Imagining Islam: The Role of Images in Medieval Depictions of Muslims
Instead, one finds accurate, even rather compassionate accounts of Islamic theology side by side with bizarre, antagonistic, and even hateful depictions of Muslims and their belief.
Women’s role in politics in the medieval Muslim world
The objective of this paper will be to demonstrate in what ways medieval women (the upper-class women) of the Middle East made themselves visible and wielded influence or power over affairs of the state.
The First Arab Siege of Constantinople
The details of the siege remain, however, shrouded in mystery: its exact dates (670–7 or 674–8?) and length (4 or 7 years?) are a matter of controversy; it is disputed whether the Arabs subjected Constantinople to a regular siege or only to a naval blockade; and the overall logic of events is far from clear.
Islamophobia, the First Crusade and the Expansion of Christendom to Islamic World
Through the description of the First Crusade, mostly from the Western sources, this paper is intended to show that it was the Pope who systematically sown the seeds of Islamophobia among Western Christians so that they will realise his vision of expanding his Imperial Christendom to the Islamic World.
The Morality of Misogyny: The Case of Rustico Filippi, Vituperator of Women
At the outset of his influential study on Rabelais, Mikhail Bakhtin makes an interesting observation. The scholar dedicates several pages to detail how the French author’s critical reception changed over time. Bakhtin illustrates how the attempt to comprehend an author can frequently be stymied by the cultural changes that occur across the centuries.
A Treasury of Virtues – Sayings of the Caliph ‘Ali
‘Ali ibn Abi Talib (d. 40 H/661 AD) was one of the most important figures in early Islamic history.
Early copy of the Qur’an discovered
Researchers in Germany have discovered that a manuscript of Qur’an written between 20 and 40 years after the Prophet Muhammad’s death, making it one of the earliest copies of the Islamic holy book known to be in existence.
Intellectual Cartographic Spaces: Alfonso X, the Wise and the Foundation of the Studium Generale of Seville
This dissertation, “Intellectual Cartographic Spaces: Alfonso X, the Wise and the Foundations of the Studium Generale of Seville,” I reevaluate Spain’s medieval history, specifically focusing on the role of Alfonso X and his court in the development of institutions of higher education in thirteenth-century Andalusia.
Chingiz Khan: Maker of the Islamic World
For centuries Chingiz Khān has been a symbol of barbaric mayhem and murderous plunder, and the unifier of the Turco-Mongol Eurasian tribes has been presented as the archetypal embodiment of evil, a threat to the sedentary civilised world, and the stereotypical steppe marauder.
The Perils of Polygamy in 15th century Cairo
Under medieval Islamic law, a man could marry up to four women. However, if accounts from 15th century Egypt are indicative, it would be rare for such an arrangement to work out for all parties.
Dental and oral diseases in Medieval Persia, lessons from Hedayat Akhawayni
Persian physicians had a great role in assimilation and expansion of medical sciences during the medieval period and Islamic golden age.
Medicine and surgery in the Livre des Assises de la Cour des Bourgeois de Jérusalem
The Livre des Assises, written in the thirteenth century in Acre, not only provides insights into the practice of medicine and surgery in the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem, but also suggests that the licensing and regulation of doctors reflected contemporary Islamic practice.
Banditry and the Clash of Powers in 14th-Century Thrace: Momcilo and his Fragmented Memory
In the 14th century, a time of civil wars, religious and dynastic strifes, epidemics, natural disasters and miserable living conditions for the wider strata in the cities and the countryside that increased migratory movements, banditry, an indigenous phenomenon in the Balkan mountainous regions, intermingled with the intensified political struggles.
Rome, New Rome and Baghdad: Pathways of Late Antiquity
What I propose to do in this lecture is to discuss some salient features of Late Antiquity as a category in historical studies and then move on to the theme of Islam in Late Antiquity
Race, Periodicity, and the (Neo-) Middle Ages
My goal is to intervene in ongoing discussions of race and periodicity, particularly vis-à-vis medieval culture, in order to investigate the informing role of the medieval and more particularly of medievalisms in the construction, representation, and perpetuation of modern racisms.
Nicolette : action transvestite, or, who and what is the heroine of Aucassin et Nicolette?
In this paper, I will show how Nicolette is constantly, deliberately, changing, in appearance and identity, from the beginning of the story, and how she is thus Izzard’s action transvestite.
A Mongol Princess Making hajj: The Biography of El Qutlugh Daughter of Abagha Ilkhan (r. 1265–82)
his study examines in detail the biographical entry of an Ilkhanid (the Mongol state centred in Iran) princess, El Qutlugh Khatun daughter of Abagha Ilkhan (r. 1265–82), in the biographical dictionaries of the Mamluk author Khalil b. Aybeg al-Safadi (d. 1363)
‘That melodious linguist’: Birds in Medieval Christian and Islamic Cosmography
“Birds,” writes Albertus Magnus, “generally call more than other animals. This is due to the lightness of their spirits.”
The Muslim Conquest of Byzantine Palestina – Monstrous Invasion or Peaceful Occupation?
The Persian and Muslim invasions of Palestina brought with them large-scale changes to the whole region
Kissing Cousins: Incest and Sex Change in Tristan de Nanteuil
In this paper I re-examine Blanchandine‘s sex change in light of its relation to the issue of incest; as I will show, incest is directly related to the sex change and also punctuates the narrative at other points. Tristan de Nanteuil depicts two sexual and/or romantic relationships between cousins…
Sword and Shield of God: Byzantine Strategy and Tactics Under Heraclius During the Last Persian War and First Arab War
Only Heraclius could have wielded these forces effectively against his foes to achieve victory; with any other Byzantine commander these revolutionary tactics would have been monumentally difficult if not unworkable.
BOOK REVIEW: “Defending the City of God” : A Medieval Queen, the First Crusades, and the Quest for Peace in Jerusalem, by Sharan Newman
This is my review of Sharan Newman’s latest book, Defending the City of God: A Medieval Queen, the First Crusades, and the Quest for Peace in Jerusalem.
Was a Woman the first editor of the Qur’an?
A recent study suggests that Hafsa bint ‘Umar, one of the wives of the Prophet Muhammad, had a crucial role in editing and codifying the Qur’an and was likely the one of the first people to have kept a written version of the religious text.
The death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus in medieval Christian anti-Muslim religious polemics
Christians and Muslims argued, of course, and continue to argue about key issues of theology such as the nature of God (i.e., Trinity), revelation, the incarnation and divinity of Jesus, scripture, and the role of prophecy
Enemies of the Faith: Western Christian Views of Jews and Muslims in the Middle Ages
When we deal with this kind of question it is easy to simply fall into the trap of regarding Muslims and Jews as simply others in the views of Western Europeans. But if you look at things more closely you realize that Western European Christians viewed Muslims and Jews rather differently