Palestine Under The Moslems: A Description of Syria And The Holy Land From A. D. 650 To 1500 – Guy Le Strange

Palestine Under The Moslems: A Description of Syria And The Holy Land From A. D. 650 To 1500

By Guy Le Strange

This is an anthology of writings on the geography and architecture of Syria and. Palestine a, but by medieval hands. The text, brilliantly selected and elegantly translated, is based on the original Arabic and Persian, dating to the period 650 A. D – 1500 A. D. Biblical scholars will he fascinated by glimpses of familiar sites seen through the eves of Moslem geographers and pilgrims. The general reader interested in the contemporary Near East will be initiated into the reverence in which the Holy Land is held by the World of Islam. The editor translator, Guy Le Strange, a British Orientalist, (d. 1933) was perhaps the most distinguished historical geographer of medieval Islam to write in English.

The book is a 1965 print. Over 600 pages.

From the Forward by WALID KHALIDY

Palestine is universally known as the Holy Land of Judaism and Christianity. Less known, however, is its sacred character to Islam, the third great monotheistic religion of the world. And yet, in addition to its own intimate religious associations with the country, Islam incorporates the religious associations which both Judaism and Christianity have with Palestine. Moreover, Palestine has been longer under Moslem than under any other control since the beginning of the Christian era.

The corner stone of Islamic attitude to Palestine is the fact that Islam derives from the same fountain of revelation as Judaism and Christianity. Muhammad, the Prophet of Islam, is considered the final link, the “seal” (khatima) in a long chain of spiritual ancestry which stretches back to primordial times through Jesus and Moses, Jacob, and Abraham, and countless notables of the Old Testament. Thus the Koran and the Traditions, the two great sources of Islamic doctrine, are suffused with allusions to the Gospel and Torah and with influences from post-biblical literature.

Direct links with Palestine were also forged by Islam. Jerusalem was at first the direction to which Moslems turned in prayer (qibla). And it was to Jerusalem that Mohammad was borne on his nocturnal flight (isra), whence he ascended to the presence of God (mi’raj), an occasion which is still annually celebrated on the eve of the 27th of the Moslem month of Rajub. The Umayyad Dynasty (A. D. 657-750) sought to reorient towards Jerusalem the pilgrimage to Mecca enjoined on all Moslems, and it was partly in pursuit of this policy that the Umayyad Caliph Abd el-Malik (685-705) built there the magnificent Dome of the Rock. Umayyad patronage also inspired a rich body of devotional literature centred on Palestine. Later the Crusades and the Moslem counter-crusades powerfully stirred Moslem sentiment giving rise to a literary synthesis of all pre-Islamic and Islamic Palestinian themes. Books on the yirtues (fada’il) of the towns of Palestine extolled the powers of prayer in them and located not only the burial places of prophets and martyrs, but also the sites where these had appeared in visions to travelers. The nocturnal flight of Mohammad to Jerusalem assumed personal significance in mystical literature and became a leit-motif in the litanies of many religious brotherhoods (tariqa). Like a magnet, Jerusalem attracted every romantic legend and tradition and became the pivot of popular religious consciousness. Well into the eighteenth century Moslem travelers to Palestine, sensitive to the religious aura of the land, seemed aware of countless saintly denizens inhabiting their routes and give the impression of moving in a state of sustained spiritual euphoria while on Palestinian soil.

This book is divided into two parts. Part I is mostly an anthology of geographical, historical, architectural, and devotional Islamic writings on Palestine and neighbouring portions of Syria, translated from the original Arabic and Persian which date back to the period A. D. 650 – 1500. In addition to giving us elegant and meticulous translations, Le Strange often interpolates observations on points arising from the texts as well as his appraisals of earlier interpretations by Western scholars. Part II is a geographical dictionary, alphabetically arranged, of places in Palestine and Syria. Each item is followed by short references to the relevant Moslem authorities. The list of Islamic sources used by Le Strange attests to the scholarship with which he addressed himself to his task.

Guy Le Strange was born at Hunstanton, Norfolk, England, in 1854, the youngest son of Henry L’Estrange Styleman, an “amateur decorative painter”. The sur-name L’Estrange is derived from his grandmother Armine, elder daughter of Sir Nicholas L’Estrange, fourth baronet of Hunstanton. He studied Arabic and Persian under Julius Mohl at the College de France, Paris, in spite of the serious disadvantage of defective vision.

For long periods he lived abroad in Persia, Palestine and Florence. In 1907, he settled in Cambridge, where he died in 1933. Other famous works of his are: Baghdad under the Abbasid Galiphate (1900) and The Lands of the Eastern Caliph ate (1905), which together with the present work firmly establish him as the greatest Islamic mediaeval geographer to write in English.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE

PART I: INTRODUCTION. THE ARAB GEOGRAPHERS. LIST OF AUTHORITIES

CHAPTER I: SYRIA AND PALESTINE

The name Ash Shâm-Physical features-Climate-Products-Manners and customs-Festivals-The Watch-stations of the coast.

Territorial Divisions: The Junds or Military Districts-Jund Filastin-The Tih, or Desert of the Wanderings-The Jifâr-Jund al Urdunn-The Ghaur-Jund Dimashk-The Ghutah of Damascus, the Haurân, and Bathaniyyah, Jaulân, Jaidur, and Hulah-The Balka -Ash Sharâh-Al Jibâl-Jund Hirns-Jund Kinnasrin-Jund al Awasim-The Thughür-The Nine “Kingdoms” of Syria.

Tribute and Taxes- Weights and Measures

CHAPTER II: SYRIA AND PALESTINE

Rivers: The Jordan and its tributaries-The rivers of the coast-The rivers of Damascus-The Orontes-Rivers of the northern provinces.

Lakes: The Dead Sea-The Lake of Tiberias-The Hülah-Damascus Lakes-Lakes of Hims and of Afâmiyyah-Lakes of Antioch.

Mountains: Sinai-Mount Hor-The Mount of Olives-Mountain chains of Palestine: Ebal and Gerizim, Jabal ‘Amil.ah-The Jaulân hills-Lebanon mountains-Mountains round Damascus-Hermon-Jabal al Lukkâm

CHAPTER III: JERUSALEM

Names of the Holy City-Advantages of Jerusalem-Fertility-Position-Territory of the Holy City.

The Mosque cu Aksa: The Prophet’s Night Journey-The origin of the Mosque at Aksa-Omar’s early building and that of ‘Abd al malik-Earthquake of the year 130 (746), and restoration of the mosque by AL Mansür and Al Mahdi-The technical meaning of the term Masjid, or Mosque-Mukaddasi’s description of the Aksa in 985

-The Talisman and the Maksuirahs-Earthquakes of 1016 and 1034 -Inscriptions relating to repairs-Description of the Aksâ by Nasiri-Khusrau in 1047-Dimensions of the mosque-The Crusades-The mosque given over to the Templars-Description by ldrisi and ‘Ali of Herat-Saladin’s reconquest of Jerusalem and restoration of the Aksâ in 1187-Description by Mujir ad Din in 1496-Modern mosque.

The Dome of the Rock: The Rock-The dome built over it by ‘Abd al Malik in 691-Mr. Fergusson’s theory disproved-‘Abd al Malik’s great inscription-Al Mâmun’s inscription on the doors-Description of the dome by Ibn aI Fakih in 903–Arrangement of the piers and pillars-Istakhri and Ibn Haukal’s description-That of Mukaddasi, 985-The earthquake of 1016 and the inscriptions recording repairs-Nâsir-i-Khusrau’s visit in 1047-The fall of the great lantern in 1060-The Crusaders and the Templum Domini-Temple-churches and Rafael’s picture of the Sposalizio – Idrisi’s account in 1954-‘Ali of Herat in 1173 ; the iron railing round the Rock, and other details-Pieces of the rock taken by the Crusaders as relics-Saladin’s restoration-His great inscription in the Dome-

Ibn Battutah’s visit in 1355-Destruction of the Cupola by fire in 1448-Suyuti’s description of the Footprint of the Prophet, the Cave, and other marvels-Mujir ad Din’s measurements

CHAPTER IV: JERUSALEM

Traditional Accounts: ‘Omar’s finding of the Rock-The Service instituted by the Khalif ‘Abd al Malik. The Dome of tile Chain: Minor domes-The platform and stairways-The Court and the Haram Area-The Cradle of Jesus and Stables of Solomon-Minor buildings-Minarets

CHAPTER V: JERUSALEM

The Gates of the Haram Area-The Colonnades-Size of the Haram Area-The Tanks and Pools.

The Church of the Resurrection: The Miracle of the Holy Fire-The Garden of Gethsemane-The Tomb of the Virgin-Pater Noster Church and Bethany – The Church of the Ascension and of the Jacobites-The Church of Sion and Gallicantus.

City Gates: The Castle- Wadi Jahannum and the Tomb of Absalom.

The Plain, As Sahiras: The Pool of Siloam-The Well of Job-Cavern of Koran

CHAPTER VI: DAMASCUS

Description by Mukaddasi in 985 A.D.-The Great Mosque-Mosaics- City Gates – Other accounts – The rivers of Damascus- Villages the round the City-The Ghautah, or Plain of Damascus-The various water-courses-The Hill of Jesus-Ibn Jubair’s description of the city and mosque in 1184-The ascent of the Great Dome-The two descriptions of the Clepsydra – Ibn Batütah’s description in 1355- Shrines – Suburbs – Traditions – Burning of the Mosque by Timur-Leng

CHAPTER VII: LEGENDS AND MARVELS

Ar Rakim and the Cave of the Sleepers-Zughar (Zoar, Segor), the Cities of Lot, and the Legend of Lot’s daughters-Al Kalt and the Well of the Leaf- Urim and the Ancient Temple-‘Ain at Jarah and the Menhir-Ba’albakk and the Great Stones-Bait Lahm (Bethlehem) and the Basilica of Constantine-An Nasirah (Nazareth) and the Wonderful Tree

CHAPTER VIII: PROVINCIAL CAPITALS AND CHIEF TOWNS

Ar Ramlah, founded by the Khalif Sulaiman-The White Mosque-Hebron: The Tombs of the Patriarchs-Visits to the Cave of Mach-pelah-Invention or the Tomb of Joseph. Acre (‘Akkah): Construction of the Port by Ibn Tulun. Tiberias (Tabariyyah) The Thermal Springs and Baths-The Tomb of David

CHAPTER IX: PROVINCIAL CAPITALS AND CHIEF TOWNS

Tyre (Sur). Sidon (Saidâ). Tripoli (Tarâbulus, or Atrâbulus): The Old and the New Town-The Castles of the Assassins. Hzrns (Emessa) The Talisma against Scorpions. Hamah (Hamath) The Ancient Castle. Aleppo (Halab): Ibn Butlân’s Description-The Castle.

Antiock (Antâkiyyah) Christian Churches and Convents-Description by Ibn Butlân-The Great Storm of the Year 1050 A.D.-Tradition of Habib an Najar. Z’arsus. The Frontier Fortress, and the Garrison

PART II: ALPHABETICAL LIST OF PLACES IN PALESTINE AND SYRIA

APPENDIX Note on the builder of the great Aksâ Mosque

INDEX

beirut islam islamic israel judaism jews christians middle east near east levant arab arabian arabic arabesque orientalist orientaliste amman iraq history ottoman persian hebrew hebrews god jesus

Language: English
ISBN: N/A
1965, Hardcover, 

Publisher : Khayat

Book Condition : Unread, but Overall Quality is only Acceptable due to age and Storage in Lebanon during the war years.