Die Renaissance Der Stadte in Nordsyrien Und Nordmesopotamien: Stadtische Entwicklung Und Wirtschaftliche Bedingungen in Ar-Raqqa Und Harran Von Der Zeit ... (Islamic History and Civilization)
Editorial Reviews
Book Description
The period between 950 and 1150 A.D. is regarded as "turning point in the history of the Islamic Culture" from the Early Islamic to the Late Medieval civilization. What led to the urban decline in between and the later recovery? Ḥ̣arrān and al-Raqqa serve as paradigma for the development in Northern Syria and Northern Mesopotamia.
The collapse of the cAbbasid state left the region cornered between Buyids, Fatimids and Byzantines to the nomadic tribes not acquainted with urban culture. After 1086 A.D., measures undertaken by the Seljuqs in order to safeguard their hegemony led to a renaissance of cities inspite of permanent power struggles and the crusades. They based their rule on fortified places. The financing of the army led to the distribution of land as fiefs (iqtac) and subsequently to a dislodgement of nomads and a recultivation of former agricultural land. Cash money for the treasury was generated by skimming long distance trade; this in turn required public security on the roads. An analysis of the monetary circulation according to archaeological and literal evidence serves as measure for the economic recovery. A corpus of the coin production in al-Raqqa, ḥarrān and al-Ruha'/Edessa supplements the textual sources.
About the Author
Stefan Heidemann, Ph.D. (1993), Free University Berlin, Habilitation (2001) in Islamic Sciences, Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena. He publishes on Islamic history, Das Aleppiner Kalifat (Leiden 1994), and numismatics, Islamische Numismatik in Deutschland (Wiesbaden 2000), and took part in several excavations in Syria.
Die Renaissance Der Stadte in Nordsyrien Und Nordmesopotamien: Stadtische Entwicklung Und Wirtschaftliche Bedingungen in Ar-Raqqa Und Harran Von Der Zeit ... (Islamic History and Civilization),Stefan Heidemann,Brill Academic Publishers,9004122745,History,History - General History,History: World,Interior Design - General,Islamic History,Middle East - General,Religion,Asian / Middle Eastern history: c 500 to c 1500,Islamic countries,Islamic studies,Middle East,c 1000 CE to c 1500,c 500 CE to c 1000 CE
Book Contents:
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