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Middle East Archive
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Neonatal care and breastfeeding in medieval Persian literature
Posted on June 18, 2013 | No CommentsThe present article is a review of the Jorjani’s teachings on the neonatal care, breastfeeding, weaning and teething along with comparisons between the Treasure and modern medicine in this regard. -
How to be a party-crasher in the Middle Ages
Posted on June 9, 2013 | No CommentsI'm the one who saved you the trouble of sending an invitation! -
Medieval Astrology and The Buke of the Sevyne Sagis
Posted on April 20, 2013 | No CommentsIt is useful to begin by comparing the way the sages are initially described to the Emperor in the Latin, Middle English, and Middle Scots texts. Although the Middle Scots text is not connected to the English ones, they serve as a useful backdrop to illustrate the singular nature of the Scottish version of the story. -
The Battle of Yarmuk
Posted on April 8, 2013 | No CommentsOn August 20, 636 AD, a battle was fought in Syria between the Roman army and a Saracen force made up of allied Arab tribes which during the previous decade had been converted to the new monotheistic religion of the prophet Mohammed. -
Christian reactions to Muslim conquests (1st-3rd centuries AH; 7th-9th centuries AD)
Posted on April 7, 2013 | No CommentsWe in fact find a great diversity of reactions to Muslim expansion from Christian authors, depending on their particular circumstances and point of view -
Sleep paralysis in medieval Persia – the Hidayat of Akhawayni
Posted on March 25, 2013 | No CommentsSleep paralysis, a rapid eye movement (REM) parasomnia, is characterized by a period of inability to perform voluntary movements at sleep onset (hypnagogic form) or upon awakening (hypnopompic form). -
Al-Maqrizi and the Fatimids
Posted on March 3, 2013 | No CommentsThere are other less dramatic examples. Only a small section of the massive history by al-Musabbih ̋| (d. 420/1029)2 has been recovered and it is now in the Escorial. On the title page of that manuscript is the signature of al-Maqr|z|, indicating apparently that he once possessed and/or used it. -
Notes on a private library in fourth/tenth-century Baghdad
Posted on March 3, 2013 | No CommentsStudies on medieval Arabic bibliophilia have mainly focussed on public and semi-public institutions, for some of which we have detailed information. Less is known about private libraries and their physical arrangement. This paper looks at the library of Abū Bakr al-Ṣūlī (d. 335/947), which is described by the sources in unique terms, contextualising it with al-Ṣūlī’s own words on collecting and organizing books. -
To Be A Prince In The Fourth/Tenth-Century Abbasid Court
Posted on February 24, 2013 | No CommentsThis paper explores one aspect of the personal world that constituted the fourth/ tenth century caliphal court by focusing on the life and career of the Abbasid prince Abu al-ʿAbbas, eldest son of the caliph al-Muqtadir (AH 295–320/CE 908–932). -
How the Medieval World Adapted to Rise of Islam
Posted on January 2, 2013 | No CommentsHistorian from the University of Cincinnati examines how border areas and frontiers of the past adapted to major political, cultural and social shifts, specifically in terms of the rise of Islam in Asia and the Middle East. -
The Effects of the Muslim Conquest on the Persian Population of Iraq
Posted on December 30, 2012 | No CommentsThe Muslim conquest was responsible for changes in the distribution of Persians in Iraq wrought by the combined effects of death, captivity, defection, and migration. -
Confronting the Caliph: ‘Uthmân b. ‘Affân in Three ‘Abbasid Chronicles
Posted on December 16, 2012 | No CommentsUntil relatively recently medieval Islamic chroniclers were viewed by modern historians in much the same way that Muslims view Muhammad – as transmitter rather than author. -
Scourges of God: A General Comparison of Tamerlane and Hulagu in the History of Baghdad
Posted on December 11, 2012 | No CommentsThe sacking of Baghdad earned both Hulagu and Tamerlane the epithet 'scourge of God', though it will be shown that Hulagu‟s reputation has suffered more, acting as the scapegoat for later failings of Muslim empires. -
The Indigenous Christians of the Arabic Middle East in an Age of Crusaders, Mongols, and Mamlūks (1244-1366)
Posted on December 2, 2012 | No CommentsThe chronological period of study is highlighted by the usurpation of the Ayyūbid-ruled Sultanate by the Baḥrī Mamlūks, while the two most important political-military events in the region were the collapse of the Crusader States and the invasion of the Mongols. This thesis will examine how events impacted on the nine Christian Confessions, treating each separately. -
A Tale of two cities and the Abbasid Caliphate 132- 656 / 750 – 1258
Posted on December 1, 2012 | No CommentsExamining the role of Baghdad in the development of the Abbasid Caliphate. -
Singing Slave Girls (qiyan) of the Abbasid Court in the Ninth and Tenth Centuries
Posted on November 25, 2012 | No CommentsThe category of slave in the Middle East encompassed a number of different duties and positions: eunuch, chattel, domestic servant, sexual subject, infantryman, concubine, entertainer, laborer, and sometimes a trusted and valued member of the household. -
The Evolution of the Saladin Legend in the West
Posted on November 18, 2012 | No CommentsWilliam of Tyreʼs account of the history of the Crusades stops suddenly in 1184. As he lays down his pen he is in despair at the inevitable outcome which he foresees for the struggle with Saladin. It was fortunate for him that he did not live to see the triumph of Saladin at Hattin and Jerusalem. Williamʼs judgement of Saladin, there- fore, is one of fear and admiration but he is also able to criticize his faults, especially his ruthless ambition. -
Salutare Animas Nostras: The Ideologies Behind the Foundation of the Templars
Posted on November 18, 2012 | No CommentsThe meteoric rise of the Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and the Temple of Solomon (more commonly known as the Knights Templar) and their equally swift fall has fueled fanciful tales and scholarly research. The order promoted their mythological origins and the extreme charges leveled against them by Philip IV of France (1285-1314) created an atmosphere of speculation. -
Archaeometry of medieval Islamic glazed ceramics from North Yemen
Posted on November 8, 2012 | No CommentsThe Yemen Archaeological Project is concerned with the history and culture of a medieval Islamic university town, Zabid, and its interaction with neighboring settlements and the outside world, from A.D. 700 to 1750. -
Rhazes: A Pioneer in Clinical Observation
Posted on October 30, 2012 | No CommentsRhazes challenged accepted medical beliefs through his skepticism of certain Galenic practices, his definition of small pox and measles, and his perceptive research through clinical investigation, resulting in substantial improvements in medical beliefs and practice. -
Light through the dark ages: The Arabist contribution to Western ophthalmology
Posted on October 28, 2012 | No CommentsBecause blindness was a major cause of morbidity in the medieval Arab world, as is the case in the developing world today, Arabist physicians developed much exposure to ophthalmological conditions, and nearly every major medical work written at the time had a chapter on diseases of the eye. -
Religion, Warfare and Business in Fifteenth Century Rhodes
Posted on October 25, 2012 | No CommentsHow did a military-monastic order manage the resources of an island commercially asimportant as that of Rhodes while overcoming the limitations due to its patrimonial struc-tureto cover their defensive needs? In this essay weattempt to answer this question interms of practice and in the light of relationsthatthe Knights maintained with two distinctgroups of merchants: the Catalan-Aragonese and the Florentines. -
Byzantium and the Arabs from the VIIth to XIth Century
Posted on October 22, 2012 | No CommentsDuring the seventh and the eighth centuries, the Arabs built their own empire within the eastern and western boundaries of the Byzantine Empire, obliging the two powers to coexist through war and in peace. How did they live together, or near each other? -
Irrigation and taxation in Iraq 6th to 10th Century
Posted on October 20, 2012 | No CommentsWater management was crucial for agriculture in Iraq. The delicate ecological balance that allowed high soil productivity could be seriously threatened by irresponsible land administration. -
The fabric of society: The organization of textile manufacturing in the Middle East and Europe, c. 700 – c. 1500
Posted on October 7, 2012 | No CommentsIn recent years several attempts have been made to use institutional theory to explain this divergence between the Middle East and Europe. Most of these attempts focus on the organization of international trade.