The School of 'Abbasid Studies, originally founded as a co-operative venture by scholars at the Universities of St. Andrews and Glasgow in Scotland during the 1980s, is a joint enterprise involving the Universities of St. Andrews, Cambridge and Leuven. It aims to promote, foster and cultivate the academic study of the 'Abbasid dynasty. This book contains the papers delivered by a distinguished array of leading scholars at a meeting of the School of 'Abbasid Studies at the Catholic University of Leuven from 28 June until 1 July 2004. It provides a fully contemporary insight into the cutting edge of 'Abbasid Studies.