The present study explores the ways in which competing frameworks of knowledge sought to order society in early Islamic Mesopotamia (60–193 AH/680–809 CE). This research examines the conditions under which two frameworks of knowledge came into being; how they tried to maximize their power through forging alliance with the caliphate; how they established the legitimacy of their knowledge; and how they promoted their visions of social order. The first framework of knowledge is associated with the secretaries, as state bureaucrats, who helped transfer ancient administrative methods and practices to the emerging Islamic polity. Their immense assistance in tackling manifold problems of the Umayyad and Abbasid caliphates consisted not only in offering technical know-how, useful administrative practices, expertise, and political wisdom, but also in addressing the foundational problems of the polity. This research argues that the secretaries' solution to the caliphate's structural problems—particularly the crisis of legitimacy—might have run counter to the social order promoted by Muslim religious scholars (the 'ulamā'). The secretaries' framework of knowledge and its concomitant social order, then, posed a threat to the authority of the 'ulamā' who pursued an alternative framework of knowledge rooted in sacred sources of law. Delving into a number of treatises composed and/or translated by the champions of these knowledge frameworks (e.g., ‘Abd al-Ḥamīd b. Yaḥyā, Ibn al-Muqaffa‘, and Abū Yūsuf), this dissertation concludes that the validation of knowledge and expertise involved more than solving specific problems such as maximizing the government revenues and efficiently collecting taxes from subjects; it rather relied on the ability of knowledge and expertise to offer solutions to the problem of social and political order. / Ph. D.

The Mongol and the Ottoman leadership structures emerged in milieus where identities were changeable, mobility was high and the alliances were shifting. Chinggis Khan arose to degree of Khanate of entire Mongolia from an extremely marginal position in tribal politics and his experiences in this process provided him an anti-tribal political vision. He at the very beginning of his career formed the nucleus of his political power by his relationships and entourages. Later, he reorganized the clans and tribes, which submitted their loyalty to him around those principal participants in his army of conquest. Osman Bey made successful conquests thanks to the advantageous geographical position of his principality, became famous in a short time and managed to attract various elements of complex social structure of the Byzantine frontiers to him. He did not involve in a harsh struggle for leadership. Instead of monopolization of power, he favored sharing of it with his companions in arms. Mongols, after monopolizing power in the steppes devoted their energies to frontier conquests. However, during Chinggis Khan&rsquo / s reign, the Mongols saw the centre of the authority there. Their relation with the societies outside the Mongolia was indirect. Ottomans on the other hand, built up their administrative apparatus in the conquered territories. The Ottomans created a new bureaucratic group which did not have a power base besides the posts in Ottoman state and placed them to the centre of administration. Those posts did not have any hereditary dimension. The Mongols, contrary to the Ottomans, turned the state offices to hereditary posts and in time they began to distribute peoples, armies, lands and resources throughout the empire as appanages to state officers. Therefore, the Chinggisids created a new aristocracy who had the power in their hands to shake the centralist order of Chinggis Khan.

Submitted by Silvana Teresinha Dornelles Studzinski (sstudzinski) on 2016-07-15T16:03:17Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Vera Bavaresco_.pdf: 1723513 bytes, checksum: 704279c37e502e18b9a9a816e8ff7eec (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-07-15T16:03:17Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Vera Bavaresco_.pdf: 1723513 bytes, checksum: 704279c37e502e18b9a9a816e8ff7eec (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-04-29 / Nenhuma / Este estudo buscou investigar o comportamento de consumo dos indivíduos das famílias de classe popular frente a um cenário de crise econômica. Para chegar a este objetivo, fez-se necessário abordar como foi no pré-crise, a partir do plano real e as políticas econômicas e sociais dos últimos governos e consequente melhora na condição de vida. O que se conclui é que eles efetivamente renderam-se ao comportamento voltado para o consumo, conforme achados em vários dos estudos que embasaram o referencial teórico deste trabalho. Com este comportamento, alcançaram a inclusão e o status por tanto tempo perseguido. Destaca-se que aprenderam o consumo em suas várias nuances, do planejamento passando pela administração dos recursos, crédito e pagamento, até o entendimento dos significados e das lógicas que o ter e o poder ter oferecem em termos de distinção e pertencimento, formando-se, a partir daí, uma nova legião de consumidores, os consumistas. Porém pode-se destacar que somente o acesso ao consumo não é fator relevante para que possa haver uma ascenção de classe social. Com relação a este novo fator, a crise, percebeu-se que eles estão acostumados a “apertar o cinto “ e que não deixam de consumir, isto é, eles reavaliam e reajustam seu modus operandis, utilizando-se de planejamento financeiro para comprar à vista, utilizando-se do cartão de crédito para compras mais pesadas, abrindo mão de prazeres como o lazer e os supérfluos para não precisar cortar na comida, administrando suas visitas ao supermercado, aproveitando promoções e ofertas, compartilhando espaços, saídas para compras e, até mesmo, as próprias contas. Entretanto, apesar das restrições de acesso ao crédito e das taxas de juros mais altas, dificultando o acesso desses consumidores aos seus sonhos, eles deixam claro que encontrarão uma maneira de atingir suas conquistas e estão permanentemente planejando. Pode-se dizer que, o que estão vivendo na verdade, é uma crise mais de confiança do que econômica. O detonador é a falta de perspectiva. Por não saberem como será o dia de amanhã, eles preferem não arriscar, o que reduz o consumo e, com isso, para a roda da economia. Como resultado das conquistas, do entendimento e rendição ao consumo, os populares, apresentaram amadurecimento em suas ações. E o que mudou, no que diz respeito ao comportamento de consumo do público popular é que qualidade não tem preço, que aprenderam a educação financeira, que ao oferecer crédito, tem de estar implícito parcelamento a longo prazo mesmo que represente pagar muito mais do que o bem realmente vale, que desconto tem de ser real, que poupam para comprar melhor, que comprar à vista oferece ganhos, que se quiser ser entendido por eles, tem de respeitar seus valores, fazer-se próximo, entender suas lógicas e sua linguagem simples e entender que não necessitam mais ser convencidos de que o consumo é um caminho para o pertencimento, pois que agora renderam-se ao consumismo, desde que obedecidas e respeitadas suas crenças e valores. / This paper tries to understand the consuming behavior of popular classes individuals, facing an economic crisis enviroment. To achieve this aim, was necessary to aproach the scenery before crisis, that goes from Plano Real to the latest years economical politics and the consequent improvement in life condictions of this social class. We can infer that they kind of gave away to this consumist behavior, as proof some of the studies on what this paper was based. With this behavior, they managed to get the inclusion and status so eagerly antecipated. It stands that they learn how to consume in several points of view, from planning, going through the resources administration, credit and payment, till the meaning and the logics of possessing and the power that those concepts have in therms of distinction and belonging, composing, from this point, a new legion of consumers: the consumists. However, it's important to highlight that access to consumer markets itself does not assures an upward social mobility. Regarding this new subject, the crisis, we saw up they are used to "tighten their belts", though they don't stop consuming. In other words: they reappraise and adjust their modus operandis, using financial planning to buy in cash, reserving the credit card to more expansive purchases, leaving behind some superfluous, such as laisure, in order to avoid cutting food items, managing their visists to supermarkets, giving preference to offers and promotions, sharing spaces, shopping excursions and even the bill itself. However, despite credit access restrictions and higher spread taxes, turning more difficult the access of those consumers to their dreams, they make perpectly clear that will find a way to reach their conquests and that they are constantly planning. We can say that what they are trying on is a trusting crisis more than it's an economic crisis. The fuse is the lack of perspective. As they don't know how will be tomorrow, they chose not running unecessary risks, what contracts consume and, consequently, break the economics ferris wheel. As a result of the latest years conquests, the knowledge and redemption to consume, the populars show a maturation in their acctions. And what changed, regarding the behavior of those popular consuming classes is that quality has no price, that they learned financing education, that when you offer credit it has to be implicit long therms installment, even if it implies paying more than it's value. Discounts must be real, since they save to buy for better prices, that buying in cash pays off, that whoever wants to be accepted by them must respect their values, being close, understand their logic and simple language, and perceive they don't need to be convinced that consuming is a way to belonging, as they are already surrended to consume, as long as they are respected in their beliefs and values.

When considering the available sources for Islamic history between the seventh and eighth centuries CE, there are few which have greater importance than al-Balādhurī's (d. ca. 892 CE/279 AH) Kitāb Futūḥ al-Buldān (The Book of the Conquest of Lands). While the text and its author are recognized for their importance as a historical source for the early Islamic period, there has previously been no in-depth study of either. This dissertation works to correct these gaps in knowledge of the author and his text by investigating the construction, form, content, and early reception history of al-Balādhurī's book. This research begins by providing a manuscript tradition of Futūḥ al-Buldān, including a discussion of a previously unpublished manuscript. It thereafter illuminates the background of al-Balādhurī, bringing together much of the previous scholarship on the author while augmenting that information with an analysis of biographical sources and the text itself. It situates the author and his text in its ninth/third century milieu, a period of history where the early Arabic historical tradition was still in its infancy and only just being committed to writing. It suggests the text was likely completed at the end of the "anarchy at Sāmarrā'" in the late 860s CE, and highlights the author's role at the court of several 'Abbāsid Caliphs. After this, it discusses a number of al-Balādhurī's most important (and, in some cases, previously understudied) sources of information, and argues that the author chose to differentiate when he was learning information directly from a teacher and when he had access to written sources. It then analyzes the content and themes of the text, placing special attention on the unique form of Futūḥ al-Buldān and its importance in providing modern scholars with information on the conquest, settlement, and building projects of the early Islamic world. In considering these key themes, this research then argues that Futūḥ al-Buldān defies traditional modern genre classification by borrowing form and content from several different Arabic genres including conquest literature (futūḥ), legal texts, and administrative geographies. It contends that both the text's content and form suggest that it was written to be read by courtly administrators in the service of the state as both a site of memory (lieu de mémoire) and as an "administrator's handbook" during a time of upheaval in the 'Abbāsid realm. Finally, it considers the legacy of Futūḥ al-Buldān and the popularity of al-Balādhurī's book throughout the medieval period through an analysis of textual reuse.

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