Undergraduate Course: The First Muslim Empire: The Islamic World before Sunnism and Shi'ism (IMES10079)
Course Outline
| School | School of Literatures, Languages and Cultures |
College | College of Humanities and Social Science |
| Course type | Standard |
Availability | Available to all students |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 10 (Year 4 Undergraduate) |
Credits | 20 |
| Home subject area | Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies |
Other subject area | None |
| Course website |
None |
Taught in Gaelic? | No |
| Course description | The Prophet Muhammad began preaching the message of Islam in the remote highlands of west Arabia in about 610 AD, by 750 AD, his successors ruled the largest empire in history thus far-it stretched from Spain and the Atlantic Ocean in the West to Pakistan and the Indian Ocean in the East.
This course seeks to examine this pivotal event in its historical context, situating the formation of Islam in the imperial world of 6th-and 7th-century Rome and Sasanian Iran. It also seeks to understand how and why the vast early Muslim Empire, ruled by the Umayyad dynasty, took the shape it did-both in terms of its political structures and its ideological formations. This is the period before Sunni and Shi'i Islam took their classical form: how and why these sectarian positions developed as they did is rooted in these early centuries of Islamic history.
The course is taught in English, and will engage directly with many primary texts in translation, as well as the art, architecture and material culture of the late Roman and Sasanian empires.
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
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Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | Before enrolling students on this course, you are asked to contact the IMES Secretary to ensure that a place is available (Tel: 504182, e-mail imes@ed.ac.uk). |
| Additional Costs | None |
Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | None |
| Displayed in Visiting Students Prospectus? | Yes |
Course Delivery Information
| Not being delivered |
Summary of Intended Learning Outcomes
By the end of the course students should:
1. Be familiar with the history of western Eurasia in the 6th, 7th and early 8th centuries.
2. Understand current debates about monotheism, ethnic identity and state formation in late antiquity, with particular reference to the early Islamic world.
3. Have a detailed understanding of the first 150 years of Islamic history and the debates surrounding empire and state formation in this period.
4. Be acquainted with a wide range of primary literary evidence for this period in translation and understand current debates about its interpretation.
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Assessment Information
1 x 2,000 word essay (30%)
Short tutorial assignments (10%)
1 x 3 hour exam (60%)
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Special Arrangements
| None |
Additional Information
| Academic description |
Not entered |
| Syllabus |
Not entered |
| Transferable skills |
Not entered |
| Reading list |
Not entered |
| Study Abroad |
Not entered |
| Study Pattern |
Not entered |
| Keywords | History, Middle East, Late Antiquity |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Andrew Marsham
Tel: (0131 6)50 9872
Email: andrew.marsham@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Mr Paulo Nunes De Moura
Tel: (0131 6)50 3580
Email: paulo.nunesdemoura@ed.ac.uk |
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