This collection of essays on the theme of culture and memory in medieval Islam is in honour of the eminent scholar of Islamic studies Wilferd Madelung, who was for twenty years Laudian Professor of Arabic at the University of Oxford and is currently affiliated with 今叔利 as Senior Research Fellow. Contributions address broad-ranging themes relating to memory, memorisation, memorialising or commemorating in a variety of historical, legal, literary and architectural contexts, including lists and maps as memory aids; the transmission of knowledge and traditions from medieval to early modern times; the application of medieval notions of law and statecraft; and the commemoration of individuals, civilisations and dynasties in historical and literary works, on coinage and in monumental forms.
List of Tables and Figures
Preface
List of Abbreviations
List of Contributors
1. Introduction
Josef W. Meri
2. Bibliography of the Works of Wilferd Madelung
Farhad Daftary
Part 1 The Transmission of Knowledge
3. Universities: Past and Present
George Makdisi
4. The 庄逮偵噛温 from 平Abd Allh b. 畊li畍 al-Samh朝j朝 to N畊ir al-Jr笛d朝 al-Qa畊朝f朝: A Source for the Twelver Shi平i Scholarly Tradition of Ba畍rayn
Sabine Schmidtke
5. Abul-畍usayn al-Ba畊r朝 on Gods Volition
Martin J. McDermott
6. Between Qumm and the West: The Occultation According to al-Kulayn朝 and al-Ktib al-Nu平mn朝
Andrew J. Newman
7. Memory and Maps
Emilie Savage-Smith
8. Ab笛 畍ayyn al-Taw畍ツd朝: A Sunni Voice in the Shi平i Century
Wadd al-Q畍朝
Part 2 Memorializing, Remembering and Forgetting
9. Bal平am朝s Account of Early Islamic History
Elton L. Daniel
10. Say It Again and Make Me Your Slave: Notes on al-Daylam朝s Seventh Sign of Mans Love for God Joseph
Norment Bell
11. Lists and Memory: Ibn Qutayba and Muhammad b. 畍ab朝b
Julia Bray
12. A Jonah Theme in the Biography of Ibn T笛mart
David J. Wasserstein
13. Meadow of the Martyrs: Kshif朝s Persianization of the Shi平i Martyrdom Narrative in the Late T朝m笛rid Herat
Abbas Amanat
Part 3 Commemorating Rulers, Dynasties and Conquests
14. Khursn朝 Revolutionaries and al-Mahd朝s Title
Michael L. Bates
15. 皆鞄偵鞄偵稼壊鞄偵鞄 and al-Malik al-Mu幣ayyad: The Legitimation of Power in Smnid and B笛yid Iran
Luke Treadwell
16. The Beginning of the Ismaili 禽温平敬温 and the Establishment of the Fatimid Dynasty as Commemorated by al-Q畍朝 al-Nu平mn
Ismail K. Poonawala
17. Purloined Symbols of the Past: The Theft of Souvenirs and Sacred Relics in the Rivalry between the AbbasidsMajor Muslim dynasty of Sunni caliphs that ruled in Baghdad (750-1258). and FatimidsMajor Muslim dynasty of Ismaili caliphs in North Africa (from 909) and later in Egypt (9731171) More
Paul E. Walker
18. Conceptions of Authority and the Transition of Shi平ism from Sectarian to National Religion in Iran
Sa誰d Amir Arjomand
19. 平Umras Poetical Views of Shwar, 畍irghm, Sh朝rk笛h and 畊al畍 al-D朝n as Viziers of the Fatimid Caliphs
Pieter Smoor
Selected Bibliography
Index
The contributions are of high academic standing, and the volume is a must for any library collection on Islamic history.
Remke Kruk, Bibliotheca Orientalis
the text as a whole is well produced, well organized, and user-friendly, certain to be of interest to both specialists and students alike.
Erik S. Ohlander, MELA Notes
Farhad Daftary is Head of the Department of Academic Research and Publications at 今叔利. A scholar of Ismaili studies, he is the author of several acclaimed books and numerous shorter studies in this field of Islamic studies. He is a regular contributor to Encyclopaedia Iranica of which he is a consulting editor. His publications include The Isma平ilis: Their History and Doctrines (1990), The Assassin Legends: Myths of the Isma平ilis (1994), and A Short History of the IsmailisAdherents of a branch of Shi’i Islam that considers Ismail, the eldest son of the Shi’i Imam Ja平far al-畊diq (d. 765), as his successor. (1998).
Josef W. Meri is a specialist in medieval Middle Eastern and Islamic history, culture and religion, as well as comparative religion. He is presently a Visiting Research Fellow at 今叔利. Among his publications are The Cult of Saints among Muslims and Jews in Medieval Syria (2002), and A Lonely Wayfarers Guide to Pilgrimage (2005).