Premodern Muslim Political Systems
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 3960102 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Michael N Pearson (0000-0002-5330-4812, corresponding author) |
| Year | 1982 |
| Volume | 102 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 47 |
| Publication date | 1982-01-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Journal of the American Oriental Society (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0003-0279 • E-ISSN: 2169-2289 |
| Publisher | JSTOR (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.2307/601110 |
| OpenAlex | W2333242971 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 3 |
| References cited | 1 |
Older studies of politics in premodern Muslim states tended to focus narrowly on the activities of the politico-military elite, and to exaggerate the powers of this elite over the subject population. Subsequently researchers emphasized the roles of guilds and quarters in Islamic cities. Most recently the integrative role of the ulama and state in breaking down this implied particularism has been stressed. Building on these studies, one can depict the total political system of a medieval Muslim state as consisting of an overarching governmental structure and a series of smaller social groups below in which the rest of the population are grounded. The upper circle is based on patronage, the lower ones on many different criteria. There were channels of communication between circles, although these were rarely used. But the system was not completely particularistic, for all men belonged to several circles, according to their social role of the moment. THE MOST IMPORTANT HISTORY of a premodern state is sometimes still considered to consist of, and be circumscribed by, the activities of the elite. The most used (because most translated) sources are either normative accounts of the duties of this elite, or chronicles written for them and describing their activities. These descriptions, apart from their elite focus, are skewed in other ways. They tend to glorify their patrons, stressing their successes and passing lightly over their failures. Similarly, they tend to stress a ruler's fulfillment of those functions seen to be desirable in rulers. The chroniclers had models and expectations of the correct role of a ruler; one senses that sometimes the chroniclers willy nilly make their sultans fulfil these roles
Political economy · Political science · Politics · Sociology · Asian Studies and History · Islamic Finance and Banking Studies · Islamic Studies and History · Law
| Unique citing works | 3 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,18 |
| Citation span | 2009 - 2012 (4) |
| Citation velocity | historical |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 2 |