Abbasid History Podcast

Despite many a tattoo of his alleged verses decorating limbs of heartbroken US college students, the actual life, works and legacy of the Sunni Hanafi jurist and Māturīdī theologian Jalāl al-Dīn Muḥammad Rūmī have been conveniently overlooked. To provide a historical introduction to Rumi, we are joined by Muhammad Ali Mojaradi, a University of Michigan graduate, translator, editor and founder of t...

Abū Manṣūr al-Māturīdī (d.944CE) was a Persian Sunni Hanafi jurist, theologian, and scriptural exegete based in Samarkand. His eponymous codification of Sunni creed became the dominant theological school for Sunni Muslims in Central Asia and later enjoyed a preeminent status as the school of choice for both the Ottoman Empire and the Mughal Empire. Timestamps 01:40 Al-Māturīdī was born at Māturīd,...

Our series concludes with this live session with our guest and listeners. For more on our guest, see kblankinship.com. Sponsored by  shop.ihrc.org Get 15% off with discount code AHP15 at checkout. Terms and conditions apply. Contact IHRC Bookshop for details.

Ṣafī al-Dīn al-Ḥillī was a Shʿī poet who was born in Iraq but lived much of his life in Mardin in modern day Turkey. He was an exemplar of versatility in verse for the much neglected Mamluk period of literary history. Timestamps 01:20 Ṣafī al-Dīn al-Ḥillī was born in 1278 just over a decade after the Mongol sack of Baghdad. What do we know about his socio-political context? 08:27 War and disaster...

Ibn ʿArabī was an Andalusian Muslim scholar, mystic, poet, and philosopher. He is renowned among practitioners of Sufism by the names al-Shaykh al-Akbar ("the Greatest Shaykh"; from here the Akbarian school derives its name). Timestamps 01:36 Ibn ʿArabī was born in 1165 in Andalusia whose literary history we covered in episode 35. What do we know about his socio-political context? 06:12 Ibn ʿArabī...

Abū al-Walīd Aḥmad Ibn Zaydūn al-Makhzūmī,  or simply known as Ibn Zaydūn, was considered the greatest neoclassical poet of al-Andalus. His love affair with the princess and poet Wallada and his exile inspired many of his poems. Timestamps 01:37 Ibn Zaydūn grew up during the decline of the Caliphate of Córdoba. What do we know about his socio-political context and also tell us about Arabic literat...

Dr. Kevin Blankinship, BYU Utah, speaks about the life, works and legacy of Abū Firās al-Ḥamdānī, prince, prisoner, poet. Al-Ḥāri th b. Abū al-ʿAlā Saʿīd ibn Ḥamdān al-Ta gh libī, better known by his nom de plume of Abū Firās al-Ḥamdānī, was an Arab prince and poet. He was a cousin of Sayf al-Dawla, the ruler of northern Syria, whom we mentioned in episode 33. He best known for the collection of p...

Dr. Kevin Blankinship, BYU Utah, speaks about the life, works and legacy of al-Mutanabbī, whose poetry continues to inspire. Timestamps 01:44 Al-Mutanabbī was born in 915CE in the city Kufah in modern day Iraq at the height of the Abbasid caliphate but with rising challenges from sectarian foes. What do we know about his  socio-political context? 05:34 Al-Mutanabbī was educated in Damascus and is...

Abū Bakr Muḥammad ibn Zakariyyāʾ al-Rāzī (865–925 CE), also known by his Latinized name Rhazes, was one of the greatest figures in the history of medicine in the Islamic tradition, and one of its most controversial philosophers. While we have ample surviving evidence for his medical thought, his philosophical ideas mostly have to be pieced together on the basis of reports found in other authors, w...

The laws of Dhimma, or governance of non-Muslim minorities in a Muslim polity, can arouse difficult feelings amongst both Muslims and non-Muslims especially at sites of tension and conflict between them around the globe. To discuss with us today a medieval legal work on these rulings is Dr. Antonia Bosanquet , author of Minding their Place: Space and Religious Hierarchy in Ibn al-Qayyim's Aḥkām ah...

"This blessed cenotaph was made for the Imam (al-Shāfʿī)…by ʿUbayd the carpenter, known as Ibn Maʿālai, in the months of the year five hundred seventy-four. May God have mercy on him; may he [also] have mercy on those who are merciful toward him, those who call for mercy upon him, and upon all who worked with him—the woodworkers and carvers—and all the believers." Thus reads the inscription on the...

Literally meaning "speech, word, utterance" among other things, Kalām or philosophy of religion within the Islamic ecumene has divided Muslim believers about it scope, methods and even its validity in itself. To give us a brief history of Kalām is the presenter of a new podcast devoted to explaining Kalām to the uninitiated, Dr. Hannah Erlwein . Dr. Erlwein completed her PhD at the School of Orien...

Considered by Sunni Muslims as the second most authentic book after the Quran, Muḥammad ibn Ismā'īl al-Bukhārī's collection of the Prophet's sayings and traditions, or ḥadīth, holds an esteemed station in Sunni scholasticism. To discuss with me the life, works and legacy of al-Bukhari is Dr. Jonathan Brown . Dr. Brown is the Alwaleed bin Talal Chair of Islamic Civilization in the School of Foreign...

In February 2015, the former Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) released a video showing their destruction of Mesopotamian antiquities at the museum of Mosul. Although perhaps ironic that images are used to show the destruction of images, a video intended to shock can be turned against its makers when analysed thoughtfully. Our guest this episode, Dr. Aaron Tugendhaft , argues in his latest bo...

In and around 869CE, African slaves used to cultivate the salt marshes of Basra in present-day Iraq revolted against their master. Led by an ʿAlī b. Muḥammad, a charismatic messianic figure, their uprising would prove to very damaging to an already beleaguered Abbasid caliphate before being finally crushed in 883CE. To explain the cause, details and significance of the Zanj revolt is Dr. Philip Gr...

To discuss with us the life, works and legacy of Shaykh al-Mufīd is Dr. Ahab Bdaiwi . Dr. Bdaiwi completed his PhD at Exeter on Islamic intellectual history and is currently the Cook-Crone Research Bye-Fellow in Ancient and Medieval History at the university of Cambridge. Timestamps 00.00 Introduction 01.50 Shaykh al-Mufid was born in Baghdad around 948CE during the Shia Buyid dynasty's de facto c...

Dr. Kevin Blankinship, BYU Utah, speaks about the life, works and legacy of one controversial Sufi, al-Ḥallāj, whose poetic outpourings continue to inspire. This is the sixth part of a twelve part series exploring classical Arabic poetry which can be utilised in college-level teaching programmes. For more on our guest, see kblankinship.com. Sponsored by  shop.ihrc.org Get 15% off with discount cod...

Dr. Kevin Blankinship, BYU Utah, speaks about the life, works and legacy of one of the greatest Abbasid literary figures, Abū Tammām, known particularly for his anthology. This is the fifth part of a twelve part series exploring classical Arabic poetry which can be utilised in college-level teaching programmes. For more on our guest, see kblankinship.com. Sponsored by  shop.ihrc.org

Dr. Kevin Blankinship, BYU Utah, speaks about the life, works and legacy of one of the greatest Abbasid poets, Abū al-ʿAtāhiyyaḧ, known particularly for his ascetic poetry. This is the fourth part of a twelve part series exploring classical Arabic poetry which can be utlised in college-level teaching programmes. For more on our guest, see kblankinship.com. Sponsored by  shop.ihrc.org

Dr. Kevin Blankinship, BYU Utah, speaks about the life, works and legacy of one of the greatest Abbasid poets, Abū Nuwās, known particularly for his homoerotic verse and wine poetry. This is the third part of a twelve part series exploring classical Arabic poetry which can be utlised in college-level teaching programmes. For more on our guest, see kblankinship.com. Sponsored by shop.ihrc.org

Dr. Kevin Blankinship, BYU Utah, speaks about the life, works and legacy of one of the greatest Umayyad poets, al-Farazdaq, known particularly for satirizing rival poets as well as amorous verse. This is the second part of a twelve part series exploring classical Arabic poetry which can be utlised in college-level teaching programmes. For more on our guest, see kblankinship.com.

Dr. Kevin Blankinship, BYU Utah, speaks about the life, works and legacy of the boisterous prince, ʾImr al-Qays. Was he actually a Christian? Are his recorded poems authentic? This is the first part of a twelve part series exploring classical Arabic poetry which can be utlised in college-level teaching programmes. For more on our guest, see kblankinship.com.

Dr. Christian Sahner gives a fluent and concise introduction to Christian life prior and after the Arab-Islamic conquests of the Levant including the phenomenon of conversion and martyrdom of executed Christian converts from Islam. Sponsored by IHRC bookshop. Visit  shop.ihrc.org . Use discount code AHP15 for 15% off purchases. Terms and conditions apply. 

Dr. Laury Silvers shows how the move from academic historian to novelist requires the same imagination that the study of history demands. Sponsored by IHRC bookshop. Visit  shop.ihrc.org . Use discount code AHP15 for 15% off purchases. Terms and conditions apply. 

Dr. Yasir Qadhi offers insights into this enigmatic figure whose legacy aroused furore amongst Sunni theologians during the Abbasid era. Sponsored by IHRC bookshop. Visit shop.ihrc.org .