Overview

Although al-Maqrizi is recognised as the most influential historian of pre-modern Egypt, he has never received the probing historical treatment warranted by his standing and scholarly output. This book fills that gap. Arranged in three sections, it tells al-Maqrizi's life story in the first, weaves it with historiographical, textual and methodological analysis of his oeuvre in the second, and reconstructs the afterlife of the author and his work down to the present in the third part. al-Maqrizi is presented both as a man of his age who forged a distinct and unique scholarly persona and a historian with a structured and principled project aiming to reconstruct the history of Islamic Egypt in all its facets. His, however, was a critical stance with moral overtones, conceived from within the epistemological framework of a medieval Muslim thinker, which ensured not only his reputation in his own historiographical tradition, but also his reclamation in the modern Egyptian consciousness as one of the most original voices of Egypt.

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9781399502818

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""This intellectual biography of al-Maqrizi is a masterpiece. One of the best assessments of an Arab intellectual to appear this decade. The work of Professor Rabbat will set the standard for biographical scholarly work on Mamluk scholars. The arch of the work is unique in modern scholarship. It excavates the author from his massive works and situates him in his environment. But more importantly, Rabbat follows the impact of the works of this scholar up to the present. This is a magisterial work. A must read for anyone interested in the intellectual history of Islam."" -Walid Saleh, University of Toronto

"""This intellectual biography of al-Maqrizi is a masterpiece. One of the best assessments of an Arab intellectual to appear this decade. The work of Professor Rabbat will set the standard for biographical scholarly work on Mamluk scholars. The arch of the work is unique in modern scholarship. It excavates the author from his massive works and situates him in his environment. But more importantly, Rabbat follows the impact of the works of this scholar up to the present. This is a magisterial work. A must read for anyone interested in the intellectual history of Islam."" -Walid Saleh, University of Toronto"

Author Information

Nasser Rabbat is Aga Khan Professor and Director of the Aga Khan Program for Islamic Architecture at MIT.

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