A new critical edition of ʿAbd al-Raḥmān al-Jabartī's magnum opus ʿAjāʾib al-Āthār fī ’l-Tarājim wa-’l-Akhbār, which covers the history of Egypt from 1688 to 1821.

ʿAbd al-Raḥman al-Jabartī (1753–1825) is the most important historian of late Ottoman Egypt. His Marvelous Chronicles: Biographies and Events (ʿAjāʾib al-Āthār fī ʼl-Tarājim wa-ʼl-Akhbār) covers the history of Egypt from 1688 to 1821, a period which includes Napoleon’s invasion and the French occupation of the country (1798–1801). The historical narrative is combined with numerous biographies, and throughout the entire work the author demonstrates his wide knowledge of both Islamic learning (al-ʿulūm al-naqliyya) and of the new secular sciences (al-ʿulūm al-ʿaqliyya). Al-Jabartī was well aware of the significance of the French invasion, which marked the beginning of modern European incursions into the Middle East, and was much concerned to preserve the dominance of Islamic values at a time when they were threatened by the decline in the status of the ʿulamāʾ and by the military weakness of the Ottoman Empire.

The Būlāq edition of the ʿAjāʾib (1880), which has been the most widely used so far, is based on manuscripts copied after the author’s death in 1825. The copyists of these manuscripts took liberties with the author’s style and grammar in order to make them compatible with the rules of classical Arabic. They also changed toponyms and official titles in order to bring them in line with the usage introduced after Muḥammad ʿAlī’s invasion in 1801. The later editions published in Cairo and Beirut are merely copies of the Būlāq edition.

The present edition, prepared by Shmuel Moreh of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, is the first to offer a critical text. It is based on the autograph manuscript preserved in the Cambridge University Library. Moreh collated the autograph with the MSS of al-Jabartī’s two short histories of the French occupation of Egypt, Muddat al-Faransīs bi-Miṣr and Maẓhar al-taqdīs bi-dhahāb dawlat al-Faransīs. He also collated it with a number of other manuscripts of the ʿAjāʾib, paying particular attention to the MSS which had been copied under al-Jabartī’s own supervision. Al-Jabartī checked these copies himself, writing his corrections on the margins. Especially noteworthy is a manuscript in Maghribī script which was checked by the author and belonged to his friend Ḥasan al-ʿAṭṭar. Al-ʿAṭṭar took this MS with him on his travels, adding a variety of materials, some inspired by al-Jabartī himself. Al-ʿAṭṭar’s material has been used in the present edition. Moreh has restored as far as possible the original grammatical usage and style of al-Jabartī, and his text includes passages omitted from the Būlāq edition. The readings given on the margins of the present edition indicate the revisions that al-Jabartī made to his opus magnum as a result of changing political circumstances in Egypt.

Suliman Bashear (1947-1991) was born in the northern Israeli village of Mghar. He studied at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem for his B.A. (1971) and M.A. (1973). In 1976, he received his Ph.D. at the University of London for his dissertation "Communism in the Arab East," which was published both in Arabic and English.

This collection includes 15 critical and incisive studies by Bashear on various issues in the early Islamic tradition. One of the main themes running throughout these works is the gradual development of Islamic ritual and religious belief from within the historical context of Judaism and Christianity into a spiritual system seemingly rooted solely in the Hijaz. Bashear's studies consider not only the development of religious customs and beliefs, but also seek to explain how later generations recast the past in order to meet the needs of their own era.

In the “Introduction”, Lawrence I. Conrad highlights the major themes in Bashear's works and describes his unique and stormy academic career, cut short by his untimely death at the age of 44.

Pessah Shinar (1914-2013) was Professor Emeritus of Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies at the Hebrew University ofJerusalem. For more than forty years, Prof.Shinar has been engaged in the study of Islam in the Maghrib.The presentvolume includes sixteen articles dealing with the modern history of the region, itsreligion and civilization. In addition to other topics, the articles deal with the Muslimreform movements in the 20th century, with the personalities of ʿAbd al-Qādir and ʿAbd al-Krīm, with the Ṣūfī movement in the modern Maghrib, with Jewish-Muslimrelations, and with the significance of various colors in the North African Muslim and Jewish civilizations.

In the present Handbook of Early Middle Arabic, Professor Joshua Blau of  the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, the undisputed dean of the study of Middle Arabic, presents a reliable and up-to-date survey, comprehensive yet concise, of the whole field.

The Handbook contains a grammatical outline of Middle Arabic structure, annotated examples of the main Middle Arabic varieties and a glossary of all words occurring in the book.

An important feature of the book is the variety of texts presented. These cover (a) Muslim, (b) Christian and (c) Jewish Middle Arabic, each represented by typical or noteworthy examples, some of them published here for the first time. Particularly significant are the Jewish texts, Rabbanite and Karaite, which have been transmitted in different orthographical modes. Standard Judaeo-Arabic orthography is represented by samples from Saadia Gaon, Qirqisānī and David b. Abraham al-Fāsī. Linguistically more revealing are Judaeo-Arabic writings in the earlier phonetic orthography; these are exemplified in the Handbook by selected texts on papyrus, by specimens of a translation of Halakhot Pesuqot and a translation of the Biblical  book of Proverbs. In the Appendix, two examples of vocalized Middle Arabic are given: one written in Coptic characters, the other a Judaeo-Arabic letter from the Cairo Geniza.

Professor Blau's Handbook will enable all Arabists to gain immediate access to the world of Middle Arabic, guided in their journey by the leading authority in the field.  On the one hand, scholars familiar only with the classical, literary tongue will be able to see in what directions the language subsequently developed; on the other hand, Arabic dialectologists will be afforded a valuable glimpse into the history of modern colloquial forms. The Handbook will thus be a valuable tool for all who are concerned with the history of the Arabic tongue.

An important feature of the book is the variety of texts presented. These cover (a) Muslim, (b)  Christian and  (c) Jewish  Middle  Arabic,  each  represented by typical or noteworthy examples, some of them published  here for  the first time. Particularly significant are the Jewish texts, Rabbanite and Karaite, which have been transmitted in different orthographical modes. Standard Judaeo-Arabic orthography is represented by samples from Saadia Gaon, Qirqisānī and David b. Abraham al-Fāsī. Linguistically more revealing are Judaeo-Arabic writings in the earlier phonetic orthography; these are exemplified in the Handbook  by selected texts on papyrus, by specimens of a translation  of Halakhot Pesuqot and a translation of the Biblical  book of Proverbs. In the Appendix, two examples of vocalized Middle Arabic are given: one written in Coptic characters, the other a Judaeo-Arabic letter from the Cairo Geniza.

Pre-Islamic Arabic poetry is one of the greatest cultural achievements of the Arabs in the early period of their history. For several centuries it was considered the only model of poetic perfection. It is the earliest literary corpus in classical Arabic and a major part of Arab cultural heritage.

The present volume consists of a concordance of al-ʿIqd al-Thamīn fī Dawawīn al-Shuʿarāʾ al-Sitta al-Jāhiliyyīn, in the edition of William Ahlwardt. It also contains a preface in Arabic and English, a new critical edition with numerous emendations of Ahlwardt's text, and a full concordance of the poetry of Imrūʾ al-Qays, Zuhayr b. Abī Sulma, Ṭarafa b. al-ʿAbd, ʿAlqama b. ʿAbada al-Faḥl, ʿAntara b. Shaddād, al-Nābigha al-Dhubyāni and a few poems by four minor poets. The book holds almost 1,400 pages and contains more than 33,000 entries.

The concordance is an essential tool for the study of classical Arabic poetry and for the study of classical Arabic in general. In addition to the concordance of nouns, verbs, and particles, it includes separate sections on proper names, geographical names, names of horses and camels.

The articles collected in this volume form a contribution to the study of Arabic linguistics. Most of them deal with Arabic medieval grammatical thought and terminology and are based on the oldest grammatical treatises known to us, especially Sībawayhi's al-Kitāb. The study of these two topics is interrelated, since the understanding of Arabic grammatical thought depends on the understanding of its terminology and vice versa.

This book is a major resource for the study of Socrates as seen by the Muslim tradition. The characteristics attributed to him in Islamic thought are mainly in the realm of ethics. His wisdom was recorded in medieval Muslim literature in the form of sayings or descriptions of behavior, in a style reminiscent of prophetic traditions (ḥadīth) in Islam. The Arab Socrates is thus different from thinkers such as Plato or Aristotle, who were seen as systematic philosophers; this difference is probably due to the fact that some of their writings had been translated into Arabic.

Among the more important issues in the legacy of the Arab Socrates (who was sometimes confused with Diogenes) was his encounter with the king and his trial and death; his views on God; life and death; speech and silence, and on wisdom and stupidity.

The book contains approximately 900 items of information culled from various philosophical, historical, literary and theological sources in Arabic. The material is organized in two sections: biography and teachings. The Arabic text is accompanied by an English translation, copious footnotes, indices and a detailed critical apparatus. The book complements a previous study by the author, Socrates in medieval literature, published by the Magnes Press and Brill in 1991.

In this part of his Ansāb al-ashrāf, the Arab historian al-Balādhurī (d. 892) deals with the career of the Umayyad caliph Hishām b. ʿAbd al-Malik (724-743). He recounts the main developments of Hishām's reign such as the revolts of the Khawārij in ʿIrāq, and pays particular attention to the events which took place there during the governorships of Khālid al-Qasrī and Yūsuf b. ʿUmar. Nonetheless, he does not neglect the history of the other provinces of the empire. Al-Balādhurī's account of historical events is interspersed with anecdotes and poems, illustrating various social and economic aspects of this period in Umayyad history.

In his Introduction, in Arabic and English, the editor discusses the reception of al-Balādhurī's work by enumerating the numerous later historians who quoted him. In contradistinction to other scholars, he substantiates the view that al-Balādhurī employed a critical approach to his material.

The edition is based on two manuscripts and includes a double critical apparatus which includes variants in the manuscripts, and references to other historical sources which deal with the contents of this volume. Indices of proper names, place names, verses of poetry, Qurʾānic verses and prophetic traditions conclude the volume.

Hebrew and Arabic Studies In honor of Joshua Blau (in Hebrew)

Prof. Joshua Blau (b. 1919) is Professor Emeritus of the Department of Arabic Language and Literature at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, the third President of the Academy of the Hebrew Language, a Corresponding Fellow of the British Academy, a member of the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities, winner of the Rothschild Prize (1992) and the Israel Prize (1985). Prof. Blau studied the Middle Arabic dialects (mainly Judeo-Arabic) and various problems in Semitic Linguistics (mainly the development of Biblical Hebrew).

Black banners from the East tells the story of the first revolution in Islam which caused not merely the change of dynasties, but the end of the formative period of Islamic civilization. It is the story of a messianic movement striving and succeeding in establishing the throne of its Caliph-Messiah. The two volumes of Black banners from the East describe the two stages of the revolution from its early Shīʿī roots to the major military victories over the Umayyad army and the establishment of the ʿAbbāsī state. While the two volumes form a coherent study, each one of them is independent and can be read on its own.

Volume 2, Revolt---the social and military aspects of the ʿAbbāsid revolution, deals with the revolt itself and with it social and military aspects. It describes the rather short but decisive phase of the change that an ideological movement undergoes in order to be able to achieve its political Goal - capturing the government. The book follows step by step the emergence of the Hāshimiyyah-ʿAbbāsiyyah from hiding into the open political and military arena, under the leadership of Abū Muslim,  the character of the army it created, its social origins, its structure and the institutions which supported it. The success of the ʿAbbāsī movement relied completely on the special features of this military power whose creation revolutionized, as a by-product, the whole military system in Islam.

This is the first attempt to study an Arabian tribe in monograph form. The book is a history of the Banū Sulaym during the transition period from Jāhiliyya to Islam. It focuses on Sulaym’s links with the Prophet Muḥammad and with the people of Mecca and Medina. The book expands the rather meager evidence found about them in Islamic historiography by exploring other types of literature, such as geography, genealogy and biography. It contributes to a better understanding of the Arabian environment in which Islam emerged.

This book is devoted to the social and economic history of the western Anatolian city of Bursa in the 17^th century. During this period, Bursa was a major Middle Eastern center. The study examines the economic activity of the city (commerce, crafts and banking) and attempts to evaluate the role of the waqf in this sphere. The author has based himself primarily on legal documents preserved in the city’s archives.

A major concern of this book is whether a decline occurred in the Ottoman Empire at this time. The author concludes that this is primarily true for the end of the century, but that this decline was cyclical rather than long-term. The author also points out that the gap between East and West was not as great as is often assumed.

This anthology is designed as an introduction to the study of Judaeo-Arabic from the cultural, philosophical and linguistic point of view. Judaeo-Arabic texts are written in Middle Arabic, a language which includes Classical Arabic, Neo-Arabic and pseudo-correct elements. For students of Arabic linguistics, it is the Neo-Arabic elements in Judaeo-Arabic which are of special importance. These Neo-Arabic elements constitute the missing link between Old Arabic and the modern dialects .

The anthology includes selections from the major works written in Judaeo-Arabic, such as the Arabic translation of the Old Testament by Saadya Gaon. Karaite literature is represented by passages from Abū Yūsuf Yaʿqūb b. Isḥāq al-Qirqisānī, from the lexicographical work by David b. Abraham al-Fāsī and from the Commentary on the book of Job by Yefet b. ʿAlī. Maimonides is represented, among other works, by selections from The Guide of the Perplexed. A chapter from Judah ha-Levi’s Kuzari is also included. All selections are in the Hebrew script and are provided with a critical apparatus and references to J. Blau’s Grammar of Mediaeval Judaeo-Arabic.

Ibn Abī Dunyā, the prolific author, traditionist and compiler of adab works lived in Baghdad in the ninth century CE. The original Arabic text of his "Condemnation of the world" (Kitāb dhamm al-dunyā) is published here for the first time from three manuscripts. The book contains edifying traditions, anecdotes, parables, dreams, visions and verses of poetry, all around the broad topic of Muslim asceticism (zuhd).

In her introduction, the editor provides a brief biography of the author who served as tutor to several ʿAbbāsī princes. She points out that while Ibn Abī Dunyā's works abound in passages extolling asceticism, he was not addressing an esoteric circle of ascetics, but rather aimed at improving the society at large. His purpose was to serve as a bulwark against the moral deterioration of society which was not averse to the pleasures of the world.

The edition includes a critical apparatus of variant readings in the manuscripts, as well as copious references to parallel passages in other sources and details about personalities mentioned in the text. There is also an extensive bibliography and indices.

Al-aḥādīth al-ḥisān fī faḍl al-ṭaylasān ("The beautiful traditions about the merits of the ṭaylasān") is a book concerned with Muslim attire. The author draws his material from the prophetic traditions, from the books of law, from Qurʾānic exegesis and from books of history. However, the book has significance for other fields as well. It reflects the various trends of thought in the Mamlūk period and the struggle between the various schools of law. These struggles seem to have revolved around questions related to the administration of the religious endowments (waqf).

The present edition of the Arabic text is based on four manuscripts. The editor has provided an introduction (in French) in which he discusses the contents and the significance of the Aḥādīth.