A literary tour of Christian monasteries of the medieval Middle
East The Book of Monasteries takes readers on an engaging tour of
the monastic centers of the medieval Middle East, illustrated with
a rich variety of poetry and prose. Starting with monasteries in
Baghdad, readers are taken up the Tigris into the mountains of
south-eastern Anatolia before moving to Palestine and Syria, along
the Euphrates down to the old Christian center of Ḥīrah and
onward to Egypt. For the literary anthologist al-Shābushtī, who
was Muslim, monasteries were important sites of interactions
between Abbasid elites and the Christian communities that made up
about half the population of the Abbasid Empire at the time. Each
section in this anthology covers a specific monastery, beginning
with a discussion of its location and the reason for its name.
Al-Shābushtī presents poems, anecdotes, and historical reports
related to each site. He selects heroic and spectacular incidents,
illustrations of caliphal extravagance, and occasions that gave
rise to memorable verse. Important political personalities and
events that were indirectly linked with monasteries also appear
here, as do scenes of festive court life and gruesome murders.
Through these accounts, al-Shābushtī offers readers a meditation
on the splendor of Abbasid culture as well as moral and
philosophical lessons: the ephemerality of power; the virtues of
generosity and tolerance; the effectiveness of eloquence in prose
and poetry; and the fleeting nature of pleasure and beauty.
Translated into English for the first time, The Book of Monasteries
offers an entertaining panorama of religious, political, and
literary life during the Abbasid era. A bilingual Arabic-English
edition.
General
| Imprint: |
New York University Press
|
| Country of origin: |
United States |
| Series: |
Library of Arabic Literature |
| Release date: |
July 2023 |
| Authors: |
al-Shābushtī
|
| Editors: |
Hilary Kilpatrick
|
| Dimensions: |
229 x 152mm (L x W) |
| Format: |
Hardcover
|
| Pages: |
300 |
| ISBN-13: |
978-1-4798-2576-9 |
| Categories: |
Books
|
| LSN: |
1-4798-2576-X |
| Barcode: |
9781479825769 |
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