List of Publications by Jonathan Miran
Book by Jonathan Miran
Articles by Jonathan Miran
in Uoldelul Chelati Dirar and Karin Pallaver (eds.) Africa as Method: A Handbook of Sources and Epistemologies (Singapore: Springer, 2024), pp. 81-103., 2024
The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this p... more The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, expressed or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. The publisher remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Oxford Research Encyclopedia of African History, 2022
Together with the Trans-Saharan and Indian Ocean slave trades, the Red Sea slave trade is one of ... more Together with the Trans-Saharan and Indian Ocean slave trades, the Red Sea slave trade is one of the arenas that comprise what is still referred to as the "Islamic," "Oriental," or "Arab" slave trades that involved the transfer of enslaved people from sub-Saharan Africa to different parts of the Muslim world. It arguably represents one of the oldest, most enduring, and complex multidirectional patterns of human flow. It animated a series of routes and networks that moved African enslaved people mainly to Arabia, the eastern Mediterranean, the Gulf, Iran, and India. The Red Sea and Gulf of Aden slave trade also constituted part of a broader commercial system that comprised, in varying degrees, the greater Nile Valley trade system through which enslaved people from the northeast African interior were moved via overland routes to Egypt and beyond. Unlike the Atlantic slave trade system, where slave cargoes were commonplace, enslaved people were most often shipped across the Red Sea on regular sailing boats carrying a variety of other commodities. At the peak of the trade during the nineteenth century, a large majority of enslaved people exported through the Red Sea were in their teens. The sex ratio heavily favored females. Enslaved individuals from northeast Africa were exploited in a host of occupations that varied from "luxury" slaves (eunuchs and concubines) to domestic servants to labor-intensive enterprises such as pearl divers, masons, laborers in ports, and workers on agricultural plantations. Others were employed in urban economies in transportation, artisanship, and trade. Estimates based on a notoriously weak evidentiary base (for most periods) put Red Sea slave exports for the entire period between 800 CE and around 1900 CE at a total of just under 2,500,000, though this figure may be higher or lower. The heyday of the Red Sea trade was in the 19th century with estimates of around 500,000 enslaved people exported during the period. The abolition and suppression of the slave trade proper in the Red Sea region took a century to accomplish. It is infamously known as one of the most enduring slave trades in the world and it was only in the mid-20th century, when slavery was legally abolished in Yemen and in Saudi Arabia (both in 1962), that illicit slave smuggling across the sea was choked off. But legal abolition has not ended various forms and practices of human trafficking, smuggling, forced labor, debt bondage, commercial sex trafficking, and in some cases enslavement. These persist in the third decade of the 21st century in most of the modern countries bordering the Red Sea and, as in the past, with a reach that extends far and wide, beyond the region proper.
in Pedro Machado, Steve Mullins and Joseph Christensen (eds.), Pearls, People, and Power: Pearling and Indian Ocean Worlds (Athens: Ohio University Press, 2019), pp. 313-343
Pount. Cahiers d’Études sur la Corne de l’Afrique et l’Arabie du Sud 12 (2018): 47-71.
Islamic Law and Society 25 (1-2) 2018: 78-120.
This study examines the testamentary waqf of Aḥmad b. ʿAbd Allāh al-Ghūl (1853-1919), a prominent... more This study examines the testamentary waqf of Aḥmad b. ʿAbd Allāh al-Ghūl (1853-1919), a prominent merchant and communal leader in the cosmopolitan Red Sea port town of Massawa in Eritrea during the period of Italian colonial rule . We provide an annotated translation of the document and a detailed socio-legal analysis of its fea-© koninklijke brill nv, leiden, 2018 |
In David Armitage, Alison Bashford and Sujit Sivasundaram (eds.), Oceanic Histories (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2018), pp. 156-181., 2018
The Journal of African History 56 (3) 2015: 389-408.
West African participation in the pilgrimage to Mecca (hajj) grew considerably throughout the fir... more West African participation in the pilgrimage to Mecca (hajj) grew considerably throughout the first half of the twentieth century. This article examines the causes and consequences of failed British and Saudi efforts to channel, regulate, and control the trans-Sahelian flow of pilgrims and enforce a regime of mobility along the Sahel and across the Red Sea. Focusing specifically on Red Sea 'illicit' passages, the study recovers the rampant and often harrowing crossings of dozens of thousands of West African pilgrims from the Eritrean to the Arabian coasts. It examines multiple factors that drove the circumvention of channeling and control measures and inscribes the experiences of West African historical actors on multiple historiographic fields that are seldom organically tied to West Africa: Northeast African regional history, the colonial history of Italian Eritrea, and the Red Sea as a maritime space connecting Africa with Arabia.
History Compass 12/2 (2014): 197-216.
Situated between the Indian Ocean and the Mediterranean and separating Northeast Africa from the ... more Situated between the Indian Ocean and the Mediterranean and separating Northeast Africa from the Arabian Peninsula, the Red Sea is one of the most unique maritime spaces in the world and among the first to be mentioned in recorded history. This essay debunks past perceptions of this space as merely a maritime corridor and a transit space between the Mediterranean and the Indian Ocean. Instead, it promotes an effort to recast the history of the region with the Red Sea as an organizing framework for analysis, allowing us to imagine it as an integrated region sui generis characterized by multilayered, interconnected, and overlapping circuits and networks operating within and across it while still linked to both the Mediterranean and the Indian Ocean. The essay proposes a materially based analytical framework which can underpin several possible avenues for future research.
Slavery & Abolition 34 (1) 2013: 135-157.
Northeast African Studies 12, No.1 (2012): ix-xxvi.
Inspired by Fernand Braudel's seminal study of the Mediterranean, the study of maritime spaces as... more Inspired by Fernand Braudel's seminal study of the Mediterranean, the study of maritime spaces as meaningful frameworks of historical analysis has been subject to a revival of interest in recent years. 1 The "new thalassology," as it has been coined by two scholars, is driven by efforts to develop new approaches to the study of global history by exploring the webs of connections, interactions, and networks operating both within and between different aquatic arenas of the world and their terrestrial surroundings. 2 This, the new sea historians contend, would aid in critiquing current meta-geographical constructs which divide continents and world regions in ways that have been governed more by different historical geo-political interests, positioning, and cultural constructions and orientations, than by the existing historical dynamics operating within and between world regions. 3 Focusing the study on maritime arenas of interaction allows us to transgress rigid land-based territorial divisions and offers new ways of viewing the history of different world areas, their inter-relationships, and their relationship to global history, also bringing into sharper focus certain large scale historical processes.
Northeast African Studies 12, No. 1 (2012): 129-167.
This study examines the ways by which Hadramis played pivotal roles in the economic, political, r... more This study examines the ways by which Hadramis played pivotal roles in the economic, political, religious, urban and intellectual history of Eritrea in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Hadrami commercial entrepreneurs and laborers moved and settled in prospered under Egyptian (1865-1885) and Italian rule (1885-1941) in import-export, wholesale, retail, urban construction, real-estate, transportation, light-industrial and agricultural enterprises and businesses. They also played central roles as leaders in municipal and commercial institutions, and generously supported the establishment and running of mosques and Islamic educational institutions. Hadramis also contributed to shape the Eritrean political sphere, where as some of the foremost leaders of the Muslim League, activists of Hadrami origins articulated political discourses that were influenced by Islamic modernist thought, global nationalist trends as well as ideologies concerned with social reform, education and 'progress'. Yet by the middle of the twentieth century sectarian nationalist politics, the stricter control of international currency flows, and the curbing of movement across new national 130 n Jonathan Miran borders heavily affected Hadramis and their networks throughout the Indian Ocean. In Eritrea, growing anti-Arab campaigns between the 1940s and 1960s and the nationalization and confiscation of their properties in the 1970s led many Hadramis to leave the country and seek their fortunes elsewhere.
In Gianfrancesco Lusini (ed.), History and Language of the Tigre-Speaking Peoples. Proceedings of the International Workshop, Naples, February 7-8, 2008, «Studi Africanistici. Serie Etiopica 8 » (Napoli: Università di Napoli “L’Orientale”, 2010), pp. 33-50.
The International Journal of African Historical Studies 42, No. 2 (2009): 151-178.
JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, a... more JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected].
Eritrean Studies Review 5, No. 1 (2007): 33-88.
Die Welt des Islams 45, No. 2 (2005): 177-215.
JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, a... more JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected].
Translation of article that appeared in Die Welt des Islams in 2005
بقهى : ييزاٌ جىَاثاٌ األيزيكيت انًخحذة انىالياث واشُطٍ بيهيُجهاو . حزجًت : داي... more بقهى : ييزاٌ جىَاثاٌ األيزيكيت انًخحذة انىالياث واشُطٍ بيهيُجهاو . حزجًت : دايُا عهي عثًاٌ يحًذ ئٌضٍ٠ح فٟ جإلْالَ وٌجْس ئْ -ًا ضمٍ٠رح جٌرالو ْىحْ ٌٕٛص و٠ٓ ذاػطرحٌٖ -ٍِجقٍٙح فٟ ضُجي ال جألٌٚٝ . جٌؼٍّ١س جٌركٛظ ِؿحالش ِٓ ٚوغ١ٍٖ جٌّٕطمس فٟ جإلْالَ ضحٌ٠م فٟ ذكع ئؾٍجء ٚئْ أٚجتً فٟ جٌٛؾٛو ق١ُ ئٌٟ جالْطمالي قى٠ػس وىٌٚس ئٌضٍ٠ح ذظٌٙٛ ًا ِّىٕح أٚرف ذاٌضٍ٠ح، جٌّطؼٍمس جٌ١ٙح جٌٛٚٛي ِٓ ٚجألؾحٔد جٌّكٍ١ْٛ جٌرحقػْٛ ضّىٓ ق١ع جٌّحٟٞ، جٌمٍْ ضٓؼ١ٕ١حش . ًٌٚٙج جٌٍُّٓ جإلٌضٍٞ ٌٍّؿطّغ ذؼ١ٕٙح قحالش ٚوٌجْحش ًا قى٠ػح جٌّىطٛذس جٌّٛحوٌ ٌؤ٠س جٌٍّف ِٓ جٚرف ئٌضٍ٠ح فٟ جإلْالَ ٌططٌٛ فّٕٙح ِٓطٛ٠حش ئٌٟ ؾى٠ىز ئٞحفس ٚضٗىً جٌٌٕٛ ضٍٜ جْ ِٚإْٓحضٗ، جٌطحٌ٠هٟ ٚوٌٖٚ 1 . فٟ ذاٌضٍ٠ح ػٍفص جٌطٟ جٌّمح٠ؼس فٟ جإلْالَ ضحٌ٠م جٌىٌجْس ًٖ٘ ٚضٓطؼٍٜ ػحَ 1890 جٌٛجقى جٌمٍْ ِطٍغ ٚقطٝ ػٍٗ جٌطحْغ جٌمٍْ ذىج٠س ِٓ جٌفطٍز نح٘ ذٗىً ٚضغطٟ ،َ ٚجٌؼٍْٗٚ . ئال لرً ِٓ ذكػٗ ٠طٕٓٝ ٌُ ٌّٛٞٛع ِٛؾُز ِمىِس ضىٛ٠ٓ ئٌٟ ج٠ٟح جٌىٌجْس ٚضٙىف جٌّطؼٍمس جٌركٛظ ِٓ جٌُّ٠ى الؾٍجء ًا قحفُج جٌىٌجْس ضٗىً جْ ٍٔؾٛ ًٌٚٙج ِكىٚو، ٔطحق فٟ جٌطٓحؤالش ػٓ ضؿ١د ٚجْ ِكىوز ِٚٛٞٛػحش ذفطٍجش . جٌطًٍٓٓ قٓد جٌىٌجْس ًٖ٘ ٔظّص ٚلى ِٓ ٌِٕٗٛز غ١ٍ ٚأنٍٜ ِؼٍٚفس ِٛحوٌ ِٓ ِؿّٛػس ػٍٝ فحػطّىش ، ٌالقىجظ جٌطحٌ٠هٟ ٚئ٠طحٌ١ح ئٌضٍ٠ح ِٓ ًا ِإنٍج ذؼٟٙح ؾّغ ضُ جٌطٟ ٟ٘ٚ لرً، . * ًٖ٘ ِٓ جألٌٚٝ جٌٕٓهس قٛي ِٚمطٍقحش ِالقظحش ِٓ لىِحٖ ٌّح ضٛذ١حٔح ؾَٛ٠ص ٘رٍٕ، ٌ٠ىوٍ ٚضٍ٠ٗ١ح ئٌٌ١ٕ، قؿحٞ ٌٍىوطٌٛ ذحٌٗىٍ جضمىَ جْ أٚو جٌىٌجْس . 1 The standard survey on Islam in the Ethio-Eritrean region, is J. S. Trimingham, Islam in Ethiopia, London: Frank Cass, 1965 (1st ed. 1952) ً٘ ٚ٠طّٟٓ 1 جٌّحوز ِغ ضؼحٍِٗ ٠ٍ٠مس لىَ ِٓ ذحٌٍغُ ل١ّس ِؼٍِٛحش جٌىطحخ ج . ٌؿىٌٚس ذًٌص جٌطٟ جٌؿٙٛو أنٍ ٚجْ جالْىحٔىٌٚؾٌٛٞ ذٙح لحَ ئٌضٍ٠ح قٛي جٌّىطٛذس جٌّٛحوٌ وً ,ٚضٕظ١ُ "Soggiorno di studi in Eritrea ed Etiopia. Brevi annotazioni bibliografiche," Rassegna di Studi
In R. S. O'Fahey (ed.), The Writings of the Muslim Peoples of Northeastern Africa. Arabic Literature in Africa. Volume III Fascicle A (Leiden: Brill, 2003), pp. 1-17.
In Holger Bernt Hansen and Michael Twaddle (eds.), Christian Missionaries and the State in the Third World (Oxford and Athens, OH: James Currey and Ohio University Press, 2002): 121-135.
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List of Publications by Jonathan Miran
Book by Jonathan Miran
Articles by Jonathan Miran