A01=Pamela Klasova
Arabic political speech
Author_Pamela Klasova
Category=NHG
Category=QRAX
Category=QRP
cultural authority
early Islamic rhetoric
empire and communication
eq_bestseller
eq_history
eq_isMigrated=1
eq_isMigrated=2
eq_nobargain
eq_non-fiction
gendered speech acts
historical oratory
Islamic governance strategies
Islamic literary culture
literary power dynamics
medieval Arabic sources
narrative reconstruction
poetic resistance
power and persuasion
rhetorical performance
voice and authority
Product details
- ISBN 9780520420700
- Dimensions: 152 x 229mm
- Publication Date: 02 Dec 2025
- Publisher: University of California Press
- Publication City/Country: US
- Product Form: Hardback
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In The Eloquent Tyrant, Pamela Klasova presents a cultural history of speech in the early Islamic empire, examining the relationship between the spoken word and power through the oratorical practice of the powerful governor of Iraq, al-Ḥajjāj b. Yūsuf al-Thaqafī (d. 714). The governor is remembered both as one of the most eloquent rulers of his age and as one of the worst tyrants in Islamic history. Klasova contends that oratory was inextricably connected with imperial rule and that the governor—despite the deeply ingrained image of him as a bloodthirsty tyrant—relied not only on military force but also on a robust machinery of cultural power. Drawing on a multiplicity of voices from al-Ḥajjāj’s milieu, including rebellious poets, non-elite orators, and women, Klasova portrays the Umayyad world in full color. She challenges al-Ḥajjāj’s one-dimensional image in both medieval and modern sources and makes a compelling case for reintegrating Arabic literature into the study of Islamic history.
Pamela Klasova is Assistant Professor in the Department of Middle Eastern Studies at the University of Chicago.
