is at once lucid and lyrical, precise and speculative. N?sir's influence has been immense as both a poet and a thinker, and the Kit?b-i J?mi' al-hikmatayn is his crowning work.

Download or read book Avicenna s Allegory on the Soul written by Wilferd Madelung and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2015-10-19 with total page 158 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: I.B.Tauris in association with the Institute of Ismaili Studies The Persian philosopher Ibn Sina (d. 1037), known in Europe as Avicenna, was arguably the greatest master of Aristotelian thought in the Muslim world. The symbolical Poem on the Soul (Qasidat al-nafs), which portrays all earthly human souls as in temporary exile from heaven, is traditionally attributed to Avicenna, and was received with enthusiasm by its commentators. A highly significant commentary on the Qasida was written by ?Ali b. Muhammad b. al-Walid (d. 1215 CE), a major early representative of the Tayyibi Ismaili tradition, which emerged and flourished in medieval Yemen. In his view, the poem encapsulated Tayyibi beliefs, whose doctrines bear striking parallels with late antique Gnosticism. Avicenna s Allegory on the Soul presents the first edition of the Arabic text of Ibn al-Walid s commentary, The Useful Epistle (al-Risala al-mufida), alongside an English translation and extended introduction. It offers invaluable insight into the intricacies of Muslim thought and a deeper understanding of Avicenna s substantial intellectual legacy."

Download or read book The Fatimids 2 written by Shainool Jiwa and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2023-01-26 with total page 249 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: One of the most prosperous and influential dynasties of the Muslim world, the Fatimids (909–1171) were distinguished by their Imam-caliphs, who asserted religious as well as political authority in direct descent from the family of the Prophet. Their conquest of Egypt in 969 marked the inception of a burgeoning Mediterranean empire. From there, they refined their systems of administration, judiciary, and governance, instilling principles of inclusion which contributed to stability during their caliphate. Fatimid Cairo flourished as a vibrant cultural and intellectual centre through patronage of the arts, architecture, and scholarship. This book continues the story of the Fatimids from their newly founded capital of Cairo. Introducing the figures who moulded the empire, Shainool Jiwa charts the Fatimids' expansion, the reasons behind their ultimate fall by the hand of Saladin, and the legacy that continues with the living Ismaili communities today. This lively and engaging work, including maps and colour images, draws on a broad range of primary sources to lead readers through two centuries that witnessed the triumphs and trials of the only sustained Shi'i caliphate to rule across the medieval Islamic world.

Download or read book Mount of Knowledge Sword of Eloquence written by M. Adra and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2011-04-01 with total page 255 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: I.B.Tauris in association with the Institute of Ismaili Studies A distinguished scholar, author and statesman, al-Mu'ayyad fi'l-Din al-Shirazi (c.997-1078 CE) lived during one of the most turbulent periods in Islamic history. The 11th century was characterized, among other things, by an acute struggle for supremacy between the Sunni and Shi'i branches of Islam, represented politically by the Abbasid and Fatimid caliphates. Al-Mu'ayyad was a Fatimid Ismaili da'i (missionary) who first rose to prominence in theservice of Abu Kalijar, the Buyid ruler of the Fars region in south-west Persia, which was then part of the Abbasid empire. Al-Mu'ayyad's proselytizing activities, however, incurred the hostility of the local political and religious establishment. After enduring much persecution, he was forced to flee his homeland for Fatimid Egypt, where he offered his services to the Imam-caliph al-Mustansir bi'llah. Despite initial setbacks, al-Mu'ayyad's outstanding intellectual and literary skills soon came to be recognized and he was appointed to important positions in the Fatimid administration. Eventually, he attained the highest ranks in the religious hierarchy, including that of chief da'i and director of the Dar al-'Ilm (House of Knowledge) academy in Cairo. During the twenty years he served in these positionsuntil his death at an advanced age, he won widespread acclaim for his scholarship and sagacity, as well as his authorship of a number of theological, devotional and literary works. The Diwan of al-Mu'ayyad al-Shirazi is notable for its exceptional poetic quality as well as a personal testimony of his career as a Fatimid da'i. Comprising a total of 62 qasidas (odes) of varying length, the Diwan covers a wide range of political and religious issues, from al-Mu'ayyad's intellectual disputations and personal experience of persecution to devotions in praise of the Prophet Muhammad and his family. In doing so, he provides a rare, first-hand description of some of the political and sectarian tensions that polarized the Muslim community of his time. Al-Mu'ayyad's poetry is rich in imagery, rhetorical techniques and symbolic allusions to the esoteric lore of the Fatimid Ismailis. This first complete English translation of the Diwan seeks to recapture some of the poetic power and flavour of what is undoubtedly one of the masterpieces of medieval Arabic literature.

Download or read book The First Aga Khan Memoirs of the 46th Ismaili Imam written by Daryoush Mohammad Poor and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2018-10-30 with total page 276 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: I.B. Tauris in association with the Institute of Ismaili Studies Muhammad Hasan al-Husayni, also known as Hasan 'Ali Shah and, more generally, as the Aga Khan (1804-1881), was the 46th Imam of the Nizari Ismailis and the first Ismaili Imam to bear the title of Aga Khan, bestowed on him by the contemporary Qajar monarch of Persia. This book is the first English translation of his memoirs, the 'Ibrat-afza, `A Book of Exhortation, or Example', and includes a new edition of the Persian text and a detailed introduction to the work and its context. The 'Ibrat-afza was composed in the year 1851, following the Ismaili Imam's departure from Persia and his permanent settlement in India. The text recounts the Aga Khan's early life and political career as the governor of the province of Kirman in Persia, and narrates the dramatic events of his conflict with the Qajar establishment followed by his subsequent travels and exploits in Afghanistan and British India. The 'Ibrat-afza provides a rare example of an autobiographical account from an Ismaili Imam and a first-hand perspective on the regional politics of the age. It offers a window into the history of the Ismailis of Persia, India and Central Asia at the dawn of the modern era of their history. Consequently, the book will be of great interest to both researchers and general readers interested in Ismaili history and in the history of the Islamic world in the nineteenth century.

Download or read book Al Maqr z s al abar an al ba ar written by and published by BRILL. This book was released on 2020-11-04 with total page 444 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume contains the edition and translation of the chapter of al-Maqrīzī’s (d. 845/1442) al-Ḫabar ʿan al-bašar dealing with Greeks, Romans, Byzantines, Franks, and Goths.

Download or read book A Companion to the Muslim World written by Amyn Sajoo and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2024-04-15 with total page 365 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What is the extraordinary text that is the Quran - and how does it relate to the life and times of the Prophet Muhammad? How did a legacy so richly varied in faith, law and civilization emerge from the message of the Revelation that came to be called 'Islam' (or submission to God's will)? This immaculately researched yet thoroughly accessible book offers a journey into the full range of experience - past and present, secular and sacred - of the diverse people and cultures of the Muslim world. Threads of continuity and change are woven through each chapter to make a coherent narrative covering a broad variety of themes and topics. Poets, cities and the architecture of mosques are as much a part of the exploration as multiple aspects of scripture, the status of women in the faith, and the emergence of a 'digital community' of believers. In the aftermath of September 11, 2001, understanding what Islam is about and what Muslims believe is a vital concern across all frontiers. "A Companion to the Muslim World" is an attractive venture by distinguished scholars to contribute toward this urgent process of comprehension.

Download or read book Strangers in the Land Traveling Texts Imagined Others and Captured Souls in Jewish Christian and Muslim Traditions in Late Antique and Mediaeval Times written by and published by BRILL. This book was released on 2024-06-03 with total page 330 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume explores the ways in which representatives of different monotheistic traditions experienced themselves as “the other” or were perceived and described as such by their contemporaries. This central category – which includes not only those of different religions, but also converts, foreigners, sectarians, and women – is studied from various perspectives in a range of texts composed by Jewish, Christian, and Muslim authors during late antique and mediaeval times. Conceptualizations of such “others” are often intrinsically related to the idea of exile, another important category that is analysed in this work.

Download or read book Arts of Allusion written by Margaret S. Graves and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2018-07-31 with total page 320 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The art of the object reached unparalleled heights in the medieval Islamic world, yet the intellectual dimensions of ceramics, metalwares, and other plastic arts in this milieu have not always been acknowledged. Arts of Allusion reveals the object as a crucial site where pre-modern craftsmen of the eastern Mediterranean and Persianate realms engaged in fertile dialogue with poetry, literature, painting, and, perhaps most strikingly, architecture. Lanterns fashioned after miniature shrines, incense burners in the form of domed monuments, earthenware jars articulated with arches and windows, inkwells that allude to tents: through close studies of objects from the ninth to the thirteenth centuries, this book reveals that allusions to architecture abound across media in the portable arts of the medieval Islamic world. Arts of Allusion draws upon a broad range of material evidence as well as medieval texts to locate its subjects in a cultural landscape where the material, visual, and verbal realms were intertwined. Moving far beyond the initial identification of architectural types with their miniature counterparts in the plastic arts, Margaret Graves develops a series of new frameworks for exploring the intelligent art of the allusive object. These address materiality, representation, and perception, and examine contemporary literary and poetic paradigms of metaphor, description, and indirect reference as tools for approaching the plastic arts. Arguing for the role of the intellect in the applied arts and for the communicative potential of ornament, Arts of Allusion asserts the reinstatement of craftsmanship into Islamic intellectual history.

Download or read book Great Events in Religion 3 volumes written by Florin Curta and published by Bloomsbury Publishing USA. This book was released on 2016-11-28 with total page 1148 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This three-volume set presents fundamental information about the most important events in world religious history as well as substantive discussions of their significance and impact. This work offers readers a broad and thorough look at the greatest events in world religious history, covering a wide range of religions, time periods, and areas around the globe. The entries present authoritative information and informed viewpoints written by expert contributors that enable readers to easily learn about the chief events in religious history, help them to better understand the course of world history, and promote a greater respect for culturally diverse religious traditions. The first of the three volumes covers religion from the preliterary world through around AD 600; the second, the post-classical era from 600 to 1450; and the third, the modern era from 1450 to the present. Each volume begins with a substantive introduction that discusses the history of world religions during the period covered by the volume. The chronologically ordered entries overview each event, place it in historical context, and identify the reasons for its enduring significance.

Download or read book The QUR AN and the CROSS written by John O'Brien and published by LIT Verlag Münster. This book was released on with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: