description Hugh Kennedy Overview
Hugh Kennedy is a British historian of the medieval Islamic world, specializing in the early caliphates, the political history of the Middle East, and Arabic sources. His book The Prophet and the Age of the Caliphates: The Islamic Near East from the Sixth to the Eleventh Century was first published in 1986 and presents a survey of the period. He has been a professor of Arabic at SOAS University of London, where his work serves students of Islamic and Middle Eastern history.
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Who is Hugh Kennedy?
Hugh Kennedy is a British historian of the medieval Islamic world who specializes in the early caliphates, political history, and Arabic sources. His work covers the Middle East from late antiquity into the medieval period.
What period does The Prophet and the Age of the Caliphates cover?
The book covers the Islamic Near East from the sixth to the eleventh century. It includes the rise of Islam, the early caliphates, the Umayyads, the Abbasids, and later political fragmentation.
Does Hugh Kennedy's book discuss only religious history?
No. It also examines administration, dynastic politics, military power, taxation, cities, and relations between rulers and communities.
Why are Arabic sources important in Hugh Kennedy's work?
Arabic chronicles and administrative evidence preserve details about rulers, battles, institutions, and political arguments in the early Islamic world. Kennedy reads those sources as historical evidence rather than treating the period only through later European accounts.
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