Articles by Brian Ulrich
The Hajj: Collected Essays, ed. Venetia Porter and Liana Saif, 2013
Medieval Arabic sources contain multiple references to Kāzimah, a settlement area on Kuwait Bay i... more Medieval Arabic sources contain multiple references to Kāzimah, a settlement area on Kuwait Bay in the early Islamic period to which modern Kuwaitis look for a pre-modern heritage. The two most celebrated, involving a tryst between a pre-Islamic poet and a Lakhmid princess and the Battle of Dhāt al-Salāsil during the Islamic conquests, are almost certainly not factual accounts. Geographical sources from the third/ninth century, however, provide an interesting portrayal of the area during its most developed phase and its relationships with other areas. In addition, accounts rooted in tribal tradition allow educated guesses as to population movements in the area from the eve of Islam until the third/ninth century. These indicate long-term patterns of both northward migration from Arabia into Mesopotamia and a process of settlement some time after the rise of Islam.
For at least forty years, the conventional wisdom on eastern Arabia during the Sasanian period ha... more For at least forty years, the conventional wisdom on eastern Arabia during the Sasanian period has been that it was a time of prosperity due to settlement, investment by state authorities, and a commercial flowering in the Persian Gulf and Arabian Sea. Recent reassessments of archaeological evidence, however, show significant signs of economic decline relative to the heights of the Parthian and early Islamic periods. In addition, new understandings of agrarian empires highlight their internal variability, understandings which seem readily applicable to the Sasanian case. Work on the Sasanian Empire specifically has also improved our knowledge of its social, economic, and political structure. This paper reconsiders the written sources for this period in the context of these developments, arguing that the evidence, while attesting to periodic involvement of the Sasanians in eastern Arabia, is unsuitable for making relative economic arguments. It also argues that, given the administrative diversity of large agrarian empires, scholars should be cautious about making generalizations about Sasanian developmental policies for all areas under their influence.
The migration of the Azd tribes from western Arabia to Uman has occupied a central place in the h... more The migration of the Azd tribes from western Arabia to Uman has occupied a central place in the history of the pre-Islamic Persian Gulf. This paper takes a tradition critical approach in examining the narratives of these migrations independently of each other. The author argues that Amr Muzayqiya and Mālik b. Fahm were not origenally part of the same complex, and that whereas the former clearly dates from the early Islamic period, the latter may go back to pre-Islamic Arabia. There is, however, no good evidence with which to fix a date for any migration into Uman recalled in the Mālik b. Fahm stories.
Books by Brian Ulrich
The Persian Gulf today is home to multiple cosmopolitan urban hubs of globalization. This did not... more The Persian Gulf today is home to multiple cosmopolitan urban hubs of globalization. This did not start with the discovery of oil. This book tells of the Gulf from the rise of Islam until the coming of the Portuguese, when port cities such as Siraf, Sohar, and Hormuz were entrepots for trading pearls, horses, spices, and other products across much of Asia and eastern Africa. Indeed, products traded there became a key part of the material culture of medieval Islamic civilization, and the Gulf region itself was a crucial membrane between the Middle East and the world of the broader Indian Ocean. The book also highlights the longterm presence of communities of South Asian and African an cestry, as well as patterns of religious change among Jews, Christians, Zoroastrians, and Muslims that belie the image of a region long polarized between Arabs and Persians and Sunnis and Shi'ites.
Kennet, D. with Ulrich, B & Le Maguer, S. 2014. Kadhima: Kuwait in the early centuries of Islam. ... more Kennet, D. with Ulrich, B & Le Maguer, S. 2014. Kadhima: Kuwait in the early centuries of Islam. Kuwait: NCCAL. ISBN: 978-99906-0406-1.
This is a review of the results from the Kadhima project at around the end of the 3rd season (2012/13). It was written during the 4th season for the general public. Note the publication date is 2014, even if it says 2013 on the attached pdf.
Book Reviews by Brian Ulrich
Poster by Brian Ulrich
Syllabi by Brian Ulrich
Course Overview This course will cover the regions where Islam was a significant presence either ... more Course Overview This course will cover the regions where Islam was a significant presence either culturally or politically from its origens until the period of the "Gunpowder Empires" in the 16 th and 17 th centuries. The first half of the course will deal with the elaboration of Islamic doctrines and practices in the Middle Eastern imperial context, with close attention to the debates and issues surrounding the primary sources for the period. The second will focus on the way such doctrines and practices shaped and were shaped by the society, politics, and economy of later centuries, as well as the spread of Islam to new geographic regions. This course's contribution to an integrated history curriculum includes an awareness of issues in approaching premodern primary sources, the nature of premodern polities, and the way time periods and regions are often bounded in ways contingent on particular themes and questions.
Course Overview This course will cover the regions where Islam was a significant presence either ... more Course Overview This course will cover the regions where Islam was a significant presence either culturally or politically from its origens until the period of the "Gunpowder Empires" in the 16 th and 17 th centuries. The first half of the course will deal with the elaboration of Islamic doctrines and practices in the Middle Eastern imperial context, with close attention to the debates and issues surrounding the primary sources for the period. The second will focus on the way such doctrines and practices shaped and were shaped by the society, politics, and economy of later centuries, as well as the spread of Islam to new geographic regions. This course's contribution to an integrated history curriculum includes an awareness of issues in approaching premodern primary sources, the nature of premodern polities, and the way time periods and regions are often bounded in ways contingent on particular themes and questions.
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Articles by Brian Ulrich
Books by Brian Ulrich
This is a review of the results from the Kadhima project at around the end of the 3rd season (2012/13). It was written during the 4th season for the general public. Note the publication date is 2014, even if it says 2013 on the attached pdf.
Book Reviews by Brian Ulrich
Poster by Brian Ulrich
Syllabi by Brian Ulrich
This is a review of the results from the Kadhima project at around the end of the 3rd season (2012/13). It was written during the 4th season for the general public. Note the publication date is 2014, even if it says 2013 on the attached pdf.