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Full-Text Articles in Arts and Humanities
Making It In Maine: Stories Of Jewish Life In Small-Town America, David M. Freidenreich
Making It In Maine: Stories Of Jewish Life In Small-Town America, David M. Freidenreich
Faculty Scholarship
There are countless stories of Jewish life in Maine, stretching back 200 years. These are stories worth telling not only for their enjoyment value but also because we can learn a great deal from them. They reflect the challenges that confronted members of an immigrant community as they sought to become true Mainers, as well as the challenges this ethnic group now faces as a result of its successful integration. The experiences of Jews in Maine, moreover, encapsulate in many ways the experiences of small-town Jews throughout New England and the United States. Their stories offer glimpses into the changing …
The Death Of Al-ʿAbbās B. Al-MaʾMūn And A “Thwarted” Coup D’État, John P. Turner
The Death Of Al-ʿAbbās B. Al-MaʾMūn And A “Thwarted” Coup D’État, John P. Turner
Faculty Scholarship
This article focuses on the point at which the slave soldiers of al-Muʿtaṣim (r. a.h. 218–227/833–842 c.e.) rose to the political forefront and came to dominate the holder of the Caliphal seat. It is a study of the mechanisms by which the center of the state, and more specifically the Caliph, came to be their captives.
The End Of The Miḥna, John P. Turner
The End Of The Miḥna, John P. Turner
Faculty Scholarship
Why did al-Mutawakkil end the Miḥna? The usual answer to this question assumes that he was acknowledging the inevitable victory of the ulamā. He is seen to be `cutting his losses' by restoring and enforcing orthodoxy as the traditionalist ulamā saw it. In this article I offer a different answer. Al-Mutawakkil ended the Miḥna as one part of his broader effort to establish his position as sovereign and independent of the individuals and structures that had carried over from al-Wāthiq's reign. Eliminating the Miḥna was one strategy deployed in undermining and eliminating the “kingmakers” who had placed him on the …
The Abnā' Al-Dawla: The Definition And Legitimation Of Identity In Response To The Fourth Fitna, John P. Turner
The Abnā' Al-Dawla: The Definition And Legitimation Of Identity In Response To The Fourth Fitna, John P. Turner
Faculty Scholarship
This article will reopen the question about the identity and provenance of the abnā' al-dawla. Who were they? When did they form as a collective and why? The standard view is that the abnā' al-dawla were the backbone of the Abbasid dynasty, coming into existence with that regime after the revolution circa 132/750 and consisting of the original fighters from Khurasan and their descendants, who formed an elite social and political structure of supporters. This privileged status accorded them the moniker abnā' al-dawla (sons/supporters of the dynasty).