The World of ?amza al-I?fahani: His Life and Writings in Context
- UNCG Author/Contributor (non-UNCG co-authors, if there are any, appear on document)
- Logan J. Sherrill (Creator)
- Institution
- The University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG )
- Web Site: http://library.uncg.edu/
- Advisor
- A. Asa Eger
Abstract: The ‘Abbasid period of Islamic history is well documented by a wide range of Arabic texts which contributed to an enormous literary corpus as well as the larger understanding of Islam’s role in the new multi-ethnic societies in which it was practiced. However, with the rise of writers from non-Arab origins developing their own literary contributions which sought to reevaluate and reconcile their own place in Islamic society, a growing resistance to Arab cultural norms in the production of Shu’ubiyya (populist) literature sought to either synchronize and/or inject non-Arab cultural outlooks into this wider literary corpus or claim a sense of superiority altogether. By analyzing this literature, we can gain a better understanding of the interethnic relations in societies throughout the Islamic world in its more formative years. Even more so, such a study contributes to a better understanding of the role of non-Arabs in the canonization of Arabic literary heritage as a whole. In light of recent arguments questioning the actual nature and existence of any endonymic Shu’ubiyya “movement,” this thesis seeks to further this reevaluation by looking at it through the figure of ?amza b. al-?asan al-I?fahani (893-971) and two of his extant works: "Ta’rikh sini muluk al-ar? wa’l-anbiya’" and "al-Tanbih ?alá ?uduth al-ta?hif." This thesis ultimately argues that ?amza al-I?fahani occupied and represents a middle-ground position between two identities—one being an ethnic Persian identity which connected him to the pre-Islamic history of his people and another an intellectual identity rooted in his education and formal training in the field of Arabic literature and language.
The World of ?amza al-I?fahani: His Life and Writings in Context
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Created on 5/2/2024
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Additional Information
- Publication
- Honors Project
- Language: English
- Date: 2024
- Keywords
- Hamza al-Isfahani, Shu'ubiyya, 'Abbasid caliphte, Arabic philology, Iranian historiography