Abd al-Hakim Afifi
The Encyclopaedia of 1, 000 Islamic Cities
Type
abstract
Year
2014
.عفيفي، عبد الحكيم. موسوعة ١٠٠٠مدينة إسلامية. بيروت: أوراق شرقية، ٢٠٠٠، ٥٩٢ص
‘Afifi, ‘Abd al-Hakim. Mawsu‘at 1000 Madinah Islamiyyah. Beirut: Awraq Sharqiyyah, 2000, 592pp.
ABSTRACT
The Encyclopaedia of a 1,000 Islamic Cities
موسوعة ١٠٠٠مدينة إسلامية
Mawsu‘at 1000 Madinah Islamiyyah is a work published in Arabic and prepared by ‘Abd al-Hakim ‘Afifi in order to enlighten both Arab and Muslim academics on the heritage of the vast majority of cities of the Islamic world which became centres of civilisation and thought. The encyclopaedia also illustrates the historical and cultural interconnection of Muslim countries throughout the world.
The encyclopaedia opens with an introduction in which the author presents the initial emergence of cities, explains the town as a social concept, and depicts the emergence of Islam in Mecca, and Medina as the core of Muslim civilisation. He then proceeds to discuss the core subject of the encyclopaedia by tackling the expansion of the Islamic nation from Kabul in the east to Lisbon in the west, and from Astrakhan, on the Caspian Sea in the north, to Kismayo in Somalia in the south. Al-‘Afifi explains the common characteristics which distinguish Muslim cities.
In his introduction, the author points out that the thousand cities included in this encyclopaedia come from all corners of the Islamic world. Nevertheless, priority is given to cities which played a pivotal role in Muslim civilisation and which unleashed Islamic conquests. The author is, therefore, careful to choose cities based on their historical, geographical and political importance.
Furthermore, the cities covered in this encyclopaedia, including those in southern Russia, southern Europe, western China and the Indian peninsula, are those whose inhabitants have succeeded in preserving their Muslim identities to the present day, whereas others which are no longer Muslim cities, such as the cities of Andalusia are excluded.
The entries are organised alphabetically and numerically. For the non-Arab cities, both the original non-Arabic name and the Arabic equivalent are mentioned (with the exception of Afyonkarahisar – number sixty-seven – whose foreign name appears to have been omitted). This allows the reader to search for these cities in foreign sources and obtain additional information if required.
The entries also provide a brief summary of the cities covered within the encyclopaedia. These differ in length, as well as in quantity and type of detail provided, with summaries varying between a paragraph and roughly one and a half pages. The author informs us in his introduction that the encyclopaedia includes information relating to the location of cities, the number of inhabitants, the most important historical and Muslim monuments, the date of Islam’s arrival, and economic activities. However, many of the entries also touch upon the foreign occupation of these cities, and some important events (such as earthquakes, agreements, etc.), manufactured goods for which these cities are famous, and some poems written about them.
Perhaps the greatest omission in this encyclopaedia is the lack of any pictures, maps or tables apart from the sole map encompassing all of the cities in the Muslim world along with their number of inhabitants. Consequently, the pages follow each other without any explanatory drawings or maps.
Despite the fact that the encyclopaedia does not deal with many important issues such as the historical and political development of many of these cities, social issues, economic conditions or cultural aspects, the author has exerted great individual effort in bringing together information while introducing the reader to all of these cities. This work remains a seminal piece guiding readers towards additional insight and research.
Dahlia Sabry
Translated by Hugh Lovatt
Citation
Sabry, Dahlia. “English abstract of 'of The Encyclopaedia of a 1, 000 Islamic Cities'". Translated by Hugh Lovatt. In Cities as Built and Lived Environments: Scholarship from Muslim Contexts, 1875 to 2011, by Aptin Khanbaghi, 84. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2014.
Authorities
Collections
Copyright
Muslim Civilisations Abstracts - The Aga Khan University
Terms of Use
Public Domain
Country
Lebanon
Language
English
Related Documents
The Encyclopaedia of 1, 000 Islamic Cities
Type
abstract
Year
2014
.عفيفي، عبد الحكيم. موسوعة ١٠٠٠مدينة إسلامية. بيروت: أوراق شرقية، ٢٠٠٠، ٥٩٢ص
‘Afifi, ‘Abd al-Hakim. Mawsu‘at 1000 Madinah Islamiyyah. Beirut: Awraq Sharqiyyah, 2000, 592pp.
ABSTRACT
The Encyclopaedia of a 1,000 Islamic Cities
موسوعة ١٠٠٠مدينة إسلامية
Mawsu‘at 1000 Madinah Islamiyyah is a work published in Arabic and prepared by ‘Abd al-Hakim ‘Afifi in order to enlighten both Arab and Muslim academics on the heritage of the vast majority of cities of the Islamic world which became centres of civilisation and thought. The encyclopaedia also illustrates the historical and cultural interconnection of Muslim countries throughout the world.
The encyclopaedia opens with an introduction in which the author presents the initial emergence of cities, explains the town as a social concept, and depicts the emergence of Islam in Mecca, and Medina as the core of Muslim civilisation. He then proceeds to discuss the core subject of the encyclopaedia by tackling the expansion of the Islamic nation from Kabul in the east to Lisbon in the west, and from Astrakhan, on the Caspian Sea in the north, to Kismayo in Somalia in the south. Al-‘Afifi explains the common characteristics which distinguish Muslim cities.
In his introduction, the author points out that the thousand cities included in this encyclopaedia come from all corners of the Islamic world. Nevertheless, priority is given to cities which played a pivotal role in Muslim civilisation and which unleashed Islamic conquests. The author is, therefore, careful to choose cities based on their historical, geographical and political importance.
Furthermore, the cities covered in this encyclopaedia, including those in southern Russia, southern Europe, western China and the Indian peninsula, are those whose inhabitants have succeeded in preserving their Muslim identities to the present day, whereas others which are no longer Muslim cities, such as the cities of Andalusia are excluded.
The entries are organised alphabetically and numerically. For the non-Arab cities, both the original non-Arabic name and the Arabic equivalent are mentioned (with the exception of Afyonkarahisar – number sixty-seven – whose foreign name appears to have been omitted). This allows the reader to search for these cities in foreign sources and obtain additional information if required.
The entries also provide a brief summary of the cities covered within the encyclopaedia. These differ in length, as well as in quantity and type of detail provided, with summaries varying between a paragraph and roughly one and a half pages. The author informs us in his introduction that the encyclopaedia includes information relating to the location of cities, the number of inhabitants, the most important historical and Muslim monuments, the date of Islam’s arrival, and economic activities. However, many of the entries also touch upon the foreign occupation of these cities, and some important events (such as earthquakes, agreements, etc.), manufactured goods for which these cities are famous, and some poems written about them.
Perhaps the greatest omission in this encyclopaedia is the lack of any pictures, maps or tables apart from the sole map encompassing all of the cities in the Muslim world along with their number of inhabitants. Consequently, the pages follow each other without any explanatory drawings or maps.
Despite the fact that the encyclopaedia does not deal with many important issues such as the historical and political development of many of these cities, social issues, economic conditions or cultural aspects, the author has exerted great individual effort in bringing together information while introducing the reader to all of these cities. This work remains a seminal piece guiding readers towards additional insight and research.
Dahlia Sabry
Translated by Hugh Lovatt
Citation
Sabry, Dahlia. “English abstract of 'of The Encyclopaedia of a 1, 000 Islamic Cities'". Translated by Hugh Lovatt. In Cities as Built and Lived Environments: Scholarship from Muslim Contexts, 1875 to 2011, by Aptin Khanbaghi, 84. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2014.
Authorities
Collections
Copyright
Muslim Civilisations Abstracts - The Aga Khan University
Terms of Use
Public Domain
Country
Lebanon
Language
English