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Being a Sabian at Court in Tenth-Century Baghdad.

Thābit b. Qurra (d. 288/901), a Sabian of Harrān, and his descendants remained in their ancestral religion for six generations. Why did they persist despite pressure to convert? This article argues that religious self-identification as a Sabian could be a distinct advantage in Baghdad's elite circle...

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Published in:Journal of the American Oriental Society Vol. 137; no. 2; pp. 253 - 278
Main Author: ROBERTS, ALEXANDRE M.
Format: Article
Published: American Society for Premodern Asia (ASPA) Apr-Jun2017
Subjects:
Harranians
Religion
Conversion (Religion)
Islam
Baghdad (Iraq)
Online Access:View this record in EBSCOhost
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        au: ROBERTS, ALEXANDRE M.
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        Harranians
        Religion
        Conversion (Religion)
        Islam
        Baghdad (Iraq)
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          Baghdad (Iraq)
          Harranians
          Religion
          Conversion (Religion)
          Islam
      ab: Thābit b. Qurra (d. 288/901), a Sabian of Harrān, and his descendants remained in their ancestral religion for six generations. Why did they persist despite pressure to convert? This article argues that religious self-identification as a Sabian could be a distinct advantage in Baghdad's elite circles. It focuses on Thābit's great-grandson Abu Ishaq Ibrāhīm b. Hilāl al-Sābī (d. 384/994) and his poetry as collected by al-Tha'ālibī (d. 429/1038). Two members of the family who did convert are also considered by way of contrast.
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    language: English
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