URBAN NETWORKS IN EASTERN 'ABBASID LANDS: AN HISTORICAL GEOGRAPHY OF SETTLEMENT IN MESOPOTAMIA AND PERSIA, NINTH- AND TENTH-CENTURY A.D. Item Type text; Dissertation-Reproduction (electronic) Authors El-Babour, Mansour Muhammad Publisher The University of Arizona. Rights Copyright © is held by the author. Digital access to this material is made possible by the University Libraries, University of Arizona. Further transmission, reproduction or presentation (such as public display or performance) of protected items is prohibited except with permission of the author. Download date 24/09/2021 11:34:49 Link to Item http://hdl.handle.net/10150/290561 INFORMATION TO USERS This was produced from a copy of a document sent to us for microfilming. While the most advanced technological means to photograph and reproduce this document have been used, the quality is heavily dependent upon the quality of the material submitted. 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ZEEB RD„ ANN ARBOR, Ml 48106 8128331 EL-BABOUR, MANSOUR MUHAMMAD URBAN NETWORKS IN EASTERN 'ABBASID LANDS: AN HISTORICAL GEOGRAPHY OF SETTLEMENT IN MESOPOTAMIA AND PERSIA, NINTH- AND TENTH-CENTURY A.D. The University of Arizona PH.D. 1981 University Microfilms International 300 N. Zeeb Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48106 URBAN NETWORKS IN EASTERN 'ABBASID LANDS: AN HISTORICAL GEOGRAPHY OF SETTLEMENT IN MESOPOTAMIA AND PERSIA, NINTH- AND TENTH-CENTURY A.D. by Mansour Muhammad El-Babour A Dissertation Submitted to the Faculty of the DEPARTMENT OF GEOGRAPHY AND REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY In the Graduate College THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA 19 81 THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA GRADUATE COLLEGE As members of the Final Examination Committee, we certify that we have read the dissertation prepared by Mansour M. El-Babour entitled Urban Networks in Eastern 'Abbasid Lands: An Historical Geography of Settlement in Mesopotamia and Persia, Ninth- and Tenth-Century A.D. and recommend that it be accepted as fulfilling the dissertation requirement for the Degree of Doctor of Phi losophy . O (I? (<£( Date ^ /$ /9 S"/ Date /O-VOL-FT#/ Date rW. ^ /frt Date Date Final approval and acceptance of this dissertation is contingent upon the candidate's submission of the final copy of the dissertation to the Graduate College. I hereby certify that I have read this dissertation prepared under my direction and recommend that it be accepted as fulfilling the dissertation requirement. Dissertation Director Date STATEMENT BY AUTHOR This dissertation has been submitted in partial fulfillment of requirements for an advanced degree at The University of Arizona and is deposited in the University Library to be made available to borrowers under rules of the Library. Brief quotations from this dissertation are allow­ able without special permission, provided that accurate acknowledgment of source is made. Requests for permission for extended quotation from or reproduction of this manu­ script in whole or in part may be granted by the head of the major department or the Dean of the Graduate College when in his judgment the proposed use of the material is in the interests of scholarship. In all other instances, however, permission must be obtained from the author. SIGNED: To: Fawzia, Muhammad and Faria ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I wish to express my thanks and gratitude to my major advisor, Dr. Thomas F. Saarinen, and to my minor advisor, Dr. Michael E. Bonine, for their perceptive guidance and encouragement not only during the writing of this dissertation but also throughout my graduate study at the University of Arizona. Dr. Saarinen's keen interest in the subject of my dissertation was equalled by his stimulating advice towards its completion. Dr. Bonine first introduced me to the fascinating field of Arab geography. He devoted much of his valuable time for me whenever I needed his help. His advice and friendship made the writing of this dissertation a great deal easier. Sincere thanks are also extended to the other members of my doctoral committee, Dr. D. Robert Altschul, Dr. Gordon F. Mulligan, and Dr. William J. Wilson, for their support and assistance during the writing of this dissertation. ' I would further like to thank Dr. Richard W. Reeves for his continuous encouragement and assistance while acting as my academic advisor, and Drs. Lay J. Gibson and L61and R. Pederson for their support and encouragement. iv V Other members of the geography department at the University of Arizona, both faculty and graduate students, provided the friendly environment which I needed throughout my study at the University of Arizona. To all of them I express my sincere thanks. I would also like to thank the University of Garyounis in Benghazi, Libya, whose scholarship award enabled me to do graduate study for most of the time I spent in the United States. Finally, a special thanks to my wife Fawzia. Without her encouragement, support, and, indeed, patience, the completion of this study would have been impossible. TABLE OF CONTENTS Page LIST OF TABLES viii LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS ix ABSTRACT xi 1. INTRODUCTION 1 2. THEORIES OF COMPARATIVE URBANISM 13 Origin of Cities 14 External Relations Among Cities 21 3. APPROACHES TO ISLAMIC URBANISM 33 Internal Structure of Urban Areas 34 External Relations Among Urban Areas 38 4. THE FOUNDATION OF THE AMSAR AND THE EVOLUTION OF THE SETTLEMENT PATTERN 42 Introduction 42 A Model of the Evolution of Early Islamic Urbanism 45 Initial Motives: Arab Conquests, 11-35/632-655 50 Establishment of the Amsar as Frontier Settlements: The Twin Cities of Basra and Kufa 50 Subsequent Impulses: Umayyad Administration, 41-132/661-750 60 Establishment of the Amsar at Central Locations: The Case of Wasit .... 63 Urban Growth: High 'Abbasid Caliphate, 132-334/749-945 66 vi vii TABLE OF CONTENTS—Continued Page 5. THE ROAD PATTERN 75 Medieval Sources 79 Ninth Century Administrators and Geographers . 79 Tenth Century Regional Geogrpahers .... 86 Road Networks 9 2 The Imperial Network of Arterial Roads . 92 Post Roads . 97 Provincial Roads 100 6. THE URBAN SYSTEM 103 Introduction 103 Interdependence in Urban Systems 104 Center-Frontier Transitional Model: Dominance, Interdependence, and Regionalism 107 Theoretical Organization of Space in Medieval Islamic Society, I: Third/ Ninth Century 112 Spatial Organization of the Provinces: The Kuwar System 113 Interregional Kharaj Flow: Interdependency Among Members of a National Urban System 123 Theoretical Organization of Space in Medieval Islamic Society, II: Fourth/Tenth Century 140 The Regional Urban Hierarchy 143 7. CONCLUSION 160 APPENDIX A: SETTLEMENTS OF IRAQ 168 APPENDIX B: SETTLEMENTS OF THE ISLAMIC EAST DURING THE NINTH CENTURY A.D. 176 SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY 181 LIST OF TABLES Table Page 1. Ibn Khurdadhbeh's Division of Sawad (Iraq) . 116 2. Qudama's Kharaj Figures for Sawad Districts Compiled as the Average for the Years 204-237/819-851 117 3. Ibn Khurdadhbeh1s Kharaj Figures for Sawad Districts Compiled as the Average for the Years 231-260/845-873 120 4. Ibn Khaldun's Kharaj Figures Compiled as the Average for the Years 158-170/774-786 . 125 5. Qudama's Kharaj Figures as Distributed Among the Rest of the Kuwar and Provinces Com­ piled as the Average for the Years 204-237/819-851 126 6. Ibn Khurdadhbeh's Kharaj Figures as Distributed Among the Rest of the Kuwar and Provinces Compiled as the Average for the Years 231-260/845-873 127 7. The Three Kharaj Budgets 135 8. Division of Manilakat al-Islam and the Ordering of Settlements and Regional Units in the Middle of the Tenth Century A.D. (According to Istakhri) .... 146 9. Division of Mamlakat al-Islam and the Ordering of Settlements and Regional Units in the Latter Half of the Tenth Century A.D. (According to Maqdisi 155 viii LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Figure Page 1. Approximate boundaries of the Sasanian empire at the time of the Arab conquest . 9 2. The eastern 'Abbasid lands in the ninth and tenth centuries A.D. showing the approximate boundaries of the provinces and the main cities 11 3. Model of the evolution of early medieval Islamic urbanism 4.