Writing History in the Medieval Islamic World - (Early and Medieval Islamic World) by Fozia Bora (Paperback)
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<p/><br></br><p><b> Book Synopsis </b></p></br></br>In the 'encyclopaedic' fourteenth century, Arabic chronicles produced in Mamluk cities bore textual witness to both recent and bygone history, including that of the Fatimids (969-1171CE). For in two centuries of rule over Egypt and North Africa, the Isma'ili Fatimids had left few self-generated historiographical records. Instead, it fell to Ayyubid and Mamluk historians to represent the dynasty to posterity. This monograph sets out to explain how later historians preserved, interpreted and re-organised earlier textual sources.<br/>Mamluk historians engaged in a sophisticated archival practice within historiography, rather than uncritically reproducing earlier reports. In a new diplomatic edition, translation and analysis of Mamluk historian Ibn al-Furat's account of late Fatimid rule in <i>The</i> <i>History of Dynasties and Kings</i>, a widely known but barely copied universal chronicle of Islamic history, Fozia Bora traces the survival of historiographical narratives from Fatimid Egypt. Through Ibn al-Furat's text, Bora demonstrates archivality as the heuristic key to Mamluk historical writing.<br/>This book is essential for all scholars working on the written culture and history of the medieval Islamic world, and paves the way for a more nuanced reading of pre-modern Arabic chronicles and of the epistemic environment in which they were produced.<p/><br></br><p><b> Review Quotes </b></p></br></br><br>Bora's mapping of medieval Islamic Egyptian historiography is a tour de force. Through a razor-sharp analysis of primary and secondary literature, she traces the reception of Ibn al-Furat's writings through the broad sweep of late Fatimid, Ayyubid and Mamluk historical and archival traditions. She navigates the reader through the rich intricacies of the shaping of these historiographical traditions, while also educating about their value and relevance for our changing times.<br/>Dr Shainool Jiwa, Head of Constituency Studies & Senior Research Associate, The Institute of Ismaili Studies.<br><br>The present monograph is a very important contribution to what is now termed 'global medieval studies' and, of course, the cultural history of the Islamicate world of the pre-modern era. Fozia Bora's book should be read by all who are interested in understanding modes of knowledge production, creating narratives of the past and what constitutes an archive. She also asks very pertinent questions about how we approach pre-modern texts and as such this book should be really read by anybody interested in epistemological issues in medieval studies.<br/>Emilia Jamroziak, Professor of Medieval Religious History and Director of the Institute for Medieval Studies, University of Leeds<br><br>Through this text you not only gain insight into what was produced but the historiographic questions medieval historians were asking themselves, which could well overturn assumptions about pre-modern historic works. Bora's is to be commended for her contribution to global medieval studies, her book could become a key for others to explore these texts in new ways.<br/>The New Arab<br><p/><br></br><p><b> About the Author </b></p></br></br>Fozia Bora is a lecturer in Middle Eastern History at the University of Leeds, where she is also the director of postgraduate research in Arabic, Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies. She received her DPhil from the University of Oxford and held a postdoctoral fellowship at the Cambridge Muslim College. She has published in peer-reviewed journals and was recently awarded the Royal Asiatic Society's Staunton Prize for 'outstanding work by an early-career scholar'.
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