Religious Studies 147 History 147 AMES 137

ISLAMIC HISTORY to 1517

Spring 1996

Instructor:
Barbara R. von Schlegell
(Penn Office: 215/898-5838)
Email: [ brvs@ccat.sas.upenn.edu]
Office: 401 Duhring Wing
Office hours: Tu and Thurs 12-1:00

This is a survey course on the transformation of the Middle East into an Islamic civilization and its historical development from the time of Muhammad (570-632 CE) to the early sixteenth century. We will cover the rise of Islam, the early Islamic empire, and the process of political fragmentation and cultural continuity in Muslim societies from Spain to North India. Within this wide chronological and geographical framework we will focus on the role of Islamic religious thought, institutions, and identities through a select number of particularly revealing biographies and historical contexts.

The main questions raised in this class are: 1. How did the Middle East become Islamic? To what extent do the Islamic forms of government, social organization, and culture represent continuity with the conquered territories?
2. Is there a worldwide unity of Islamic culture? What are the points of regional variation in the Islamic world?
3. How do we come to know the history of women in the early and middle periods of Islamic history?
4. Can religion be used to explain behavior in the history of Muslim societies?

The course consists of two lecture/discussion periods each week. For the last month of the class, students will choose to join one of four regional and thematic projects (see weeks XII - XIV) for group presentations and class discussions. It is expected that the term paper's subject will rise out of these projects. The essay questions for the final exam will be composed by the groups (who are not to answer on their own area).

Course evaluation and Texts:

Class participation 10%
Midterm exam (questions given out Thursday, February 22 for in-class exam Thursday, February 29) 20%
Group presentation and Paper 10-15 pages (due last day of class,Thursday, April 25) 40%
Final exam (questions given out last day of class) 30%

At the Penn Book Center, 3726 Walnut, phone 222-7600

Marshall G.S. Hodgson, The Venture of Islam: Conscience and History in a World Civilization, vols. I and II (Chicago, 1974)

Ira M. Lapidus, A History of Islamic Societies (Cambridge, 1988)

John Esposito, Islam: The Straight Path

The course reader (bulk pack) is available at University Copy Service, Houston Hall

Course Outline and Readings:

Week I Introduction (January 16 -18)

Readings:
Lapidus A History of Islamic Societies, pp. 3- 10
Hodgson The Venture of Islam, vol. I, pp. 90-99
Esposito Islam, pp. 3-36
II Life of Muhammad, the Qur'an, and a New World Religion (Jan 23 - 25)

Readings:
From reader:
1. Qur'an (Koran)
2. Al-Kisa'i
3. Ibn Ishaq
4. Ibn Sa'd
Hodgson The Venture of Islam, vol. I, 146- 186
III Islamic Conquests and the Early Caliphate (January 30)

Readings:
From reader:
5.Al-Baladhuri and
6.Bishop John of Egypt
Lapidus, A History of Islamic Societies, pp. 37-53
Hodgson, The Venture of Islam, vol. I, pp. 187-217
Islamic Art and Architecture (February 1) Guest lecturer, Renata Holod

Readings:
From reader:
7. O. Grabar, Formation of Islamic Art (selection)
Hodgson, The Venture of Islam, vol. II, pp. 501-531
IV Fitnah: Civil War
The Umayyad Caliphate (February 6 - 8)

Readings:
Hodgson, The Venture of Islam, vol. I, pp. 217-240
From reader:
8. Tabari, Ziyad, and Hasan al-Basri
V The Shi'ah and the Abbasid Revolution (February 13 )

Readings:
Hodgson, The Venture of Islam, vol. I, pp. 241-279
From reader:
9. FE Peters ed."Ali and the Imamate"
The Abbassid Empire (February 15)

Readings:
Hodgson, The Venture of Islam, vol. I, pp. 280-314; 473-493
From reader:
10. Ibn Khaldun "Dynasties"
Lapidus, A History of Islamic Societies, pp. 120-125
VI Universalistic Aspirations: Elaboration of Religious Law and Ways of Piety (February 20 -22)

Readings:
Hodgson, The Venture of Islam, vol. I, pp. 315-409
From reader:
11. Al-Shafi'i
12. Selections from Attar, "Muslim Saints and Mystics"
VII Abbasid Court Culture (February 27) Guest lecturer, Everett Rowson

Readings:
Hodgson, The Venture of Islam, vol. I, pp. 410-472
From reader:
13.Al-Jahiz Life and Works
14. "Letter from Baghdad"
Midterm in class (February 29)
VIII Post-Abbassid States: An Overview of Middle Period Government, Society and Culture (March 5)

Readings:
Lapidus, A History of Islamic Societies, pp. 137-161; 181-191; 225-237
Hodgson, The Venture of Islam, vol. II, pp. 12-61
From reader:
15. Nizam al-Mulk
16. Al-Ghazali "Deliverance from Error;"
Esposito, Islam, chapter II
Economic History (March 7) Guest lecturer, Adel Allouche

Readings:
Hodgson, The Venture of Islam, vol. II, pp. 62-151
Continue readings from March 5
March 12 and 14 University Break. No classes
IX Religious Professions: Law and Mysticism (March 19)

Readings:
From reader:
17. David Powers Studies in Qur'an and Hadith
18. M. Ali Manual of Hadith
19. Al-Misri
20. Khalil
21. Al-Nawawi
22.Al-Qushayri
23. Najm al-Din Razi
25.Al-Suhrawardi
26. Rumi
Hodgson, The Venture of Islam, vol. II, pp. 201- 254
Judeo-Islamic Culture (March 21) Guest lecturer Edward Breuer

Readings:
From reader:
27. B. Lewis Jews of Islam
28. P. Fenton "Judaism and Sufism"
Week X Muslim Women in Islamic History (March 26 - 28)

Readings:
From reader:
29. G. Nashat and J. Tucker Restoring Women to History
30. N. Keddie and B. Baron Women in Middle Eastern History

Case Studies Begin

Note: I will meet with the four groups outside of class to suggest source material and secondary readings, some of which will be distributed to the class as a whole.

Week XI A. Spain and North Africa (April 2 and 4)
XII B. Iran and Central Asia: Mongols and Timurids (April 9 and 11)
XIII C. Egypt and Syria: The Crusades, Fatimids, and Mamluks (April 16 and 18)
XIV D. Turkish Migrations and the Early Ottoman Empire (April 23 and 25)