Conspiracy everywhere: ENCYCLOPEDIA MEDIEVAL ISLAMIC PART 9

HARIZI, AL-, JUDAH

An eight-page entry from the Arabic biographical dictionary of Ibn al-Sha’ar al-Mawsili (1197–1256) contains an entry about Judah al-Harizi (b. ca. 1166 in Toledo, d. 1225 in Aleppo):

Yahya Ibn Suleiman Ibn Sha’ul Abu Zakariyya al-Harizi

the Jew from the people of Toledo. He was a poet of

great talent and prolific creation who composed poems

in the area of panegyric and invective... He composed

numerous works in the Hebrew language such as the

‘‘Book of Maqamat;’’ [he also composed] a single

maqamain the Arabic language that he titled ‘‘The

Elegant Garden.’’

The entry preserves Arabic poems by al-Harizi and reveals details such as the author’s uncommon height, his inability to grow a beard, and his Maghrebi accent. Al-Harizi was born in Toledo, which was then part of

the Iberian Christian kingdom of Castile, and he later migrated to the Islamic east, traveling as far as Baghdad and ultimately settling in Aleppo. Al-Harizi’s earliest Hebrew compositions are translations from

Arabic and Judeo-Arabic, including Maimonides’ Guide of the Perplexed; Ali Ibn Rudhwan’s (d. ca. 1068) Epistle on Morals; a book about poetics and exegesis by Moses Ibn Ezra; and the famous maqama

collection of al-Hariri of Basra. Al-Harizi’s translation method preserves the sense of the original, often through paraphrase, while striving to produce a Hebrew text that is clear and elegant. His translation of al-Hariri’s maqamat entitled Mahbarot ’Ittiel (’Itti’el’s Compositions)is executed in a pure biblical Hebrew and replaces Arabic and Islamic references with Hebrew and Jewish ones. Al-Harizi strives to preserve literary conceits (e.g., the composition of palindromes) around which he structures maqamat.

Al-Harizi composed his original Hebrew maqama collection, The Book of Tahkemoni, after leaving Iberia for the east. Following a trend toward Hebrew rhymed-prose composition and modeling structure after the maqamat of al-Hamadhani and al-Hariri, al-Harizi produced fifty tales in rhymed prose with poems interspersed. As in the classical maqamat,

episodes revolve around the encounters of a narrator and a protagonist rogue. The rhetoric-hungry narrator travels throughout the world and repeatedly encounters an itinerant rhetorician who makes a living through eloquence and petty scams. Episodes often incorporate a ruse motif, denouement through anagnorisis (recognition), and witty speech mediated

through biblical allusions. Al-Harizi undertakes literary feats, including a trilingual poem (Hebrew, Aramaic, and Arabic) in a single rhyme and meter and a letter that, read forward, is panegyric but that, read backward, is invective. Numerous plots are borrowed from al-Hamadhani, al-Hariri, and other Arabic authors.

The six surviving Arabic poems by al-Harizi include panegyrics to the Ayyubid ruler Al-Malik al-Ahraf Ibn Abu Bakr Ayyub (d. 1237). Al-Harizi’s al-Rawda al-Aniqa (The Elegant Garden) is an Arabic maqama

that details the author’s journeys through the lands of the Islamic east (paralleling chapter forty-six of the Tahkemoni). He describes Damascus as a ‘‘garden for souls... the torrent beds of its elevated places are like

those of Najd.’’ Since Najd is a place the author never visited, the author’s association with the nostalgialaden locus of the Arabian Peninsula demonstrates his intimacy with the Arabic literary tradition.

Further Reading

Al-Harizi, Judah Ben Solomon.The Book of Tahkemoni:

Jewish Tales from Medieval Spain, transl. David Simha

Segal. London and Portland, Oregon: The Littman Library of Jewish Civilization, 2001.

Drory, Rina. ‘‘Al-Harizi’sMaqamat: A Tricultural Literary

Product?’’Medieval Translator4 (1994): 66–85.

Sadan, Joseph. ‘‘Rabi Yehudah al-Harizi ke-Tzomet Tarbuti.’’Pe‘amim68 (1996): 52–61.

Yahalom, Joseph, and Joshua Blau.Mas‘ei Yehudah. Jerusalem: Ben-Zvi Institute, 2002.

HARUN AL-RASHID

Harun, the son of al-Mahdi, became the fifth ‘Abbasid caliph in the fall of 786 CE. He ruled until 809. His succession to rule was a result of a factional power struggle within the court. In short order after the death of Harun’s older brother al-Hadi, the Barmakid faction in collusion with Harun’s mother, al-Khayzuran was able to outmaneuver the supporters of

al-Hadi’s son Ja’far. Harun’s reign is often described as a golden age or, at the very least, as the apex of ‘Abbasid stability and culture. Although this is not necessarily true, his reign does represent a period of tremendous wealth and the furthest extent of the Abbasid realm.

The empire was prosperous. Baghdad was a thriving, cultured metropolis to which poets, artists, and litterateurs flocked. In the west, Harun’s court is known as the one that presided over the tales of the

One Thousand and One Nights.However, it is in comparison with the civil war between Harun’s two sons and the steady decline thereafter that Harun’s reign shines so brightly. For the first decade of his reign,

Harun was under the tutelage of the Barmakids. They endeavored to more aggressively assert central control, which left Harun in a much stronger financial position. However, they were never quite able to garner the military support that they needed. In addition, in trying to soften the policy towards the Alids, they made many enemies within the court.

The beginning of the end for the Barmakids came with the succession arrangement established in Mecca in 802. It was there that Harun declared that his son Muhammad al-Amin would succeed him and following him would be Abdallah al-Ma’mun; he made all parties swear publicly to uphold this. Also, when Muhammad came to the throne, his brother would beautonomous in Khurasan. This elaborate succession

arrangement appears to be intended to short-circuit factional rivalries and to channel them in productive ways. Muhammad’s support base was among the nonBarmakid elite of Baghdad, whereas Abdallah’s was

among the Barmakids and consequently the bureaucracy. It was upon return from a pilgrimage in 803 that the fall of the Barmakids occurred. As a result of its shockingly precipitous nature, this episode stands out

and has been the object of much commentary.

It seems that, fundamentally, Harun was no longer willing to accept so powerful a faction within the court. Kennedy suggests that perhaps the family resisted an arrangement that clearly subordinate them, and this was the trigger for their fall. In the wake of this action, Harun began a campaign of strengthening his legitimacy by participating in raids against the Byzantines. These raids did not bring new lands under control, but they did serve to highlight his role as Commander of the Faithful. For the rest of his reign, he spent very little time in Baghdad and based himself on the Byzantine frontier. A series of rebellions broke out in the east, and, in 808, Harun went to deal with them. It was on this campaign that he died in 809 in Tus, near present-day Mashhad.

Primary Sources

Dinawari, Abu Hanifa Ahmad b. Dawud.Kitab al-Akhbar

al-Tiwal, eds. V.F. Guirgass and I.I.U. Kratchkovsky.

Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1888.

Ibn al-Athir, Izz al-Din. al-Kamil fi’l-Ta’rikh, ed. K.J.

Tornberg. Beirut: Dar Sadir, 1965

Tabari, Abu Ja‘far.The Abbasid Caliphate in Equilibrium,

vol. 30, transl. C.E. Bosworth. Albany: State University

of New York Press, 1989.

Ya‘qubi, Ahmad b. Abi Ya‘qub.al-Ta’rikh, 2 vols., ed.

M.T. Houtsma. Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1883.

Further Reading

Bonner, M. ‘‘Al-Khalifa al-Mardi: The Accession of Harun

al-Rashid.’’Journal of the American Oriental Society108

(1988): 79–91.

El-Hibri, T. ‘‘Harun al-Rashid and the Mecca Protocol of

802.’’International Journal of Middle East Studies 24

(1992): 461–80.

Kennedy, H.The Prophet and the Age of the Caliphates: The

Islamic Near East from the Sixth to the Eleventh Century,

2nd ed. London: Longman, 2004.

———.The Early Abbasid Caliphate. London: Croom

Helm, 1981.

Kimber, R.A. ‘‘Harun al-Rashid’s Meccan Settlement of

AH 186/AD 802.’’Occasional Papers of the School

of Abbasid Studies1 (1986): 55–79.

HASAN AL-BASRI,

Al-Hasan ibn Abi al-Hasan al-Basri was born in AH 21/624 CE and probably grew up in or around Medina. He resided most of his life in Basra (Iraq), where he died on Rajab 1, 110/October 10, 728.

Al-Hasan’s legacy must have originated from his charisma as a storyteller and from his piety; it was then spread by a number of disciples who played a significant role in the development of several religious

and theological trends. The corpus of anecdotes attributed to him is often contradictory and irreconcilable. Al-Hasan’s significance, therefore, is not to be measured with respect to his historical role in the formulation of particular trends. It is rather the ongoing expansion of his posthumous legacy as one of the founding fathers of Islam that has been used for legitimization by competing religious movements and sects.

Al-Hasan likely believed in part to Free Will theology (Qadar): sins are made by humans and cannot be attributed to God. The advocates of that doctrine, including Mu‘tazilites and Shi‘is, claimed al-Hasan and attributed to him a significant number of anecdotes and letters supporting their theology. They also ascertained that he was involved in uprisings against the Umayyads, especially the revolt of Ibn al-Ash‘ath (killed AH 85/704 CE). However, one has to be cautious with what these groups attributed to al-Hasan, for two reasons: (1) they had a theological and political anti-Umayyad agenda, and (2) they reclaimed al-Hasan after the proto-Sunnites and then Sunnites were on a crusade to dissociate him from the Free Will doctrine and from political activism.

The Epistle against the Pre-Destinarians to Caliph ‘Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan that has been ascribed to al-Hasan is the most elaborate example of false attribution. The text reflects theological debates of the third/ninth and fourth/tenth centuries, and it includes anachronistic cases that cannot be dated to ‘Abd alMalik’s reign.

The proto-Sunnites and later Sunnites who advocated predestination ascertained that al-Hasan upheld their creed and similarly attributed to him anecdotes and correspondences, which include the inauthentic treatise against the Believers in Free Will to Caliph ‘Umar ibn ‘Abd al-‘Aziz. They also ascertained that al-Hasan, as a notable predecessor, could not have participated in intra-Muslim civil wars. This concerted effort on their part leaves many obvious clues that they were ‘‘changing’’ the historical al-Hasan to fit Sunni expectations.

As for piety, medieval literature overwhelmingly presents al-Hasan as a model, but they disagree as to whether he enjoined moderation in life or complete renunciation of worldly pleasures and preoccupations. In this respect, the largest body of material transmitted about his authority are piety-related sermons and letters, including the inauthentic Treatise on Asceticism to Caliph ‘Umar ibn ‘Abd al-‘Aziz, which ridicules this

world and warns against its deception. The claim that al-Hasan was the inceptor of Mysticism (Sufism) was initially made in Basra by groups like that of Abu Talib al-Makki (d. 386/996), and al-Hasan’s name gradually became a major feature in mystical silsilas (chains of teachers/disciples) going back to Muhammad. The mystic ‘Attar produced fabricated hadiths in which the child al-Hasan is said to have met the prophet of Islam.

Al-Hasan was a qadi ( judge) of Basra for a short time, but only a small number of legal opinions attributed to him survived. That none of his disciples went on to become prominent scholars of law probably

helps explain why his legal legacy did not form. However, he is famous for clashing with a few of his students, who established the Mu‘tazilite movement over the judgment of a Muslim committing a grave sin; al-Hasan’s position was that the grave sinner is an hypocrite.

Al-Hasan was also believed to have authored a commentary of the Qur’an (Tafsir). However, the glosses attributed to him in a number of Tafsirs do not constitute a complete work. Al-Hasan was a reciter of the Qur’an, and in that capacity it is likely that he offered commentary glosses that were later recorded by his disciples, giving the impression that he authored a Tafsir. It is in this context as well that his famed Qur’an recitation and occasions of revelation (asbab al-nuzul) glosses were likely taught.

Primary Sources

Al-Dhahabi, Muhammad ibn Ahmad.Siyar a‘Lam alNubala’, 25 vols., vol. 4, 563–88, eds. Shu‘ayb Arna’ut

and Ma’mun al-Saghirji. Beirut: Mu’assasat al-Risala,

1990–1992.

Al-Isfahani, Abu Ny‘aym.Hilyat al-Awliya’ wa-Tabaqat alAsfiya’, 10 vols., vol. 2, 131–61. Beirut: Dar al-Kitab

al-‘Arabi, 1967–1968.

Ibn al-Jawzi.Adab al-Shaykh al-Hasan ibn Abi al-Hasan alBasri, ed. Sulayman M. al-Harash. Riyad: Dar al-Mi‘raj,

1993.

Ibn Hanbal.Kitab al-Zuhd, ed. Muhammad Zaghlul, 367–

406. Beirut: Dar al-Kitab al-‘Arabi, 1994.

Ibn Sa‘d. Al-Tabaqat al-Kubra, 8 vols., vol. 7, 156–78.

Beirut: Dar Sadir, 1958.

Further Reading

Cook, Michael A.Early Muslim Dogma: A Source-Critical

Study, 112–23. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University

Press, 1981.

Knysh, Alexander D.Islamic Mysticism: A Short History,

10–3. Leiden: Brill, 2000.

Mourad, Suleiman A. ‘‘Between Myth and History: alHasan al-Basri in Medieval and Modern Scholarship.’’

PhD dissertation. New Haven, CT: Yale University,

2004.

‘‘The Letter of al-Hasan al-Basri.’’ In Textual Sources

for the Study of Islam, eds. Andrew Rippin and Jan

Knappert, 115–21. Chicago: The University of Chicago

Press, 1986.

Van Ess, Josef.Theologie und Gesellschaft im 2. und 3.

Jahrhundert Hidschra, 6 vols., vol. 2, 41–50. Berlin:

Walter de Gruyter, 1991–1997.

HASAN-I SABBAH

Hasan-i Sabbah was a prominent Isma‘ili da‘i (religiopolitical missionary) and founder of the Nizari Isma‘ili state in Persia. The events of Hasan’s life and career as the first ruler of the Nizari state, centered at the fortress of Alamut, were recorded in a chronicle,Sargudhasht-i Sayyidna,which has not survived. However, this work was available to a number of Persian historians of the Mongol Ilkhanid period,

most notably Juwayni and Rashid al-Din, who remain the chief authorities on Hasan-i Sabbah.

Hasan-i Sabbah was born in the mid-1050s CE in Qum, Persia, into a Twelver Shi’i family. His father, ‘Ali ibn Muhammad b. Ja‘far al-Sabbah, a Kufan claiming Yamani origins, had migrated from Kufa to Qum. Subsequently, the Sabbah family settled in the nearby city of Ray, another center of Shi‘i learning as well as Isma‘ili activities in Persia. There, Hasan was introduced to Isma‘ili teachings and converted to the

Isma‘ili form of Shi‘ism around the age of seventeen, taking the oath of allegiance to the Isma‘ili imam of the time, the Fatimid Caliph al-Mustansir.

Soon afterward, in 1072, Hasan was appointed to a position in the da‘wa (missionary organization) by Abd al-Malik ibn ‘Attash, the chief Isma‘ili da‘i in Persia, who had been impressed by the talents of the newly initiated youth. In 1076, Hasan left for Fatimid Egypt to further his Isma‘ili education, and he spent three years in Cairo and Alexandria. In 1081, he returned to Isfahan, the secret headquarters of the Isma‘ili da‘wa in central Persia. Subsequently, Hasan traveled for nine years to different parts of Persia in the service of the da‘wa while also formulating his own revolutionary strategy against the Seljuk Turks, whose alien and oppressive rule was detested by the Persians. Hasan’s seizure of the fortress of Alamut in northern Persia in 1090 by a clever plan of infiltration marked the beginning of the open revolt of the Persian Isma‘ilis against the Seljuks as well as the foundation of the Nizari Isma‘ili state of Persia, which later acquired a subsidiary in Syria. In the

dispute over the succession to the Fatimid Caliph/ imam al-Mustansir (d. 1094), Hasan supported Nizar, the original heir-designate, against his brother al-Musta‘li, who was installed to the Fatimid caliphate. Hasan now recognized Nizar as al-Mustansir’s successor to the Isma‘ili imamate, effectively founding the Nizari Isma‘ili da‘wa independently of Fatimid Cairo, henceforth the seat of the rival Musta‘li da‘wa. After Nizar, who was murdered in Egypt in 1095 in the aftermath of his abortive revolt, the Nizari imams remained in hiding for three generations, while Hasan and his next two successors at Alamut led the

Nizari da‘wa and state with the rank of hujja (chie representative) of the hidden Nizari imam.

Outsiders from early on had the impression that the movement of the Persian Isma‘ilis under the leadership of Hasan-i Sabbah represented a new preaching (al-da‘wa al-jadida) that was in contradistinction

with the old preaching (al-da‘wa al-qadima) of the Fatimid times. However, the new preaching was no more than the reformulation by Hasan of the established Shi‘i doctrine of ta‘lim (authoritative instruction). In his reformulation, which contained a treatise

entitled ‘‘The Four Chapters’’ that has been preserved only fragmentarily, Hasan argued for the inadequacy of human reason for knowing God and for the necessity of an authoritative teacher as the spiritual guide

of humankind: a teacher who would be none other than the Isma‘ili imam of the time. The anti-Isma‘ili literary campaign of the contemporary Sunni establishment, led by Muhammad al-Ghazali, was directed

against this doctrine, which served as the central teaching of the early Nizaris and was also designated as the Ta‘limiyya.

An organizer and a strategist of the highest caliber, Hasan-i Sabbah was also a learned theologian. He led an austere life, and he observed the shari‘a very strictly. He died on June 12, 1124, and was buried near

Alamut. Although Hasan failed to uproot the Seljuks, he did succeed in founding both a territorial state and the independent Nizari Ismai‘ili da‘wa, which survived the downfall of the Nizari state in 1256.

Primary Sources

Al-Din Fadl Allah, Rashid.Jami‘ al-Tawarikh: Qismat-i

Isma‘iliyan, eds. M.T. Danishpazhuh and M. MudarrisiZanjani, 97–137. Tehran: Bungah-i Tarjuma va Nashr-i

Kitab, 1959.

Juwayni, Ata Malik.Tarikh-i Jahan-Gusha, ed. M. Qazwini,

vol. 3, 186–216. Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1937. (Translated as

The History of the World-Conqueror, transl. J.A. Boyle,

vol. 2, 666–83. Manchester, UK: Manchester University

Press, 1958.

Further Reading

Daftary, F.The Isma‘ilis: Their History and Doctrines,324–

371. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1990.

———. ‘‘Hasan-i Sabbah and the Origins of the Nizari

Isma‘ili Movement.’’ InMediaeval Isma‘ili History and

Thought, ed. F. Daftary, 181–204. Cambridge, UK:

Cambridge University Press, 1996.

Hodgson, Marshall G.S.The Order of Assassins, 41–98. The

Hague: Mouton, 1955.

Lewis, Bernard.The Assassins, 38–63, 145–52. London:

Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1967.

HEBREW

A member of the Semitic language family, like Arabic and Aramaic, Hebrew (‘ivrit) is the language of the Jewish Bible (Old Testament). In the Bible, the adjective‘ivriconnotes a specific ethnic origin or affiliation

(e.g., Genesis 14:13, 39:14; Exodus 1:15, 21:2). Rabbinic sources dating to the first centuries CE (e.g., Mishnah Gittin 9:8; Yadayim 4:5) refer to the Hebrew language as‘ivrit, which they also call ‘‘the sacred tongue’’(leshon ha-qodesh). Although it probably was no longer spoken during this period, Hebrew retained its special place in Judaism as the language of the Torah, the Mishnah, and the liturgy. According to Midrashic texts, Hebrew is the primordial language with which God created the world.

With the rise of Islam, the Jewish belief in Hebrew’s primacy was challenged by Muslim claims for the purity, perfection, and inimitability (i‘jaz) of Qur’anic Arabic. Prompted by the development of Arabic grammar and lexicography, Jews in Islamic lands founded the field of biblical Hebrew philology. Sa‘adyah Gaon (d. 942) compiled the first Hebrew dictionary and composed grammatical treatises; Karaite grammarians in Jerusalem were not far behind. The greatest Hebraists, however, were Andalusians, most notably Judah Hayyuj (d. ca. 1010) and Abu’l-Walid Ibn Janah (fl. 1050), whose works have shaped virtually all subsequent Hebrew philology. These authors all wrote in Arabic, which served as the primary language of scholarship among the Jews of Islam during the Middle Ages. In general, they reserved Hebrew for poetry and belles-lettres. According to the Andalusian poets, in fact, only pure biblical Hebrew would do. The verse they wrote was intended, in part, as a statement of cultural independence from the Arabic aesthetic espoused

by contemporary Muslims. By contrast, prose works, such as Judah Halevi’s Kuzariand Moses Maimonides’ Guide,were composed in Judeo-Arabic for purely utilitarian reasons. When a new readership for them emerged in Provence, they were quickly translated into Hebrew.

The Muslim encounter with Hebrew dates back to the Prophet’s lifetime. Indeed, the Qur’an itself contains words of obvious Hebrew origin for which traditional Muslim scholarship has sought Arabic

etymologies in an attempt to demonstrate the purity of the Qur’anic idiom. Examples include the following: sakina, meaning ‘‘divine presence’’ (2:248, 9:26; cf. Hebrew shekhinah); taurat, meaning ‘‘law’’;

‘‘Torah’’ (48:29); jahannam, meaning ‘‘hell’’ (3:12; cf. Gehenna); andal-rahman, meaning ‘‘the Merciful’’ (1:1,3; cf. ha-rahaman). However, although Muslims and Jews have long lived in close proximity, there has never been a concerted Muslim effort to learn Hebrew that is comparable with the European phenomenon of Christian Hebraism. In large measure this is the result of the lack of a shared scripture, but it has meant that Muslim access to Hebrew writings has always been limited. A few medieval Muslim scholars, such as alKirmani, al-Biruni, and Ibn Hazm, cite the Bible in polemic contexts but without evincing real familiarity with the Hebrew language. A few converts, such as Samau‘al al-Maghribi (d. 1175), learned Hebrew when they were still Jewish. However, these were exceptions. Mastery of Arabic could open many

doors in the world of medieval Islam; by and large, basic Hebrew literacy helped bind most Jews to their ancestral faith.

Further Reading

Adang, Camilla.Muslim Writers on Judaism & the Hebrew

Bible. Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1996.

Halkin, A.S. ‘‘The Medieval Jewish Attitude Toward Hebrew.’’ In Biblical and Other Studies, ed. Alexander

Altmann, 233–48. Cambridge, Mass: Harvard University Press, 1963.

Jeffery, Arthur.The Foreign Vocabulary of the Quran. Baroda: Oriental Institute, 1938.

Khan, Geoffrey. ‘‘The Karaite Tradition of Hebrew Grammatical Thought.’’ InHebrew Study from Ezra to BenYehuda, ed. William Horbury, 186–203. Edinburgh: T &

T Clark, 1999.

Maman, Aharon. ‘‘The Linguistic School.’’ InHebrew

Bible/Old Testament, vol. 1/2, ed. Magne Sæbø, 261–

281. Go¨ttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2000.

Sa´enz-Badillos, Angel.A History of the Hebrew Language.

Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1993.

Wechter, Pinchas.Ibn Baru ˆn’s Arabic Works on Hebrew

Grammar and Lexicography. Philadelphia: Dropsie

College, 1964

HEBRON (AL-KHALIL AL-RAHMAN;AL-KHALIL)

Known in Arabic as al-Khalıl al-Rahman (the Friend of God; Abraham) or simply asal-Khalıl, Hebron’s name reflects its long past in pre-Islamic and Islamic history as well as emphasizing the perdurance of the sacred character of the city within the monotheistic tradition that Islam continues. Located in al-ard almuqaddas (the Holy Land), Hebron lies in a mountainous region roughly twenty miles south of al-Quds (Jerusalem) at approximately three thousand feet above sea level. Associated with Abraham, al-Khalıl constitutes sacred space to Muslims, Christians, and

Jews. These religious communities all revere the Tomb of the Prophets (al-Anbiya¯’), and each recounts the story of Abraham’s resting place under an oak in Hebron’s plain of Mamre as well as his subsequent

purchase from Ephron the Hittite of the burial cave at Hebron. Muslims also believe that the prophet Muhammad visited the city on his isra¯’ (nocturnal journey) from Mecca to Medina

Hebron’s Islamic history begins with the peaceful surrender of the city to ‘Umar ibn al-Khatta b in 638 CE. The ninth-/fifteenth-century Jerusalem born historian of al-Quds and al-Khalıl, Mujir al-Dın al ‘Ulaymı al-Hanbalı records fully the Prophet Muhammad’s gift in 630 or 631 of Hebron and its surrounding territory to Tamım al-Darı and his

brothers. Muslim patronage of al-Khalıl revived its fortunes; the city had suffered Byzantine neglect.

The Haram al-Ibrahımı (Sanctuary of Abraham) sits atop the cave and the ruins of a Byzantine church. The foundation and the walls of the structure are Herodian. Added to by the Crusaders who captured the city in 1099, the Haram also benefited from Ayyubid and Mamluk constructive energies. Although Salah al-dın ibn Ayyub (Saladin) donated its intricately carved wooden minbar in 1191 and 1192, internally and externally, much of the present mosque reflects Mamluk (1259/1260–1516) efforts to preserveand embellish this important Muslim religious site. Baybars I restored the Tomb of Abraham, while Mamluk amırs, serving either as na’ib al-sultana, nazir al-Haramayn al-Sharıfayn, or both continued to beautify and maintain al-Khalıl. Notably, the seventh-/thirteenth-century nazir al-Haramayn ‘Ala’ al-dın al-Aydughdı personally oversaw the distribution of the weekly meal of lentils, barley, and bread that the Khalılı waqf (endowment) provided to the poor of the city and to travelers. Generosity to pilgrims of all nations marked the pious endowment at al-Khalıl and drew extensive favorable comment.

Mamluk attention to the city was consistent, and it aimed toward good government, especially in terms of the management of the waqf funds that supported worthy religious and charitable purposes.

Selim I’s victory at Marj Dabiq in August 1516 brought new rulers to Palestine; the Ottoman sultan entered al-Quds in December. Under Selım’s successor, his son Suleiman al-Qanunı(1520–1566), prosperity reigned in al-Quds, al-Khalıl, and the entire region. Late in the sixteenth century, as a result of the marked decline in public security (especially along the shrine routes where Bedouin tribesmen attacked pilgrim caravans en route to al-Haram al-Ibrahımi), Hebron’s socioeconomic position deteriorated during the early modern era. Al-Khalıl, however, retained its status as the fourth-holiest city within the Muslim world.

Primary Source

Al-‘Ulaymı¯, Mujir al-dı ¯n ‘Abd al-Rahma¯n ibn Muhammad.

al-Uns al-Jalı¯l bi-Ta ¯rı¯kh al-Quds wa-al-Khalı¯l, 2 vols.

Amman: Maktabat al-Muhtasib, 1973.

Further Reading

Gil, Moshe.A History of Palestine, 634 to 1099. Cambridge,

UK: Cambridge University Press, 1992.

Le Strange, Guy, transl.Palestine Under the Moslems: A

Description of Syria and the Holy Land from A.D. 650 to

1500. Oriental Repr. no. 14. Beirut: Khayats, 1965.

Little, Donald. ‘‘Mujir al-Dı¯n al-‘Ulaymı¯’s Vision of Jerusalem in the Ninth/Fifteenth Century.’’ Journal of the

American Oriental Society115 (1995): 237–47.

HERAT

Herat was a city of considerable prominence during the medieval period that was located on the Hari Rud river in eastern Khurasan (now Afghanistan).

The origins of Herat date back to the Achaemenian age (c. 550–330 BCE), and its name in Old Persian (Haraiva) reflects its proximity to the vigorous Hari Rud river. The river valley and plains, which are

bordered by the Ghur and Safid Kuh mountain ranges, made Herat an optimal oasis area and caravan way station for the web of trade routes connecting East Asia with the Indian Ocean and the IranoMediterranean frontier. Historical evidence suggests that Alexander the Great made this city a provincial capital of Areia after his campaign of 330 BCE, and

subsequent records indicate that Herat grew in strategic and administrative importance during the Sasanian period (226–652 CE). With the seventh-century Arab Muslim invasions and the subsuming of this region into the Umayyad and ‘Abbasid empires, Herat attained a greater profile; its agricultural prosperity and commercial potential encouraged Arab tribal settlement, and, by the tenth century, the city

was noted by geographers such as Ibn Hawqul and Istakhri for its urban infrastructure, markets, and mosque complexes. Herat would change hands innumerably during the ninth through eleventh centuries as various eastern Iranian dynasties (Tahirids, Saffarids, Samanids, Ghaznavids) vied with one another for control of eastern Khurasan. Political continuity

and substantial economic growth (Herat was especially coveted for its currency mint) were achieved under the Ghurids during the twelfth century, but not without numerous invasions and sieges by the Khvarazmian dynasty to the northwest.

In 1221, the history of Herat was changed inexorably with the arrival of the Mongol invasions in Khurasan. The response to the Heratis’ decision to kill some Mongol representatives was swift and brutal: the city was pulverized, and every single citizen was massacred. The demographic and agricultural impact of the Mongol invasion and their subsequent

policies in Khurasan was profound: numbers vary considerably, but it would not be ambitious to put the number of regional casualties in the millions. After a brief period of governing on behalf of the Mongols, the Kartid dynasty (1245–1389) attained independence; they rebuilt the city, restored the surrounding qanat (canal) systems, and developed a

comprehensive administration. The Kartids were subjugated by Timur in 1380, and, by the time of Timur’s death in 1405, Herat had been fully subsumed into the expansive Timurid empire. Because of the public works programs and systems of patronage developed by the Timurid ruler Shah Rukh (1405–1447), Herat recaptured much of its cultural and economic appeal his, in turn, laid the foundation for the architectural,

intellectual, artistic, and agricultural flourishing of Herat under Sultan-Husain Baiqara (1470–1506). As a result of the efforts of courtly litterateurs like Mir ‘Ali Shir Nava’i and ‘Abd al-Rahman Jami and artists

and calligraphers like Kamal al-Din Behzad, Herat materialized as the preeminent center of Perso-Islamic culture during the fifteenth century. The Shibani Uzbek invasions of the early sixteenth century terminated the Timurid dynasty in Khurasan, and the remainder of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries saw the vitality of Herat depreciate considerably

as the rival Safavid and Uzbek dynasties fought numerous wars in the region.

Primary Sources

Amir Mahmud ibn Khvandamir.Tarikh-i Shah Isma‘il va

Shah Tahmasp, ed. Muhammad Ali Jarahi. Tehran,

1994.

‘Ata Malik Juvaini. Tarikh-i Jahan Gusha, 3 vols., ed. M.

Qazvini. Leiden, 1912–1937.

Ghiyas al-Di ibn Humam al-Din Khvandamir.Habib alSiyar, 3 vols., ed. Muhammad Dabir Siyaqi. Tehran,

1983.

Hamd-Allah Mustaufi.Nuzhat al-Qulub, 2 vols., ed. and

transl. G. LeStrange. London, 1916–1919.

Kamal al-Din ‘Abd al-Razzaq Samarqandi.Matla‘-i Sadain

wa Majma‘-i Bahrain, ed. A. Nava’i. Tehran, 1978.

Mu‘in al-Din Muhammad Zamchi Isfizari.Rauzat alJannat fi Ausaf Madinat Herat, 2 vols., ed. S.M.K.

Imam. Tehran, 1959.

Rashid al-Din Fadl Allah Hamadani.Jami‘ al-Tavarikh,3

vols., ed. B. Karimi. Tehran, 1959.

Saif b. Muhammad b. Ya‘qub Haravi.Tarikh-i Nama-i

Harat, ed. M.Z. Siddiqi. Calcutta, 1944.

Shihab al-Din ‘Abd Allah Hafiz-i Abru.Zail-i Jami‘ alTavarikh-i Rashidi, ed. K. Bayani. Tehran, 1938.

Zain al-Din Muhammad Vasifi.Badayi‘-i al-Vaqayi‘, ed.

A.N. Boldyrev. Moscow, 1961.

Further Reading

Allen, Terry.Timurid Herat. Wiesbaden, 1983.

Bartold, W.Four Studies in the History of Central Asia,3

vols., ed. and transl. T. Minorsky. Leiden, 1956–1962.

———.Herat Unter Husein Baiqara, ed. and transl. W.

Hinz. Nendeln Kraus, 1966.

Daniel, E.The Political and Social History of Khurasan

under Abbasid Rule, 747–820. Chicago, 1979.

Dickson, Martin.The Duel for Khurasan: Shah Tahmasp

and the O

zbeks. Unpublished PhD dissertation. Princeton, NJ: Princeton, 1958.

Gaube, Heinz. ‘‘Herat: An Indo-Iranian City?’’ InIranian

Cities, 31–63. New York, 1979.

McChesney, Robert. ‘‘The Conquest of Herat 995–6/1587–

8: Sources for the Study of Safavid/Qizilbash-Shibanid/

Uzbak Relations.’’ InE´

tudes Safavides, ed. J. Calmard,

69–107. Paris, 1993.

Paul, Ju¨rgen.Herrscher, Gemeinwesen, Vermittler: Ost Iran

und Transoxanian in Vormongolischer Zeit. Stuttgart,

1996.

———. ‘‘The Local Histories of Herat.’’Iranian Studies33

(2000): 93–115.

Subtelny, Maria. ‘‘A Medieval Persian Agricultural Manual

in Context: The Irshad al-zira‘a in Late Timurid and

Early Safavid Khorasan.’’Studia Iranica 22 (1993):

167–217.

———. ‘‘A Timurid Educational and Charitable Foundation: The Ikhlasiyya Complex of ‘Ali Shir Nava’I in

15th-century Herat and its Endowment.’’Journal of the

American Oriental Society111 (1991): 38–61.

———. ‘‘The Timurid Legacy: A Reaffirmation and a Reassessment.’’Cahiers d’Asie Centrale3–4 (1997): 9–19.

Szuppe, Maria. Entre Timourides, Uzbeks et Safavides:

Questions d’Histoire Politique et Sociale de He´rat dans

la Premie `re Moitie du XVIe Sie`cle. Paris, 1992.

———. ‘‘Herat: iii. History, Medieval Period.’’ InEncyclopedia Iranica, vol. 11, ed. E. Yarshater.

———. ‘‘Les Re´sidences Princie`res de Herat: Proble`mes de

Continuite´ Fonctionnelle Entre les E´

poques Timouride

et Safavide (1 E

re Moitie´ du XVIe Sie`cle).’’ InE´

tudes

Safavides, ed. J. Calmard. 267–86. Paris, 1993.

Tumanovich, Nataliya. ‘‘The Bazaar and Urban Life of

Herat in the Middle Ages.’’ InMate´riaux pour l’Histoire

E´conomique du Monde Iranien, eds. R. Gyselen and

M. Szuppe, 277–85. Paris, 1999.

HIPPOLOGY

Numerous Arabic texts deal with horse knowledge from either a theoretical or practical point of view. This knowledge (furusiyya) refers to hippological matters or to the nature of horses (khalq al-khayl),

such as their different illnesses and cures (baytara) and equestrianism or horsemanship (siyasa al-khayl).

Among these Arabic texts are the following:

1. Religious works: The Qur’an exalts the horse. For example, it refers to ‘‘pure-bred horses’’ among the things of which man is fond (3:14);

it mentions horses’ efficacy during combat (8:60), and horses are also mentioned as divine favors (16:8). Religious tradition (hadith) praises horses for their usefulness, for the honor they produce, and also for their

strength and speed, which distinguish them from other animals.

2. Juridical works: These include chapters or even entire treatises on warfare based on faith (Jihad) and horses’ role in it, with praises for their

fundamental intervention. For example, Ibn Abi Zamanin (d. 399/1009) describes ‘‘the model fighter’’ in his book (Kitab qidwat al-gazi).

3. Military technical works: These deal with the horse with regard to its fighting strategies.

4. Lexicons: These are collections of terminology such as ‘‘books of horses’’(Kitab al-Khayl), like the famous one by Ibn al-Kalbi (d. 204/

819 or 206/821). The numerous works about ‘‘horses’ characteristics’’ (khalq al-faras/sifat al-khayl) are placed between lexicography

and literature.

5. Adab: The adab encyclopedia gathers technical and scientific data, religious traditions, verses, and heroic anecdotes about horses

within a cared-for literary framework. Examples of this styles areThe Book of Animals (Kitab al-hayawan) by al-Jahiz (d. 255/868) and various works by Ibn al-Hudhayl alGarnati (eighth/fourteenth century), especially his work Kitab Hilyat al-Fursan wa-Shi‘ar al-Shuj‘an,which includes fourteen chapters about horses that deal with, for example, their

creation and taming; good habits and vices; management and care; colors; hair; and riding. In Arabic poetry, horses are seen with an outstanding frequency that shapes their characteristics and activities.

6. Scientific works: These deal with the physiology of the horse, in such works as veterinary (baytara) books, in which Fuat Sezgin and other

authors bring forward abundant information. Arabic zoological and veterinary knowledgehas incorporated elements from Greek and

Latin science; later on it had its own contributions, which were handed down to Europe. Arabic agricultural treatises contain, at times,

animal references, such as Ibn al-‘Awwam’s (fifth/twelfth century) Kitab al-Filaha,of which Chapters 31 and 33 clearly state many matters that are relevant to the horse.

All of these kinds of works form a large whole that contains an impressive quantity and diversity of data about horses, showing not only their real dimensions but also their symbolic ones, because they have been an indispensable element of Islam’s defense and expansion.

This high appreciation for horses imbues all kinds of Arabic sources, even the iconographic ones; there are numerous references to cared-for horse representations in various types of pieces of Islamic and Arabic art.

Primary Sources

Ibn Abi Zamanin. Kitab Qidwat al-Gazi, ed. ‘A. alSulaymani. Beirut: Dar al-Garb al-Islami, 1989.

Ibn al-‘Awwam.Le Livre de l’Agriculture (Kitab al-Filaha),

transl. J.J. Cle ´ment-Mullet. Arles: Actes Sud, 2000.

Ibn Hudhayl. La Parure des Cavaliers et L’Insigne des

Preux, transl. L. Mercier. Paris, 1924.

M.J. Viguera, transl.Gala de Caballeros, Blaso´n de Paladines. Madrid: Editora Nacional, 1977.

Al-Jahiz.Kitab al-Hayawan, 7 vols., ed. ‘A. al-S.M. Harun. Cairo: Dar al-ma‘Arifa, 1378/1958. (Reprint, Beirut:

Dar ihya’ al-Turath al-‘Arabi, 1388/1969.

Les ‘‘Livres des Chevaux’’ de Hisham ibn al-Kalbi et

Muhammad ibn al-A‘rabi, Publie´s D’Apre `s le Manuscrit

de l’Escorial Ar. 1705, ed. G. Levi della Vida. Leiden:

E.J. Brill, 1928.

Further Reading

\Al-Andalus y el Caballo. Granada: El Legado Andalusı ´,

1995.

A´

lvarez de Morales, C., ed. Ciencias de la Naturaleza en alAndalus. Granada: Consejo Superior de Investigaciones

Cientı´ficas, 1996.

Araber, Asil.Arabians Edle Pferde/The Noble Arabian

Horses, 5 vols. Hildesheim: Georg Olms, 1985–2000.

Brockelmann, C.Geschichte der Arabischen Litteratur,5

vols. Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1937–1949.

Encyclopaedia of Islam, CD-ROM Edition. Leiden: E.J.

Brill, 2001.

Guintard, Claude, and Christine Mazzoli-Guintard, eds.

E´

levage D’Hier, Elevage D’Auhourdhui. Me ´langes

d’Ethnozootechnie Offerts a` Bernard Denis. Presses Universitaires de Rennes, 2004.

Gutas, Dimitri.Greek Thought, Arabic Culture: The

Graeco-Arabic Translation Movement in Baghdad and

Early ‘Abbasid Society (2nd–4th/8th–10th centuries).

London and New York: Routledge, 1998.

Pinon, Laurent.Les Livres de Zoologie a` la Renaissance.

Gene`ve: Droz, 2004.

Sa´nchez Gallego, R., and M. Espinar. ‘‘Arqueologı´a y Cultura Material de Lorca (Murcia): El Caballo y Otros

Amuletos.’’Estudios Sobre Patrimonio, Cultura y Ciencia Medievales, 5–6 (2003–2004): 121–44.

Sezgin, Fuat.Geschichte des Arabischen Schrifttums, Vol. 3,

Medizin, Pharmazie, Zoologie, Tierheilkunde. Leiden:

E.J. Brill, 1970.

Shatzmiller, Maya. ‘‘The Crusades and Islamic Warfare:

A Re-evaluation.’’Der Islam59 (1992), 247–88.

Vernet, J.Ce que la Culture Doit aux Arabes d’Espagne,

transl. G. Martinez-Gros. Paris: Sindbad, 1985.

Lo Que Europa Debe al Islam de Espan˜a. Barcelona: El

Acantilado, 1999.

HORTICULTURE

Gardens in the Arabo-Islamic world resulted from the association of a broad range of heterogeneous components. The janna, defined as a garden as opposed to the desert, was associated with the Persian concept of closed royal parks (pairidaeza; paradeisosin Greek) that are known, for example, through the Greek Xenophon (428/427–354 BC), and also with the Greco-Roman garden for the cultivation of flowers and vegetables. Gardens constituted an important component of Arabo-Islamic culture, first as a symbolic echo of paradise. Although rooted in the Persian tradition of parks for pleasure, the Arabo Islamic garden was also influenced by Byzantine horticulture, particularly the gardens of Nestorian monasteries in Iraq. In most of the Arabo-Muslim world, the garden was essentially a response to terrain and climatic conditions, which were characterized by dryness and heat. Water was always an important element: in royal gardens, it was normally flowing from the highest point toward the entrance so that visitors faced it on arrival.

The ‘Abbasid caliphs built gardens first in Baghdad (762 CE) and later in Samarra (835), with magnificent architectural structures, ponds, lakes, pools, courts decorated with flowers, playgrounds, parks for wild and domesticated animals (zoos with animal houses), rivers (natural and manmade), basins, channels, and harbors for boats. However, the most important centers for Arabic horticulture were in Al-Andalus.

Gardens particularly those belonging to princes were transformed into horticultural stations where experiments were made to acclimatize non-native species of oriental and tropical origin coming from the East and as far as the Near East (India and China). Such specialization of Andalusian horticulture dates back to the first Andalusian emir ‘Abd al-RahmaˆnI

(756–788), who built the ar-Rusafa garden near Cordoba on the model of his grandfather’s residence in Syria. Closed to the north by a wood, it was bordered on its western side by a river. At the center, there was the palace and the vegetable gardens, where non-native species imported from Syria were acclimatized. At Medina Azahara, which was also close to Cordova,

another garden with a similar vocation was built by the Caliph ‘Abd al-Rahmaˆn III (912–961). Both gardens were destroyed in the attack on Cordoba in 1010. In the Taifa kingdoms, rulers had gardens built mainly in Toledo and Almeria but also in Sevilla. The Toledo garden (Bustan al-Na‘ura; The Orchard of the Waterwheel) was made under the direction of Ibn Wafid (d. 1075) from Toledo working in collaboration with Ibn

Bassal, who reported his horticultural experiments in hisBook on Agriculture. In Almeria, the Sumadihyya garden was built under al-Mu‘tasim (1052–1091) and had the twofold purpose of food production and experimental station. In Sevilla, the al-Buhayra was built in 1171 by the Almohad Caliph Abu ˆ Ya‘qubYusuf (d. 1199), and fruits were brought from Granada and Guadix to be planted. Gardens were also built

in Zaragoza, Valencia, and Tortosa and in private properties all over al-Andalus.

The arrangement of these princes’ gardens is not known in detail. The species introduced to Spain from the East and acclimatized during the tenth century included eggplant (Solanum melongea), henna (Lawsonia inermis), cotton (Gossypiumspp.), rice (Oryza sativa), banana (Musasp.), jasmine (Jasminum officinale), and perhaps lemon (Citrus limon), saffron

(Crocus sativus), sugar cane (Saccharum officinarum), and mulberry (Morusspp.). During the eleventh century, acclimatized species included spinach (Spinacia oleracea), sorghum (Sorghumspp.), lemon (Citrus limon), and orange (Citrus aurantium).

The eleventh century Book on Agriculture of Ibn Bassaˆl mentions one hundred and forty different plant names, which probably correspond to a higher number of contemporary species. The most frequently quoted are fig tree, grapevine, almond tree, and olive tree. Next in number of mentions come a dozen different kinds of fruit trees, among which are pomegranate, apple, and plum. Vegetables follow, with eggplant, zucchini, onions, beans cucumber, and cabbage being mentioned, among others. After such fruit trees as lemon, orange, and palm tree come the legumes and cotton, and, finally, the aromatic herbs, with coriander, sesame, cumin, and saffron being mentioned, as well as some ornamental plants.

Experiments involving horticultural techniques were especially developed in the area of Sevilla in the so-called al-Sharaf (aljarafe). This was an elevated table-land with a surface of approximately one thousand six hundred and fifty square kilometers that was bordered with water. Its soil was made of sand mixed with lime and local layers of clay, and it

was highly fertile. The area, which was occupied by an estimated eight hundred to two thousand villages, was cultivated by a dense population working for the wealthy families of Sevilla who hired agronomists

and agriculturists to improve cultivation techniques and production. Research relied on such earlier sources as the Kitab Filahat al-Ard (Book of the Culture of Arable Land), the Kitab al-Filaha ar-Rumiyya (Byzantine Book of Agriculture), and the Kitab alFilaha an-Nabatiyya (Book of Nabatean Agriculture). According to such agricultural works as the books by Ibn Hajjaj (eleventh century) and Ibn al-‘Awwam (twelfth century) that reported local experiments, research dealt with such topics as the quality of earth, fertilizers, vegetable production, growing of flowers, improving the production of the olive tree, grapevine

pruning, and viticulture.

The tradition of Arabic gardens and horticulture was perpetuated in the Ottoman world, including in the mosque gardens.

Primary Sources

Lo´pez y Lo´pez, Angel C.Kitaˆbfıˆ Tartıˆb Awqaˆt al-Gira ˆsa

wa-l-Magruˆsa ˆt. Un Tratado Agrı´cola Andalusı´Ano´nimo.

Edicio´n, Traduccio´n y Estudio con Glosario. Madrid:

Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientı´ficas, Escuela

de Estudios A´

rabes, 1990.

Milla´s Vallicrosa, J.M., and M. Aziman.Ibn Bassa ˆl, Libro

de Agricultura. Tetua ´n: Instituto Muley el-Hasan, 1955.

Further Reading

Alemi, Mahvash. ‘‘Il Giardino Persiano: Tipi e Modelli.’’ In

Il Giardino Islamico: Architettura, Natura, Paesaggio, ed.

A. Petrucci, 39–62. Milan: Electa, 1994.

Atasoy, Nurhan.A Garden for the Sultan: Gardens and Flowers in the Ottoman Culture. Istanbul: AYGAZ, 2002.

Aubaille-Sallenave, Franc¸oise. ‘‘La Greffe Chez les Agronomes Andalous.’’ InCiencias de la Naturaleza en alAndalus. Textos y Estudios. III, ed. E. Garcı ´aSa´nchez,

11–41. Madrid: Consejo Superior de Investigaciones

Cientı´ficas, 1994.

Carabaza Bravo, Julia Ma. ‘‘El Olivo en los Tratados

Agrono´micos Cla´sicos y Andalusı´es.’’ InCiencias de la

Naturaleza en al-Andalus. Textos y Estudios. IV, ed.

C. Alvarez de Morales, 11–39. Madrid: Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientı´ficas, 1996.

Carabaza Bravo, Julia Ma., Expiracio´n Garcı´aSa´nchez,

J. Esteban Herna´ndez Bermejo, and Alfonso Jime´nez

Ramı´rez. ‘‘Arboles y Arbustos en los Textos Agrı´colas

Andalusı´es I.’’ InCiencias de la Naturaleza en al-Andalus.

Textos y Estudios. V, ed. C. Alvarez de Morales, 269–307.

Madrid: Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientı´ficas,

1998.

———. ‘‘Arboles y Arbustos en los Textos Agrı´colas

Andalusı´es II.’’ InCiencias de la Naturaleza en al-Andalus. Textos y Estudios. VI, ed. C. Alvarez de Morales,

157–222. Madrid: Consejo Superior de Investigaciones

Cientı´ficas, 2001.

Dickie, J. ‘‘The Islamic Garden in Spain.’’ InThe Islamic

Garden, eds. Elisabeth B. MacDougall and Richard

Etthinghausen, 89–105. Washington: Dumbarton Oaks,

1976.

El Faiz, Mohammed. ‘‘L’Aljarafe of Sevilla: An Experimental Garden for the Agronomists of Muslim Spain.’’ In

The Authentic Garden, eds. L. Tjon Sie Fat and E. de

Jong, 139–152. Leiden: Clusius Foundation, 1991.

Fahd, Toufic. ‘‘Botany and Agriculture’’. InEncyclopedia

of the History of Arabic Science, 3rd ed., ed. R. Rashed.,

813–852. London and New York: Routledge, 1996.

Fahd, Toufic. ‘‘L’Agriculture Nabate´enne en Andalousie.’’

In Ciencias de la Naturaleza en al-Andalus. Textos y

Estudios. IV, ed. C. Alvarez de Morales, 41–52.

Madrid: Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientı´ficas,

1996.

Garcı´aSa´nchez, Expiracio´n, and Angel Lo´pez y Lo´pez.

‘‘The Botanic Gardens in Muslim Spain.’’ In The

Authentic Garden, eds. L. Tjon Sie Fat and E. de Jong,

165–176. Leiden: Clusius Foundation, 1991.

Hernandez Bermejo, J. Esteban. ‘‘Dificultades en la Identificacio´n e Intrepretacio´n de las Especies Vegetales Citadas por los Autores Hispanoarabes. Applicacio´nala

Obra de Ibn Bassaˆl.’’ In Ciencias de la Naturaleza en

al-Andalus. Textos y Estudios. I, ed. E. Garcı ´aSa´nchez,

241–61. Madrid: Consejo Superior de Investigaciones

Cientı´ficas, 1990.

Ilhan, Nevzat. ‘‘The Culture of Gardens and Flowers in the

Ottoman Empire.’’ InThe Authentic Garden, eds. L.

Tjon Sie Fat and E. de Jong. Leiden: Clusius Foundation, 1991.

Lagarde`re, Vincent. ‘‘Canne a ` Sucre et Sucreries en al-Andalus au Moyen Age (VIII-XVie`me s.).’’ InCiencias de

la Naturaleza en al-Andalus. Textos y Estudios, III, ed.

E. Garcı´aSa´nchez, 337–59. Madrid: Consejo Superior

de Investigaciones Cientı´ficas, 1994.

Montoro, M.C. ‘‘El Cultivo de los Cı´tricos en la Espan ˜a

Musulmana.’’ InCiencias de la Naturaleza en al-Andalus.

Textos y Estudios, I, ed. E. Garcı ´aSa´nchez, 263–315.

Madrid: Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientı´ficas,

1990.

Rubiera y Mata, Maria Jesu´s. ‘‘Il Giardino Islamico Como

Metafora del Paradiso.’’ InIl Giardino Islamico. Architettura, Natura, Paesaggio, ed. A. Petrucci, 13–24.

Milan: Electa, 1994.

Ruggles, D. Fairchild.Gardens, Landscape, & Vision in the

Palaces of Islamic Spain. University Park, Penn: The

Pennsylvania State University Press, 2003.

Sa´ez Ferna´ndez, Pedro. ‘‘Fuentes Grecolatinas del Tratado

Agrı´cola Andalusı´ Ano´nimo.’’ InCiencias de la Naturaleza en al-Andalus. Textos y Estudios, III, ed. E. Garcı ´a

Sa´nchez, 237–93. Madrid: Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientı´ficas, 1994.

Al-Samarrai, Qasim. ‘‘The ‘Abbaˆsid gardens in Baghdad

and Saˆmarraˆ (7–12th century).’’ In The Authentic

Garden, eds. L. Tjon Sie Fat and E. de Jong, 115–122.

Leiden: Clusius Foundation, 1991.

Samso´, Julio. Las Ciencias de los Antiguos en Al-Andalus.

Madrid: Fundacio´n MAPFRE, 1992.

Sezgin, Fuat. Geschichte des Arabischen Schrifttums. 4.

Alchimie, Chemie, Botanik, Agrikultur bis ca. 430

H. Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1971.

Ullmann, Manfred.Die Natur—Und Gegeimwissenschaften

in Islam. Leiden and Cologne: E.J. Brill, 1972.

HUMAYUN

Nasir ad-Din Humayun, the second ruler of the Mughal dynasty, was born in 1508 CE in Kabul, a few years after his father, Zahir ad-Din Babur, who had been displaced from the Timurid stronghold in

Transoxiana, conquered the city. A favorite son, Humayun spent his early career assisting his father with the administration of Kabul and Badakhshan. He joined his father in his invasions of India, participating in the momentous battle of Panipat in 1526 at which Babur defeated the Afghan ruler, Ibrahim Lodi, and established his family’s rule in India.

Babur died four years later in 1530, leaving Humayun to succeed him as the ruler of a small but shaky state.

Humayun spent the first decade of his rule trying to maintain control over the territories he had inherited from his father. On the one hand, he had to contend with challenges from his brothers who, at various times, rebelled against his authority and threatened to establish their own independence. His brother Kamran, in particular, betrayed him several

times, although Humayun, as a forgiving elder brother, refused to have him executed. More threatening to his rule were the challenges he faced from two external forces that were gradually encroaching on his

territory: Sultan Bahadur of Gujarat from the southwest and the Pathan leader Sher Khan Suri from the east. The threat from Sultan Bahadur disappeared when he was killed by the Portuguese. The threat from Sher Khan, however, turned out to be so serious that, after a series of defeats (starting with the battle in Bengal in 1539) Humayun had to flee north India, while Sher Khan, then known as Sher Shah, declared himself ruler. Humayun first sought refuge in Sind (ruled at that time by the Arghuns), where he was joined by Bairam Khan, a loyal friend of his father’s who would eventually help him recapture the territory he had lost. It was in Sind that Humayun’s son, Akbar, who would turn out to be one of the greatest of Mughal emperors, was born in 1542. From Sind, Humayun eventually went to Iran, where he sought help for his cause from the Safawid Shah Tahmasp. Shah Tahmasp was happy to provide him with military support as long as Humayun pledged allegiance to Shi’i Islam, which had been introduced as the state religion of the Safavid Empire.

In 1545, with the help of Persian forces, Humayun wrested control over both Kandahar and Kabul from his brothers. He spent several years consolidating his authority over his family resources in Afghanistan

before finally turning his attention to territories in north India. Squabbles among the descendants of Sher Shah made it possible for Humayun’s armies, under the able command of Bairam Khan, to recapture Punjab. In July 1555, he was able to defeat Sikandar Shah Suri and remount his father’s throne in Delhi. The last year of his reign was relatively

stable, allowing him to pursue his favorite hobbies, primarily poetry and painting. During his sojourn in Iran, he had met several outstanding miniature painters such as Mir Sayyid Ali, Dost Muhammad, and

Abdussamad. Having regained control of Delhi, he invited them to his court, where they were responsible for training Indian artists and for the eventual development of the Mughal style of painting.

Throughout his life, Humayun showed an interest in astrology and astronomy to the point that he has often been characterized as being superstitious. At one time, he had even unsuccessfully attempted to organize his empire along astrological lines. On January 24, 1556, he climbed onto the roof of his library to observe the rising of the planet Venus when he heard the call to prayer. As he bent down to kneel out of respect, he slipped and fell down the steep staircase; he died three

days later as a result of his injuries.

Further Reading

Gascoigne, Bamber.The Great Moghuls. London: Constable, 1998.

HUNAYN IBN ISHAQ (809–873 OR 877 CE)

A gifted translator, philosopher, and physician, Hunayn Ibn Ishaq came from the suburbs of Kufa to the center of ninth-century Baghdad’s intellectual life. Hunayn’s entire career must be understood within the context of the Translation Movement, which flourished during the Baghdad-based ‘Abbasid caliphate (750–1258 CE). The Islamic conquest of the Near East during the seventh century brought under Muslim control areas with Christian scholars, such as Hunayn, who were capable of translating texts from Greek into Arabic. The earliest impetus for the Translation Movement was the Umayyad Caliph ‘Abd alMalik’s (d. 705) order for the imperial record books (Arabic diwan, pl. dawawin) to be translated from Greek and Persian into Arabic. Because native Arabic

speakers would now be able to become viziers, there was a need for information, in Arabic, about geometry, arithmetic, and so on. Moreover, viziers could enhance their social status by patronizing translators,

philosophers, and physicians such as Hunayn.

The nascent Translation Movement, with its socioeconomic origins, intensified during the ‘Abbasid caliphate, because the ‘Abbasid caliphs cultivated a mythical connection with the kings of the earlier Sasanian Empire as an appeal to Persian populist sentiments (shu‘ubiyya). A key component of this mythology was the inclusion of Hellenistic Greek

philosophy and science within the Sasanian intellectual heritage. Recovering this heritage became a priority to the viziers who patronized Hunayn, and they paid a full-time translator as much as 24 thousand

dollars per month. Analysis of Hunayn’s autobiography has demonstrated that Hunayn’s success aroused envy and jealously that in turn led to his temporary downfall.

Although medieval accounts of Hunayn’s career method attributed his success in translating to his attention to the contextual meaning of a word or sentence rather than its literal meaning, recent scholarship has shown that he combined the literal and contextual techniques even within the same text. Additionally, sometimes he translated into Arabic directly from the Greek, and other times he first created a Syriac version for his own use or for a cotranslator. Hunayn’s fame and the cooperative nature

of translation make a precise determination of his oeuvre impossible. By his own account, he translated more than a hundred texts from Galen alone, and these translations should be understood as creative acts in and of themselves.

As a philosopher and scientist, Hunayn’s writings pioneered a technical vocabulary for medical literature and natural philosophy that became a foundation for future work. His writings about optics combined a knowledge of ocular anatomy with a theory of vision that was based on Aristotle’s. Hunayn held that light is not a body but rather a state of a transparent medium, such as air, that makes that body receptive to color. In medicine, Hunayn’s translations of Galen defended the value of both empirical and theoretical medical knowledge, and Hunayn’s own compositions (e.g.,Questions onMedicine) were thorough and thoughtfully organized.Accounts of his service as physician to the caliph

attributed his prowess to both his adab (an awareness of how to behave at court) and his medical acumen.

Sabtu, 17 September 2016

ENCYCLOPEDIA MEDIEVAL ISLAMIC PART 9

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