Flora, fauna, and famine in thirteenth-century EgyptA Physician on the Nile begins as a description of everyday life in Egypt at the turn of the seventh/thirteenth century, before becoming a harrowing account of famine and pestilence. Written by the polymath and physician ʿAbd al-Laṭīf al-Baghdādī,...

Ausführliche Beschreibung

Bibliographische Detailangaben

1. Verfasser:	ʿAbd-al-Laṭīf al-Baġdādī 1162-1231 (VerfasserIn)
Weitere Verfasser:	Mackintosh-Smith, Tim 1961- (HerausgeberIn, ÜbersetzerIn), Toorawa, Shawkat M. 1963- (HerausgeberIn)
Format:	Elektronisch E-Book
Sprache:	English Arabic
Veröffentlicht:	New York New York University Press [2021]
Schriftenreihe:	Library of Arabic literature 74
Schlagworte:	Geschichte 500-1300 LITERARY COLLECTIONS / Middle Eastern Hungersnot Soziale Situation Alltag Ägypten
Online-Zugang:	BSB01 Volltext
Zusammenfassung:	Flora, fauna, and famine in thirteenth-century EgyptA Physician on the Nile begins as a description of everyday life in Egypt at the turn of the seventh/thirteenth century, before becoming a harrowing account of famine and pestilence. Written by the polymath and physician ʿAbd al-Laṭīf al-Baghdādī, and intended for the Abbasid caliph al-Nāṣir, the first part of the book offers detailed descriptions of Egypt's geography, plants, animals, and local cuisine, including a recipe for a giant picnic pie made with three entire roast lambs and dozens of chickens. ʿAbd al-Laṭīf's text is also a pioneering work of ancient Egyptology, with detailed observations of Pharaonic monuments, sculptures, and mummies. An early and ardent champion of archaeological conservation, ʿAbd al-Laṭīf condemns the vandalism wrought by tomb-robbers and notes with distaste that Egyptian grocers price their goods with labels written on recycled mummy-wrappings.The book's second half relates his horrific eyewitness account of the great famine that afflicted Egypt in the years 597-598/1200-1202. ʿAbd al-Laṭīf was a keen observer of humanity, and he offers vivid first-hand depictions of starvation, cannibalism, and a society in moral free-fall.A Physician on the Nile contains great diversity in a small compass, distinguished by the acute, humane, and ever-curious mind of its author. It is rare to be able to hear the voice of such a man responding so directly to novelty, beauty, and tragedy.A bilingual Arabic-English edition
Beschreibung:	1 Online-Ressource (xliv, 256 Seiten) Karten
ISBN:	9781479806232