The Red Sea under the Caliphal Dynasties, c. 639–1171

Author First name, Last name, Institution

Timothy Power, Zayed University

ORCID Identifiers

0000-0001-6542-5753

Document Type

Article

Source of Publication

History Compass

Publication Date

8-10-2018

Abstract

Students of world history will be familiar with the Red Sea as a strategic communications corridor linking the Mediterranean to the Indian Ocean. This paper examines the Red Sea region between the seventh and twelfth centuries, when it was ruled by a succession of Islamic caliphal dynasties, namely, the Umayyads, ʿAbbāsids, and Fāṭimids. It first sets out a sketch of the political history of the Red Sea and its constituent hinterland polities, including particularly Egypt, Sudan, al‐Ḥijāz, and Yemen, drawing attention to episodes and processes in which the Red Sea was significant. A section on Africa and Arabia explores the Red Sea as a zone of economic and social interaction; another section deals with the historic shift of Indian Ocean trade from the ʿAbbāsid Persian Gulf to the Fāṭimid Red Sea. Finally, the impact of the Red Sea on its constituent hinterland polities and the wider sweep of Islamic history is considered.

DOI Link

10.1111/hic3.12484

ISSN

1478-0542

Publisher

Wiley

Volume

16

First Page

e12484

Disciplines

Arts and Humanities

Recommended Citation

Power, Timothy, "The Red Sea under the Caliphal Dynasties, c. 639–1171" (2018). All Works. 3551.
https://zuscholars.zu.ac.ae/works/3551

Indexed in Scopus

no

Open Access

no