Большаков, Олег Георгиевич. Средневековый Город Ближнего Востока: VII-Середина XIII в.: Социально-Экономические Отношения. Москва: Наука, Глав. Ред. Восточной Лит-Ры, 1984, 344c.
Bolshakov, Oleg Georgievich. Srednevekovyi Gorod Blizhnego Vostoka: VII-Seredina XIII v.: Sotsial’no-Ekonomicheskie Otnosheniia. Moscow: Nauka, Glav. Red. Vostochnoi lit-ry, 1984, 344pp.
ABSTRACT
The Medieval City of the Middle East (Seventh Century- middle of Thirteenth Century): Socio- Economic Relations
Средневековый Город Ближнего Востока: VII-Середина XIII в.: Социально-Экономические Отношения
The book is one of the first studies on demography, economics and social relations in the cities of Syria and Egypt in the seventh to mid-thirteenth centuries. By reviewing a vast and extensive range of historical sources, the author identifies the position of the city within the societal structure of the time, analyses the forms of community associations created by the city residents, and examines the philosophy and ideology of popular movements.
The author explains the preconditions for the development of socio-economic relations in the Middle East during the early Middle Ages and highlights the history of research on Muslim cities in the Middle East.
He uncovers urban life in the Middle East before the Arab Conquest. Many Muslim cities developed on the sites of antique Byzantine cities, which remained administrative centres after the Arab conquest. Muslim cities also emerged on the sites of military camps of the Arab conquerors. The Muslim city, together with its jurisdictional district, was considered to be a constituent part of the state and was not viewed as having autonomy and independence.
The author discusses the demography of Mediaeval Muslim cities in the first centuries of Islam, and presents the political situation under the Seljuks and Mamluks.
He explains the various methods used for evaluating population sizes of mediaeval cities based on written sources and archaeological materials.
The last chapters of the book deal with economic matters such as the monetary system, food prices, agricultural products and livestock breeding, raw materials and craftsmanship in the Middle Eastern cities. They also discuss transport of goods, incomes and taxation.
Shamsiddin Kamoliddin
Translated by Ivan Leonidov
