Islamic Urbanism: Political Power and Social Networks

Tsugitaka SATO

Routledge, Nov 12, 2012 - Social Science - 246 pages

Islamic cultures in the Middle East have inherited and developed a legacy of urbanism spanning millennia to the ancient civilizations of the region. In contrast to well-organized states like China in history, Muslim peoples formed loose states based on intricate social networks. As a consequence, most studies of urban history in the Middle East have focused their gaze exclusively on urban social organization, often neglecting the extension of political power to rural areas. Covering Morocco, Egypt, Syria, Iran and Brunei, this volume explores the relationship between political power and social networks in medieval and modern Middle Eastern history. The authors examine social, religious and administrative networks that governed rural and urban areas and led to state formation, providing a more inclusive view of the mechanisms of power and control in the Islamic world.

Contents

• Preface: 7
• Introduction: 9
• Popular Coexistence and State Oppression in Ottoman Syria: 22
• Taxation Legal Execution and Bribery: 39
• The Construction of Politics in Urban Egypt: 77
• Chapter Four Political Power and SocialReligious Networks in SixteenthCentury fes: 107
• Nomadic Rule and City Construction in the Eastern Islamic World: 142
• A Malay Muslim Community and State in Brunei Darussalam: 171
• Chapter Seven Elites Notables and Social Networks of EighteenthCentury Hama: 211
• Index: 233
• Contributors: 244

About the author

SATO Tsugitaka

is Professor at the University of Tokyo

Bibliographic information

• Title: Islamic Urbanism: Political Power and Social Networks
• Editor: Tsugitaka SATO
• Publisher: Routledge, 2012
• ISBN: 1136169598, 9781136169595
• Length: 246 pages
• Subjects: Social Science / Anthropology / General; Social Science / Regional Studies