This course will explore the history of Islamic civilization from its beginnings in seventh century Arabia until the establishment of the Ottoman Empire in the fifteenth century. Attention will be given to the structure of political institutions, the changing nature of the caliphate, as well as social trends and important cultural developments. Students will read selections of important primary sources in translation, such as Arabic and Persian poetry, Mawardi’s Ordinances of Government, Ibn Battuta’s Travels, and Ibn Khaldun’s Muqaddima.
REQUIRED BOOKS:
1) Montgomery Watt, Muhammad at Mecca [Oxford];
2) Montgomery Watt, The Formative Period of Islamic Thought [Oneworld Publications];
3) Joseph van Ess, The Flowering of Muslim Theology;
4) Heinz Halm, Shi‘ism [Columbia University Press];
5) Ibn Khladun, The Muqaddimah: An Introduction to History [Abridged edition] (Princeton University Press, 2004). Tr. F. Rosenthal and abridged N. J. Dawood;
6) Amin Maalouf, Samarkand.
7) Gamal al-Ghitani, Zayni Barakat [Viking]
BREAKDOWN OF SESSIONS
1) First Session:
PRE-ISLAMIC WORLD AND EMERGENCE OF ISLAM AND GENESIS OF ISLAM AS A SOCIAL MOVEMENT: ROLE OF REVELATION AND PROPHECY IN THE FORMATION OF A NEW SOCIO-POLITICAL ORDER IN ARABIA AND THE NEAR EAST.
READING:
Montgomery Watt, Muhammad at Mecca [Oxford];
2) Second Session: EMERGENCE OF CLASSICAL MUSLIM TRADITION
READING:
1) Montgomery Watt, Muhammad at Mecca [Oxford];
2) Montgomery Watt, The Formative Period of Islamic Thought [Oneworld Publications]; PP. 1-208.
3) Third Session: The Great Mu‘tazilites
Montgomery Watt, The Formative Period of Islamic Thought [Oneworld Publications]; PP. 209 to the end of the book.
4) Fourth Session: Shi‘ism
Heinz Halm, Shi‘ism [Columbia University Press];
5) Fifth Session: Early Modern Islamic Historiography: The Example of Ibn Khladun
Ibn Khladun, The Muqaddimah: An Introduction to History [Abridged edition] (Princeton University Press, 2004). Tr. F. Rosenthal and abridged N. J. Dawood.
COURSE REQUIREMENT
1) Class participation and one presentation given by each student.
2) Three book reviews:
a) Joseph van Ess, The Flowering of Muslim Theology;
b) Amin Maalouf, Samarkand; and
c) Gamal al-Ghitani, Zayni Barakat [Viking].
