Writing for the Caliphate: The Unique Necklace by Ibn ʿAbd Rabbih*
This study undertakes a political reading of the ʿIqd al-farīd by Ibn ʿAbd Rabbih (246/860-328/940). It proposes to identify this adab encyclopaedia, composed in Cordova as a “caliphal” composition, by interpreting its conceptual agenda and compositional structure against the background of (neo-) Um...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Columbia University Libraries
2018-11-01
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| Series: | Al-'Usur al-Wusta |
| Online Access: | https://journals.library.columbia.edu/index.php/alusur/article/view/6853 |
| _version_ | 1797935599938699264 |
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| author | Isabel Toral-Niehoff |
| author_facet | Isabel Toral-Niehoff |
| author_sort | Isabel Toral-Niehoff |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | This study undertakes a political reading of the ʿIqd al-farīd by Ibn ʿAbd Rabbih (246/860-328/940). It proposes to identify this adab encyclopaedia, composed in Cordova as a “caliphal” composition, by interpreting its conceptual agenda and compositional structure against the background of (neo-) Umayyad caliphal ideology as reconstructed by Janina Safran and Gabriel Martinez-Gros. It reads the text as “imperialistic” in its claim to represent Umayyad leadership, as unique and universal, against that of its contemporary rivals, the Abbasids and Fatimids. The Umayyads in al-Andalus suffered from a peculiarly precarious legitimacy, since, in contrast to the Abbasids and Fatimids, they could not refer to a kinship link to the Prophet. Their territory was also situated far outside the central lands of Islam and did not dominate the Holy Sites in the Ḥijāz (required for a caliph), which was a source of embarrassment. Therefore, there was a particularly strong need for a consistent ideology to compensate for this weakness. The study concentrates on three arguments. First, that the ʿIqd al-Farīd was written by a man of the Umayyad regime under the tutelage of the caliph; second, that the ʿIqd reflects a cultural program that aimed at educating Cordovan elites according to cultural models set forth by caliphal Baghdad; and third, that, as an encyclopaedia, it reflects an inclusive, globalizing, culturally imperialistic program that matched the contemporaneous caliphal universal aspirations of the Umayyad regime. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-10T18:17:42Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-250e0eaec9004d6696451233dcf8ff6e |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1068-1051 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-10T18:17:42Z |
| publishDate | 2018-11-01 |
| publisher | Columbia University Libraries |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Al-'Usur al-Wusta |
| spelling | doaj.art-250e0eaec9004d6696451233dcf8ff6e2023-02-02T08:08:51ZengColumbia University LibrariesAl-'Usur al-Wusta1068-10512018-11-0126110.7916/alusur.v26i1.6853Writing for the Caliphate: The Unique Necklace by Ibn ʿAbd Rabbih*Isabel Toral-NiehoffThis study undertakes a political reading of the ʿIqd al-farīd by Ibn ʿAbd Rabbih (246/860-328/940). It proposes to identify this adab encyclopaedia, composed in Cordova as a “caliphal” composition, by interpreting its conceptual agenda and compositional structure against the background of (neo-) Umayyad caliphal ideology as reconstructed by Janina Safran and Gabriel Martinez-Gros. It reads the text as “imperialistic” in its claim to represent Umayyad leadership, as unique and universal, against that of its contemporary rivals, the Abbasids and Fatimids. The Umayyads in al-Andalus suffered from a peculiarly precarious legitimacy, since, in contrast to the Abbasids and Fatimids, they could not refer to a kinship link to the Prophet. Their territory was also situated far outside the central lands of Islam and did not dominate the Holy Sites in the Ḥijāz (required for a caliph), which was a source of embarrassment. Therefore, there was a particularly strong need for a consistent ideology to compensate for this weakness. The study concentrates on three arguments. First, that the ʿIqd al-Farīd was written by a man of the Umayyad regime under the tutelage of the caliph; second, that the ʿIqd reflects a cultural program that aimed at educating Cordovan elites according to cultural models set forth by caliphal Baghdad; and third, that, as an encyclopaedia, it reflects an inclusive, globalizing, culturally imperialistic program that matched the contemporaneous caliphal universal aspirations of the Umayyad regime.https://journals.library.columbia.edu/index.php/alusur/article/view/6853 |
| spellingShingle | Isabel Toral-Niehoff Writing for the Caliphate: The Unique Necklace by Ibn ʿAbd Rabbih* Al-'Usur al-Wusta |
| title | Writing for the Caliphate: The Unique Necklace by Ibn ʿAbd Rabbih* |
| title_full | Writing for the Caliphate: The Unique Necklace by Ibn ʿAbd Rabbih* |
| title_fullStr | Writing for the Caliphate: The Unique Necklace by Ibn ʿAbd Rabbih* |
| title_full_unstemmed | Writing for the Caliphate: The Unique Necklace by Ibn ʿAbd Rabbih* |
| title_short | Writing for the Caliphate: The Unique Necklace by Ibn ʿAbd Rabbih* |
| title_sort | writing for the caliphate the unique necklace by ibn ʿabd rabbih |
| url | https://journals.library.columbia.edu/index.php/alusur/article/view/6853 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT isabeltoralniehoff writingforthecaliphatetheuniquenecklacebyibnʿabdrabbih |