Caliphate: The History of an Idea

306 Pages·2016·2.44 MB·English

by  Hugh Kennedy

Copyright © 2016 by Hugh Kennedy
Published in the United States by Basic Books, an imprint of Perseus Books, LLC, a subsidiary of Hachette
Book Group, Inc.
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First published in 2016 in the United Kingdom by Pelican Books, Penguin Books, Penguin Random House.
Designed by Jack Lenzo
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Kennedy, Hugh (Hugh N.), author.
Title: Caliphate: the history of an idea / Hugh Kennedy.
Description: First edition. | New York: Basic Books, 2016. | Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2016029769 (print) | LCCN 2016032016 (ebook) | ISBN 9780465094394 (ebook)
Subjects: LCSH: Caliphate—History. | Caliphs—History. | Islamic Empire—History—622–661. | Islamic
Empire—History—661–750. | Islamic Empire—History—750–1258. | Islamic Empire—Kings and
rulers.
Classification: LCC BP166.9 .K36 2016 (print) | LCC BP166.9 (ebook) | DDC 909/.09767—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2016029769
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
To my young grandchildren, Ferdie, Ronja and Aurora in the hope that they
may grow up in a world where people of different religions and cultures can
live together in peace and mutual respect.
Contents Maps
Introduction
1 THE FIRST CALIPHS
2 THE EXECUTIVE CALIPHATE: THE RULE OF THE UMAYYADS
3 THE EARLY ABBASID CALIPHATE
4 THE CULTURE OF THE ABBASID CALIPHATE
5 THE LATER ABBASID CALIPHATE
6 THREE AUTHORS IN SEARCH OF THE CALIPHATE
7 THE CALIPHATE OF THE SHIITES
8 THE UMAYYADS OF CÓRDOBA
9 THE ALMOHAD CALIPHS
10 THE CALIPHATE UNDER THE MAMLUKS AND OTTOMANS
11 THE TWENTIETH CENTURY AND BEYOND
Acknowledgements
Glossary
List of Caliphs
Notes
Further Reading
Index