Monetary Change And Economic History In The Medieval Muslim World

Andrew Ehrenkreutz is one of the scholars who have placed the study of monetary history of the medieval Middle East on a new footing, integrating numismatic research into the study of economic history. The present volume brings together all his major contributions to this subject. It opens with three essays presenting an overview of economic and monetary changes in the region, then continues with a series of detailed studies on its gold and silver coinages; in these Ehrenkreutz's work on standards of fineness broke new ground. The chronological focus of the volume is from the Umayyad period up to the Ayyubids, but particular emphasis is given to Egypt and to the impact of the Crusades on the monetary history of the Near East. A further set of articles investigates aspects of fiscal administration and the operation of the Cairo mint."

In Where Three Worlds Met, Sarah Davis-Secord investigates Sicily's place within the religious, diplomatic, military, commercial, and intellectual networks of the Mediterranean by tracing the patterns of travel, trade, and communication among Christians (Latin and Greek), Muslims, and Jews. By looking at the island across this long expanse of time and during the periods of transition from one dominant culture to another, Davis-Secord uncovers the patterns that defined and redefined the broader Muslim-Christian encounter in the Middle Ages.

The transformation of the eastern provinces of the Roman empire from the middle of the seventh century CE under the impact of Islam has attracted a good deal of scholarly attention in recent years, and as more archaeological material becomes available, has been subject to revision and rethinking in ways that radically affect what we know or understand about the area, about state-building and the economy and society of the early Islamic world, and about issues such as urbanisation, town-country relations, the ways in which a different religious culture impacted on the built environment, and about politics. This volume represents the fruits of a workshop held at Princeton University in May 2007 to discuss the ways in which recent work has affected our understanding of the nature of economic and exchange activity in particular, and the broader implications of these advances for the history of the region.

This collection of merchant documents is essential reading for any student of economic developments in the Middle Ages who wishes to go beyond the level of textbook summaries. Different aspects of economic life in the Mediterranean world are delineated in the light of a rich variety of articles and other contemporary writings, drawn from Muslim and Christian sources. From commercial contracts, promissory notes, and judicial acts to working manuals of practical geography and philology, this volume of documents provides an unparalleled portrait of the world of medieval commerce.

Egypt.

This book seeks to explain the political and religious factors leading to the economic reversal of fortunes between Europe and the Middle East.