Medieval obligations: Modelling the role of charity in the Abbasid economy

This project examines theological concepts of Islamic economics and the material actualization of those concepts -
coins - in the first global Islamic economy. The central aim is to quantify the role played by Islamic charity in the Abbasid
empire (c. 800-1000 CE), as the Abbasids formalised economic processes begun during the rise of Islam and the
Umayyad conquests. There has yet to be a fully integrated study of the role of charity in shaping the early Islamic
economic sphere during this crucial developmental stage. The Abbasids remain a key economic and cultural touchstone
for Islamic government. Fundamental questions remain about whether this Islamic economy was constituted around
ancient Arabian economic practices, whether it was an original response to new circumstances, or if it was founded on
inherited Roman infrastructure. This study will focus on the city of Baghdad and its hinterland, in addition to other case
studies, such as Afghanistan c. 900, and it will approach Abbasid charity from three directions. The first will be an
assessment of the volume of charitable transactions as a proportion of the Abbasid economy. The second will be to
create an economic model of the role of charity in the medieval Islamic economy, especially in terms of monetary policy
and coinage. The third approach will be to apply the conclusions reached in parts one and two in a comparative analysis
of the Carolingian kingdom of Neustria c. 800-900 to establish points of medieval Islamic similarity or difference with the
post-Roman west.