Religion, Learning and Science in the 'Abbasid Period

Writings in learned subjects from the period eighth to thirteenth centuries, AD.

M. J. L. Young (Edited by), J. D. Latham (Edited by), R. B. Serjeant (Edited by)

9780521028875, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 2 November 2006

612 pages, 10 b/w illus. 2 maps
22.9 x 15 x 3.5 cm, 0.889 kg

The five centuries of the 'Abbasid period (eighth to thirteenth centuries AD) were the golden age of Arabic literature. They saw the appearance not only of poetry and belles-lettres (which are covered in a previous volume), but also of an extensive body of writings concerned with subjects ranging from theology and law to history and the natural sciences. This volume of The Cambridge History of Arabic Literature surveys the most important of these writings, including the literature of Sunnism and Shi'ism, Arabic philosophy, Sufism, Islamic law, grammar, lexicography, administration, historiography, mathematics, astronomy, astrology, geography, alchemy and medicine. It contains separate chapters on six of the greatest scholars of the Middle Ages, as well as on the Arabic literature of the Christians and Jews who lived under the rule of the 'Abbasid caliphate, and includes a study of one of the great cultural movements of the period, the translations from Greek into Arabic.

List of plates
Editorial preface
List of abbreviations
Map
1. Sunni theology Salvador Gómez Nogales
2. Shi'i theological literature I. K. A. Howard
3. Ibadi theological literature J. C. Wilkinson
4. Quranic exegesis John Burton
5. The prose literature of Sufism Caesar E. Farah
6. Philosophical literature Muhsin Mahdi
7. Arabic lexicography M. G. Carter
8. Arabic grammar M. G. Carter
9. Islamic legal literature P. W. Baker and I. D. Edge
10. Administrative literature C. E. Bosworth
11. Arabic biographical writing M. J. L. Young
12. History and historians Claude Cahen
13. Fatimid history and historians Abbas Hamdani
14. Mathematics and applied science Donald R. Hill
15. Astronomy David A. King
16. Astrology David Pingree
17. Geographical and navigational literature J. F. P. Hopkins
18. The literature of Arabic alchemy Donald R. Hill
19. Arabic medical literature Haskell D. Isaacs
20. Al-Kindi Fritz W. Zimmerman
21. Al-Razi Albert Z. Iskandar
22. Al-Farabi Alfred L. Ivry
23. Ibn Sina Salvador Gómez Nogales
24. Al-Biruni and the sciences of his time George Saliba
25. Al-Ghazali Adib Nayif Diyab
26. Christian Arabic literature in the 'Abbasid period Samir Khalil Samir, SJ
27. Judaeo-Arabic literature Paul B. Fenton
28. The translation of Greek materials into Arabic L. E. Goodman
29. Didactic verse Safa' Khulusi
Glossary
Bibliography
Index.

Subject Areas: Literary studies: classical, early & medieval [DSBB]