فصلنامه تاریخ اسلام
پیاپی 19 (پاییز 1383)

The first one hundred years of Abbasid rule was filled with violence and various bloody sectarian uprisings. Studying the members of this dynasty and getting more familiar with details of their political life helps scholars better understand the events of the Abbasid Period. Taking note that women have had their own special place and position throughout history, this article takes up the role and position of one of the best-known women of this period, Zubaidah Khatun. She played an active role, behind the scenes, in many political developments of her period. The study of her social, cultural, scholarly and literary life also helps us understand her character, thoughts and position at the Abbasid court. Information about Zubaidah is scattered in numerous history texts. Biographical and encyclopedic texts are not of great aid in complete understanding of Zubaidah's life and works either. This article tries to investigate various aspects of Zubaidah's life and present as comprehensive a biography of her as possible.

The study of the history of various schools of thought plays an important role in coming into grasps with social and polictical developments in Islamic history. The Mutazilah school, with its prominent feature of rationalism, was one of the most important trends of thought in early Islamic centuries. The mutazilites who played a major role in advancing Islamic thought became the dominant ideological force in part of the Abbasid period during Mamun and Mutasim's rules. At their peak of power, they adopted a strict policy against their opponents, mainly the Sunni jurists and hadith relators who reacted negatively to the pressures, and tried to spread their line of thought through means of power at their disposal. This period, known as "Mihnah", or "Hardship", is the subject of study of this investigative article.

The Bani-mazyad clan was a branch of Bani-Asad tribe which in 403 A.H. succeeded to establish the Shii emirate of Bani-Mazyad. The first emir of this emirate was Ali ibn Mazyad who assumed power through support of Buyid Sultan-ad-Dawlah. After him, his son, Nur-ad-Dawlah Dubais, came to power. Nur-ad-Dawlah's rule is divided into two parts: first, the Bani-Mazyad emirate in the Buyid period and second, the Bani-Mazyad emirate during the Seljuq period. In the first period, because of the Buyid weakness in Iraq, the Bani-mazyad power increased, but in the second period, because of the Sunni Seljuq's domination of Iraq, the Bani-Mazyad hold on power was weakened considerably. Following Nur-ad-Dawlah, his son Baha'-ad'-Dawlah Mansur, succeeded his father with nominal power also. With Seif-ad-Dawlah Sidghah, one of the greatest emires of this dynasty, taking power in 479 A.H., the Bani-Mazyad emirate found new strength.

During their rule, the Ghaznavids adopted an inflexible policy towards those opposed to the Abbasid caliphate. In line with rhis policy, they took a harsh stance against anti - Abbasid patries such as the Ismailis and Fatimids in Egypt. On the other hand, in order to expand their influence in eastern territories of the caliphate, the Fatimids were in need of promotiong their relations with local dynasties including the Ghaznavids themselves.Thus, the Fatimids embarked on establishing relations with the Ghaznavids through dispatching envoy and missionaries. However, in order to prover their loyalty to the Abbasids as the only legitimate institution to occupy the caliphate office in the Muslim World, the Ghaznavids rejected the Fatimid initiative and adopted a severe attitude towards Fatimid envoys and missionaries.

The Mushashaites established a Shii rule based upon Sayyid Muhammad ibn Falah's teachings in Huwayzah in the 9th century A.H. (845). Sayyid Muttalib Mushashai, the 4th descendent of Sayyid Muhammad, ignoring temptation of power, was an emir and a scholar and patron of learning of the same time. By summoning scholars and establishing a religious school in Huwayzah, he trained a new generation of Mushashai emirs. His son, Sayyid Khalaf, and his great grandson, Sayyid Ali Khan, are two of the learned men of that period who are considered as Shii scholars, authoring and leaving valuable works for the future generations.

Todyay, a great need for research is felt in order to shed more light on past cultural and scientific relations between the East and the West. In this connection, understanding East-West relations in the Middle Ages, especially civilizational and cultural relations between the Muslim and Christian Worlds in this period, is of great importance. This is because in this period the Islamic Civilization had been involved in a close and intense interchange with the Christian Civilization in the West. The focus of this article is civilizational and scientfic relations and exchanges between the muslim World and Western Christianity in the later centuries of the Middle Ages. The Muslim World, in what is known as the golden age of Islamic Civilization, had been a strong enlightening force in cultural and scientitic spheres for thinkers and seekers of knowledge in that period. In this paper, the main point of attention has been on one of the most important aspects of cultural relations between the two civilizations, the translation and transter of Muslim texts by the Europeans in the 12th and 13th centuries AD.

This passange which is a chaprer of "shi"ah Religion" deals with topics such as the geographical position of Karbala, the importance of pilgrimage to the city, Karbala as viewed by geographers and travelers, Imam Husayn's pilgrimage and mourning and a general description of Karbala. The author is a pioneer of Imami studies in the English - speaking West. Though this work is dated (1933), as explained at another point, it is still looked upon as a reference by Western researchers and those interested in shiah studies. Meanwhile, at points, the translator has tried to clarify and correct the author's inaccurate understanding of shii rituals

Claude Caen, the writer of this part of comprehensive "War" entry in the "Encyclopedia of Islam" - other parts of which are dedicated to war in Iran, Ottoman Empire, India, and Egypt in the Mamluk period and which are complemented with a large number of related articles such as jihad, army, fortification, war room, gunpowder etc. - deals with the technique and art of war in the period of the Islamic Caliphate (from the beginning to the end of 7th century A.H.). While briefly studying the influence of war-related literature in pre-Islamic civilizations such as Persia, Greece, and India and the transter of these civilization's experiences to the Muslim World; he also talks about various elements involved in a classic war including declaration of war, mobilization and equipment of troops, command and control, espionage and counter - espionage, maintenace of morale, fighting organization, armamentes, support and logistics, strategic issues, the stationing of forces and security and vigilance in the camp, offensive and defensive plans, counterattack, ambush, siege, tactical retreat, booty and its division among troops, conquest accounts and victory celebrations, prisoners of war, truce and conclusion of a peace accord, and finally guerrilla warfare.