UPDATE: Following the success of this blog post, I developed it into a peer-reviewed article, which was published in Al-‘Usur al-Wusta: The Journal of Middle East Medievalists, vol. 26 (2018). You can read the article open-access here. Needless to say,… Continue Reading
The first in a series on pre-Islamic sources adduced for Mecca. Next: 2) Macoraba. “Hieron d’ hagiōtaton hidrutai, timōmenon hupo pantōn Arabōn perittoteron.” “A very sacred temple has been established there which is highly revered by all the Arabs.” —Diodorus Siculus,… Continue Reading
I’ve been doing some work on exotic animals for an upcoming conference paper. Apparently the caliph Yazīd bin Mu‘āwiyah (reigned 680–3) had a pet monkey. Just for fun, here’s what two medieval historians had to say about Yazīd’s monkey. My translations, mistakes all… Continue Reading
There’s a recurring theme in early Arabic literature that foreigners prostrate themselves toward kings, but Muslims only prostrate themselves to God. In the ninth and tenth centuries, when the Abbasid caliphs developed a more complex courtly ceremonial, Muslims of high… Continue Reading