The Relationship between the Buyid Authority and the Religious Institution in Iraq: A Study of Political and Social Interaction (334–447 AH / 945–1055 CE)

Abstract

This study examines the relationship between the Buyid authority and the religious institution in Iraq (334–447 AH / 945–1055 CE). It analyzes the patterns of interaction between political power and religious elites, including scholars, judges, and naqibs. Using a historical-analytical methodology and relying on primary medieval sources, the research argues that the relationship was pragmatic and based on mutual negotiation. The Buyids maintained the Abbasid caliphate as a source of symbolic legitimacy while allowing Sunni religious institutions to function and simultaneously promoting Shi‘i public rituals. This interaction reshaped Iraq’s social and sectarian structure during the fourth and fifth Islamic centuries.