In Defence of Arabic Palaeography

Musée du Louvre/Sorbonne-Université, 2019

Salle des 80 9 h 15-Conference Registration 9 h 30-Welcome Remarks 9 h 50-Introduction by Maxime Durocher, Sorbonne Université-musée du Louvre 10 h-Research Programs about Islamic Heritage in Syria and Iraq Chair : Yannick Lintz, musée du Louvre, Paris Un répertoire des sources à l'usage des chercheurs, le Projet PAPSI Étienne Blondeau, musée du Louvre, Paris

Literacy was widespread in large areas of ancient Arabia, as shown by the huge numbers of graffiti by both settled people and nomads. But, it is still extremely difficult to establish a reliable chronology for the literate periods of pre-Islamic Arabian history. This has led to a misuse of palaeography in an attempt to create chronological sequences based on letter forms from undated inscriptions and documents, on widely different kinds of surface, with different purposes, and often separated by large distances. This practice is not confined to Arabian inscriptions but is widespread in Semitic epigraphy. This article offers a new taxonomy for inscriptions and graffiti, examines the misuse of palaeography in Semitic epigraphy and suggests some more useful ways in which palaeography could be used in this field.

Hortus Artium Medievalium, 25/1, 2019

Der Islam, 2019

Selected Topics on Archaeology, History and Culture in the Malay World, 2018

Archeology is a wide field of knowledge. It is divided into prehistoric archeology, prehistory, industrial archeology, ethno-archeology, maritime archeology, and archeology history. Archeology comes from two words in Greek: arkeos (ancient, old) and logos (study)-the study of antiquity. Nik Hassan Shuhaimi [1] in the Archeology Glossary of Malay states that archeology is the study of the past based on artifacts, ecofacts and environment remains. Studies in archeology are a field that can contribute information and knowledge about the past. Through the archeological field, we can learn about early human civilization during the time range from the prehistoric age to the historical age. Archeology increases awareness on attractive, past mystery, ancient skill, careful research works and show publicity [2]. Archeological research is one of the important methods used to reconstruct the history and culture of the nation. The discoveries made by archeologists show the life and creations of the past for the nation's survival, thus dismantling the power of men at that time. This can make a nation recall its greatness-which may have been formerly covered up by invaders-thereby helping to rebuild the nation now. The early awakening of archeology in this region was almost entirely dominated by Western scholars as at the time colonialism was still present. The study conducted by Western scholars on archeological findings was dependent on their views based on archeological studies around the world such as in Egypt, India, and several other areas. Western scholars who studied archeology, no matter where in the world they did so, would be influenced by their perspective or what is called a "paradigm."

Archaeology International 17, 2014

What is UCL doing in Qatar? This question still comes up quite often, three years after we were first established as an academic department of UCL. And it is important to remind ourselves occasionally why we chose to establish this campus in the first place. There are many reasons one can mention, depending on one’s perspective and priorities. Here I highlight a few which are of particular importance and validity, and are at the core of our daily operations. Providing educational opportunities. This is something that UCL has stood for since its very beginning. Research. For many years, the Institute had identified Islamic Archaeology as a major lacuna in its global coverage, and despite a strong tradition in Middle Eastern archaeology, the Institute was limited by many factors in its ability to conduct fieldwork and other research in the wider region. But as importantly, we take community outreach very seriously as part of our research, not only creating knowledge, but making it relevant for, and sharing it with, our partners outside the academy. Shaping a new profession. This is probably the most ambitious and most long-term of our aims. We cannot simply take the handbook of the National Trust, or the best practice of the Victoria and Albert Museum, and apply it to museums in China or Qatar. Instead, we aim to work with the current and future cultural heritage professionals in the wider Gulf region to develop a mind-set and professional practices that are relevant and meaningful for the complex and rapidly changing social context here.

Der Islam, 2019

The main task of Arabic papyrology and diplomatics remains to provide access to competent editions of unpublished documents on papyrus, parchment, and paper. In 2017, researchers added 48 editions of pre-modern Arabic documents to the database: nine letters (nos. 24, 30, 56, 62, 63, 67), a tax receipt (no. 66), a list (no. 52), ten legal documents (nos. 48, 49, 68, 69), six amulets, prayers, and astronomical texts (nos. 5, 43, 57), and 21 writing exercises of letters and religious texts (no. 7). Most texts come from Egypt during the classical period of Arabic papyrology (8th-11th c.). Exceptions are no. 5 from Iran and nos. 48 and 49 from the Ḥaram collection in Jerusalem. An edition of a ḥadīṯ on papyrus (no. 47) and an edition of three early modern Arabic letters (no. 46) complemented these editions. Two papers present documents that survived in "literary" manuscripts (nos. 29, 31). Judaeo-Arabic documents from the Geniza were edited in nos. 18, 34, 35, 36, and 38. From the neighboring fields of Greek and Coptic papyrology, Remark: An up-to-date overview on publications in the fields of Arabic papyrology and diplomatics can be found on the homepage of the International Society for Arabic Papyrology (ISAP, www.naher-osten.lmu.de/isap), on the homepage of the Munich research group "Arabic Papyrology" (www.naher-osten.lmu.de/papyrologie), and via ISAP's mailing list

Antiquity, 84/236, 2010, 1187–1191., 2010

Libyan Studies , Volume 51 , November 2020 , pp. 31 - 39, 2020

This article studies the way in which certain Arab authors presented ancient African remains, using three examples (the arch of Marcus Aurelius in Tripoli, the Zaghouan-Carthage aqueduct and the amphitheatre of El-Djem). These testimonies, in addition to being very original within the region, give valuable information, both historically and culturally, including the history of attitudes, on the different periods preceding the arrival of Islam in the region.

American Journal of Archaeology, 2000