Middle East Studies Lecture
When did Bureaucrats become “Christian"? Religious Identity as a lens for the Social and Economic backgrounds of Administrators during the Umayyad Caliphate (ca. 661-750 C.E.)
- Date
- Tuesday 3 March 2026
- Time
- Serie
- Middle East Studies Lectures
- Address
-
Herta Mohr
Witte Singel 27A
2311 BG Leiden - Room
- 1.128 (Verbarium)
Scholars have long acknowledged the prevalence of non-Muslim and non-Arab administrators staffing various levels of the early Islamic bureaucracy. The presence of these individuals is often interpreted as a means of efficiency, exploitation, or the exceptionalness of a particular administrator. However, I argue these administrators represent remnants of members of the pre-Islamic elite who, while remaining non-Muslim or converting to Islam, became influential members in shaping early Islamic society.