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 51勛圖厙 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 勳轍櫻堝硃 from 尪Abd Allh b. 廜〢li廎 al-Samh蘋j蘋 to N廜ξr al-Jr贖d蘋 al-Qa廜俸剌蘋: A Source for the Twelver Shi尪i Scholarly Tradition of Ba廎叵ayn
Sabine Schmidtke
5. Abul-廎工sayn al-Ba廜ψ蘋 on Gods Volition
Martin J. McDermott
6. Between Qumm and the West: The Occultation According to al-Kulayn蘋 and al-Ktib al-Nu尪mn蘋
Andrew J. Newman
7. Memory and Maps
Emilie Savage-Smith
8. Ab贖 廎兀yyn al-Taw廎汁削蘋: A Sunni Voice in the Shi尪i Century
Wadd al-Q廎蘋
Part 2 Memorializing, Remembering and Forgetting
9. Bal尪am蘋s Account of Early Islamic History
Elton L. Daniel
10. Say It Again and Make Me Your Slave: Notes on al-Daylam蘋s Seventh Sign of Mans Love for God Joseph
Norment Bell
11. Lists and Memory: Ibn Qutayba and Muhammad b. 廎兀b蘋b
Julia Bray
12. A Jonah Theme in the Biography of Ibn T贖mart
David J. Wasserstein
13. Meadow of the Martyrs: Kshif蘋s Persianization of the Shi尪i Martyrdom Narrative in the Late T蘋m贖rid Herat
Abbas Amanat
Part 3 Commemorating Rulers, Dynasties and Conquests
14. Khursn蘋 Revolutionaries and al-Mahd蘋s Title
Michael L. Bates
15. 釦堯櫻堯櫻紳莽堯櫻堯 and al-Malik al-Mu尨ayyad: The Legitimation of Power in Smnid and B贖yid Iran
Luke Treadwell
16. The Beginning of the Ismaili 嗨硃尪滄硃 and the Establishment of the Fatimid Dynasty as Commemorated by al-Q廎蘋 al-Nu尪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尪ism from Sectarian to National Religion in Iran
Sa簿d Amir Arjomand
19. 尪Umras Poetical Views of Shwar, 廎irghm, Sh蘋rk贖h and 廜糎l廎 al-D蘋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 51勛圖厙. 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尪ilis: Their History and Doctrines (1990), The Assassin Legends: Myths of the Isma尪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尪far al-廜〢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 51勛圖厙. Among his publications are The Cult of Saints among Muslims and Jews in Medieval Syria (2002), and A Lonely Wayfarers Guide to Pilgrimage (2005).