Take-home Midterm (20% of course grade)
Islamic Civilizations 2009 – ARCH0650
Instructions:
Answer both of the following essay questions in papers of 1000-1500 words each. For
each question you should develop an argument that specifically addresses the prompt and
articulates a clear thesis. As you defend that thesis you will want to use evidence from
our course materials such as particular events, sites, social developments, and quotes
from primary and secondary sources to support your argument. As you work on these
essays it will be important that you recognize when you are making claims that need this
kind of evidentiary support and how those claims develop a logical structure for the
overall argument. Essays will be graded on content (i.e. the soundness of the argument
and the use of evidence), structure and general writing mechanics.
Essays should be double spaced and in a reasonable font with reasonable margins.
Citations of course materials should be parenthetical – e.g. (Kennedy 2004: 137). If you
use any materials from outside of the course readings (this is not expected) please supply
a bibliography for those sources.
Question #1 (10 points)
The Umayyad Dynasty has often been referred to by scholars as an exercise in Arab
kingship that failed to fully include the ethnic, religious, social and political factions that
were emerging as important components of the Muslim polity. Is this a fair assessment of
this formative period of Islamic civilization? In developing your argument consider the
degree to which this period laid down foundations – cultural, religious, economic or
political – which would continue under the Abbasids.
Question #2 (10 points)
The building of Samarra was a massive political, cultural and economic undertaking by
the Abbasid caliphs of the ninth century. What were its intentions and what were its
consequences? For many historical commentators its ultimate abandonment signaled the
demise of an Islamic golden age and any vestiges of a unified Islamic empire. For other
scholars it was merely a consequence of long standing socio-political forces that had
already fragmented both the imperial structure of the caliphate and the cultural unity of
Muslim society. Where do you stand in this debate? In thinking about the importance of
Samarra and what how it might serve as evidence in the analysis of Islamic civilization it
will be important to consider whether such as site was a viable argument about the
centrality of the caliphate for Muslim society as a whole.