The breaking of a thousand swords : a history of the Turkish military of Samarra, A.H. 200-275/815-889 C.E.
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Bibliographic Information
The breaking of a thousand swords : a history of the Turkish military of Samarra, A.H. 200-275/815-889 C.E.
（SUNY series in medieval Middle East history）
State University of New York Press, c2001
- : pbk
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Note
Bibliography: p. 263-291
Includes index
Description and Table of Contents
Description
The Breaking of a Thousand Swords provides a portrait of the Samarran Turks as members of a community with a specific and complex history in the early medieval Islamic world. It considers: the encounter of the Turks as rough, non-Muslim outsiders, with the sedentary, urbane world of Baghdad; the closely related encounter of the Turks with the Islamic tradition in its urban, scholarly guise; the settlement of the Turks, in Baghdad then in Samarra, through the use of land grants and appointments to office; the impact upon the affairs of the Turkish community of not only a military ranking but of a socio-political hierarchy as well; the construction by the Turkish elite of an elaborate network of patronage and support, both within urban Iraq and throughout the provinces (Egypt in particular); and the emergence, and impact, of factionalism within the community.
Table of Contents
List of Maps and Illustrations Acknowledgments
Introduction
The Turkish Soldiers of Samarra
The Samarran Turks in Modern Scholarship
The Original Sources
1. The Initial Period
The Appearance of the Guard
Al-Ma'mun: The Consolidation of Authority
Conclusion
2. The Settlement at Samarra
Al-Mu'tasim and the Departure from Baghdad
The Settlement at Samarra
3. The Samarran Political Arena
The Influence of the Turkish Leadership
The Onset of Anarchy
4. The Exercise of Authority
The Sources of Influence
The Reaction to Turkish Authority
Conclusion--A Waning Presence
Al-Muwaffaq's Hour
The Turkish Rank and File
Musa ibn Bugha and the Turkish Leadership
A Final Anecdote
Appendix A. Retainer Forces in Early Islamic History
Appendix B. Notable Families of Turkish Origin
Ibrahim ibn al-Abbas al-Suli and Family
Azjur and Family
Juff ibn Yaltekin and Family
Khaqan 'Urtuj and Family
Notes
Bibliography
Index
by "Nielsen BookData"