A History of Palestine, 634-1099

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Cambridge University Press, Feb 27, 1997 - History - 996 pages
This is the first comprehensive history of Palestine from the Muslim conquest in 634 to that of the Crusaders in 1099. It is a translation and revised version of volume I of Palestine during the first Muslim period which was published in Hebrew in 1983 and presents an authoritative survey of the early mediaeval Islamic and Jewish worlds. Professor Gil begins by reviewing the political and military events in Palestine before and after the Arab invasion. Later chapters explore the Abbasid, Tulunid, Ikhshidid and Fatimid periods, during which time Palestine was an almost perpetual battlefield for states, armies and factions. Against this backdrop of conflict and administrative changes, the author portrays the everyday life of Palestine and its inhabitants. He looks at the economic history of Palestine--its agriculture, transport facilities, exports and systems of taxation--as well as the religious status of Jerusalem, the nature of Islam's tolerance towards Jews and Christians and the status, leadership and customs of the Christian populace. Specific attention is paid to the history of Palestinian Jews under Muslim rule. Professor Gil details their topography, economic activities and religious life; he explores the Karaite and Samaritan communities and discusses the role of the most prominent Jewish institution, the yeshiva. A history of Palestine, 634-1099 is based on an impressive array of sources. Professor Gil has put to use more than one thousand documents of the Cair Geniza collection and these are paralleled by Arabic, Syriac, Latin and Greek material. This monumental study will be an essential resource for students and specialists of mediaeval Islamic and Jewish history and religious studies and for anyone interested in the history of the Holy Land.
 

Contents

Introduction
1
1 The Concept
11
The causes of the Great
12
The tribes and the population of Palestine
16
Dhát Atláh Muta
21
Muhammad and the Palestinian tribes
24
Dliát alSalásil
25
Tabúk
26
Fatimid advance northwards d
348
Fatimid retreat d
349
Fatimid advance northwards e
350
The attitude of the Muslims in Palestine towards the Fatimids
352
Events of the year 979
354
The episode of alQassam
355
Events in Palestine 981983
358
Manasseh b Abraham alQazzaz Paltiel
359

The treaties with towns in the south of Palestine
28
The expedition of Usama b Zayd
31
The great invasion
32
The expedition of Amr ibn alAs
38
The expedition of Khálid ibn alWalid
40
Ijnádayn
41
Additional conquests
43
The battle of the Yarmuk
45
The dismissal of Khálid ibn alWalid
48
The capitulation of Jerusalem
51
The completion of the conquest
57
The attitude of the population towards the conqueror
60
Jerusalem
65
2 Islam Strikes Roots
75
Natural disasters
89
The religious status of Jerusalem
90
The achievements of the Umayyads
104
The administrative division
110
Muslim personalities in the Umayyad period
114
The tribes
130
3 The Local Population and the Muslims
139
The protected people
140
The taxes
143
The responsibility for the life of the dhimmi
158
Freedom of worship and its limitations
160
Professions and offices
161
Matters of inheritance Muslim courts
163
The population and localities
169
4 The Economy
224
Occupations
229
Book production
232
Exports
236
Internal trade
241
Imports
242
The representative of the merchants
248
Seafaring
249
Commercial methods
252
Measures and coins
257
The Maghribis
260
The economy of Jerusalem
277
5 Palestine from the Beginning of Abbasid rule to Fatimids
279
The days of alMamún and his successors
294
The Abbasid caliphs and Jerusalem
297
The sixties of the ninth century
299
More about Muslim personalities during the Abbasid period
301
The period of the Tulunids
306
Qarmatis and Fatimids
310
The invasion of Tiberias by the Qarmatis and the return of the Abbasids
312
The Ikhshidids
316
Ikhshidids
328
the war of sixty years and other events during the eleventh century
335
Fatimid retreat a
337
Fatimid advance northwards b
339
Yaqúb ibn Killis
340
Fatimid retreat b
342
Fatimid advance northwards c
343
Renewal of the Byzantine offensive
344
The episode of Bakjúr 983988
364
The events of 996997 internal war in Palestine
366
The cruelties of alHakim
370
The first war of the Jarrahids 10111014
381
Second war of the Jarrahids 10241029 580581 For roughly eleven years from 1013 until 1024 peace reigned
385
Forty years of Fatimid rule
397
The invasion of the Turcomans
409
The situation in Palestine during Turcoman rule
414
Events in Tyre
418
Brief chronological summary
420
Muslim personalities during the last generations of the period
421
7 The Christians
430
Christendom in Jerusalem
435
Christianity in other Palestinian localities
442
Christian sects
447
The patriarchs and other personalities in the Church of Jerusalem
454
Ritual and customs
464
The authorities and the Christians
469
Aid and reconstruction
478
Christian pilgrimage
482
8 The Jewish Population and its leadership
490
The Palestinian yeshiva in ancient sources
495
Palestinian customs
501
The organisation of the yeshiva and its titles
505
The status of the yeshiva and its prerogatives
508
Peacemaking
511
The judicial prerogative
516
Excommunication
522
Aid for individuals
525
Palestinians versus Babylonians
527
The exilarchs
540
Relations between the Palestinian yeshiva and the communities in Palestine and the diaspora
545
The Jewish leadership and the Fa timid authorities
549
Calendrical matters
562
Yeshiva and community
569
Communal leaders in close contact with the yeshiva
575
The negidtm
595
Aid for the yeshiva and the Jewish population of Jerusalem
601
Aliya immigration to Palestine and pilgrimage
609
Burial in Palestine
631
The Jewish quarters of Jerusalem
635
The geonim of Palestine
653
The affair of David b Daniel
750
The yeshiva last pages
774
9 Karaites and Samaritans
777
Karaism in Palestine in the tenth century
784
The Karaite nesiim
790
Beliefs and opinions
794
The social structure of the Karaites
807
The Karaites and their leaders in the eleventh century
809
The Samaritans
820
10 THE Crusaders Conquest and the Fate of Palestinian Jewry
826
Chronology
839
Bibliographical
862
General index
912
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