New Publication 2016: Roman London's First Voices

Roman London's First Voices

 Writing Tablets from the Bloomberg Excavations, 2010–14

[From the website of Oxbow books; December 22, 2017]

This publication presents research into Britain’s largest, earliest and most significant collection of Roman waxed writing tablets. The collection, which boasts the first hand-written document known from Britain, was discovered during archaeological excavations for Bloomberg. The formal, official, legal and business aspects of life in the first decades of Londinium are revealed, with appearances from slaves, freedmen, traders, soldiers and the judiciary. Aspects of the tablets considered include their manufacture, analysis of the wax applied to their surfaces, their epigraphy and the content of over 80 legible texts.

Conference: Modern Arabic Historical Scholarship on the Ancient and Medieval Periods

The development of the historical profession in the Arab World since 1945 has received scant attention from Western scholars of the region. This is particularly the case regarding modern Arabic studies on Antiquity and the Middle Ages. Even in the field of medieval Islamic history, there is generally little awareness on the part of scholars based in the West, about the research and publications of their colleagues in the Arabic-speaking countries. As a consequence, Arabic secondary sources are rarely utilized and reviewed by Western historians of the medieval Islamic period.

Our conference aims to address this serious bibliographical gap. We will bring together an international group of specialists in a variety of pre-modern historical disciplines ranging from Assyriology to Mamluk Studies who will discuss contemporary Arabic-language scholarship in their respective fields. Some presentations will give an overview of a particular discipline across the entire Arabic-speaking World while others will focus on an historiographical “school” or a single major scholar as a case study. The conference will be a stepping-stone in the production of a multi-author handbook which will consist of studies and bibliographies of Arabic scholarship on Ancient and Medieval history.

Reissue of Byzantium and the Arabs of Irfan Shahîd

Reissue of Byzantium and the Arabs of Irfan Shahîd

Dumbarton Oaks has announced that all seven volumes of Irfan Shahîd’s monumental Byzantium and the Arabs, published by Dumbarton Oaks Publications, are available for free download from their website here: https://www.doaks.org/newsletter/byzantium-and-the-arabs 

Seneca's Agamemnon Performed in Arabic

The fabula crepidata Agamemnon of Seneca the Younger is performed in Arabic based on the professional translation of Prof. Abdel Moaty Shaarawy, see the post about this translation here .

The performance was produced by the cultural program of the Egyptian Radio (Radio Cairo) and now available on the You Tube channel of this program.

Seneca's Medea performed in Arabic

The fabula crepidata Medea of Seneca the Younger is performed in Arabic based on the professional translation of Prof. Abdel Moaty Shaarawy, see the post about this translation here .

The performance was produced by the cultural program of the Egyptian Radio (Radio Cairo) and now available on the You Tube channel of this program. Medea is done by the famous Egyptian actress Samira Abdelaziz. It is a familiar voice for every Egyptian as she is moderating, since 1975 until today, a radio program called "Said the philosopher", in which she, as a female student with an angelic voice, asks a certain philosopher about a certain virtue. Now, as a Medea, she lectures us about her the virtue of revenge !

The Historcial Context of Homer's Iliad: A Lecture in Arabic (Kuwait, 1975 or 88?)

The Historcial Context of Homer's Iliad

The You Tube hosts an extensive lecture in Arabic about the historical context of Homer's Iliad. The lecture is delivered by one of the pioneering Egyptian classicists and papyrologists; Prof. Abdellatif Ahmed Ali. It is uploaded by his son Dr. Moones Ali (Thanks, Dr. Moones, for this valuable addition). Prof. Ali took his PhD from University of Michigan in 1949. He came back to teach in Cairo University (department of Classics and History) until 1974. In this year he moved to Kuwait, where he was teaching Greek and Roman History. The lecture seems to be delivered in Kuwait in 1975 or after this year. In the calendar behind the moderator, I can see a date reading Monday 15/4/88 or 85. With a map and extensive knowledge of the Greek history and mythology, he relates the epic as well as the modern history of scholarship about it in a very interesting, sensational and lively (sometimes theatrical) manner as evidenced by the audience' laughter. Enjoy watching and hearing !

Part I

Part II

Part III

Part IV

The Iliad: A Radio Drama in Arabic based on Homer's Iliad

The Iliad: A Radio Drama in Arabic

The Egyptian Radio has produced a Radio drama in Arabic based on Homer's Iliad. It is unknown when this drama was broadcasted, but most probably after 1967. This approximate date is based on the fact that Ali Azzab, one of the two writers of the drama, graduated from the higher institute for theatrical fine arts in Cairo in 1967.  The second writer of the drama is Helal Abouamer. No more information is available about the second writer or this adaptation. Fortunately You Tube hosts the full audio (about two hours) of this piece.

According to Wikipedia, a radio drama is "a dramatized, purely acoustic performance, broadcast on radio. With no visual component, radio drama depends on dialogue, music and sound effects to help the listener imagine the characters and story: "It is auditory in the physical dimension but equally powerful as a visual force in the psychological dimension".

The Algerian Iliad by Cheikh Zakaria (1908-1977)

The Algerian Iliad by Cheikh Zakaria (1908-1977)

The Algerian Iliad is an epic poem of 1001 verse lines composed by Cheikh Zakaria (1908-1977), the poet of the Algerian revolution, to celebrate the long history of the Algerian people's resistance against foreign occupations from "the most ancient times to the present day", as  Mouloud Kacem (1927-1992), the famous  Algerian politician, philosopher, historian, and writer, stated in the preface of the printed poem. Mouloud Kacem was the one who commissioned Cheikh Zakaria to compose this poem. With its 1001 verse lines, it is not only an Iliad, but a clear parody to One Thousand and One Nights of the famous folk tales know as Arabian Nights.

A first short version of this poem of only 610 verse lines was recited by Cheikh Zakaria himself in the inauguration of the sixth conference of the Islamic thought on July 24, 1972 in Club of Pines in Algeria where Houari Boumédiène (1932-1978), Chairman of the Revolutionary Council, was one of the participants. There is a recording on You Tube where one can listen to the very sensational recitation by the author himself. Here it is:

The Arabs and the European Civilization (1975) by Mohamed Mofid Alshobashi

I have found another title exploring the relationship between the Arabs and the European Civilization. It is "The Arabs and the European Civilization (1975)" by Mohamed Mofid Alshobashi. It has no content as it just an introduction to the topic to be read during a bus journey or so. This is evident from the book description in from of the title "Ketab Geb" i.e. a small book that fits in ones' pocket and one could finish reading it in a bus journey. The current book is only 124 small pages long and was appeared in Cairo and Baghdad in the same time in 1975.

The Myth of European Civilization by Atia Amer 1990

Searching the print culture of modern and contemporary Egypt for "The European Civilization", I found a book titled "The Myth of  The European Civilization" by Atia Amer. The book is published in 1990 by the still operating The Anglo-Egyptian Publishing House (https://www.anglo-egyptian.com/en/). Unfortunately, the title is not to be found in their online catalog neither I can find a digital copy of it online. This book is wanted. I hope someday I will catch it.

The Influence of the Arabs on the European Civilizaton by Abbās Mahmūd al-Aqqād (1889 –1964)

The Influence of the Arabs on the European Civilization is one of the latest books of  Abbās Mahmūd al-Aqqād (1889 –1964), the famous Egyptian intellectual and author. The book was first published by Dar el-Maarif in 1960 with many subsequent unaltered editions, which may indicate the wide popularity of this title. The last of these editions is published in 2013 by Hindawi charity foundation. You can download a free version (kindle, pdf or ePub) of it from here:http://www.hindawi.org/books/57380918/ . Here is the book cover and the content.