Stay ConnectedAn audio platform for the study of the pre-modern Islamic(ate) past and beyond. We interview academics, archivists and artists on their work for peers and junior students in the field. We aim to educate, inspire, perhaps infuriate, and on the way entertain a little too.
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Suitable also for general listeners with an interest in geographically diverse medieval history.
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Abū al-Walīd Aḥmad Ibn Zaydūn al-Makhzūmī, or simply known as Ibn Zaydūn, was considered the greatest neoclassical poet of al-Andalus. His love affair with the princess and poet Wallada and his exile inspired many of his poems.
Timestamps
01:37 Ibn Zaydūn grew up during the decline of the Caliphate of Córdoba. What do we know about his socio-political context and also tell us about Arabic literature in al-Andalus more generally?
07:10 Ibn Zaydūn was born in 1003 in Cordoba to an aristocratic Andalusian Arab family and was involved in the political life of his age. What do we know about his life?
13:07 The themes of love, lost youth and nostalgia for his city are present in many of Ibn Zaydūn's poems. How would you characterise his work?
16:49 According to Salma Jayyusi in her book, The Legacy of Muslim Spain, "Ibn Zaydun brought into Andalusi poetry something of balance, the rhetorical command, the passionate power and grandeur of style that marked contemporary poetry in the east...he rescued Andalusi poetry from the self-indulgence of the poets of externalized description." How would you characterise his legacy?
20:00 Finally, let's end with a sample and translation.
This is the ninth part of a twelve part series exploring classical Arabic poetry which can be utilised in college-level teaching programmes. For more on our guest, see kblankinship.com. Sponsored by shop.ihrc.org
Get 15% off with discount code AHP15 at checkout. Terms and conditions apply. Contact IHRC Bookshop for details.
Dr. Kevin Blankinship, BYU Utah, speaks about the life, works and legacy of Abū Firās al-Ḥamdānī, prince, prisoner, poet. Al-Ḥārith b. Abū al-ʿAlā Saʿīd ibn Ḥamdān al-Taghlibī, better known by his nom de plume of Abū Firās al-Ḥamdānī, was an Arab prince and poet. He was a cousin of Sayf al-Dawla, the ruler of northern Syria, whom we mentioned in episode 33. He best known for the collection of poems titled al-Rūmiyyāt during his time as a prisoner of war with the Byzantines.
Timestamps
01:52 Abū Firās al-Ḥamdānī was born at a time when the Abbasid caliphate was beholden to de facto autonomous dynasties and facing a Byzantine foe. What do we know about his socio-political context?
06:26 Abū Firās al-Ḥamdānī was born a prince, lived a while as a prisoner, and was killed as a provocateur against a rival ruler, his own nephew in fact. What do we do know about his life?
10:14 Abū Firās al-Ḥamdānī is best known for the collection of poems titled al-Rūmiyyāt during his time as a prisoner of war with the Byzantines. Tell us about his works.
16:50 Sir Hamilton Alexander Rosskeen Gibb, the orientalist, praises Abū Firās al-Ḥamdānī's work for its "sincerity, directness, and natural vigour". How would you characterise Abū Firās al-Ḥamdānī's legacy?
19:45 Finally, let's end with a sample and translation.
This is the eighth part of a twelve part series exploring classical Arabic poetry which can be utilised in college-level teaching programmes. For more on our guest, see kblankinship.com. Sponsored by shop.ihrc.org
Get 15% off with discount code AHP15 at checkout. Terms and conditions apply. Contact IHRC Bookshop for details.
Dr. Kevin Blankinship, BYU Utah, speaks about the life, works and legacy of al-Mutanabbī, whose poetry continues to inspire.
Timestamps 01:44 Al-Mutanabbī was born in 915CE in the city Kufah in modern day Iraq at the height of the Abbasid caliphate but with rising challenges from sectarian foes. What do we know about his socio-political context?
05:34 Al-Mutanabbī was educated in Damascus and is said to have participated in Qaramatian revolts which we covered in episode 13 with Dr. Andani. What do we know about al-Mutanabbī's life and what is the origin of his name?
19:22 Al-Mutanabbī is particularly known as being the court poet of Sayf al-Dawlaḧ, ruler of Aleppo. How would you characterise his works?
22:15 In February 2021, NASA tweeted some lines by al-Mutanabbī to congratulate the UAE satellite reaching Mars. Al-Mutanabbī's reputation has now reached across the stars. That would have been very appealing to his reputed big head. How do we assess his legacy?
30:18 Finally, let's end with a sample and translation.
This is the seventh part of a twelve part series exploring classical Arabic poetry which can be utilised in college-level teaching programmes. For more on our guest, see kblankinship.com. Sponsored by shop.ihrc.org
Get 15% off with discount code AHP15 at checkout. Terms and conditions apply. Contact IHRC Bookshop for details.
Abū Bakr Muḥammad ibn Zakariyyāʾ al-Rāzī (865–925 CE), also known by his Latinized name Rhazes, was one of the greatest figures in the history of medicine in the Islamic tradition, and one of its most controversial philosophers. While we have ample surviving evidence for his medical thought, his philosophical ideas mostly have to be pieced together on the basis of reports found in other authors, who are often hostile to him.
To discuss with us the life, work and legacy of al-Rāzī is Prof. Peter Adamson. Prof. Adamson is professor of philosophy in late antiquity and in the Islamic world at the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich as well as professor of ancient and medieval philosophy at King's College London. Aside from articles, monographs, and edited books, he is known for hosting the weekly podcast "History of Philosophy without any gaps". Timestamps
02.10: Al-Rāzī was born in the city of Rayy near modern-day Tehran before moving to Baghdad to practise medicine. What do we know about his life?
06:13: The metaphysical doctrine of Razi derives from the theory of the "five eternals", according to which the world is produced out of an interaction between God and four other eternal principles. Tell us more about this.
11.40: He has been accused of heresy by Muslims for denying prophecy, or perhaps he was misunderstood?
20.10: There is a statue of al-Rāzī donated by the Islamic Republic of Iran outside the United Nations Office at Vienna. How can his philosophical heritage still be relevant to us today?
24.15: And finally before we end tell us where listeners can turn next to learn more about today's topic and what are other current projects that listeners can anticipate? Sponsors We are sponsored by IHRC bookshop. Listeners get a 15% discount on all purchases. Visit IHRC bookshop at shop.ihrc.org and use discount code AHP15 at checkout. Terms and conditions apply. Contact IHRC bookshop for details. We are also sponsored by Turath Publishing. Buy now An Introduction to Sahih al-Bukhari by Mustafa al-Azami. Listeners get a 15% discount on all purchases. Visit Turath Publishing at Turath.co.uk and use discount code POD15 at checkout. Terms and conditions apply. Contact Turath Publishing for details.
The laws of Dhimma, or governance of non-Muslim minorities in a Muslim polity, can arouse difficult feelings amongst both Muslims and non-Muslims especially at sites of tension and conflict between them around the globe.
To discuss with us today a medieval legal work on these rulings is Dr. Antonia Bosanquet, author of Minding their Place: Space and Religious Hierarchy in Ibn al-Qayyim's Aḥkām ahl al-dhimma published by Brill in 2021. She is currently a researcher at the University of Hamburg and a part-time farmer.
Timestamps 02.25: Before we look at Ibn al-Qayyim on Dhimma governance. Let's first ask ourselves what is Dhimma governance? Our modern sensibilities as residents of secular nation states find discrimination based on religious backgrounds offensive, although arguably that's precisely what some European countries do today...
07.23: Before we look at Ibn al-Qayyim's work, tell us about the life and career of the author. He was born in Damascus 1292CE...
13.05: You argue that Ibn al-Qayyim's book should be seen as more of a personal interpretation of what ought to be done rather than reflective of actual practice on the ground...
19.00: Turning to the present, the most recent attempt after almost a century and half to apply Dhimma rulings was by ISIS in their failed state. Ibn al-Qayyim today is best regarded for his works on personal spiritual reform. The call for Shariah in the modern Muslim world is often seen synonymous as a call for justice against corruption, but can make non-Muslim minorities feel uncomfortable. Can medieval Dhimma rulings still find a place to critique today's world of imagined communities and fictions of nationalism?
24.30: And finally before we end, tell us where listeners can turn next to learn more about today's topic, and what are other current projects that listeners can anticipate? Sponsors We are sponsored by IHRC bookshop. Listeners get a 15% discount on all purchases. Visit IHRC bookshop at shop.ihrc.org and use discount code AHP15 at checkout. Terms and conditions apply. Contact IHRC bookshop for details. We are also sponsored by Turath Publishing. Buy now An Introduction to Sahih al-Bukhari by Mustafa al-Azami. Listeners get a 15% discount on all purchases. Visit Turath Publishing at Turath.co.uk and use discount code POD15 at checkout. Terms and conditions apply. Contact Turath Publishing for details.
"This blessed cenotaph was made for the Imam (al-Shāfʿī)…by ʿUbayd the carpenter, known as Ibn Maʿālai, in the months of the year five hundred seventy-four. May God have mercy on him; may he [also] have mercy on those who are merciful toward him, those who call for mercy upon him, and upon all who worked with him—the woodworkers and carvers—and all the believers."
Thus reads the inscription on the teak cenotaph at the grave of Imām al-Shafiʿī. For at least ten centuries, in a city replete with holy sites, the mausoleum of Imam al-Shafiʿī (d. AD 820) has been perhaps the most beloved and popular of Cairene shrines.
To discuss the mausoleum of Imām al-Shāfiʿī and the role of arts and crafts as a source in Islamic(ate) historiography is Dr. Stephennie Mulder. Dr. Mulder is Associate Professor of Islamic Art and Architecture at the University of Texas at Austin. She is the recipient of the Hamilton Book Award Grand Prize, the Syrian Studies Association Award, and Iran's World Prize for Book of the Year for her book The Shrines of the 'Alids in Medieval Syria: Sunnis, Shi's and the Architecture of Coexistence (Edinburgh, 2014). The book was also selected as an ALA Choice Magazine Outstanding Academic Title.
Timestamps
02.32
The mausoleum was originally built by Saladin in 1180CE before a renovation by his successor, al-Malik al-Kāmil only 30 years later in 1211. Not much of Saladin's original building survives. Why don't you first give a physical description of the site?
04.30
At first blush, one would assume Saladin's intentions in building this mausoleum was an assertion of Sunni triumph over two centuries of Fatimid Shia-Ismaili rule but you argue that the construction of the mausoleum was actually part of a bitter intra-Sunni factional infighting between the Shāfiʿī-Ashʿarites and the Ḥanbalis.
10.12
Typically students of Islamic history rely on written chronicles for a narrative of events. How can a study of buildings and crafts contribute to a critical reading of these sources?
16.51
Turning to the present, you work on the conservation of antiquities and cultural heritage sites endangered by war and illegal trafficking. Tell us more about your work in this field and a call to action for our listeners.
22.41
And finally before we end tell us where listeners can turn next to learn more about today's topic and what are other current projects that listeners can anticipate?
Sponsors We are sponsored by IHRC bookshop. Listeners get a 15% discount on all purchases. Visit IHRC bookshop at shop.ihrc.org and use discount code AHP15 at checkout. Terms and conditions apply. Contact IHRC bookshop for details. We are also sponsored by Turath Publishing. Buy now An Introduction to Sahih al-Bukhari by Mustafa al-Azami. Listeners get a 15% discount on all purchases. Visit Turath Publishing at Turath.co.uk and use discount code POD15 at checkout. Terms and conditions apply. Contact Turath Publishing for details.
Literally meaning "speech, word, utterance" among other things, Kalām or philosophy of religion within the Islamic ecumene has divided Muslim believers about it scope, methods and even its validity in itself.
To give us a brief history of Kalām is the presenter of a new podcast devoted to explaining Kalām to the uninitiated, Dr. Hannah Erlwein.
Dr. Erlwein completed her PhD at the School of Oriental and African Studies on Arguments for the Existence of God in Classical Islamic Thought which is now published and she is currently a Postdoctoral Fellow at Das Max-Planck-Institut für Wissenschaftsgeschichte or Max Planck Institute for the History of Science in Berlin.
Timestamps
01.45
The term Kalām appears in the formative Abbasid period of early Islamic doctrine. What is the socio-political and intellectual-cultural context of its birth and development?
07.13
The practitioner of Kalām is known as a mutakallim. Tell us about some notable figures in the tradition.
11.43
The Islamic scholastic tradition across different school has a culture of texts, commentaries, supra-commentaries and summaries. This is helpful to trace genealogies of thought. Tell us about the contents of the earliest extant Kalām works and subsequent texts.
15.30
What do you feel is the enduring legacy of medieval Kalām for our world today and where should listeners turn to next for more information?
19.27
You currently host Kalamopod, a new podcast dedicated to the history of Kalām. Before you tell us more about that and other current projects that listeners can anticipate, tell us about your book Arguments for the Existence of God in Classical Islamic Thought.
Sponsors We are sponsored by IHRC bookshop. Listeners get a 15% discount on all purchases. Visit IHRC bookshop at shop.ihrc.org and use discount code AHP15 at checkout. Terms and conditions apply. Contact IHRC bookshop for details. We are also sponsored by Turath Publishing. Buy now An Introduction to Sahih al-Bukhari by Mustafa al-Azami. Listeners get a 15% discount on all purchases. Visit Turath Publishing at Turath.co.uk and use discount code POD15 at checkout. Terms and conditions apply. Contact Turath Publishing for details.
Considered by Sunni Muslims as the second most authentic book after the Quran, Muḥammad ibn Ismā'īl al-Bukhārī's collection of the Prophet's sayings and traditions, or ḥadīth, holds an esteemed station in Sunni scholasticism.
To discuss with me the life, works and legacy of al-Bukhari is Dr. Jonathan Brown. Dr. Brown is the Alwaleed bin Talal Chair of Islamic Civilization in the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University. His PhD title and first book was "The Canonization of al-Bukhari and Muslim: the Formation and Function of the Sunni Hadith Canon".
Timestamps 02.25 Al-Bukhari was born 810CE in present day Uzbekistan almost 60 years after the Abbasid revolution and just after the passing of the fabled caliph Hārūn al-Rashīd and the start of the Fourth Fitna civil war between his two sons, al-Amīn and al-Ma`mūn. What do we know about his socio-political and cultural context and what impact would it have on his formation as a scholar? 15.53 Al-Bukhari travelled extensively to collect ḥadīth including to the Levant and Egypt and died in 870CE in his country of birth. Give our listeners an overview of his life before we look at his works and legacy. 27.10 Al-Bukhari is best known for his Ṣaḥīḥ collection. Before we look at that in detail, described to us his other works. 35.31 There has been continued doubts cast on how authentic are the traditions recorded in al-Bukharī's work. What are broader consideration and premises that should be borne in mind when trying to reconcile these views and where should listeners go next to learn more about al-Bukhari and his works? 01.02.13 You are the author of "Misquoting Muhammad: The Challenges and Choices of Interpreting the Prophet's Legacy", "Slavery and Islam" and other works. What are other current projects that listeners can anticipate?
Sponsors We are sponsored by IHRC bookshop. Listeners get a 15% discount on all purchases. Visit IHRC bookshop at shop.ihrc.org and use discount code AHP15 at checkout. Terms and conditions apply. Contact IHRC bookshop for details. We are also sponsored by Turath Publishing. Buy now An Introduction to Sahih al-Bukhari by Mustafa al-Azami. Listeners get a 15% discount on all purchases. Visit Turath Publishing at Turath.co.uk and use discount code POD15 at checkout. Terms and conditions apply. Contact Turath Publishing for details. ErrataAl-Ismāʿīlī died 371/981 and it was Abū Sufyān who asked the Prophet to marry Umm Ḥabībaḧ.
In February 2015, the former Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) released a video showing their destruction of Mesopotamian antiquities at the museum of Mosul. Although perhaps ironic that images are used to show the destruction of images, a video intended to shock can be turned against its makers when analysed thoughtfully. Our guest this episode, Dr. Aaron Tugendhaft, argues in his latest book "The Idols of ISIS: From Assyria to the Internet" that iconoclasm at heart is a political manifesto a matter understood by Abbasid philosopher Abū Naṣr al-Farābī (d.951CE). Dr. Tugendhaft received his PhD from the Department of Hebrew and Judaic Studies at New York University in 2012 and also holds degrees in Art History and Social Thought from the University of Chicago. In 2013, he received the Jonas Greenfield Prize for Younger Semitists from the American Oriental Society. He currently teaches at Bard College Berlin. Timestamps
00.00 Introduction
02.40 Abū Naṣr al-Farābī (ca. 870–950) thought deeply about the relation between images and politics. He adapted the insights of ancient political philosophers—especially Plato and Aristotle—to make sense of prophetic religion. How do his political treatises shed light on Abraham's iconoclasm that ISIS claimed to uphold? 06.30 Where ISIS spoke of the need to cleanse the world of idols, their critics refer to a moral and legal imperative to protect cultural heritage. How do we see Al-Farābī's thesis play out in our contemporary context?
10.20 You also mention in your book how once archaeologists commonly removed so-called late levels—that is, medieval and modern Islamic remains—without recording them to get to the ancient layers underneath eliding the Islamic Middle East as though only the West beholds antiquity's beauty today. What is called the "secular" can also have their idols, right? 13.30 Your book ends creatively employing al-Farābī's thoughts on images and politics in the age of video games. How would the philosopher have advised Trump? 22.55 Your book "The Idols of ISIS: From Assyria to the Internet" is published by University of Chicago Press. What are other current projects that listeners can anticipate? Dr. Tugendhaft, Thank you for being a guest on the Abbasid History Podcast!
Sponsors
We are sponsored by IHRC bookshop. Listeners get a 15% discount on all purchases. Visit IHRC bookshop at shop.ihrc.org and use discount code AHP15 at checkout. Terms and conditions apply. Contact IHRC bookshop for details. We are sponsored by Turath Publishing. Listeners get a 15% discount on all purchases. Visit Turath Publishing at turath.co.uk and use discount code POD15 at checkout. Terms and conditions apply. Contact Turath Publishing for details.
In and around 869CE, African slaves used to cultivate the salt marshes of Basra in present-day Iraq revolted against their master. Led by an ʿAlī b. Muḥammad, a charismatic messianic figure, their uprising would prove to very damaging to an already beleaguered Abbasid caliphate before being finally crushed in 883CE. To explain the cause, details and significance of the Zanj revolt is Dr. Philip Grant, co-author of the "Chains of Finance" published by Oxford University Press.
Timestamps
00.00 Introduction
02.09 The Zanj Revolt occurred in the salt marshes around Basra while the Caliphate was already preoccupied with their longtime Byzantine nemesis and other civil conflicts. What do we know about socio-political and economic context of the Zanj Revolt and the religio-cultural cauldron of the time?
09.55 There were prior unsuccessful revolts but the 869 revolt would prove devastating with siege and sacking of major cities. Narrate for us the contours of events.
28.07 An enigmatic leader emerges called ʿAlī b. Muḥammad who claims descent from the Prophet's household and other elements disenfranchised with the Caliphate join the revolt. What do we about this figure?
36.43 The long term consequences and analysis of events are disputed by historians some emphasising class over race, if it isn't anachronistic to use those term. The legacy of slavery is a sore point for many Muslims and Arabs today. How do you evaluate the Zanj revolt in the bigger scheme of things?
51.45 You are a co-author of "Chains of Finance" on a subject which seems a far call from medieval Iraq and Iran, that being contemporary investment management and you also translate Persian. What are other current projects our listeners can anticipate?
Sponsors
We are sponsored by IHRC bookshop. Listeners get a 15% discount on all purchases. Visit IHRC bookshop at shop.ihrc.org and use discount code AHP15 at checkout. Terms and conditions apply. Contact IHRC bookshop for details. We are also sponsored by Turath Publishing. Buy in time for Ramadan a limited edition of Mufti Taqi Usmani's new translation of the Quran with explanatory notes in a deluxe thermo-leather bound hard cover. Listeners get a 15% discount on all purchases. Visit Turath Publishing at Turath.co.uk and use discount code POD15 at checkout. Terms and conditions apply. Contact Turath Publishing for details.
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