Table of Contents

Preface Chapter 1: Origins of the Political Systems: al-nuzum al-siyasiyah Chapter 2: Fiscal Systsems: al-nuzum al-maliyah Chapter 3: Administrative Systems

Promotional Information

The rapid expansion of the early Islamic world is conventionally ascribed to a combination of brilliant military leadership and religious fervour. This book shows how the growth and durability of early Islamic governance derived from highly sophisticated systems of administration and efficient mechanisms for taxation and tax collection.

About the Author

Renowned Iraqi Arab scholar and educator, Abd al-Aziz Duri (1919-2010) was Professor of History at the University of Jordan, having previously served as President of Baghdad University from 1963 to 1968. Among the most influential of his books that also marked a point of departure was his The Economic History of Iraq in the Fourth Century AH (1948), which established a new sphere of emphasis in Arab studies in the field. Duri would go on to contribute seminal works in Arab- and Islamic history including Studies in the Late Abbasid Period (1945), An Introduction to the History of the Dawn of Islam (1949), and The Early Abbasid Period (1988) as well as a critical analysis of Arab historiography itself in Research into the Origins of the Discipline of History among the Arabs (1960). He would also author treatises on Arab nationalism such as The Historical Roots of Arab Nationalism (1960) and The Historical Formation of the Arab nation: A Study in Identity and Consciousness (1987).