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Ritual, Politics, and the City in Fatimid Cairo
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N/A
Hardcover - 248 pages |
| Release Date: March 1994 |
ISBN10: 0-7914-1781-6
ISBN13: 978-0-7914-1781-2
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Price: $32.95
Paperback - 248 pages |
| Release Date: March 1994 |
ISBN10: 0-7914-1782-4
ISBN13: 978-0-7914-1782-9
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| Summary |
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Provides an understanding of the complexities of political legitimacy in Islamic dynasties by examining Fatimid political culture in Egypt reconstructed from court rituals.
"This is a totally original contribution to the historical research on the Middle East and on the Islamic world. Sanders' book fills an important lacuna in Middle Eastern historiography. Unlike European historical studies, where the semiological approach to the ceremonial of royal and state power has an impressive tradition represented by the landmark work of such luminaries as Ernst Kantorowicz, Ralph Giesey, and Sarah Hanley, the historical literature on the Middle East contains no comparable studies along these lines. There are several reasons for this. Sources on which to base such an inquiry are neither self-evident nor abundant. Even less abundant are scholars who have the skills to identify and exploit such sources and who also possess the sensitivity and sophistication to persuasively accomplish an analysis of the representation of power in an Islamic context. Paula Sanders has succeeded in doing exactly this in a polished and professional manner." -- Abraham L. Udovitch, Princeton University
This book provides an understanding of the complexities of political legitimacy in Islamic dynasties by examining Fatimid political culture in Egypt reconstructed from court rituals. The author approaches ritual as a dynamic process through which claims to political and religious authority in Islamic societies are articulated, and in which complex negotiations of power have taken place.
Paula Sanders is Associate Professor of History at Rice University.
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Table of Contents
Abbreviations, Acronyms, and Short Titles
Acknowledgments
Chapter 1 Introduction
Fatimid History: An Overview
Approaching Fatimid Rituals
Chapter 2 The Ceremonial Idiom
Protocols of Rank
Symbols of Authority
The Caliph as Center
Chapter 3 The Ritual City
The Beginnings of the Ritual City
The Elaboration of the Ritual City under al-'Aziz
The Integration of Fustat into the Ritual City
The Restoration of al-Amir and the Reinterpretation of the Ritual City
Chapter 4 Politics, Power, and Administration: The New Year's Ceremony
The Model Procession: Ibn al-Tuwayr's Description of the New Year
The Negotiation of Power in the New Year's Procession
Chapter 5 The Urban River
The Highwayman of Egypt: Agriculture and Irrigation
The Ceremony to Cut the Canal
Late Fatimid Nile Ceremonies
Perfuming the Nilometer
Dating the Nilometer Ceremony
The Urban River
Chapter 6 Ceremonial as Polemic
The Event at Ghadir Khumm and Its Importance in Isma'ili Thought
Popular Celebrations of the Festival of Ghadir
The Festival of Ghadir and the Ritual Lingua Franca
Ceremonial as Polemic
Chapter 7 Epilogue
Notes
Selected Bibliography
Maps
Index
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| Related Subjects
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25162/24616(RR/SG/FK)
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