The Breaking of a Thousand Swords: A History of the Turkish Military of Samarra (A.H. 200-275/815-889 C.E.) (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9780791447963)

The Breaking of a Thousand Swords provides a portrait of the Samarran Turks as members of a community with a specific and complex history in the early medieval Islamic world. It considers: the encounter of the Turks as rough, non-Muslim outsiders, with the sedentary, urbane world of Baghdad; the closely related encounter of the Turks with the Islamic tradition in its urban, scholarly guise; the settlement of the Turks, in Baghdad then in Samarra, through the use of land grants and appointments to office; the impact upon the affairs of the Turkish community of not only a military ranking but of a socio-political hierarchy as well; the construction by the Turkish elite of an elaborate network of patronage and support, both within urban Iraq and throughout the provinces (Egypt in particular); and the emergence, and impact, of factionalism within the community.

Author: Matthew S. Gordon
ISBN-10: 0791447960
ISBN-13: 9780791447963
Publisher: State University of New York Press
Language: English
Published: 12/21/2000
Pages: 324
Format: Paperback
Weight: 0.98lbs
Size: 9.00h x 5.92w x 0.69d