Shajar al-Durr, known as Tree of Pearls, was one of the most famous Arab queens and the only woman in the medieval Arab world to rule in her own name. Her story is one element of a much larger story ...of the unsettled political climate of thirteenth century Egypt. In this eponymous novel, Zaydan charts the fall of the Ayyubid Dynasty and the rise of the Mamluke Dynasty through the adventures of Tree of Pearls and Rukn al-Din Baybars, a young Mamluke commander who eventually triumphs as the ruler of Egypt. War, political intrigue, murder, and a female ruler who was born a slave combine to give readers an irresistible story, while Zaydan’s keen observations on royal politics and subverted gender roles offer readers a richly detailed glimpse of the cultural milieu of the time. Tree of Pearls, originally published in 1914, is the last of a famous series of historical novels written by Zaydan, an accomplished historian whose books continue to be read widely in the Arab world today. Samah Selim’s fluid translation brings an English audience to one of the Arab world’s influential writers.
This paper analyzes the conceptualization of ideas of race in three historical novels in the fictional work of Jurji Zaydan (1861–1914), a Syrian Christian intellectual who wrote on the Golden Ages ...of Islamic History through serialized, popular works of historical fiction. In the novels analyzed, Fath al-Andalus (Conquest of Andalusia), Abbasa Ukht al-Rashid (The Caliph’s Sister), and al-Amin wa al-Ma’mun (The Caliph’s Heirs), Zaydan depicts hierarchies of race that are delineated by certain features and categories, especially within the Abbasid among household slaves, and also centers the conflict within the novels around issues of differences in race and lineage. Zaydān shows the importance of rifts in Islamic history stemming from categorizations and distinctions between Arab and non-Arab, or Arab and Persian, or mawāli. The novels also reflect the self-conceptualization of Egyptians in relation to their perceptions of the Sudanese, at a time of the rise of Arab nationalism, in late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Jurji Zaidan was one of the leading thinkers of the Arab renaissance.Through his historical novels, his widely read journal, al-Hilal, which is stillpublished today, and his scholarly works, he ...forged a new cultural Arabidentity. In this book, Philipp shows how Zaidan popularized the idea ofsociety that was based on science and reason, and invoked its accessibilityto all who aspired to progress and modernity.In the first section, Philipp traces the arc of Zaidan's career, placing hiswritings within the political and cultural contexts of the day and analyzinghis impact on the emerging Arab nationalist movement. The second partconsists of a wide selection of Zaidan's articles and book excerpts translatedinto English. These pieces cover such fields as religion and science, societyand ethics, and nationalism. With the addition of a comprehensive bibliography,this volume will be recognized as the authoritative source on Zaidan,as well as an essential contribution to the study of Arabic cultural history.
Russian grain trade, production, and consumption during the Tsarist period (1861–1914) is empirically evaluated. Russia was the world's largest wheat exporter during this period. Tsarist Russian ...agriculture is often characterized in the literature as having been “backward” and not well-integrated with international markets. In contrast to this view, this analysis finds that the Russian grain trade was significantly influenced by international prices and was well-integrated with the international commercial wheat trade. Our results indicate that after 1880 regional wheat markets in Russia were linked and that a strong connection had been established between Russian ports and cities at the center of the world wheat trade. Deviations from equilibrium price relationships were found to be eliminated more rapidly for trade between Odessa and England than for wheat trade between New York and England. In addition, grain trade is shown to have been positively influenced by the development of the rail system.
Regional cultural associations among the Romanians of Transylvania, 1861-1914. - In: Romanian civilization, an 1995, vol. IV, nr. 2, p. 61-69.
Regional cultural associations among the Romanians of ...Transylvania, 1861-1914. - In: Romanian civilization, an 1995, vol. IV, nr. 2, p. 61-69.
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