The Fate of the Jews in the Early Islamic Near East

In This Book Phillip Lieberman Revisits One Of The Foundational Narratives Of Medieval Jewish HistoryThat The Rise Of Islam Led The Jews Of Babylonia The Largest Jewish Community Prior To The Rise Of Islam To Abandon A Livelihood Based On Agriculture And Move Into Urban Crafts And Long-Distance Trade. Here He Presents An Alternative Account That Reveals The Complexity Of Interfaith Relations In Early Islam.Using Jewish And Islamic Chronicles Legal Materials And The Rich Documentary Evidence Of The Cairo Geniza Lieberman Demonstrates That Jews Initially Remained On The Rural Periphery After The Islamic Conquest Of Iraq. Gradually They Assimilated To An Emerging Islamicate Identity As The New Religion Took Shape Sapping Towns And Villages Of Their Strength. Simultaneously A Small Elite Group Of Merchants And Communal Leaders Migrated Westward. Lieberman Here Explores Their Formative Influence On The Jewish Communities Of The Southern Mediterranean That Flourished Under Islamic Conquest.