The Armies of the Caliphs

Kennedy, Hugh

doi:10.4324/9780203458532

Cited by 78 publications

(9 citation statements)

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“…He argues the dismounting horseman was in fact a mounted foot soldier who, having travelled to the battlefield on horseback, dismounted to do 'the serious and decisive fighting'. 37 Kennedy refers to Hill, who believes the Arabs owed their victories at the Yarmuk and at Qadisiyya exclusively to their infantry. 38 Hill supports this with the allegation in the sources that in the first Muslim armies, the Arab city-dwellers were much more reliable in battle than the Arab nomads.…”

Section: Ineffective Ancient Horsemanshipmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Or when the Abbasid cavalry was on the verge of being overrun by the Umayyad cavalry during the battle of the Great Zab River (750), their commander ʿAbd Allah ordered his men to dismount to prevent panic and rout. 47 It seems that the topos of dismounting cavalry enjoyed its popularity among the sources because it is such a useful literary device. It indicates the crisis during the course of battle, but most of all, the death-or-glory character of dismounting conveys a strong moral message.…”

Section: Ineffective Ancient Horsemanshipmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…So according to al-Jahiz, at some time the stirrup had been used by the Persians, while still being spurned by the Arabs. 32 We know that in Northeastern Asia, where stirrups first appeared, wooden stirrups preceded those made of metal. 33 Another ninth-century Arab source claims this pattern was repeated in Western Asia.…”

Section: The Introduction Of the Stirrupmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Studies on Mounted Warfare in Asia I: Continuity and Change in Middle Eastern Warfare, c. ce 550–1350 – What Happened to the Horse Archer?

Alofs¹

2014

War in History

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In this article the author rejects the common model for the description of pre-modern warfare as a constant process of technological advances, and argues that both the sources and the pictorial and archaeological record seem to show that, during the period and in the region under consideration, warfare remained essentially unchanged. He postulates the existence of two military traditions, the ‘Turanian’ tradition of the pastoral nomads of Inner Asia and the ‘Iranian’ tradition of sedentary populations under the nomad influence.

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Section: Ineffective Ancient Horsemanshipmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Ineffective Ancient Horsemanshipmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: The Introduction Of the Stirrupmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Studies on Mounted Warfare in Asia I: Continuity and Change in Middle Eastern Warfare, c. ce 550–1350 – What Happened to the Horse Archer?

Alofs¹

2014

War in History

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“…As Hugh Kennedy described the situation, 'In a real sense, ( L Abd al-Malik's) reign sees the emergence of an army, as opposed to a society which could be mobilised for war'. 16 Therefore, the early second ⁄ eighth century, witnessed both a decline in the size and scope of the engagements fought along the frontiers of the Islamic world as well as a decline in the share of the population who were directly participating in these engagements, at least on a state-directed level. What neither of these factors changed was the idea held by certain Muslim jurists that jih ad focused on expanding the political reach of the caliphate should be the central focus of the community.…”

Section: The Arab Conquests and The End Of The Jih Ad Statementioning

confidence: 99%

Frontiers and the State in Early Islamic History: Jihād Between Caliphs and Volunteers

Haug

2011

History Compass

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Jihād and warfare aimed at expanding the political authority of the Muslim caliphate was the primary occupation of the caliphate in its first century. As the state lost focus on the expansion of its frontiers and the proper conduct of jihād, non‐state actors, particularly religious authorities, stepped in to claim authority over frontier warfare. Recent scholarship of the last few decades on the impact of this transference of authority exhibits a trend in the study of early Islamic history of viewing the frontiers as important instigators for major developments that shaped the center of the Islamic world. This article examines recent scholarship on the history of jihād as practiced on the frontiers of the Islamic world and the use of frontier warfare and the proper conduct of jihād as a legitimizing factor for the caliphate and provincial rulers.

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“…This was in line with what had effectively become the practice starting with the mid-third/ninth century when the caliph's children were confined to the palaces of Baghdad and Samarraʾ rather than being sent to govern the provinces. 59 One main function that Abu al-ʿAbbas did fulfill was to act as an emissary of his father in sensitive missions. Al-Muqtadir used Abu al-ʿAbbas as an intermediary with important state officials, especially when he wanted to convey a personal message to someone's home.…”

Section: The Court Of the Princementioning

confidence: 99%

To Be A Prince In The Fourth/Tenth-Century Abbasid Court

Cheikh¹

2011

Royal Courts in Dynastic States and Empires

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Court studies are almost nonexistent for early Islamic history, including the Abbasid era. Many questions need to be investigated in connection with the Abbasid court. What terminology was used in the sources to define the court and the courtiers? Who was a 'courtier'? What was the distinction between the household and the bureaucracy? How was the environment around the ruler organized spatially? Who filled it? How did it represent itself, and with what degree of ceremonial or spectacle? What were the rights and duties, obligations and privileges of the officers within the court and household? What do the sources tell us about the members of the caliphal households, whether women or princes?In recent years, historians of the court have become interested in the ritual and symbolic aspects of rulership as part of the political system. They have, additionally, refocused attention on the whole personal and domestic world within which the ruler lived. 1 This paper explores one aspect of the personal world that constituted the fourth/ tenth century caliphal court by focusing on the life and career of the Abbasid prince Abu al-ʿAbbas, eldest son of the caliph al-Muqtadir (AH 295-320/CE 908-932). Questions that I discuss revolve around the various spaces in which the prince lived, the education and tutorship that he received, the duties to which he was assigned from an early age, and the ceremonial role that he assumed. Information about his life prior to his assumption of the caliphate help us formulate a conception of the expected roles of princes at the fourth/tenth century Abbasid court, the possibilities and limitations open to them, and the networks that formed around them.I have elsewhere investigated the varieties of functions that the eunuchs and harem stewardesses performed in the early fourth/tenth century Abbasid court. These investigations, like the one reported

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The Armies of the Caliphs

Cited by 78 publications

References 0 publications

Studies on Mounted Warfare in Asia I: Continuity and Change in Middle Eastern Warfare, c. ce 550–1350 – What Happened to the Horse Archer?

Studies on Mounted Warfare in Asia I: Continuity and Change in Middle Eastern Warfare, c. ce 550–1350 – What Happened to the Horse Archer?

Frontiers and the State in Early Islamic History: Jihād Between Caliphs and Volunteers

To Be A Prince In The Fourth/Tenth-Century Abbasid Court

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