Writing a Network, Constructing a Tradition: Ibāḍī Prosopography in Medieval Northern Africa (11th-16th c.) by Paul Mitchell Love, Jr. A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Near Eastern Studies) in the The University of Michigan 2016 Dissertation Committee: Professor Michael D. Bonner, Chair Professor Michael Brett, SOAS, University of London Professor Alexander D. Knysh Professor Raymond H. Van Dam © Paul Mitchell Love, Jr. 2016 All Rights Reserved Dedication For my parents, Paul and Stephanie. And to my wife, Sarra. ii Acknowledgements I begin by offering my deepest thanks to the librarians, archivists, and caretakers of the private and public collections where I have worked over the past several years while researching and writing this dissertation. Without them, I would simply have nothing to write. The University of Michigan has provided me with many resources, one of the greatest of which has been access to its labyrinthine Hatcher Graduate Library. I wish to thank that library’s extraordinary Near Eastern and Religious Studies Librarian, Evyn Kropf, who regularly offered me her expertise in codicology. It has been a special pleasure to study and work in the UM Department of Near Eastern Studies. My advisor, Michael Bonner, both trained me and kept me laughing from the moment of my arrival. His exacting standards of language and astounding knowledge of Islamic history worked in concert with his sense of humor to keep me going. The other members of my committee—Alexander Knysh in the Department of Near Eastern Studies, Raymond Van Dam in the Department of History, and Michael Brett from the School of Oriental and African Studies at the University of London—all offered me their expert advice, insightful comments, and gracious support. I also wish to thank other faculty members in the department who supported me in one way or another, especially Ellen Muehlberger, Gottfried Hagen, and Martha Schulte-Nafeh. It has likewise been a delight to study alongside and learn from my comrades from NES. I especially thank Noah Gardiner, Maxim Romanov, Nancy Linthicum, Frank Castiglione, Gina Konstantopoulos, Karim Samji, Cheng-Wei Lin, and Ali Hussain. I have also learned from many iii students in the UM Department of History. In particular, I owe a great debt to my dear friends Emma Park and Andrés Pletch for their tremendous support and for so many great conversations and delicious late-night dinners. If I had the space, I would list all of the reasons why you two are the real explanation for how I survived graduate school. Sincere thanks also go to Pascal Massinon, Jonathan Brack, and Yanay Israeli in the Department of History as well as to Susan Abraham in the Department of Romance Languages and Literatures. To countless colleagues at other institutions I owe many debts but I have to extend special thanks to Adam Gaiser (Florida State University), whom I regard as both a mentor and a dear friend. Courses with the venerable Robert M. Ruff (Volunteer State Community College) put me on the path to becoming a historian. To James Miller (MACECE, Morocco), Valerie Hoffman (University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign), Antonella Muratgia and Ersilia Francesca (University of Naples l’Orientale); Cyrille Aillet (Université Lumière Lyon 2); Moez Dridi (CNRS, France), Ouahmi Ould-Braham (EHESS, France), Augustin Jomier (CNRS, France), Soufien Mestaoui (Ibadica, Paris), Martin Custers (Netherlands), Rachida Smine (Bibliothèque Nationale de Tunisie), Laryssa Chomiak (Centre d’études maghrébines à Tunis), Robert Parks and Karim Ouaras (Centre d’études maghrébines en Algérie), Grazyna Jurendt-Paruk (Library of the Institute of Oriental Studies at Jagiellonian University), Valeriy Rybalkin (Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv), Roman Pysyk and Irina Yaremchuk (Ivan Franko National University in Lviv), Jessica Gerschultz (University of Kansas), Anne-Marie McManus (Washington University in St. Louis), and so many others, I offer my deepest gratitude. Among the owners of private manuscript collections in Jarba I must especially thank Saʿīd al- Bārūnī and Nājī b. Yaʿqūb for opening the doors of their respective family manuscript collections to iv me. Also in Tunisia, I owe an incredible debt to my friend and bookbinding teacher, Mohamed El Bennani. Thanks also to the Ibāḍī community of Jarba as well as to my many friends in Tunisia, both Tunisians and expats, who make me love every moment I spend there. Many students, scholars, and friends from the Ibāḍī community in Algeria provided amazing support for my project. Among the countless people who helped me in the Mzab, I must note that no single individual did as much for my research on Ibāḍī manuscripts as did Muḥammad al-Ḥājj Saʿīd ‘Lakhbourat’ in Ghardaia. My travel and research were made possible by generous funding from the UM African Studies Center, the UM Department of Near Eastern Studies, the UM Rackham Graduate School, the UM International Institute, the Social Sciences Research Council, the Council of American Overseas Research Centers, The Islamic Manuscript Association, the American Institute for Maghrib Studies, and the Woodrow Wilson Foundation. Friends outside the academy have provided me with much-needed balance in my life, and in particular I have to thank Chris Edgerton, Ryan Hunton, Dylan Maxey, Elisabeth Gilles, Zach Bloomfield, and Kelsea Ballantyne. Zach and Kelsea put me up at their place in Tunis countless times over many years and I hit the jackpot when they moved from Tunisia to Ann Arbor. Finally, I thank my family for everything they have done for me. I lost both of my parents, Paul and Stephanie Love, to cancer in the final two years of writing this dissertation. I would never have achieved anything, let alone finished this project, without a lifetime of preparation in the form of love and support from those two incredible people. I will not hide my anger, sadness, and disappointment that they are not around to see me finish. My grandmother, Loretta Josephine Kidd, also passed away in the final stage of writing. She deserves special thanks for helping me to make it through a difficult v time and to finish writing this. Now more than ever before, I am also so very grateful for the love and support of my sister Lauren and my nephew Xavier. To my in-laws and extended family in Tunisia, who have welcomed me into their family and have made sure that I will always feel at home in Tunis or Jarba, I am forever indebted. Finally, my wife Sarra is an infinite source of intelligence and love in my life. You are amazing and I love and adore you for putting up with me. Ann Arbor, Michigan March 2016 vi Contents Dedication ...................................................................................................................................................................... ii Acknowledgements .................................................................................................................................................... iii List of Figures ................................................................................................................................................................ x List of Tables .............................................................................................................................................................. xiii List of Library and Archive Abbreviations .......................................................................................................... xiv Note on Transcription and Transliteration .......................................................................................................... xv Map: The Maghrib at the beginning of the Middle Period (11th c.) ................................................................ xvi Introduction: A Long, Centuries-old Murmuring ................................................................................................ 1 Ibāḍī Islam in the Maghrib before the 11th century .................................................................................................................... 4 Historiography on Ibāḍism in the Maghrib ................................................................................................................................ 9 The Corpus ...................................................................................................................................................................................... 23 Network Analysis and Prosopography as Methodologies .................................................................................................... 26 Prosopographical Ibāḍī Works: Sources for Network Analysis ........................................................................................... 30 Competing Concepts of Network ............................................................................................................................................... 33 Principles of Network Analysis ................................................................................................................................................... 35 The Ibāḍī Prosopographical Corpus: Method of Analysis .................................................................................................... 38 The Written Networks: Methodology .................................................................................................................................. 39 Chapter Outlines