Islamic political thought/The Abbasid Caliphate

PRE-MODERN ISLAMIC POLITICAL THOUGHT (645-1500 CE) WEEK THREE THROUGH WEEK FIVE

LESSON TITLE: The Abbasid Caliphate

OPR: To be determined                     OFFICE PHONE: To be determined

PRESCRIBING DIRECTIVE(S):


 * Aslan, Reza. No god but God. New York: Random House, Inc., 2006.
 * Black, Antony. The History of Islamic Political Thought: From the Prophet to the Present.
 * New York: Routledge, 2001.


 * Gordon, Matthew S. The Rise of Islam. Westport, CT: Greenwood Publishing Group, Inc.,
 * 2006.


 * Hawting, G.R. The First Dynasty of Islam: The Umayyad Caliphate AD 661-750. 2nd ed.
 * New York: Routledge, 2000.

LESSON OBJECTIVE:
 * 1) Identify characteristics and nomenclature of the Abbasid Caliphate regarding the justification of rule, type of political establishment, and role of religious authority versus secular authority.
 * 2) Identify key thinkers of the period and their contribution to the evolution of Islamic political thought.

METHOD OF INSTRUCTION: Lecture/Student-based discussion

TIME: 1 hour 50 minutes

PERIOD 2: The Rise of the Abbasid Caliphate, Ibn Muqaffa, Caliph al-Ma’mun,

OBJECTIVES: To understand general concepts about the following issues:
 * 1) The Demise of the Umayyad
 * 2) The Rise of the Abbasid Caliphate
 * 3) Iranian Monarchial Influences
 * 4) Ibn Muqaffa
 * 5) Caliph Ma’mun

INSTRUCTIONAL AIDS: -ELMO

VISUAL AIDS:
 * Dry-erase board
 * Visual representations of timeline regarding Islamic political thought
 * Visual representations of Abbasid genealogy