Date: July 8, 2010 14:00～16:00
Venue: AA401, Research Bldg. No. 2, Yoshida Campus Kyoto University
http://www.kyoto-u.ac.jp/ja/access/campus/map6r_y.htm
http://www.asafas.kyoto-u.ac.jp/kias/contents/tariqa_ws/access_map.pdf
Presentation:
Kazuhiro Shimizu (Associate Professor, Kyushu University)
【Activity Record】
This presentation, titled “Another perspective of History of Abbasid Dynasty,” was focused on non-Muslims and non-Arabs in this period.
As the introduction, the presenter showed through a poem by Abu Nuwas, that the society in Abbasid Dynasty had various form of culture, mixing with non-Muslim community.
And then, he reviewed the forming process of Abbasid Dynasty. Abbasid Dynasty is said to have been established by anti-Umayyad movement by the descendants of Ali, on which other anti-governmental group such as descendants of Abbas. After that, descendants of Abbas excluded the descendents of Ali at the establishment of the dynasty, which brought the insufficiency of legitimacy in the dynasty.
This situation forced, he also pointed out, Abbasid Dynasty to maintain the legitimacy of the dynasty by protection of Islam, not by the linkage of Arab. On the one hand, in Umayyad Dynasty the minority, Arab-Muslims ruled the majority, non-Arabs and non-Muslims. On the other hand, in Abbasid Dynasty the appearance of the Mawali, who is non-Arab Muslim who has the relationship with a Arab-Muslim as a patron, changed the social situation.
In the dynasty, Mawali, who have private connection with ruling stratum were promoted by the government. In this presentation, eunuchs and boys, who are permitted to join the private space of Caliphs, are mentioned. This shows the contribution of slaves for the government in Abbasid Dynasty.
The engagement of Mawali in the society contributed to the development of various type of culture. This promoted the mixture of Islamic culture and cultures of ruled people. As a result, he pointed out there happened translation movement of Greco-Roman documents and development of literature and clerk.
By the way, he proposed new interpretation about the translation movement. It have been said that Greco-Roman culture was imported into Muslim world in this era. However he said it is better to regard it as that Mawali’s culture had been Islamized.
(Takatomo Inoue)