Tayeb El-Hibri is Professor of Near Eastern Studies at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. He is the author of Parable and Politics in Early Islamic History: The Rashidun Caliphs (2010) and Reinterpreting Islamic Historiography: Harun al-Rashid and the Narrative of the Abbasid Caliphate (1999) which won the Albert Hourani Award Honorable Mention at the Middle East Studies Association Convention in 2000. He has published articles on the Abbasids in journals including Arabica, Der Islam, International Journal of Middle East Studies, Journal of the American Oriental Society, and Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient.

'The Abbasid Caliphate is an ambitious history of Abbasid rule that achieves its goal of narrative coherence over five centuries without losing sight of the complexity of its subject ... the book is intelligent, engaging, and often quietly humorous - the sort to appeal to researchers, general readers, and both graduate and undergraduate students ... Recommended.' R. A. Miller, CHOICE

• 1. Introduction; 2. From Revolution to Foundations (750–775); 3. The Golden Age of the Abbasid Caliphate (775–833); 4. From Triumph to Tribulation (833–990); 5. The Caliphate as a Religious Authority (990–1225); 6. The Twilight of the Abbasid Caliphate (1225–1258); 7. Conclusion.

Tayeb El-Hibri is Professor of Near Eastern Studies at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. He is the author of Parable and Politics in Early Islamic History: The Rashidun Caliphs (2010) and Reinterpreting Islamic Historiography: Harun al-Rashid and the Narrative of the Abbasid Caliphate (1999) which won the Albert Hourani Award Honorable Mention at the Middle East Studies Association Convention in 2000. He has published articles on the Abbasids in journals including Arabica, Der Islam, International Journal of Middle East Studies, Journal of the American Oriental Society, and Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient.

'The Abbasid Caliphate is an ambitious history of Abbasid rule that achieves its goal of narrative coherence over five centuries without losing sight of the complexity of its subject ... the book is intelligent, engaging, and often quietly humorous - the sort to appeal to researchers, general readers, and both graduate and undergraduate students ... Recommended.' R. A. Miller, CHOICE

• 1. Introduction; 2. From Revolution to Foundations (750–775); 3. The Golden Age of the Abbasid Caliphate (775–833); 4. From Triumph to Tribulation (833–990); 5. The Caliphate as a Religious Authority (990–1225); 6. The Twilight of the Abbasid Caliphate (1225–1258); 7. Conclusion.

Tayeb El-Hibri is Professor of Near Eastern Studies at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. He is the author of Parable and Politics in Early Islamic History: The Rashidun Caliphs (2010) and Reinterpreting Islamic Historiography: Harun al-Rashid and the Narrative of the Abbasid Caliphate (1999) which won the Albert Hourani Award Honorable Mention at the Middle East Studies Association Convention in 2000. He has published articles on the Abbasids in journals including Arabica, Der Islam, International Journal of Middle East Studies, Journal of the American Oriental Society, and Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient.

'The Abbasid Caliphate is an ambitious history of Abbasid rule that achieves its goal of narrative coherence over five centuries without losing sight of the complexity of its subject ... the book is intelligent, engaging, and often quietly humorous - the sort to appeal to researchers, general readers, and both graduate and undergraduate students ... Recommended.' R. A. Miller, CHOICE

• 1. Introduction; 2. From Revolution to Foundations (750–775); 3. The Golden Age of the Abbasid Caliphate (775–833); 4. From Triumph to Tribulation (833–990); 5. The Caliphate as a Religious Authority (990–1225); 6. The Twilight of the Abbasid Caliphate (1225–1258); 7. Conclusion.