Published online by Cambridge University Press: 28 April 2021
Comparing the situation of the Abbasid caliphate with other empires shows the geographic and environmental disadvantages of an empire based in Iraq. This chapter highlights the misconceptions surrounding the term "caliphate," and shows how the legacy of the Abbasids and their adaptability to various times can represent a bridge to the modern period. From their openness to various sources of learning in the early period to the inclusive spirit of the later Abbasids with the accommodation of Sufism, the caliphs - far from being the intolerant stereotype portrayed in modern journalism - were in many ways the patrons for a more inclusive frame of society, and central facilitators of change.
To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure [email protected] is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.
Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.
Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.
To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.
To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.