Messianic beliefs and imperial politics in medieval Islam
Subtitle: the ʻAbbāsid caliphate in the early ninth century
By: Hayrettin Yücesoy.
Series: Studies in comparative religion
Publisher: Columbia, S.C.
Published: 2009
Place of publication: University of South Carolina Press
Language: eng
Number of pages: 212
ISBN-13: 9781570038198
Subjects: Abbasids; Islamic Empire -- History -- 750-1258; Caliphate -- History; Mahdism -- History; Eschatology, Islamic
Description: "Messianic Beliefs and Imperial Politics in Medieval Islam analyzes the role of Muslim messianic and apocalyptic beliefs in the development of the Abbasid Caliphate to highlight connections between charismatic authority and institutional developments in the early ninth century. Hayrettin Yucesoy studies the relationship between rulers and religion to advance understanding of the era's political actions and more specifically to illustrate how messianic beliefs influenced Abbasid imperial politics and contributed to the reshaping of the caliphate under al-Ma'mun (809-33 A.D.) after a decade-long civil war."--BOOK JACKET.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.
Table of contents: title: Introduction; title: Main question; title: Prophecies as text; title: Messianic claims and institutionalization; title: The legacy of the early caliphate; title: Muslims and others: a process of conflict and confluence; title: Shaping up a messianic discourse; title: Qurʼānic views on the end of time; title: Messianic beliefs as political ideology; title: A new millennium: the year 200/800; title: Prophecies and the fourth civil war; title: Crisis after Ḥārūn al-Rashīd; title: The civil war as an apocalyptic fitna; title: Second black banners from the East; title: Making a messianic contender; title: Second black banners; title: Hāshimid versus ʻAbbāsid succession: designation of Alī al-riḍā; title: Al-Mamūn in Baghdad; title: Healing the wounds of a civil war; title: Missionary activity and Byzantine raids; title: God's caliph as mujaddid; title: Translation activities; title: Religious purity and the miḥna; title: Conclusion.