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Article: The golden age of Baghdad.(When Baghdad Ruled the Muslim World: The Rise and Fall of Islam's Greatest Dynasty)(Book review)
- Article from:
- National Catholic Reporter
- Article date:
- October 6, 2006
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2006 National Catholic Reporter. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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WHEN BAGHDAD RULED THE MUSLIM WORLD: THE RISE AND FALL OF ISLAM'S GREATEST DYNASTY By Hugh Kennedy Da Capo Press, 326 pages, $17.95
Horrific scenes from today's Baghdad provide little hint of the city's wealth, luxury and power when it ruled the Muslim world from the 760s to the 830s. The distinguished historian Hugh Kennedy tells Baghdad's tale with style and verve. The book's profusion of unfamiliar names will be daunting to some readers, but the power of the narrative and the well-chosen extracts from primary sources will sweep the reader along.
Baghdad was built by Mansur, the second Abbasid caliph. An extended family, the Abbasids traced their ...