Books by Hannah-Lena Hagemann
Eds. Hannah-Lena Hagemann and Alasdair Grant. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, forthcoming., 2024
Studies in the History and Culture of the Middle East 36, 2020
Transregional and regional elites of various backgrounds were essential
for the integration of di... more Transregional and regional elites of various backgrounds were essential
for the integration of diverse regions into the early Islamic Empire, from
Central Asia to North Africa. The papers in this volume analyze elite groups together with their structures and networks, within selected regions across geographical, religious and social boundaries. Although each region appears unique at first glance, the studies show that they shared certain patterns of governance and interaction, and that this was an important factor for the success of the largest empire of Late Antiquity.
Hannah-Lena Hagemann & Stefan Heidemann, eds., Transregional and Regional Elites - Connecting the Early Islamic Empire, Berlin: De Gruyter, 2020
Available in open access at https://www.degruyter.com/viewbooktoc/product/537553
"Transregional ... more Available in open access at https://www.degruyter.com/viewbooktoc/product/537553
"Transregional and regional elites of various backgrounds were essential for the integration of diverse regions into the early Islamic Empire, from Central Asia to North Africa. The papers in this volume analyze elite groups together with their structures and networks, within selected regions across geographical, religious and social boundaries. Although each region appears unique at first glance, the studies show that they shared certain patterns of governance and interaction, and that this was an important factor for the success of the largest empire of Late Antiquity."
Papers by Hannah-Lena Hagemann
Journal of Late Antique, Islamic and Byzantine Studies, 2023
This article traces the history of the northern Jazīra in the early Islamic period, from the begi... more This article traces the history of the northern Jazīra in the early Islamic period, from the beginning of Umayyad rule until the 870s. It reviews the material and written evidence for this territory, using as case studies the main cities of Āmid, Mayyāfāriqīn, and Arzan. It argues that there is little evidence for a systematic integration of the Jazīran north into the imperial fabric before the (re-)establishment of caliphal authority over this region at the end of the ninth century, a process that culminated in the creation of the provincial subdivision of Diyār Bakr around the mid-tenth century. The paper suggests that the history of the Jazīran north in the early Islamic period should be studied with reference to its Armenian connection: the entire region had strong historical ties to Armenia that carried over at least partially into the Islamic period. Approaching the north from a Jazīran as well as Armenian perspective thus improves our understanding of the complex and understudied history of this region before the tenth century.
al-‘Uṣūr al-Wusṭā, 2022
This article reassesses the "Khārijite" rebellion of Muṭarrif b. al-Mughīra b. Shuʿba al-Thaqafī ... more This article reassesses the "Khārijite" rebellion of Muṭarrif b. al-Mughīra b. Shuʿba al-Thaqafī in 77/696-97 and recontextualizes it within a different "category" of revolt. Analyzing both the history and the historiography of this uprising, the article argues that Muṭarrif's rebellion is best understood not within a Khārijite framework, but rather as part of a series of revolts carried out by other Iraqi tribal notables (ashrāf) in the same period. This reevaluation is based, for example, on the composition of Muṭarrif's following, which shows clear connections with other important Iraqi/eastern leaders, such as Muṣʿab b. al-Zubayr, Ibn al-Ashʿath, and Yazīd b. al-Muhallab. These connections, observable in other structural patterns common to Marwānid-era rebellions as well, point to a similarity of grievances, reactions, and aims whose salience far exceeded the context of individual revolts. More broadly, this article also seeks to challenge the received scholarly understanding of Khārijism and to question its usefulness as a category of historical analysis, suggesting instead different approaches to a renewed engagement with this phenomenon.
Hagemann, Hannah-Lena & Verkinderen, Peter: "Kharijism in the Umayyad Period", in Andrew Marsham (ed.), The Umayyad World, Routledge, 2020, pp. 489-517.
Hannah-Lena Hagemann & Stefan Heidemann, eds., Transregional and Regional Elites - Connecting the Early Islamic Empire, Berlin: De Gruyter, 2020
This paper conceptualizes the term elite for the study of early Islamic history and aims to provi... more This paper conceptualizes the term elite for the study of early Islamic history and aims to provide a usable definition for historians of early Islam. It gives an overview of existing terminology referring to socially dominant groups in Arabic and Persian sources as well as in the social sciences and related fields, discussing and dismissing its suitability for the field of Islamic Studies. The article traces the development of the term elite in scholarly discourse from the 19th century onward and presents its own definition suited to the complex organisational structure of early Islamic society, pointing out both the challenges of and possible strategies for studying early Islamic elites.
H. Hagemann, S. Heidemann (eds.), Transregional and Regional Elites: Connecting the Early Islamic Empire, Berlin: De Gruyter, 2020
Transregional and Regional Elites – Connecting the Early Islamic Empire, Feb 24, 2020
Hannah-Lena Hagemann & Stefan Heidemann, eds., Transregional and Regional Elites: Connecting the Early Islamic Empire, Berlin: De Gruyter, 2020, 2020
This paper investigates local and regional networks of power in the province of al-Jazīra during ... more This paper investigates local and regional networks of power in the province of al-Jazīra during the Umayyad and early ʿAbbāsid period. Using a prosopographical approach, it focuses on the office of the qāḍī as an intersection of imperial and provincial authority, and uses the cities of Ḥarrān, al-Raqqa, and al-Mawṣil as case studies. A comparative analysis of the individuals appointed to the qāḍīship reveals some commonalities in their backgrounds, particularly regarding ḥadīth transmission, but also clear differences in the appointment patterns identified for each city. For example, the office of the qāḍī of Ḥarrān seems to have been a predominantly local affair, while Raqqan qāḍīs were frequent examples of transregional elite status. The judges of al-Mawṣil, on the other hand, feature instances of local, regional, and transregional representatives. This variance is likely due to political and administrative factors and emphasizes the complex dynamics and hierarchies of governance in the early Islamic period.
Der Islam, 2019
This article discusses the emergence of Diyār Bakr as the northern subdivision of the Jazīra in t... more This article discusses the emergence of Diyār Bakr as the northern subdivision of the Jazīra in the early Islamic period. It shows that this subprovince is a product of the 10th century CE and not, as has hitherto been assumed, of the conquest or Umayyad period. As a first step, the paper traces the appearance of the name Diyār Bakr in the Arabic sources to the mid-10th century CE. It then turns to the ʿAbbāsid geographical tradition and gives an overview of the various portrayals of the region of the Jazīran north up to al-Muqaddasī (d. after 990 CE), who is the first to provide a rudimentary depiction of the Jazīran north as ‘Diyār Bakr’. The article then turns to the history of the Banū Shaybān of Bakr/Rabīʿa in the Jazīran north to offer a tentative explanation for the origin of the term and administrative district of Diyār Bakr. It concludes with a brief discussion of the need to re-evaluate the political and administrative history of the Jazīra before the 10th century CE.
Talks by Hannah-Lena Hagemann
This paper will analyse the representation of 7th-century Khārijism in the early Islamic histori... more This paper will analyse the representation of 7th-century Khārijism in the early Islamic historiographical tradition (c. 2nd – 4th centuries AH), focussing on the emergence of the Khārijites at Ṣiffīn in 37 AH and their activities until the death of ‘Alī b. Abī Ṭālib in 40 AH. While a limited amount of research on the origins and characteristics of the Khārijite ‘movement’ currently exists, such scholarship is almost exclusively positivist in approach – it seeks to identify the ‘true’ nature of early Khārijism and delineate early Khārijite history ‘as it really was’. With a few rare exceptions, no study has called into question the underlying historicity of early Khārijite history as portrayed in the early historiographical tradition, and no systematic investigation of the historiographical sources on Khārijite origins as literary texts rather than databanks of hard facts has been undertaken to date. My paper will show that a positivist approach to early Khārijism is highly problematic and instead propose a literary analysis of the historiographical material. It will explore the forms and functions of Islamic historical memory by asking how the early historiographical tradition remembered Khārijite origins and by attempting to explain why they were remembered in a certain way. I will argue that a close literary analysis of the sources reveals that Khārijites have a decisively narrative function in the early historiographical tradition: reports on their activities most often serve to emphasize, illustrate, criticize or vindicate other actors and issues rather than discuss Khārijism as an end in itself. The paper will conclude that a literary approach to both early Khārijite and early Islamic history allows us to gain valuable insight into the formation and negotiation of memory and history in early Islamic historiography.
Website by Hannah-Lena Hagemann
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Books by Hannah-Lena Hagemann
30% pre-order discount with code "NEW30". https://edinburghuniversitypress.com/book-the-kharijites-in-early-islamic-historical-tradition.html
for the integration of diverse regions into the early Islamic Empire, from
Central Asia to North Africa. The papers in this volume analyze elite groups together with their structures and networks, within selected regions across geographical, religious and social boundaries. Although each region appears unique at first glance, the studies show that they shared certain patterns of governance and interaction, and that this was an important factor for the success of the largest empire of Late Antiquity.
"Transregional and regional elites of various backgrounds were essential for the integration of diverse regions into the early Islamic Empire, from Central Asia to North Africa. The papers in this volume analyze elite groups together with their structures and networks, within selected regions across geographical, religious and social boundaries. Although each region appears unique at first glance, the studies show that they shared certain patterns of governance and interaction, and that this was an important factor for the success of the largest empire of Late Antiquity."
Papers by Hannah-Lena Hagemann
Talks by Hannah-Lena Hagemann
Website by Hannah-Lena Hagemann
30% pre-order discount with code "NEW30". https://edinburghuniversitypress.com/book-the-kharijites-in-early-islamic-historical-tradition.html
for the integration of diverse regions into the early Islamic Empire, from
Central Asia to North Africa. The papers in this volume analyze elite groups together with their structures and networks, within selected regions across geographical, religious and social boundaries. Although each region appears unique at first glance, the studies show that they shared certain patterns of governance and interaction, and that this was an important factor for the success of the largest empire of Late Antiquity.
"Transregional and regional elites of various backgrounds were essential for the integration of diverse regions into the early Islamic Empire, from Central Asia to North Africa. The papers in this volume analyze elite groups together with their structures and networks, within selected regions across geographical, religious and social boundaries. Although each region appears unique at first glance, the studies show that they shared certain patterns of governance and interaction, and that this was an important factor for the success of the largest empire of Late Antiquity."
The ERC project “The Early Islamic Empire at Work – The View from the Regions Toward the Center” investigates how the vast Islamic empire, stretching from the Hindukush to the Atlantic and more diverse in terms of religion, language, and (if this is a valid concept at all) ethnicity than the Late Roman or Chinese Empire, was governed. It focuses specifically on the question of how its various regions were controlled and integrated into one of the most prosperous empires of the (late) antique world.
To integrate the regions of the early Islamic empire politically, to create an imperial idea and an imperial culture, elites of various backgrounds were essential. To fulfill their role, they had to commute and to communicate. The conference seeks to examine the roles that regional and transregional elites played in governing the vast early Islamic Empire (7th-10th century CE), with a particular emphasis on aspects of (social, institutional, spatial) mobility. The regional elites and their participation in governance and administration are essential for understanding the intricate workings of the early Islamic Empire. Similarly, the study of transregional elites, who projected imperial power but sought also to negotiate regional interests at the caliphal court, promises key insights into how the caliphal administration controlled and integrated diverse regions and populations whilst securing the interests of the empire at large.
The composition of the imperial elite, mostly expressing themselves in Arabic, changed over time, exhibiting both spatial and social mobility. While the conquering elite had a tribal background going back to the Arab Peninsula, this changed with manumitted slaves and the rise of the Persian-speaking elite under the ʿAbbāsids, as well as the substitution of the Arab and Persian military forces with Central Asian Sogdian and Turkish commanders and military. Nevertheless, moving elites were created not only by the military and the religious establishment, but also by investing landowners and networks of long-distance merchants. These various different elite segments created a shared taste in Arabic literature (adab), science and material culture.
The conference seeks to address a number of core issues about regional and transregional elites: who were the various elites in a region? How did these regional elites interact with the empire, and did they change in the course of interaction? What mechanisms and strategies did they develop? How and through which agents did they influence imperial decisions? How were transregional elites influenced by their interaction with regional elites, eventually becoming entrenched in the regions? How did they balance their relationships with regional elites, on the one hand, and central caliphal authorities on the other? How important was conversion to Islam for elite access? Where and how were transregional elites recruited? Was the shift from one imperial elite (Arab, Khurāsānian, Central Asian, and others) to another a sign of failure, or were some elites better at reproducing themselves? Which existing networks and emerging institutions helped elites to connect the empire and its diverse regions (tribal affiliations, family policies, mawālī, strategic appointments)?
The conference will be organized around three key themes:
1. Conceptualization of regional and transregional elites from a comparative perspective
Definitions of elites, their origins, and their evolving identities
2. Transregional and imperial elites
Recruitment, function, networks, and reproduction of imperial elites (Arabs, Khurāsānians, Central Asians, non-Muslim elites, and others)
3. Regional elites
The interactions of converted regional elites and non-Muslim elites with the empire in
• North Africa and Egypt,
• the Arab Peninsula, Syria, the Jazīra, and Iraq,
• and Iran and Greater Khurāsān
The conference will follow a workshop format, with a focus on discussion. Individual slots will be 45 minutes, leaving 20 minutes for presentation and 25 minutes for discussion. Abstracts of 500 words should be sent to katharina.mewes@uni-hamburg.de before February 15, 2016; you will be notified whether your abstract has been accepted before April 1, 2016. Full papers should be sent by July 15, 2016, for pre-circulation among the participants. A financial contribution to travel and accommodation costs might be possible, but cannot be guaranteed at this point.
For more information on the website and our project, go to https://www.islamic-empire.uni-hamburg.de/en.html
The “Early Islamic Empire at Work” project team based at the University of Hamburg are delighted to announce the establishment of the Early Islamic Empire Working Paper Series. The first issue, “ʿAbbāsid Administrative Legacy in the Seljuq World” by Prof. Dr Jürgen Paul, is now available for download from our website: https://www.islamic-empire.uni-hamburg.de/en/publications-tools/publications/working-paper-series.html
Working papers will be published on an irregular schedule. For further information about our project as well as forthcoming events and publications, see our website at https://www.islamic-empire.uni-hamburg.de/en.html
With best wishes,
The Early Islamic Empire team