Shaping a Muslim State

The World of a Mid-Eighth-Century Egyptian Official

Bibliographic Data

ID23767441
AuthorsPetra M Sijpesteijn (0000-0002-6615-469X, corresponding author)
Year2013
Publication date2013-12-19
Open AccessNo
TypeBOOK
VenueShaping A Muslim State The World Of A Mideighthcentury Egyptian Official (SOURCE_BOOK)
PublisherOxford University Press (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199673902.001.0001
OpenAlexW635115816
ISBN9780199673902
LanguageEN
Citations received46

Shaping a Muslim State provides a synthetic study of the political, social, and economic processes which formed early Islamic Egypt. Looking at a corpus of previously unknown Arabic papyrus letters, dating from between AD 730 and 750, which were written to a Muslim administrator and merchant in the Fayyum oasis in Egypt, Sijpesteijn examines the reasons for the success of the early Arab conquests and the transition from the pre-Islamic Byzantine system and its Egyptian executors to an Arab/Muslim state.By examining the impact of Islam on the daily lives of those living under its rule, the volume highlights the striking newness of Islamic society while also acknowledging the influence of the ancient societies which preceded it. The book applies theoretical discussions about governance, historiography, (social) linguistics, and source criticism to understand the dynamics of early Islamic Egypt, as well as the larger process of state formation in the Islamic world. Readership: For students and scholars interested in classical and Byzantine studies, ancient history, and the history of Islam and the Islamic Empire.

Ancient history · Archaeology · Byzantine architecture · Historiography · History of Islam · Islam · Middle East · Muslim world · Political science · Politics · State (computer science) · State formation · Archaeology and Historical Studies · Classics · Historical and Linguistic Studies · Historical, Religious, and Philosophical Studies · History · Law

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