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Portrayals of the Later Abbasid Caliphs: The Role of the Caliphate in Buyid and Saljūq-era Chronicles, 936-1180

Scharfe, Patrick
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1275506456

Abstract Details

2010, Master of Arts, Ohio State University, History.
Decline paradigms have long dominated the modern historiography of the pre-modern Middle East. In particular, the alleged decadence of the Abbasid caliphate after its loss of military power in the middle of the 10th-century has been seen as an index of the “decline” of Islamic civilization generally. This judgment, however, has usually been taken without much actual reference to the later history of the Abbasids. A thorough examination of the primary sources of medieval Islamic history – Arabic chronicles – reveals a much more nuanced picture of the later Abbasid caliphate. While the caliphs lacked military power during the Buyid and Saljūq eras, they were not mere hostages of the secular powers in the eyes of the chroniclers. A close reading of each chronicler against his political background is necessary to understand this fully, however. The caliphs’ authority allowed them to bestow titles upon the rulers that they chose, and sultans were only legitimate when the caliphs had their names recited in the Friday prayer (khuṭba). The caliphs also exercised practical power, especially with the weakening of the Buyid amirate after 1000 C.E. With the caliph al-Qādir (d. 1030), the caliphs controlled judgeships, intervened in urban politics and led the struggle for religious orthodoxy. They were neither saved nor held hostage by the Saljūq sultan Tughril Beg who arrived in Baghdad in 1055. When the Saljūq sultanate fragmented in the 12th-century, the caliphs re-emerged as regional military leaders. Whereas previous caliphs had held authority but not military power, the caliph al-Muqtafī (d. 1160) united power and authority again through his victories in battle against the Saljūqs. Thus, the story of the later Abbasids is not a simple tale of decline.
Jane Hathaway, PhD (Committee Chair)
Stephen Dale, PhD (Committee Member)
Parvaneh Pourshariati, PhD (Committee Member)
127 p.
History
Abbasid; caliph; caliphate; Ibn al-Jawzi; al-Athir; Miskawayh; Hilal al-Sabi'; al-Mawardi; sultan; Buyid; Buwayhid; Saljuq; Seljuk; Baghdad; al-Qadir; al-Qa'im; al-Muqtafi; al-Mustarshid; al-Muqtadi; Malikshah; Tughril Beg; Mu'izz al-Dawla

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Scharfe, P. (2010). Portrayals of the Later Abbasid Caliphs: The Role of the Caliphate in Buyid and Saljūq-era Chronicles, 936-1180 [Master's thesis, Ohio State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1275506456

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Scharfe, Patrick. Portrayals of the Later Abbasid Caliphs: The Role of the Caliphate in Buyid and Saljūq-era Chronicles, 936-1180. 2010. Ohio State University, Master's thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1275506456.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Scharfe, Patrick. "Portrayals of the Later Abbasid Caliphs: The Role of the Caliphate in Buyid and Saljūq-era Chronicles, 936-1180." Master's thesis, Ohio State University, 2010. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1275506456

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

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