Mapping Frontiers Across Medieval Islam: Geography, Translation and the 'Abbasid Empire

by Travis Zadeh

The story of the 9th-century caliphal mission from Baghdad to discover the legendary barrier against the apocalyptic nations of Gog and Magog mentioned in the Quran, has been either dismissed as superstition or treated as historical fact. By exploring the intellectual and literary history surrounding the production and early reception of this adventure, Travis Zadeh traces the conceptualization of frontiers within early 'Abbasid society and re-evaluates the modern treatment of marvels and monsters inhabiting medieval Islamic descriptions of the world. Examining the roles of translation, descriptive geography, and salvation history in the projection of early 'Abbasid imperial power, this book is essential for all those interested in Islamic studies, the 'Abbasid dynasty and its politics, geography, religion, Arabic and Persian literature and European Orientalism.

Genres: Islam, History, Geography

336 pages, Paperback

First published October 30, 2010

Reviews

[Stephanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m not a medieval Islamic scholar so at times I was a little confused due to lack of knowledge for the time period however I loved his methodology for understanding the significance of geography as a genre. His push to have us consider the significance of the marvelous in medieval Islamic geography and thought (as opposed to a dismissive attitude of poking fun at those “ignorant” people) is very thoughtful and adds great value to larger conversation of how we understand pre-Enlightenment thought. I would highly recommend.