White Banners

"Using Arabic, non-Arabic and newly available local Syrian sources, this detailed study examines the central events of medieval Islamic history: the fall of the Syrian Umayyad caliphate and the rise of the 'Abbasid state. The book also provides answers to key questions concerning the history of medieval Syria: what strategies did the 'Abbasid government use to rule their new province? What was the fate of the Umayyads in Syria who survived the revolution? How did Syria's tribal-military elite cope under new masters? What pushed the common folk to violence?"--BOOK JACKET.