arabian civilization » arabic civilization (Expand Search), arab civilization (Expand Search), badarian civilisation (Expand Search)
section civilization » region civilization (Expand Search), egyption civilization (Expand Search), western civilization (Expand Search)
central pharaonic » potential pharaonic (Expand Search)
central islamic » general islamic (Expand Search), century islamic (Expand Search), central asiatic (Expand Search)
central arabian » central arabia (Expand Search), central iranian (Expand Search), central eurasian (Expand Search)
central section » central sector (Expand Search), central question (Expand Search), central questions (Expand Search)
The piety of learning : Islamic studies in honor of Stefan Reichmuth /
:
The Piety of Learning testifies to the strong links between religious and secular scholarship in Islam, and reaffirms the role of philology for understanding Muslim societies both past and present. Senior scholars discuss Islamic teaching philosophies since the 18th century in Nigeria, Egypt, the Ottoman Empire, Central Asia, Russia, and Germany. Particular attention is paid to the power of Islamic poetry and to networks and practices of the Tijāniyya, Rifā'iyya, Khalwatiyya, Naqshbandiyya, and Shādhiliyya Sufi brotherhoods. The final section highlights some unusual European encounters with Islam, and features a German Pietist who traveled through the Ottoman Empire, a Habsburg officer who converted to Islam in Bosnia, a Dutch colonial Islamologist who befriended a Salafi from Jeddah, and a Soviet historian who preserved Islamic manuscripts. Contributors are: Razaq 'Deremi Abubakre; Bekim Agai; Rainer Brunner; Alfrid K. Bustanov; Thomas Eich; Ralf Elger; Ulrike Freitag; Michael Kemper; Markus Koller; Anke von Kügelgen; Catherine Mayeur-Jaouen; Armina Omerika; Amidu Olalekan Sanni; Yaşar Sarikaya; Rüdiger Seesemann; Shamil Sh. Shikhaliev; Diliara M. Usmanova.
:
1 online resource (xiv, 428 pages) : illustrations. :
Includes bibliographical references and indexes. :
9789004349841 :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
The Aghlabids and their neighbours : art and material culture in 9th-century North Africa /
:
The first dynasty to mint gold dinars outside of the Abbasid heartlands, the Aghlabid (r. 800-909) reign in North Africa has largely been neglected in the scholarship of recent decades, despite the canonical status of its monuments and artworks in early Islamic art history. The Aghlabids and their Neighbors focuses new attention on this key dynasty. The essays in this volume, produced by an international group of specialists in history, art and architectural history, archaeology, and numismatics, illuminate the Aghlabid dynasty's interactions with neighbors in the western Mediterranean and its rivals and allies elsewhere, providing a state of the question on early medieval North Africa and revealing the centrality of the dynasty and the region to global economic and political networks.
:
1 online resource (xxxviii, 688 pages) :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004356047 :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
The dragon in medieval East Christian and Islamic art
:
This book is a pioneering work on a key iconographic motif, that of the dragon. It examines the perception of this complex, multifaceted motif within the overall intellectual and visual universe of the medieval Irano-Turkish world. Using a broadly comparative approach, the author explores the ever-shifting semantics of the dragon motif as it emerges in neighbouring Muslim and non-Muslim cultures. The book will be of particular interest to those concerned with the relationship between the pre-Islamic, Islamic and Eastern Christian (especially Armenian) world. The study is fully illustrated, with 209 (b/w and full colour) plates, many of previously unpublished material. Illustrations include photographs of architectural structures visited by the author, as well as a vast collection of artefacts, all of which are described and discussed in detail with inscription readings, historical data and textual sources.
:
1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004209725 :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
The Persianate World : Rethinking a Shared Sphere /
:
The Persianate World: Rethinking a Shared Sphere is among the first books to explore the pre-modern and early modern historical ties among such diverse regions as Anatolia, the Iranian plateau, Central Asia, Western Xinjiang, the Indian subcontinent, and southeast Asia, as well as the circumstances that reoriented these regions and helped break up the Persianate ecumene in modern times. Essays explore the modalities of Persianate culture, the defining features of the Persianate cosmopolis, religious practice and networks, the diffusion of literature across space, subaltern social groups, and the impact of technological advances on language. Taken together, the essays reflect the current scholarship in Persianate studies, and offer pathways for future research.
:
1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004387287 :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Scent from the Garden of Paradise : musk and the Medieval Islamic world /
:
Since antiquity, musk has been a valued perfume and medicine. Because the musk deer only lives in Central Eurasia, people in other locations had to trade for its musk. For medieval Islamic civilization, musk became the most important of all aromatics. The musk trade thus illuminates the nature of medieval Asian trade and musk's cultural effects on the Islamic world. Scent from the Garden of Paradise: Musk and the Medieval Islamic World examines the history of musk from its origins in Asia to its uses in the medieval Middle East, surveys the Islamic literature on musk, and discusses the roles of musk in perfumery and medicine, as well as the symbolic importance of musk in Islam.
:
1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004336315 :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Adab and modernity : a "civilising" process? (sixteenth--twenty-first century) /
:
Adab is a concept situated at the heart of Arabic and Islamic civilisation. Adab is etiquette, ethics, and literature. It is also a creative synthesis, a relationship within a configuration. What became of it, towards modernity ? The question of the "civilising process" (Norbert Elias) helps us reflect on this story. During the modern period, maintaining one's identity while entering into what was termed "civilisation" ( al-tamaddun ) soon became a leitmotiv . A debate on what was or what should be culture, ethics, and norms in Middle Eastern societies accompanied this evolution. The resilient notion of adab has been in competition with the Salafist focus on mores ( akhlāq ). Still, humanism, poetry, and transgression are constants in the history of adab . Contributors: Francesca Bellino, Elisabetta Benigni, Michel Boivin, Olivier Bouquet, Francesco Chiabotti, Stéphane Dudoignon, Anne-Laure Dupont, Stephan Guth, Albrecht Hofheinz, Katharina Ivanyi, Felix Konrad, Corinne Lefevre, Cathérine Mayeur-Jaouen, Astrid Meier, Nabil Mouline, Samuela Pagani, Luca Patrizi, Stefan Reichmuth, Iris Seri-Hersch, Chantal Verdeil, Anne-Sophie Vivier-Muresan.
:
Includes index. :
1 online resource. :
9789004415997
Russian Oriental Studies : Current Research on Past & Present Asian and African Societies /
:
This collection of articles by leading Russian Orientalists, from different universities and research institutes of Russia, covers a wide range of research fields: politics and power, history, economics and society, language, philosophy and culture. The Russian authors base their works on rare sources. They examine here ancient and medieval history and culture of Oriental societies including articles on Indian mythology, kalam in Islam, classical Indonesian concepts of monarchy, Caucasus in the Abbasid period etc. There will also be a focus on modern Asian and African societies with articles on agriculture in India, monarchy in Cambodia, kleptocracy in Africa, Chinese migration to Siberia etc.). Furthermore in this volume, cultural vocabularies and sacred texts will be analysed. The volume will be useful for all academics and students interested in Asia and Africa.
:
1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789047402473
9789004132030
Beyond Schools: Muḥammad born Ibrāhīm al-Wazīrʼs (d. 840/1436) Epistemology of Ambiguity.
:
In Beyond Schools: Muḥammad born Ibrāhīm al-Wazīrʼs (d. 840/1436) Epistemology of Ambiguity , Damaris Wilmers provides the first extensive analysis of Ibn al-Wazīrʼs thought and its role in the "Sunnisation of the Zaydiyya", emphasizing its significance for conflicts between schools of thought and law beyond the Yemeni context. Contrasting Ibn al-Wazīrʼs works with those of his Zaydi contemporary Aḥmad born Yaḥyā born al-Murtaḍā, Damaris Wilmers offers a study of a number of heretofore unedited texts from 9th/15th century Yemen when Zaydi identity was challenged by an increasing theological and legal diversity. She shows how Ibn al-Wazīr, who has been classed with different schools, actually de-emphasized school affiliation and developed an integrative approach based on a unique theory of knowledge.
:
1 online resource. :
9789004381117
Essays on Turkish literature and history /
:
In Essays on Turkish Literature and History Barbara Flemming makes available essays partly previously published in German. They offer insights gained through decades of scholarship. Although the Ottoman period is central, a wide range is covered, including an early Turkish principality, Mamluk and Ottoman Egypt, and contemporary southeastern Turkey. The essays look into historical and political factors involved in the preoccupation with the world's ending, into Muslim-Christian dialogue, the sultan's prayer before battle, and the bilingualism of poets. Of particular interest are the sections on female participation in mysticism, on an anti-Sufi movement in Cairo, on the Ottoman capital's appeal to collectors and emigrants (Diez, Süssheim, Böhlau), and on the far-reaching effects of alphabet change.
:
1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004355767 :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Books and written culture of the Islamic world studies presented to Claude Gilliot on the occasion...
:
In celebration of the many contributions of Claude Gilliot to Islamic studies, an international group of twenty-one friends and colleagues join together to explore books and written culture in the Muslim world. Divided into three sections - authors, genres and traditions - the essays explore themes that have been of central interest and concern to Gilliot himself including the Qurʾān, tafsīr, ḥadīth, poetry, and mysticism. Gilliot's detailed and extensive work on many authors and texts, literary genres, and specific case-studies on many Muslim traditions renders this volume an apt tribute to him as well as offering Islamic studies' scholars valuable research insights on these subjects. The authors of these English, French and German essays are all renowned scholars from Europe and North America, each of whom have benefitted substantially from Gilliot's work and collegiality. With contributions by: Mohammad Ali Amir-Moezzi, Mehdi Azaiez, Anne-Sylvie Boisliveau, Abdallah Cheikh-Moussa, Jean-Louis Déclais, Denis Gril, Manfred Kropp, Pierre Larcher, Michael Lecker, Jane Dammen McAuliffe, Harald Motzki, Tilman Nagel, Angelika Neuwirth, Emilio Platti, Jan van Reeth, Andrew Rippin, Uri Rubin, Walid Saleh, Roberto Tottoli, Reinhard Weipert, Francesco Zappa
:
1 online resource (xxiii, 398 pages) : color map. :
Includes bibliographical references and indexes. :
9789004283756 :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
In Synchrony with the Heavens, Volume 2 Instruments of Mass Calculation : (Studies X-XVIII) /
:
This is the first investigation of one of the main interests of astronomy in Islamic civilization, namely, timekeeping by the sun and stars and the regulation of the astronomically-defined times of Muslim prayer. The study is based on over 500 medieval astronomical manuscripts first identified by the author, now preserved in libraries all over the world and originally from the entire Islamic world from the Maghrib to Central Asia and the Yemen. The materials presented provide new insights into the early development of the prayer ritual in Islam. They also call into question the popular notion that religion could not inspire serious scientific activity. Only one of the hundreds of astronomical tables discussed here was known in medieval Europe, which is one reason why the entire corpus has remained unknown until the present. A second volume, also to be published by Brill, deals with astronomical instruments for timekeeping and other computing devices.
:
1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789047406754
9789004141889
The cosmic script : sacred geometry and the science of Arabic penmanship /
:
"A fully illustrated, landmark study of Islamic calligraphy traced back to its deepest historical and cultural roots Explores the sacred geometry of each letter form of the Arabic alphabet as attributed to renowned 10th-century scribe Ibn Muqla Traces Ibn Muqla's system to the cross-cultural encounter between Greek learning and the scientific, artistic, and philosophical pursuits of classical Islam A richly illustrated, two-volume presentation of decades of research with more than 430 full-color illustrations Calligraphy is the central visual art of Islam. At its core resides a perennial challenge: What letter shapes traced by human hands are rightful bearers of the divine message? The answer lies in the "Proportioned Script" of Ibn Muqla, renowned scribe, man of letters, and minister under the great Abbasid Caliphate in 10th-century Baghdad. Emphasizing harmony and geometry, Ibn Muqla's system has governed the practice of Arabic scribal art up to the present day. In this two-volume, richly illustrated study, Ahmed Moustafa and Stefan Sperl analyze each letter form of Ibn Muqla's perfected penmanship and share their decades of research on Islamic letter shapes, revealing the history, linguistics, philosophy, theology, and sacred geometry that underlie this spiritual art form. In volume one the authors reveal the trilogy of prophecy, penmanship, and geometry at the foundation of Ibn Muqla's Proportioned Script. Providing a fully illustrated analysis of Islamic calligraphy's geometrical principles as transmitted in surviving writings and key manuscript sources, they examine the geometric grid of square, circle, and hexagon that informs the pen strokes of each letter shape and explore how the golden ratio appears within the matrix of the grid. They examine the development of Ibn Muqla's system in the context of the sciences, arts, and penmanship of 10th-century Baghdad and trace its origins to the cross-cultural encounter between Greek learning and the scientific, artistic, and philosophical pursuits of classical Islam. In volume two the authors analyze the calligraphic forms of each letter of the Arabic alphabet. They decode the sacred geometry of each form as it appears within the geometric grid, providing letter samples from ancient sources. Unearthing the theoretical and scientific foundations of Arabic calligraphy, this landmark study examines the aesthetic implications of Ibn Muqla's theory for the visual, verbal, and aural arts of Islam as well as the Islamic mystical tradition"--
""A fully illustrated, landmark study of Islamic calligraphy traced back to its deepest historical and cultural roots"--Provided by publisher"--
:
2 volumes : illustrations (chiefly color) ; 29 x 34 cm. :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9781620553961 (hardback : set)
Ancient Egyptian administration /
:
Ancient Egyptian Administration provides the first comprehensive overview of the structure, organization and evolution of the pharaonic administration from its origins to the end of the Late Period. The book not only focuses on bureaucracy, departments, and official practices but also on more informal issues like patronage, the limits in the actual exercise of authority, and the competing interests between institutions and factions within the ruling elite. Furthermore, general chapters devoted to the best-documented periods in Egyptian history are supplemented by more detailed ones dealing with specific archives, regions, and administrative problems. The volume thus produced by an international team of leading scholars will be an indispensable, up-to-date, tool of research covering a much-neglected aspect of pharaonic civilization.
:
1 online resource (ix, 1099 pages) :
9789004250086 :
0169-9423 ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Ancient Egyptian administration /
:
Ancient Egyptian Administration provides the first comprehensive overview of the structure, organization and evolution of the pharaonic administration from its origins to the end of the Late Period. The book not only focuses on bureaucracy, departments, and official practices but also on more informal issues like patronage, the limits in the actual exercise of authority, and the competing interests between institutions and factions within the ruling elite. Furthermore, general chapters devoted to the best-documented periods in Egyptian history are supplemented by more detailed ones dealing with specific archives, regions, and administrative problems. The volume thus produced by an international team of leading scholars will be an indispensable, up-to-date, tool of research covering a much-neglected aspect of pharaonic civilization.
:
1 online resource (ix, 1099 pages) :
9789004250086 :
0169-9423 ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Majd al-Din al-Firuzabadi (1329-1415) : a polymath on the eve of the early modern period /
:
In Majd al-Dīn al-Fīrūzābādī (1329-1415): A Polymath on the Eve of the Early Modern Period , Vivian Strotmann provides a detailed reconstruction of the famous lexicographer's and travelling scholar's life and works. The 'author of the Qāmūs al-muḥīṭ ' is widely known for his Arabic lexicon, which overshadows the astounding breadth of his writing. This polymathic aspect is elucidated through detailed reconstruction of al-Fīrūzābādī's corpus, including examination of works that were considered lost and misapprehensions concerning ascriptions of authorship. Through minute analysis of biographical sources, the book shows al-Fīrūzābādī's development as a scholar, his central role in the defence of Ibn al-ʿArabī's teachings and thereby his importance as a powerful intellectual in Timurid times and for developments during the Early Modern Period.
:
1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004305403 :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Umayyad legacies : medieval memories from Syria to Spain /
:
The Umayyads, the first dynasty of Islam, ruled over a vast empire from their central province of Syria, providing a line of caliphs from 661 to 750. Another branch later ruled in al-Andalus - Islamic Spain - from 756 to 1031, ruling first as emirs and then as caliphs themselves. This book is the first to bring together studies of this far-flung family and treat it not as two unrelated caliphates but as a single enterprise. Yet for all that historians have made note of Umayyad accomplishments in the Near East and al-Andalus, Umayyad legacies - what later generations made of these caliphs and their achievements - are poorly understood. Building on new interest in the study of memory and Islamic historiography and including interdisciplinary perspectives from Arabic literature, art, and archaeology, this book highlights Umayyad achievements and the shaping of our knowledge of the Umayyad past.
:
Includes selected papers from a conference organized by the Institut français du Proche-Orient (IFPO) and the University of Notre Dame's Medieval Institute held in Damascus, Syria, June 29-July 2, 2006. :
1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004190986 :
0929-2403 ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
The Oasis of Bukhara, Volume 1 : Population, Depopulation and Settlement Evolution /
:
In The Oasis of Bukhara: Population, Depopulation and Settlement Evolution , Rocco Rante, archaeologist at the Louvre Museum, presents the results of a large-scale and ambitious regional archaeological investigation of the oasis of Bukhara, corresponding to the delta of the Zerafshan River, from the end of the 1st millennium BCE to the Timurid period. Rante reports the conclusions of several studies of the oasis, realised with the collaboration of distinguished specialists, and covers topics such as human migration, water and the city, urban development and changes in human behaviour. He also revisits the history of this part of Central Asia, providing new historical and cultural insights arising out of the intense archaeological activities undertaken in the field. The volume is co-published by Brill, Leiden, and the Louvre Museum, Paris.
:
1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004396258 :
2213-3844 ;
The Mongol Empire and its Legacy /
:
The Mongol empire was founded early in the 13th century by Chinggis Khan and within the span of two generations embraced most of Asia, becoming the largest land-based state in history. The united empire lasted only until around 1260, but the major successor states continued on in the Middle East, present day Russia, Central Asia and China for generations, leaving a lasting impact - much of which was far from negative - on these areas and their peoples. The papers in this volume present new perspectives on the establishment of the Mongol empire, Mongol rule in the eastern Islamic world, Central Asia and China, and the legacy of this rule. The various authors approach these subjects from the view of political, military, social, cultural and intellectual history. This publication has also been published in paperback, please click here for details.
:
1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004492738
9789004110489
Licit magic : the life and letters of al-Ṣaḥib born ʻAbbad (d. 385/995) /
:
In Licit Magic: The Life and Letters of al-Ṣāḥib born ʿAbbād (d. 385/995) Maurice A. Pomerantz explores the biography and literary output of a major tenth-century Muslim statesman, literary patron, and intellectual. His nearly two-decade reign as vizier on behalf of two Buyid amirs was an important period for the flowering of Arabic letters, Muʿtazilī theology and Shīʿism in Western Iran. Making use of Ibn ʿAbbād's large corpus of letters ( rasāʾil ), Pomerantz explores the role that eloquence played in the conduct of administration, the maintenance of social networks of elites, and persuasion. Licit Magic argues that the eloquent expression that Ibn ʿAbbād displayed in his letters was central to his exercise of power.
:
1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004348042 :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.