Overview

Based on epigraphic and other material evidence as well as more traditional literary sources and critical review of the extensive relevant scholarship, this book presents a comprehensive and innovative reconstruction of the rise of Islam as a religion and imperial polity. It reassesses the development of the imperial monotheism of the New Rome, and considers the history of the Arabs as an integral part of Late Antiquity, including Arab ethnogenesis and the emergence of what was to become Muslim monotheism, comparable with the emergence of other monotheisms from polytheistic systems. Topics discussed include the emergence and development of the Muhammadan polity and its new cultic deity and associated ritual, the constitution of the Muslim canon, and the development of early Islam as an imperial religion. Intended principally for scholars of Late Antiquity, Islamic studies and the history of religions, the book opens up many novel directions for future research.

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9781107031876

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Reviews

'Aziz Al-Azmeh starts his excellent new book by modestly describing it as an extended essay in historical interpretation' ... but in reality this is a truly massive analysis of the origins of early Islam that will challenge many contemporary assumptions ... This intriguing and engaging book is a welcome addition to academia. Intended primarily for postgraduate scholars of Islam, religion and Late Antiquity, this monograph suggests many exciting new directions for future studies and empirical research.' Abdullah Drury, Islam and Christian-Muslim Relations

Author Information

Aziz Al-Azmeh is CEU University Professor at the School of Historical and Interdisciplinary Studies, Central European University, Budapest. Previous books (in English) are Ibn Khaldun: An Essay in Reinterpretation (1982); Muslim Kingship: Power and the Sacred in Christian, Muslim and Pagan Polities (2001); Islams and Modernities (3rd edition, 2009); and The Times of History: Universal Themes in Islamic Historiography (2006).

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