A TRAVELLER IN THIRTEENTH-CENTURY ARABIA by Professor G. Rex Smith (Editor) ( 9780904180916 )

Item Details

Title:

A TRAVELLER IN THIRTEENTH-CENTURY ARABIA
IBN AL-MUJAWIR'S TARIKH AL-MUSTABSIR

By:

Professor G. Rex Smith (Editor)

Format:

Hardback

List price:

£135.00

Our price:

£121.50

Discount:

10% off

You save:

£13.50

ISBN 10:

0904180913

ISBN 13:

9780904180916

Availability:

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Stock:

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Publisher:

TAYLOR & FRANCIS LTD

Pub. date:

28 March, 2008

Series:

Hakluyt Society Third Series v. 19

Pages:

362

Description:

An English translation of the "Tarikh al-Mustabsir", written in the early quarter of the thirteenth century by Ibn al-Mujawir. This text is an account of the western and southern areas of the Arabian Peninsula by a man from the east of the Islamic world, probably from Khurasan in Iran.

Synopsis:

This is the first English translation of the Tarikh al-Mustabsir, written in the early quarter of the thirteenth century by Ibn al-Mujawir. The text is a fascinating account of the western and southern areas of the Arabian Peninsula by a man from the east of the Islamic world, probably from Khurasan in Iran. Ibn al-Mujawir was a man who in all probability followed the age-old Islamic practice of making the pilgrimage to Mecca and thereafter travelling in the area to further his business interests. His route began in Mecca and essentially ran south through the Red Sea coastal plain, Tihamah, down into the Yemen and along the southern coast of the peninsula. He paused long in Aden, where he observed closely the activities of the port to report at some length on its administration, its taxes, its markets, its currency, its weights and measures, and the like. His route then continued along the southern coast of Arabia into the Gulf, and he presumably returned home to the east via Iraq. The author is a wonderful observer of people: their buildings, their dress, their customs, their agriculture, their food and their history.This book is a unique source for the social and economic history of thirteenth-century south Arabia, written with a humour and wit otherwise unknown in the writings of medieval Islam. The text is of major linguistic importance too, written as it is in a far from classical Arabic. This translation is fully annotated with an introduction, appendices, glossary and full index, and contains maps and illustrations.

Illustrations:

Includes 15 b&w illustrations, plans and maps

Publication:

Imprint:

Hakluyt Society

Returns:

Returnable

Some other items by this author:

A BRIEF INTRODUCTION TO THE ARABIC ALPHABET

A MEDIEVAL ADMINISTRATIVE AND FISCAL TREATISE FROM THE YEMEN (PB)

A TRAVELLER IN THIRTEENTH-CENTURY ARABIA

A TRAVELLER IN THIRTEENTH-CENTURY ARABIA / IBN AL-MUJAWIR'S TARIKH AL-MUSTABSIR