{"product_id":"the-excellence-of-the-arabs-hardback-9781479809578","title":"The Excellence of the Arabs (Hardback) 9781479809578","description":"\u003cfont face=\"Georgia\"\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"6\"\u003eThe Excellence of the Arabs\u003c\/font\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"4\"\u003eIbn Qutaybah (Author), Sarah Bowen Savant (Translated by), Peter Webb (Translated by), James E. Montgomery (Edited by), Peter Webb (Edited by)\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e9781479809578\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003eHardback, published 4 April 2017\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e400 pages\u003cbr\u003e22.9 x 15.2 x 2.7 cm, 0.635 kg\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003cp align=\"justify\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e\"Ibn Qutayba's extraordinary erudition and literary skill are now on view in the LAL Arabic edition and translation at hand, \u003ci\u003eThe Excellence of the Arabs . . . \u003c\/i\u003eThe English translation is a page-turner. The Arabic is difficult, but the translators' command is apparent in how they avoid the complex syntax, verbosity, and numerous repetitions that are characteristic of Classical Arabic. The judiciousness of the series' decision to opt for English felicity over a more literal English rendering of the Arabic provides the reader with a genuine grasp of what Ibn Qutayba is really saying. All involved are to be congratulated!\" (Journal of the American Oriental Society) \"Enriches the Library of Arabic Literature and the growing corpus of translations of books from Arabic into English . . . A true delight to read.\" (Reading Religion) \"[A] clear and lively translation.\" (Al-Ahram Weekly) \"An excellent example of the narrative sources available to historians of West Asian late antiquity and early Islam.\" (Speculum)\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp align=\"justify\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Excellence of the Arabs\u003c\/i\u003e is a spirited defense of Arab identity—its merits, values, and origins—at a time of political unrest and fragmentation, written by one of the most important scholars of the early Abbasid era.\u003cbr\u003e In the cosmopolitan milieu of Baghdad, the social prestige attached to claims of being Arab had begun to decline. Although his own family originally hailed from Merv in the east, Ibn Qutaybah locks horns with those members of his society who belittled Arabness and vaunted the glories of Persian heritage and culture. Instead, he upholds the status of Arabs and their heritage in the face of criticism and uncertainty.\u003cbr\u003e \u003ci\u003eThe Excellence of the Arabs\u003c\/i\u003e is in two parts. In the first, Arab Preeminence, which takes the form of an extended argument for Arab privilege, Ibn Qutaybah accuses his opponents of blasphemous envy. In the second, The Excellence of Arab Learning, he describes the fields of knowledge in which he believed pre-Islamic Arabians excelled, including knowledge of the stars, divination, horse husbandry, and poetry. And by incorporating extensive excerpts from the poetic heritage—\"the archive of the Arabs\"—Ibn Qutaybah aims to demonstrate that poetry is itself sufficient corroboration of Arab superiority.\u003cbr\u003e Eloquent and forceful, \u003ci\u003eThe Excellence of the Arabs\u003c\/i\u003e addresses a central question at a time of great social flux at the dawn of classical Muslim civilization: what did it mean to be Arab?\u003cbr\u003e A bilingual Arabic-English edition.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003c\/font\u003e","brand":"NYU Press","offers":[{"title":"Brand New","offer_id":52653110984984,"sku":"9781479809578","price":34.27,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"url":"https:\/\/freshlyprintedbooks.co.uk\/products\/the-excellence-of-the-arabs-hardback-9781479809578","provider":"Freshly Printed Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}