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

Description

The study of early Islamic history has flourished in recent years. Chase Robinson's book takes full account of the latest research, interweaving history and historiography to interpret the political, social, and economic transformations in the Mesopotamian region after the Islamic conquests. Using Arabic and Syriac sources, the author focuses on the Muslim and Christian elites, demonstrating that significant social change took place only at the end of the seventh century. This is a sophisticated study at the cutting-edge of a burgeoning field in Islamic studies.

Chase F. Robinson is Lecturer in Islamic History at the University of Oxford.

'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 'For its intended audience... the book will no doubt be welcomed as an impressive and highly accomplished treatment of its subject. Indeed, it is at the cutting edge of contemporary scholarship on early Islam in many respects. The author's command of sources in exhaustive.' Elton L. Daniel, University of Hawaii '... rich in detail ... a definitive work ...' Bulletin of the School of Oriental & African Studies