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.

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.

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 1, The establishment of the ʿAbbāsid state---Incubation of a revolt, describes the clandestine activity of the movement that began after the collapse of al-Mukhtār's venture. It describes the methods, ideology, and system of activity which the members of the movement followed in order to prepare the hearts and minds and create the wide popular support for its goals. The mechanism of the incubation of this revolt is a fascinating story, describing in detail the development of a pure Shīʿī movement, the Hāshimiyya, into an ʿAbbāsī propaganda machine which prepared the revolt.

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.

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.

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.