2010 Reading #41: When Baghdad Ruled the Muslim World
Books 1-10.
Books 11-20.
Books 21-30.
Books 31-40.
41. When Baghdad Ruled the Muslim World: The Rise and Fall of Islam's Greatest Dynasty by Hugh Kennedy. Ten chapters covering the Abbasid caliphs, concentrating on Mansur, Mahdi, Harun, and the succession struggle following Harun's death. Kennedy's stated approach is more populist than some, including some anecdotes of dubious accuracy for their narrative value and the ways in which they illustrate larger points about the culture of Islam, Baghdad and the court of the caliph. This succeeds in part, but some of the intrigues tend to blur together, and the latter part of the book loses some focus and kind of trails off. All in all, though, a pretty good popular history of the period from about 720-870.
Books 11-20.
Books 21-30.
Books 31-40.
41. When Baghdad Ruled the Muslim World: The Rise and Fall of Islam's Greatest Dynasty by Hugh Kennedy. Ten chapters covering the Abbasid caliphs, concentrating on Mansur, Mahdi, Harun, and the succession struggle following Harun's death. Kennedy's stated approach is more populist than some, including some anecdotes of dubious accuracy for their narrative value and the ways in which they illustrate larger points about the culture of Islam, Baghdad and the court of the caliph. This succeeds in part, but some of the intrigues tend to blur together, and the latter part of the book loses some focus and kind of trails off. All in all, though, a pretty good popular history of the period from about 720-870.