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HU Credits:
2
Degree/Cycle:
1st degree (Bachelor)
Responsible Department:
Islamic & Middle East Stud.
Semester:
2nd Semester
Teaching Languages:
Hebrew
Campus:
Mt. Scopus
Course/Module Coordinator:
Dr. Ofir Haim
Coordinator Office Hours:
Monday, 15:00 - 15:45
Teaching Staff:
Dr. Ofir Haim
Course/Module description:
The course surveys a range of socio-cultural and religious issues related to Greater Iran (present-day Iran, Afghanistan and most of the present-day Central Asian Republics) since the rise of Islam to the advent of the Mongols in the early 13th century. The course will explore the continuous mobility of peoples, ideas, languages, and materials that characterizes the region throughout this period, as well as the ramifications of central geopolitical events such as the Arab conquest and the advent of the Turco-Mongol nomads from the Eurasian steppe.
Course/Module aims:
The course aims at deepening the students' knowledge regarding the principal events and developments in Greater Iran in the period under discussion. Special emphasis is given to close reading and analysis of primary sources (in translation).
Learning outcomes - On successful completion of this module, students should be able to:
1. Explain major social, cultural and religious developments in Greater Iran from the Arab conquest to the end of the Ilkhanid dynasty.
2. Master the basic terminology (names, toponyms, Perso-Arabic social, cultural and religious terms).
3. Present and compare different opinions and approaches prevalent in the study of pre-Mongol Greater Iran.
4. Examine and interpret extracts from primary source sources in translation within their historical-cultural context with the help of class lectures and secondary research literature.
Attendance requirements(%):
100
Teaching arrangement and method of instruction:
Course/Module Content:
** Some topics may cover two classes or more **
Topic 1
Introduction: What is Greater Iran? Major geographic, ethnic and linguistic characteristics of the area.
Topic 2
Iran and the Advent of Islam: Iran on the eve of the Arab conquest. The stages of the conquest. The establishment of Muslim rule in Iran. Islamization in Iran.
Topic 3
The Ascendance of local Iranian Dynasties Under the Abbasids: the Tahirids, Saffarids, Buyids and Samanids.
Topic 4
The Iranians in the Islamic World: Iranian contribution to the evolution of Islamic institutions and concepts. The status of the new converts to Islam and the non-Muslims. What is the shu'ubiyya movement?
Topic 5
A Persian Renaissance? The rise of the New Persian language under the Samanids. Summary: How did Iran manage to retain it culture?
Topic 6
The Penetration of the Turkic Element in Iran: The Ghaznavids, Qarakhanid and Saljuq dynasties. The evolution of the Turco-Iranian culture. The fusion of Turkic and Iranian concepts of royal power.
Topic 7
Religious Minorities in Pre-Mongol Iran: The Jews. The Twelver Shi’a. The Isma’iliya.
Topic 8
The Iranian World on the Eve of the Mongol Conquests: The Ghurid dynasty. The Khwarazmshahi dynasty. The waves of the Mongol conquests.
Required Reading:
Topic 2
Iran and the Advent of Islam: Iran on the eve of the Arab conquest. The stages of the conquest. The establishment of Muslim rule in Iran. Islamization in Iran.
1) כאהן, ק. האיסלאם. מלידתו עד תחילת האימפריה העות'מאנית. תל-אביב: דביר, פרק 3, עמ' 41-35.
2) Morgan, D. Medieval Persia 1040-1797. London and New York: Longman, 1988, pp. 13-18.
3) Bulliet, R.W. “Conversion to Islam and the Emergence of a Muslim Society in Iran.” In Levtzion, N. (ed.). Conversion to Islam. New York: Holmes & Meier, 1979, pp. 30-51.
Topic 3
The Ascendance of local Iranian Dynasties Under the Abbasids: the Tahirids, Saffarids, Buyids and Samanids.
1) כאהן, האיסלאם, עמ' 295-289; 308-298.
2) Morgan, Medieval Persia, pp. 19-24.
3) Bosworth, C.E. “The Heritage of Rulership in Early Islamic Iran and the Search for Dynastic Connections with the Past.” Iran 11 (1973), pp. 51-62.
4) Busse, H. “The Revival of Persian Kingship under the Buyids.” In Richards, D.S. (ed.). Islamic Civilization, 950-1150: A Colloquium Published under the Auspices of the Near Eastern History Group, Oxford, the Near East Center, University of Pennsylvania. Oxford: Cassirer, 1973, pp. 47-69.
Topic 4
The Iranians in the Islamic World: Iranian contribution to the evolution of Islamic institutions and concepts. The status of the new converts to Islam and the non-Muslims. What is the shu'ubiyya movement?
1) Yarshater, E. “The Persian Presence in the Islamic World. World.” In Hovannisian, R.G. and G. Sabagh (eds.). The Persian Presence in the Islamic World. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1998, pp. 90-96.
2) Zarrīnkūb, A.Ḥ. “The Arab Conquest of Iran and its Aftermath.” In Frye, R.N. (ed.). The Cambridge History of Iran. Vol. 4: The Period from the Arab Invasion to the Saljuqs. London: Cambridge University Press, 1975, pp. 29-43.
3) Savant, S.B. “Naming Shuʿūbīs.” In Korangy, A., et al. (eds). Essays in Islamic Philology, History, and Philosophy. Berlin and Boston: de Gruyter, 2016, pp. 164 184.
Topic 5
A Persian Renaissance? The rise of the New Persian language under the Samanids. Summary: How did Iran manage to retain it culture?
Lazard, G. “The Rise of the New Persian Language.” In Frye, R.N. (ed.). The Cambridge History of Iran. Vol. 4: The Period from the Arab Invasion to the Saljuqs. London: Cambridge University Press, 1975, pp. 595-611.
2) Treadwell, L. “The Samanids: The First Islamic Dynasty of Central Asia.” In Herzig, E. and S. Stewart (eds.). The Idea of Iran. Vol. V: Early Islamic Iran. London and New York: I.B. Tauris, 2012, pp. 3-13 (esp. 10-13).
3) Kennedy, H. “Survival of Iranianness.” In Curtis, V.S. and Stewart, S. (eds.). The Idea of Iran. Vol. IV: The Rise of Islam. London and New York: I.B. Tauris, 2009, pp. 13-29.
Topic 6
The Penetration of the Turkic Element in Iran: The Ghaznavids, Qarakhanid and Saljuq dynasties. The evolution of the Turco-Iranian culture. The fusion of Turkic and Iranian concepts of royal power.
Bosworth, C.E. “Barbarian Incursions: The Coming of the Turks into the Islamic World.” In idem (ed.). Turks in the Early Islamic World. Burlington: Ashgate, 2007., pp. 213-228.
2) Morgan, Medieval Persia, pp. 21-22, 25-33.
3) Morgan, Medieval Persia, pp. 34-40.
4) Vásáry, I. “Two Patterns of Acculturation to Islam: The Qarakhanids versus the Ghaznavids and Seljuqs.” In Herzig, E. and S. Stewart (eds.). The Idea of Iran. Vol. VI: The Age of the Seljuqs. London and New York: I.B. Tauris, 2015, pp. 9-28.
Topic 7
Religious Minorities in Pre-Mongol Iran: The Jews. The Twelver Shi’a. The Isma’iliya.
1) שקד, שאול. "פרקים במורשתם הקדומה של יהודי פרס." פעמים 23 (תשמ"ה), עמ' 37-22.
2) אבשטיין, מיכאל. "האסמאעיליה". בתוך האסלאם. היסטוריה, דת, תרבות, עמ' 366-353.
Topic 8
The Iranian World on the Eve of the Mongol Conquests: The Ghurid dynasty. The Khwarazmshahi dynasty. The waves of the Mongol conquests.
1) Morgan, Medieval Persia, pp. 46-61.
Additional Reading Material:
Grading Scheme :
Essay / Project / Final Assignment / Home Exam / Referat 85 %
Mid-terms exams 15 %
Additional information:
A quiz on terms will be held towards the middle of the course (15% of the final grade).
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