Universalism and Regionalism in the Early Islamic World - The Beginnings of Local History-Writing

What was the role of local history-writing in the early Islamic World, and why was it such a popular way of thinking about the past? In this innovative study, Harry Munt explores this understudied phenomenon. Examining primary sources in both Arabic and Persian, Munt argues that local history-writing must be situated within its appropriate historical contexts to explain why it was such a popular way of thinking about the past, more popular than most other contemporary forms of history-writing. The period until the end of the eleventh century CE saw many significant developments in ideas about community, about elite groups and about social authority. This study demonstrates how local history-writing played a key role in these developments, forming part of the way that Muslim scholars negotiated the dialogues between more universalist and more particularist approaches to the understanding of communities. Munt further demonstrates that local historians were participating in debates that ranged into disciplines far beyond history-writing.

Sommario

Introduction; Part I: 1. Scholarly communities and the social value of knowledge; 2. Writing and the authorship of books; 3. Universalism and particularism in the early Islamic world; Part II: 4. Universal history-writing; 5. What is a local history?; 6. Local history as a genre; Part III: 7. Why write local history?; 8. Idealised communities: narratives and representations; Conclusion; Bibliography; Indices.

Info autore

Harry Munt is a Senior Lecturer in Medieval History at the University of York, where his research and teaching focuses on the history of the Islamic world, ca. 600–1500. Previous publications include The Holy City of Medina: Sacred Space in Early Islamic Arabia (2014), which was also published in the Cambridge Studies in Islamic Civilization series.

Dettagli sul prodotto

• Autori: Harry (University of York) Munt, Munt Harry
• Editore: Cambridge University Press ELT
• Lingue: Inglese
• Formato: Copertina rigida
• Pubblicazione: 28.02.2026
• EAN: 9781009648264
• ISBN: 978-1-0-0964826-4
• Pagine: 320
• Serie: Cambridge Studies in Islamic Civilization
• Categorie: Scienze naturali, medicina, informatica, tecnica > Scienze naturali, tematiche generali; Scienze sociali, diritto, economia > Scienze sociali, tematiche generali; Islam, HISTORY / Middle East / General, c 1000 CE to c 1500, Middle Eastern history, Early history: c 500 to c 1450/1500, Islamic countries, C 500 CE To C 1000 CE, 10th century, c 900 to c 999, 11th century, c 1000 to c 1099, 9th century, c 800 to c 899, 12th century, c 1100 to c 1199, 13th century, c 1200 to c 1299, General studies