亚伯拉罕的行李：中世纪印度洋世界的饮食、日用与旅行技艺

Asian Connections

by Elizabeth Lambourn, 伊丽莎白·兰伯恩, 吴莉苇 (Translator)

亚伯拉罕的行李清单，长28.3厘米，宽10.4厘米，在一张废纸上列出170多项，是已知中世纪印度洋唯一存世的行李及旅途给养清单，约1149年随亚伯拉罕返乡进入开罗犹太会堂的秘库中，直至1897年去往剑桥，1950年代确认身份，2008年才得到完整的阅读和发表。易哲家的亚伯拉罕的故事，以极高的分辨率展现在我们面前，甚至有历史学家认为，其身后影响可与莫卧儿皇帝巴布尔和伊本·白图泰比肩……

本书从他的行李清单开始一段探索中世纪印度洋沿岸的世界因交流而充满活力的历史。书种关于犹太商人的活动研究，视角新鲜且有创意，展现了这份清单如何成为中世纪伊斯兰地中海与南亚之间所发展的更为广阔的贸易关联的一个构成。这份独具特色的12世纪文献，是在开罗的犹太贮藏室中发现的，由北非商人易哲家的亚伯拉罕写就，通过对这份材料的细致研读，兰伯恩重点关注了构成此类印度贸易商在陆地与海上的日常生活的家庭物质文化和饮食。本书借鉴人类学对物质文化、食品和身份构建之间联系的见解，探讨了维持一个远离家乡的家所涉及的各种动机和后勤挑战，以及随之而来的必然妥协。亚伯拉罕的行李向我们证明了，通过显而易见的短时收藏物的偶然幸存来挑战新的历史书写的可能。

Genres: History, Academic, History Of Science

448 pages, Hardcover

Published August 1, 2025

Reviews

[Eressea · Rating 4 out of 5]

這種文化交流史類型的書是我最喜歡的
本書雖然很精彩，但主題太陌生，吐不出啥感想
看完精彩的行李清單逐項分析，唯一想說的只有：
猶太商人好會跑啊~ 連印度也有據點

[Jajwalya Karajgikar · Rating 4 out of 5]

History books are like detective mysteries, tracing forwards in time -
I found a wealth of information on travel items and trade items in Malibarat from North Africa and Iran which is great for better understanding what I'm doing with my Ancient Silk Route visualization and simulation. If only I were to have a dataset of the same, sigh.
Also. What is drky?
Further, I learnt of the social dynamics of Muslims traveling, Jews intermarrying locally, "manumissioning" local slave women (?)

[Kennedi Bruce · Rating 2 out of 5]

“Cumulatively, the micro-historical study of Abraham’s luggage and provisions illuminates larger macrohistorical questions about the social and cultural consequences of inter-regional trade and long-term sojourning during a century when South Asia and the Indian Ocean were taking on a new centrality in the Islamic world and in Eurasia more broadly. The making of homes on India’s southern, coastal frontier belongs within a larger story of the gradual eastwards shift of the Islamic world that underpins the geopolitics of our contemporary world” (Lambourn, 14).
Elizabeth A. Lambourn’s Abraham’s Luggage follows the life of a North African Jewish trader named Abraham Ben Yuji with the intent of uncovering knowledge on the obscure history that is culture, trade, and materialism along the medieval Indian Ocean. Abraham’s story begins with a single piece of paper, something that many of us in the twenty-first century would disregard as irrelevant after its intended use: a luggage list. This paper, being the only known list of luggage and travel provisions to have survived from this period, provided historians with the exact context needed to piece together the inner workings of trade along the Indian Ocean. The study of Abraham’s life is what historians call a micro-history. A micro-history is the study of a small historical event, especially in relation to larger events or topics (macro-histories). Furthermore, studying microhistories are important because they allow historians (or us) to take a look at history from a different perspective; instead of viewing historical events as something that just happened to take place, studying the lives of people allow us to see the humanity in history–the importance of human decisions, relationships, and even human nature. An important aspect in writing micro-histories is the number of sources readily available to base your research on. Lambourn had one physical piece of paper from the period (a primary source) yet she has nothing less than an abundance of evidence presented in her work. Abraham's Luggage was published through Cambridge University Press, the same university that houses the Cairo Genizah, a library containing important documents on Jewish history, religion, and culture. Using this source, Lambourn found the writings of Friedman Goitein and Amitav Ghosh (who wrote on the life of Abraham directly) and was able to pull from these works, what is often referred to as the ‘Indian Book’ as a source of evidence. Drawing context from everyday material items from the premodern Jewish Indian world, Lambourn creates a new and elaborate macro-historical perspective on intraregional trade along the Indian Ocean as well as its broader sociocultural implementations.
Abhraham’s Luggage consists of two main parts–Part I: A Mediterranean Society in Malibarat, followed by Part II: A Mediterranean Society at Sea. Part I of the text lays the utter foundation for the rest of the work. In this section, Lambourn describes both her work, the importance behind it. While explaining her micro-historical study, Lambourn introduces readers to the broader historical work of Friedman Goitein and the Cairo Genizah–using these sources, she is able to explain her impact in this specific field of history. In addition, A Mediterranean Society in Malibarat, presents the story of Abraham's life in Malabrat, his life before his travels. Within this part of the text, Lambourn also describes the sheer magnitude of domestic culture and social life among Mediterranean Jews by deeply exploring the contents of the list (luggage list) itself. A specific part of the book I found to display this concept particularly well was written in chapter three, Making Homes and Friends: On Shopping and Suhba. In this chapter, Lambourn presents her main argument quite early: that social status, or “suhba” was crucial in the world of travel. Lambourn says, “In the following sections, I wish to propose that the consignments sent at no charge belong alongside “paid-for” household orders and that both form an integral part of the extended services that were fundamental to business relationships and in particular to the systems of suhba or reciprocal agency that constituted the backbone of trade at this period” (Lambourn, 80). In this argument, Lambourn proposes that personal friendships and partnerships are crucial in the business that Abraham is involved in. These relationships were formed through the giving and receiving of “gifts” or trade items that were not charged for. I believe that this concept is a fundamental aspect of the second part of the book, where Abraham is not only traveling and trading, but working to build a life for himself outside of Malabrat.
The second part of Lamborn’s work focuses on the voyaging aspect of Abraham’s journey; rather than giving historical context, Lambourn builds on the existing work to create working historical hypotheses. Some of these hypotheses center around how Abraham builds his own lifestyle through his travels, while others revolve around the culture of traveling, of relationships between travels, and of materialism. One of the most notable aspects from the second part of the book was the descriptions of daily premodern life on the sea, and how it differentiates from the modern era. This part was important in showing the overall importance of the work, tying the far past to the near present.
Drawing context from everyday material items from the premodern Jewish Indian world, in her work Abraham’s Luggage, Elizabeth Lambourn creates a new and elaborate macro-historical perspective on intraregional trade along the Indian Ocean as well as its broader sociocultural implementations. With a strong thesis and persuasive arguments, Lambourn did well with the work that is Abraham’s Luggage. All of the arguments presented were defended quite well despite the utter lack of initial evidence, and explained in a way to accommodate many readers. There is a lot to be learned from Lambourn’s work; first of which, that it is okay to research ambitious topics. Never before have I come across a historical work that based its research off of so little primary evidence. Though Lambourn already stated it, she made a significant impact within the field of premodern Indian Ocean culture and economics. Her work has turned a single list into a complex history that will reach anyone who looks. Because of the success of Lambourn’s work, I believe it should inspire other historians to take a closer look at microhistorical studies–to dive deep into the lives of the people we study rather than the events themselves. In doing this, I think the entire history community will grow–in wisdom, in closeness, and in fortitude.

[Derek Kraus · Rating 4 out of 5]

While certainly a bit dry, Lambourn's analysis of an object as everyday as a luggage list is ambitious, well-researched, and enlightening.