Power, Memory, and the Sacred: Early Abbasid Monumental Inscriptions and Patronage of the Meccan Sanctuary

This paper presents an edition and study of five early Abbasid monumental inscriptions from Mecca. Comparing the contents of three of these inscriptions which are from the Masǧid al-Ḥarām to juridical discussions of the pilgrimage rites, it argues that, viewing themselves as custodians of Islam and ultimate arbiters of orthopraxy, Umayyad and early Abbasid caliphs successfully intervened in the regulation of the ḥaǧǧ rituals. The other two inscriptions, which celebrate the foundation in 144/761 of the Mosque of the Allegiance at the purported site where the Medinans paid homage to Muhammad on the eve of his immigration to Medina, supply evidence for caliphal preservation and patronage of prophetic lieux de mémoire, as well as their role in giving shape to the canon of early Islamic history, in general, and Muhammadan biography, in particular, to advance their own political interests.