Power, Politics and Religion in Timurid Iran
A scholar contemplating pre-modern government must experience a sense of wonder. How was it possible to keep control over an extensive region with so few of the tools that modern governments possess? The central administration rarely held a monopoly of force, and a message sent to the other end o...
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| Format: | Buch |
| Sprache: | English |
| Veröffentlicht: |
Cambridge University Press
2013
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| Online Zugang: | https://scholar.dlu.edu.vn/thuvienso/handle/DLU123456789/35558 |
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| Thư viện lưu trữ: | Thư viện Trường Đại học Đà Lạt |
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| Zusammenfassung: | A scholar contemplating pre-modern government must experience a sense of
wonder. How was it possible to keep control over an extensive region with so
few of the tools that modern governments possess? The central administration
rarely held a monopoly of force, and a message sent to the other end of
the kingdom could require weeks or months to arrive. The population spoke a
variety of languages and most were more firmly attached to local elites than
they were to the central government. Tax collection was difficult, since both
landowners and peasants attempted to thwart the process. In the medieval
Middle East, the challenge was particularly great, since there were few legal
entities which provided society with a formal structure or regulated relationships
among its separate parts. Furthermore its inhabitants included not only
urban and agricultural populations but also large numbers of mountain
peoples and nomads, some of whom inhabited regions almost inaccessible
to government forces. Despite all this, governments did gain and hold power
in the Middle East and society remained remarkably cohesive and resilient
through numerous dynastic changes. |
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