Contents

Chapters in this book

1. Frontmatter i
2. Contents iii
3. 1. A MOSAIC OF ʿABBĀSID STUDIES 1
4. 2. OF MUMMIES, POETS, AND WATER NYMPHS: TRACING THE CODICOLOGICAL LIMITS OF IBN KHURRADĀDHBIH’S GEOGRAPHY 8
5. 3. WHO INVITED THE MICROCOSM? 76
6. 4. TYRANT DREAMERS FACE ABRAHAMITE INTERPRETERS: A RECURRING MOTIF IN AL-ṬABARĪ’S HISTORY 98
7. 5. THE RHETORIC OF GIFTS, OR WHEN OBJECTS TALK 130
8. 6. A GRAMMARIAN’S LIFE IN HIS OWN VOICE: AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL FRAGMENTS IN ARABIC BIOGRAPHICAL LITERATURE 142
9. 7. A PRELIMINARY STUDY OF AL-SHĀFIʿĪ’S IBṬĀL AL-ISTIḤSĀN: APPEARANCE, REALITY, AND LEGAL INTERPRETATION 180
10. 8. ABŪ ISḤĀQ AL-NAẒẒĀM: THE ULTIMATE CONSTITUENTS OF NATURE ARE SIMPLE PROPERTIES AND RŪḤ 207
11. 9. THE ENIGMATIC REIGN OF AL-WĀTHIQ (R. 227/842–232/847) 218
12. 10. IBN QUTAYBA AND THE AHL KHURĀSĀN: THE SHUʿŪBIYYA REVISITED 232
13. 11. AL-MAʾMŪN’S MILITARY UNITS AND THEIR COMMANDERS UP TO THE END OF THE SIEGE OF BAGHDAD (195/810–198/813) 245