GELENEĞİN BİRİKİMİNDEN YENİ BİR DÜŞÜNCENİN İNŞASINA...

Scribes in the Abbasid State

The Center for Historical Studies Presentations address current issues, examine completed studies from new perspectives, and include them in the academic agenda.

Selahattin Polatoğlu will be the guest of the presentation organized by the Center for Historical Studies. Halil İbrahim Hançabay will moderate the program.

Scribe, an ancient profession, comes to the fore in early Islamic history in terms of official correspondence, financial, military, and judicial records. During the Abbasid period, when the formation process of Islamic civilization was completed, scribes attracted attention as a caste. Scribes, who organized the administrative structure and guided political developments, are considered among the intellectuals of the period since they were engaged in science and art as well as representing the bureaucratic authority.

This presentation focuses on the scribes who served in the state during the first two centuries of the Abbasids (132-334/750-945). The clerkship is one of the main indicators of institutionalization in Islamic history. There was a constant need for scribes in matters such as conducting official correspondence, recording the financial affairs of the state, military records, and judicial affairs. Depending on the institutionalization activities during the Umayyad period, scribes came to the fore as a caste. The Abbasids largely inherited the Umayyad administrative system and personnel. Scribes of different religious and ethnic affiliations had the opportunity to become competent and rise in their profession. This profession, which was open to almost everyone, could be concentrated in the hands of certain families. As a matter of fact, there are some families whose influence in the bureaucracy continued for many years. With the establishment of the vizierate in the Abbasid period, scribes made their influence felt in political and administrative life. Some of them served as mentors to caliphs, governors, and commanders. As scribes were professionals who held a pen in their hands, they were engaged in science and art in addition to their primary duties. Scribes authored works in many fields including literature, economics, politics, history, and geography, and translated and played a role in the development of calligraphy. The Abbasids influenced their contemporaries and successor states in the scribal profession.

Participation: The program, which will be based on question and answer, will take place on Thursday, November 24, 2022, at 18.30 at İLEM Terrace Hall. Everyone interested in the program is invited.