Turks in the Indian Subcontinent, Central and West Asia

The Turkish Presence in the Islamic World

Edited by Ismail Poonawala

Highlights the political and cultural history of the Turks within the context of the Indian subcontinent, Central and West Asia
A collection of papers on the emergence of Turkish people and their contributions to the Islamic history and civilization
Papers by some of the best scholars on Islamic history

Turks in the Indian Subcontinent, Central and West Asia

The Turkish Presence in the Islamic World

Edited by Ismail Poonawala

Description

For almost a millennium until the beginning of the twentieth century, Turkish rulers and military commanders controlled vast stretches of Islamic lands. While these rulers dominated lands far and wide-from Algeria in the west to Bengal in the east, reaching up to the Volga region in the north and Yemen in the south-Turkish scholars, theologians, jurists, poets, and other literary figures significantly influenced the Islamic world and its culture.
Highlighting the political and cultural history of the Turks-not only within the context of the Indian subcontinent, where they laid the foundation of one of the world's biggest empires in the form of the Mughal Empire, but also within the context of Central and West Asia-this outstanding work of collective scholarship moves beyond conventional frames of reference and reassesses the contribution of Turks in the shaping of the Islamic world and its civilization.
With contributions from some of the most noted scholars on Islamic history, the essays in this volume throw light on neglected themes such as the cultural changes among the Turks and their emergence in the Islamic world; their contributions in the fields of cartography and geography; Seljuq architecture and educational system; and the rise of the Safavids and the role of the Turks in the success of their military campaigns.

Turks in the Indian Subcontinent, Central and West Asia

The Turkish Presence in the Islamic World

Edited by Ismail Poonawala

Figures
Note on Transliteration
Abbreviations for Periodicals
Preface, Ismail K. Poonawala
Introduction , Ismail K. Poonawala
Part I: Cultural Changes among the Turks and Their Emergence in the Islamic World
1. 'Eternal Stones': Historical Memory and Notions of History among the Early Turkic Peoples, Peter B. Golden
2. The Waqf as an Instrument of Cultural Transformation in Seljuq Anatolia, Gary Leiser
3. The Appearance of the Turks in the Islamic World, Clifford Edmund Bosworth
Part II: The Seljuqs and Their Legacy
4. Brick versus Stone: Seljuq Architecture in Iran and Anatolia, Robert Hillenbrand
5. The Nizamiyya Madrasas, Carole Hillenbrand
Part III: The Turks in the Indian Subcontinent
6. Trans-regional Contacts and Relationships: Turks, Mongols, and the Delhi Sultanate in the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Centuries, Sunil Kumar
7. The Great Mughals: Relationships, Emotions, and Monuments, Francis Robinson
8. Turkish Language and Literature in Medieval and Early Modern India, Benedek Péri
Part IV: Turkish Achievements in Cartography and Geography
9. Piri Reis as a Renaissance Ottoman Turk, Svat Soucek
10. Evliya Çelebi's Expeditions on the Nile, Robert Dankoff
Part V: Turkish Connection of the Safavids
11. Revisiting Safavid Origins in Light of Some Contemporary Documents, Ali Anooshahr
Index
Notes on the Editor and Contributors

Turks in the Indian Subcontinent, Central and West Asia

The Turkish Presence in the Islamic World

Edited by Ismail Poonawala

Author Information

Edited by Ismail Poonawala, Professor of Arabic & Islamic Studies in the Department of Near Eastern Languages and Cultures, University of California at Los Angeles

Ismail K. Poonawala is professor of Arabic and Islamic Studies at the University of California, Los Angeles. A specialist in Isma?ili studies, he is the author of Biobibliography of Isma?ili Literature (1977) and editor of several Isma?ili texts. He has also translated with annotations, Volume IX of Tabari's history, entitled The Last Years of the Prophet (1990) and The Pillars of Islam, 2 vols (2002, 2004).

Contributors:

Ali Anooshahr
Clifford E. Bosworth
Robert Dankoff
Peter B. Golden
Carole Hillenbrand
Robert Hillenbrand
Sunil Kumar
Gary Leiser
Benedek Péri
Francis Robinson
Svatopluk Soucek