Messianism and Sociopolitical Revolution in Medieval IslamUniv of California Press, 2022 M10 25 - 388 pages This study of messianism and revolution examines an extremely rich though unexplored historical record on the rise of Islam and its sociopolitical revolutions from Muhammad’s constitutive revolution in Arabia to the Abbasid revolution in the East and the Fatimid and Almohad revolutions in North Africa and the Maghreb. Bringing the revolutions together in a comprehensive framework, Saïd Amir Arjomand uses sociological theory as well as the critical tools of modern historiography to argue that a volatile but recurring combination of apocalyptic motivation and revolutionary action was a driving force of historical change time and again. In addition to tracing these threads throughout 500 years of history, Arjomand also establishes how messianic beliefs were rooted in the earlier Judaic and Manichaean notions of apocalyptic transformation of the world. By bringing to light these linkages and factors not found in the dominant sources, this text offers a sweeping account of the long arc of Islamic history. |
Contents
| 16 | |
The Emergence of Apocalyptic Messianism from | 33 |
Muhammads Constitutive Revolution and Its Apocalyptic Roots | 74 |
Civil Wars and the Emergence of Apocalyptic Mahdism | 116 |
The SelfDestruction of the Umayyad Empire | 148 |
The Process of the Hashemite Revolution | 173 |
The Integrative and Centralizing Consequences of the Abbasid | 206 |
The End of the Hashemite Revolution and the Abbasid Autocracy | 216 |
Apocalyptic Messianism in the Fatimid Revolution | 224 |
The Almohad Revolution of Mahdi Ibn Tumart and the Berbers | 262 |
The Establishment of Patrimonial Monarchy and the Almohad Hierarchy | 281 |
The Consequences of the Berber Revolution of the Mahdi b Tumart | 289 |
The Islamicate Conceptions of Revolution | 291 |
Abbreviations | 315 |
| 345 | |
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Common terms and phrases
Abbasid Abdallāh Abu Ja‘far Abu Muslim accept according Almohad apocalyptic appears appointed Arab Arabia army authority Battle became believers Berber Book brother caliph called cause century chapter Civil claim coming command considered Constitutive converts Daniel death developed divine early empire established evidence expected fact Fatimid final followers forces given God’s governor Hashemite head House idea imam included Integrative Iran Iraq Isā Islam Khurasan Khurasanian killed king known Kufa later leader Mahdi major Marwān meaning Mecca Medina Messenger messianism mission missionary motivation movement Mu‘āwiya Muhammad original Persian political power struggle Prophet Qa’im Qur’an rebellion reference religion religious remained revolution revolutionary rise rule sent social sons succession Syria Tabari term theory thousand tion took tradition translation tribal tribes turn Umayyad uncle Yazid