Jeffrey T. Kenney
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- September 2006
- ISBN:
- 9780195131697
- eISBN:
- 9780199785001
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/019513169X.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Islam
The Kharijites were a splinter group that broke away from the main forces of Islam during the formative medieval period, purportedly refusing arbitration and committing bloody outrages against their ...
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The Kharijites were a splinter group that broke away from the main forces of Islam during the formative medieval period, purportedly refusing arbitration and committing bloody outrages against their fellow Muslims. Their influence in the political and theological life of the nascent faith has ensured their place in both critical and religious accounts of early Islamic history. Over the centuries, the Kharijites have repeatedly been invoked whenever militant opposition arose and today the label is frequently applied to extremist Islamic movements. After a brief look at Kharijite origins, this book focuses on contemporary Egypt. The book shows how religious images of the Kharijites have dominated public discussion about political opposition movements, effectively undermining attempts to discuss the real issues generating such movements.Less
The Kharijites were a splinter group that broke away from the main forces of Islam during the formative medieval period, purportedly refusing arbitration and committing bloody outrages against their fellow Muslims. Their influence in the political and theological life of the nascent faith has ensured their place in both critical and religious accounts of early Islamic history. Over the centuries, the Kharijites have repeatedly been invoked whenever militant opposition arose and today the label is frequently applied to extremist Islamic movements. After a brief look at Kharijite origins, this book focuses on contemporary Egypt. The book shows how religious images of the Kharijites have dominated public discussion about political opposition movements, effectively undermining attempts to discuss the real issues generating such movements.
Roland Enmarch
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- January 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780197264331
- eISBN:
- 9780191734106
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- British Academy
- DOI:
- 10.5871/bacad/9780197264331.001.0001
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Ancient Religions
The Dialogue of Ipuwer and the Lord of All is one of the major works from the golden age of Egyptian literature, the Middle Kingdom (c. 1980–1630 bc). The poem provides one of the most searching ...
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The Dialogue of Ipuwer and the Lord of All is one of the major works from the golden age of Egyptian literature, the Middle Kingdom (c. 1980–1630 bc). The poem provides one of the most searching explorations of human motivation and divine justice to survive from ancient Egypt, and its stark pessimism questions many of the core ideologies that underpinned the Egyptian state and monarchy. It begins with a series of laments portraying an Egypt overwhelmed by chaos and destruction, and develops into an examination of why these disasters should happen, and who bears responsibility for them: the gods, the king, or humanity. This volume provides the first full literary analysis of this poem for a century. It provides a detailed study of questions such as: its date of composition; its historicity; the identity of its protagonists and setting; its reception history within Egyptian culture; and whether it really is a unified literary composition, or a redacted collection of texts of heterogenous origin.Less
The Dialogue of Ipuwer and the Lord of All is one of the major works from the golden age of Egyptian literature, the Middle Kingdom (c. 1980–1630 bc). The poem provides one of the most searching explorations of human motivation and divine justice to survive from ancient Egypt, and its stark pessimism questions many of the core ideologies that underpinned the Egyptian state and monarchy. It begins with a series of laments portraying an Egypt overwhelmed by chaos and destruction, and develops into an examination of why these disasters should happen, and who bears responsibility for them: the gods, the king, or humanity. This volume provides the first full literary analysis of this poem for a century. It provides a detailed study of questions such as: its date of composition; its historicity; the identity of its protagonists and setting; its reception history within Egyptian culture; and whether it really is a unified literary composition, or a redacted collection of texts of heterogenous origin.
Rebecca Krawiec
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780195129434
- eISBN:
- 9780199834396
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195129431.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion in the Ancient World
Analyzes the evidence for the lives of women living in the White Monastery, located in upper Egypt, under its third abbot, Shenoute, who served from 385–464 c.e. Several of Shenoute's letters, which ...
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Analyzes the evidence for the lives of women living in the White Monastery, located in upper Egypt, under its third abbot, Shenoute, who served from 385–464 c.e. Several of Shenoute's letters, which were written in Coptic and survive in fragmentary form, address periods of conflict either between female monks or between the female community and Shenoute. As a result, they differ in genre from any other evidence of female monasticism in late antiquity and so present a unique corpus of material for investigation. A key issue pertains to Shenoute's efforts to establish his monastic authority over the women's community, which was physically separate from the men's, and the evidence for the women's acceptance and resistance to that expansion. I then argue that gender analysis reveals that Shenoute regarded his efforts as part of the creation of a universal monasticism, which had uniform requirements for male and female monks, including the controversial subject of corporal punishment. It simultaneously reveals, however, points of gender asymmetry, and so inequity, within monastic authority and practices, some promoted by Shenoute and some by the women themselves. Finally, Shenoute's use of the family as a model for the monastery helped him create kinship bonds among all monks, both those who had left their families and those who brought their relatives with them. Like gender, with which the family is intimately connected, this model also allows Shenoute to negotiate tensions and contradictions using egalitarian language while simultaneously constructing patriarchal authority.Less
Analyzes the evidence for the lives of women living in the White Monastery, located in upper Egypt, under its third abbot, Shenoute, who served from 385–464 c.e. Several of Shenoute's letters, which were written in Coptic and survive in fragmentary form, address periods of conflict either between female monks or between the female community and Shenoute. As a result, they differ in genre from any other evidence of female monasticism in late antiquity and so present a unique corpus of material for investigation. A key issue pertains to Shenoute's efforts to establish his monastic authority over the women's community, which was physically separate from the men's, and the evidence for the women's acceptance and resistance to that expansion. I then argue that gender analysis reveals that Shenoute regarded his efforts as part of the creation of a universal monasticism, which had uniform requirements for male and female monks, including the controversial subject of corporal punishment. It simultaneously reveals, however, points of gender asymmetry, and so inequity, within monastic authority and practices, some promoted by Shenoute and some by the women themselves. Finally, Shenoute's use of the family as a model for the monastery helped him create kinship bonds among all monks, both those who had left their families and those who brought their relatives with them. Like gender, with which the family is intimately connected, this model also allows Shenoute to negotiate tensions and contradictions using egalitarian language while simultaneously constructing patriarchal authority.
Roland Enmarch
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- January 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780197264331
- eISBN:
- 9780191734106
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- British Academy
- DOI:
- 10.5871/bacad/9780197264331.003.0001
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Ancient Religions
This book presents a commentary on and an analysis of P. Leiden I 344 recto, which contains the poem variously called The Dialogue of Ipuwer and the Lord of All or The Admonitions (Mahnworte), from ...
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This book presents a commentary on and an analysis of P. Leiden I 344 recto, which contains the poem variously called The Dialogue of Ipuwer and the Lord of All or The Admonitions (Mahnworte), from the Middle Kingdom of ancient Egypt. The first part of the book comprises an analysis of several literary aspects of the poem, including its unity, compositional date, reception, possible setting, genre, literary style and meaning. It also offers a literary reading of the poem within the context of the cultural and intellectual milieu that produced it. The second part of the book provides a detailed translation, commentary to, and literary reading of, the poem, subdivided into sections that largely follow the divisions within the manuscript. A metrical transliteration is given, broadly following the prosodic principles of Gerhard Fecht, which provide a pragmatic formal mode of analysis. The degree to which these are relevant to the compositional structure of the poem is discussed.Less
This book presents a commentary on and an analysis of P. Leiden I 344 recto, which contains the poem variously called The Dialogue of Ipuwer and the Lord of All or The Admonitions (Mahnworte), from the Middle Kingdom of ancient Egypt. The first part of the book comprises an analysis of several literary aspects of the poem, including its unity, compositional date, reception, possible setting, genre, literary style and meaning. It also offers a literary reading of the poem within the context of the cultural and intellectual milieu that produced it. The second part of the book provides a detailed translation, commentary to, and literary reading of, the poem, subdivided into sections that largely follow the divisions within the manuscript. A metrical transliteration is given, broadly following the prosodic principles of Gerhard Fecht, which provide a pragmatic formal mode of analysis. The degree to which these are relevant to the compositional structure of the poem is discussed.
Roger Bagnall
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- September 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780199562596
- eISBN:
- 9780191721458
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199562596.003.0003
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, European History: BCE to 500CE
This chapter discusses the criteria of definition of urban communities in Ptolemaic and Roman Egypt, the non-agricultural character of the regional capitals, rates of urbanization in relation to ...
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This chapter discusses the criteria of definition of urban communities in Ptolemaic and Roman Egypt, the non-agricultural character of the regional capitals, rates of urbanization in relation to estimates of total population and growth over time. It suggests possible reasons for the fact that Roman Egypt had a greater number of larger urban centres and larger villages than Roman Italy.Less
This chapter discusses the criteria of definition of urban communities in Ptolemaic and Roman Egypt, the non-agricultural character of the regional capitals, rates of urbanization in relation to estimates of total population and growth over time. It suggests possible reasons for the fact that Roman Egypt had a greater number of larger urban centres and larger villages than Roman Italy.
James K. Hoffmeier
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- July 2005
- ISBN:
- 9780195155464
- eISBN:
- 9780199835652
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/0195155467.001.000
- Subject:
- Religion, Biblical Studies
For the past two decades, the nature of ancient Israel’s origins has been debated heatedly. Much of this debate has concentrated on part of the book of Exodus and the book of Joshua. Little ...
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For the past two decades, the nature of ancient Israel’s origins has been debated heatedly. Much of this debate has concentrated on part of the book of Exodus and the book of Joshua. Little attention, however, has been given to the wilderness tradition, for example, the episodes set in Sinai (Exodus 16 through Numbers 20). The current study investigates the importance of the wilderness tradition to ancient Israel’s religious and social formation. The location of Mt. Sinai, Israel’s law or covenant, and the possible Egyptian origins of Israel’s desert sanctuary, the tabernacle, are explored in the light of Egyptian archaeological materials. The book further argues that the Torah’s narratives preserve accurate memories of the wilderness period as evidenced by the accuracy of geographical place names in Egypt and Sinai, and by the use of many personal names and technical terms that are of Egyptian etymology. These factors lend credibility to the authenticity sojourn in Egypt and the exodus traditions, rather than viewing them as purely ideological or literary fictions dating to 1,000 years after the events.Less
For the past two decades, the nature of ancient Israel’s origins has been debated heatedly. Much of this debate has concentrated on part of the book of Exodus and the book of Joshua. Little attention, however, has been given to the wilderness tradition, for example, the episodes set in Sinai (Exodus 16 through Numbers 20). The current study investigates the importance of the wilderness tradition to ancient Israel’s religious and social formation. The location of Mt. Sinai, Israel’s law or covenant, and the possible Egyptian origins of Israel’s desert sanctuary, the tabernacle, are explored in the light of Egyptian archaeological materials. The book further argues that the Torah’s narratives preserve accurate memories of the wilderness period as evidenced by the accuracy of geographical place names in Egypt and Sinai, and by the use of many personal names and technical terms that are of Egyptian etymology. These factors lend credibility to the authenticity sojourn in Egypt and the exodus traditions, rather than viewing them as purely ideological or literary fictions dating to 1,000 years after the events.
Stephen Ruzicka
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199766628
- eISBN:
- 9780199932719
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199766628.001.0001
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Asian and Middle Eastern History: BCE to 500CE, World History: BCE to 500CE
The history of the Persian Empire in the west has been seen/presented largely in terms of Persian-Greek interactions. However, the fact that the Persians mounted ten campaigns against Egypt from the ...
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The history of the Persian Empire in the west has been seen/presented largely in terms of Persian-Greek interactions. However, the fact that the Persians mounted ten campaigns against Egypt from the late sixth through the fourth century indicates that the subjugation of Egypt was Persia’s primary concern in the west. This was true in the sixth and fifth centuries, when Persia conquered and, despite chronic revolts led by Egyptian dynasts, held on to Egypt, and also in the fourth century, when after successful Egyptian revolt, Persian kings spent nearly seventy years in largely futile attempts to recover Egypt. Trouble in the West reconstructs the largely lost story of the Persian-Egyptian conflict and reinterprets sixth–fourth-century eastern Mediterranean history in general from the perspective of Persia’s continuous preoccupation with Egypt.Less
The history of the Persian Empire in the west has been seen/presented largely in terms of Persian-Greek interactions. However, the fact that the Persians mounted ten campaigns against Egypt from the late sixth through the fourth century indicates that the subjugation of Egypt was Persia’s primary concern in the west. This was true in the sixth and fifth centuries, when Persia conquered and, despite chronic revolts led by Egyptian dynasts, held on to Egypt, and also in the fourth century, when after successful Egyptian revolt, Persian kings spent nearly seventy years in largely futile attempts to recover Egypt. Trouble in the West reconstructs the largely lost story of the Persian-Egyptian conflict and reinterprets sixth–fourth-century eastern Mediterranean history in general from the perspective of Persia’s continuous preoccupation with Egypt.
Nathan Hofer
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- May 2020
- ISBN:
- 9780748694211
- eISBN:
- 9781474416115
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Edinburgh University Press
- DOI:
- 10.3366/edinburgh/9780748694211.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Islam
After the fall of the Fatimid Empire in 1171 and the emergence of a new Sunni polity under the Ayyubids, Sufism came to extraordinary prominence in Egypt. The state founded and funded hospices to ...
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After the fall of the Fatimid Empire in 1171 and the emergence of a new Sunni polity under the Ayyubids, Sufism came to extraordinary prominence in Egypt. The state founded and funded hospices to attract foreign Sufis to Egypt; local charismatic Sufi masters appeared throughout Upper and Lower Egypt; organized Sufi brotherhoods emerged in the urban centers of Cairo and Alexandria; and even Jews took up the doctrines and practices of the Sufis. By the middle of the Mamluk period in the fourteenth century, Sufism had become massively popular. How and why did this popularisation happen? This book is the first to address this issue directly, surveying the social formation and histories of several different Sufi collectivities from this period. Adopting an agentival approach, the book argues that the popularization of Sufism during this time was the direct result of deliberate and variegated Sufi programs of outreach, strategies of legitimation, and performances of authority across Egypt. The book situates these programs, strategies, and performances within the social and political contexts of the institutionalization of Sufism, audience participation, and Ayyubid and Mamluk state policies.Less
After the fall of the Fatimid Empire in 1171 and the emergence of a new Sunni polity under the Ayyubids, Sufism came to extraordinary prominence in Egypt. The state founded and funded hospices to attract foreign Sufis to Egypt; local charismatic Sufi masters appeared throughout Upper and Lower Egypt; organized Sufi brotherhoods emerged in the urban centers of Cairo and Alexandria; and even Jews took up the doctrines and practices of the Sufis. By the middle of the Mamluk period in the fourteenth century, Sufism had become massively popular. How and why did this popularisation happen? This book is the first to address this issue directly, surveying the social formation and histories of several different Sufi collectivities from this period. Adopting an agentival approach, the book argues that the popularization of Sufism during this time was the direct result of deliberate and variegated Sufi programs of outreach, strategies of legitimation, and performances of authority across Egypt. The book situates these programs, strategies, and performances within the social and political contexts of the institutionalization of Sufism, audience participation, and Ayyubid and Mamluk state policies.
Richard H. Wilkinson (ed.)
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199740116
- eISBN:
- 9780199933174
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199740116.001.0001
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Archaeology: Classical, Asian and Middle Eastern History: BCE to 500CE
One of only a few women who ruled ancient Egypt as a king during its thousands of years of history, Tausret was the last pharaoh of the 19th dynasty (c.1200 bce), the last ruling descendent of ...
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One of only a few women who ruled ancient Egypt as a king during its thousands of years of history, Tausret was the last pharaoh of the 19th dynasty (c.1200 bce), the last ruling descendent of Ramesses the Great, and one of only two female monarchs buried in Egypt's renowned Valley of the Kings. Though mentioned even in Homer as the pharaoh of Egypt who interacted with Helen at the time of the Trojan War, she has long remained a figure shrouded in mystery, hardly known even by many Egyptologists. Nevertheless, recent archaeological discoveries have illuminated Tausret's importance, her accomplishments, and the extent of her influence. This book combines distinguished scholars whose research and excavations have increased our understanding of the life and reign of this great woman. This book utilizes recent discoveries to correctly position Tausret alongside famous ruling queens such as Hatshepsut and Cleopatra, figures who have long dominated our view of the female monarchs of ancient Egypt. The book brings together archaeological, historical, women's studies, and other approaches to provide a text that will be an important contribution to the literature of Egyptology.Less
One of only a few women who ruled ancient Egypt as a king during its thousands of years of history, Tausret was the last pharaoh of the 19th dynasty (c.1200 bce), the last ruling descendent of Ramesses the Great, and one of only two female monarchs buried in Egypt's renowned Valley of the Kings. Though mentioned even in Homer as the pharaoh of Egypt who interacted with Helen at the time of the Trojan War, she has long remained a figure shrouded in mystery, hardly known even by many Egyptologists. Nevertheless, recent archaeological discoveries have illuminated Tausret's importance, her accomplishments, and the extent of her influence. This book combines distinguished scholars whose research and excavations have increased our understanding of the life and reign of this great woman. This book utilizes recent discoveries to correctly position Tausret alongside famous ruling queens such as Hatshepsut and Cleopatra, figures who have long dominated our view of the female monarchs of ancient Egypt. The book brings together archaeological, historical, women's studies, and other approaches to provide a text that will be an important contribution to the literature of Egyptology.
Richard H. Wilkinson
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199740116
- eISBN:
- 9780199933174
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199740116.003.0000
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Archaeology: Classical, Asian and Middle Eastern History: BCE to 500CE
This chapter introduces the ancient Egyptian queen Tausret, who ruled Egypt for a number of years from shortly after 1200 bce (scholarly estimates vary and range from 1209 to 1185 bce as the ...
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This chapter introduces the ancient Egyptian queen Tausret, who ruled Egypt for a number of years from shortly after 1200 bce (scholarly estimates vary and range from 1209 to 1185 bce as the beginning of her reign). Far from being a transient pretender to the throne, she appears to have been universally accepted as ruler, and there is no question that her rule embraced all of Egypt. Artifacts bearing her name have also been found at sites distant from Egypt; expeditions seem to have been dispatched to the turquoise mines of Sinai during the queen's reign; and her name has been found on items discovered as far away as Lebanon to the north and Nubia in the south. An overview of the subsequent chapters is also presented.Less
This chapter introduces the ancient Egyptian queen Tausret, who ruled Egypt for a number of years from shortly after 1200 bce (scholarly estimates vary and range from 1209 to 1185 bce as the beginning of her reign). Far from being a transient pretender to the throne, she appears to have been universally accepted as ruler, and there is no question that her rule embraced all of Egypt. Artifacts bearing her name have also been found at sites distant from Egypt; expeditions seem to have been dispatched to the turquoise mines of Sinai during the queen's reign; and her name has been found on items discovered as far away as Lebanon to the north and Nubia in the south. An overview of the subsequent chapters is also presented.
Roger Bagnall and Jean Bingen (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- September 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780748615780
- eISBN:
- 9780748670727
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Edinburgh University Press
- DOI:
- 10.3366/edinburgh/9780748615780.001.0001
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Archaeology: Classical
The nineteen chapters of this book cover a wide variety of topics concerned with the Macedonian monarchy of the Ptolemies, which ruled Egypt after Alexander the Great until the Roman empire, and ...
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The nineteen chapters of this book cover a wide variety of topics concerned with the Macedonian monarchy of the Ptolemies, which ruled Egypt after Alexander the Great until the Roman empire, and which rested on military control based on a Greek and Macedonian military force settled on the land. The first five chapters examine ways in which Ptolemy I, Ptolemy III, and Cleopatra VII sought political legitimacy and support in this multicultural society. The next section looks at the Greek experience in Egypt, as settlers on the land, as members of specific ethnic groups, and as creators of an urban milieu in which they could feel at home. The third part treats the complex economic life of Ptolemaic Egypt, with its tension between the king's need for revenue and the Greeks' desire to enrich themselves in their new home and in particular to acquire some of Egypt's rich grainland, not only to work as soldiers or bureaucrats. The resulting interactions between Greeks and Egyptians occupy the final section. Throughout the case-studies that make up this book, the author stresses the internal stresses and fractures of this colonial society, with multiple groups of actors having conflicting interests but needing to cooperate for any of them to succeed.Less
The nineteen chapters of this book cover a wide variety of topics concerned with the Macedonian monarchy of the Ptolemies, which ruled Egypt after Alexander the Great until the Roman empire, and which rested on military control based on a Greek and Macedonian military force settled on the land. The first five chapters examine ways in which Ptolemy I, Ptolemy III, and Cleopatra VII sought political legitimacy and support in this multicultural society. The next section looks at the Greek experience in Egypt, as settlers on the land, as members of specific ethnic groups, and as creators of an urban milieu in which they could feel at home. The third part treats the complex economic life of Ptolemaic Egypt, with its tension between the king's need for revenue and the Greeks' desire to enrich themselves in their new home and in particular to acquire some of Egypt's rich grainland, not only to work as soldiers or bureaucrats. The resulting interactions between Greeks and Egyptians occupy the final section. Throughout the case-studies that make up this book, the author stresses the internal stresses and fractures of this colonial society, with multiple groups of actors having conflicting interests but needing to cooperate for any of them to succeed.
Bruce K. Rutherford
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691158044
- eISBN:
- 9781400846146
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691158044.001.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, Political Theory
Which way will Egypt go now that Husni Mubarak's authoritarian regime has been swept from power? Will it become an Islamic theocracy similar to Iran? Will it embrace Western-style liberalism and ...
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Which way will Egypt go now that Husni Mubarak's authoritarian regime has been swept from power? Will it become an Islamic theocracy similar to Iran? Will it embrace Western-style liberalism and democracy? This book reveals that Egypt's secularists and Islamists may yet navigate a middle path that results in a uniquely Islamic form of liberalism and, perhaps, democracy. The book draws on in-depth interviews with Egyptian judges, lawyers, Islamic activists, politicians, and businesspeople. It utilizes major court rulings, political documents of the Muslim Brotherhood, and the writings of Egypt's leading contemporary Islamic thinkers. The book demonstrates that, in post-Mubarak Egypt, progress toward liberalism and democracy is likely to be slow. Essential reading on a subject of global importance, this edition includes a new introduction that takes stock of the Arab Spring and the Muslim Brotherhood's victories in the 2011–2012 elections.Less
Which way will Egypt go now that Husni Mubarak's authoritarian regime has been swept from power? Will it become an Islamic theocracy similar to Iran? Will it embrace Western-style liberalism and democracy? This book reveals that Egypt's secularists and Islamists may yet navigate a middle path that results in a uniquely Islamic form of liberalism and, perhaps, democracy. The book draws on in-depth interviews with Egyptian judges, lawyers, Islamic activists, politicians, and businesspeople. It utilizes major court rulings, political documents of the Muslim Brotherhood, and the writings of Egypt's leading contemporary Islamic thinkers. The book demonstrates that, in post-Mubarak Egypt, progress toward liberalism and democracy is likely to be slow. Essential reading on a subject of global importance, this edition includes a new introduction that takes stock of the Arab Spring and the Muslim Brotherhood's victories in the 2011–2012 elections.
Wallace Matson
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- January 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199812691
- eISBN:
- 9780199919420
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199812691.003.0015
- Subject:
- Philosophy, History of Philosophy
Ptolemy, one of Alexander's generals, a patron of Greek culture, founded in Alexandria, capital of his Egyptian empire, the Library, the greatest depository of Greek literature, and the Museum, a ...
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Ptolemy, one of Alexander's generals, a patron of Greek culture, founded in Alexandria, capital of his Egyptian empire, the Library, the greatest depository of Greek literature, and the Museum, a research institute. Science made great advances in the Museum. The Library produced great scholars but little new literature. The principal philosophical innovation of the period was the rise of Skepticism, which utterly rejected high beliefs, whether tethered or not. Greek Skepticism is the ancestor of modern Positivism and Pragmatism, not of Cartesian skepticism. It was quite correct for its time, but it is a good thing that it did not prevail, for it would have eliminated the element of imagination that is essential to science.Less
Ptolemy, one of Alexander's generals, a patron of Greek culture, founded in Alexandria, capital of his Egyptian empire, the Library, the greatest depository of Greek literature, and the Museum, a research institute. Science made great advances in the Museum. The Library produced great scholars but little new literature. The principal philosophical innovation of the period was the rise of Skepticism, which utterly rejected high beliefs, whether tethered or not. Greek Skepticism is the ancestor of modern Positivism and Pragmatism, not of Cartesian skepticism. It was quite correct for its time, but it is a good thing that it did not prevail, for it would have eliminated the element of imagination that is essential to science.
Robert E. Sinkewicz
- Published in print:
- 2003
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199259939
- eISBN:
- 9780191698651
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199259939.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Early Christian Studies
Evagrius of Pontus (c.345–99) was one of the most prominent figures among the monks of the desert settlements of Nitria, Sketis, and Kellia in Lower Egypt. Through the course of his ascetic writings ...
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Evagrius of Pontus (c.345–99) was one of the most prominent figures among the monks of the desert settlements of Nitria, Sketis, and Kellia in Lower Egypt. Through the course of his ascetic writings he formulated a systematic presentation of the teaching of the semi-eremitic monks of these settlements. The works of Evagrius had a profound influence on Eastern Orthodox monastic teaching and passed to the West through the writings of John Cassian (c.365–435). This book provides an English translation of Evagrius' Greek ascetic writings, based on modern critical editions, where available, and, where they are not, on collations of the principal manuscripts. Two appendices provide variant readings for the Greek texts and the complete text of the long recension of Eulogios. The translations are accompanied by a commentary to guide the reader through the intricacies of Evagrian thought by offering explanatory comments and references to other Evagrian texts and relevant scholarly literature. Finally, detailed indexes are provided to allow the reader to identify and study the numerous themes of Evagrian teaching.Less
Evagrius of Pontus (c.345–99) was one of the most prominent figures among the monks of the desert settlements of Nitria, Sketis, and Kellia in Lower Egypt. Through the course of his ascetic writings he formulated a systematic presentation of the teaching of the semi-eremitic monks of these settlements. The works of Evagrius had a profound influence on Eastern Orthodox monastic teaching and passed to the West through the writings of John Cassian (c.365–435). This book provides an English translation of Evagrius' Greek ascetic writings, based on modern critical editions, where available, and, where they are not, on collations of the principal manuscripts. Two appendices provide variant readings for the Greek texts and the complete text of the long recension of Eulogios. The translations are accompanied by a commentary to guide the reader through the intricacies of Evagrian thought by offering explanatory comments and references to other Evagrian texts and relevant scholarly literature. Finally, detailed indexes are provided to allow the reader to identify and study the numerous themes of Evagrian teaching.
Kate Zebiri
- Published in print:
- 1993
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198263302
- eISBN:
- 9780191682469
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198263302.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Islam
This is the first detailed study of the life and thought of Shaykh Maḥmūd Shaltūt (1893–1963). Shaltūt was an Egyptian scholar and reformer who held the most senior position open to Sunni Muslim ...
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This is the first detailed study of the life and thought of Shaykh Maḥmūd Shaltūt (1893–1963). Shaltūt was an Egyptian scholar and reformer who held the most senior position open to Sunni Muslim religious scholars — that of Rector of the Azhar University in Cairo. His period of office (1958–63) was a turbulent time in Egypt and within the Azhar itself, with President Nasser's socialist government initiating a radical reorganization of that institution in accordance with its policy of exerting greater control over the forces of Islam in Egypt. One of the most popular and progressive Rectors of the Azhar in recent times, his writings have received extremely wide readership throughout the Muslim world. They reflect both his traditional religious background and his great concern with the contemporary problems of Muslims, thus providing an insight into some of the tensions that arise in the confrontation with modernity. In his important work in the areas of Islamic jurisprudence and Qur'ānic commentary, he strove to demystify Islamic scholarship and make its fruits available to ordinary Muslims. He issued fatwās on a wide range of topics of particular relevance in the modern age, such as financial transactions and family planning.Less
This is the first detailed study of the life and thought of Shaykh Maḥmūd Shaltūt (1893–1963). Shaltūt was an Egyptian scholar and reformer who held the most senior position open to Sunni Muslim religious scholars — that of Rector of the Azhar University in Cairo. His period of office (1958–63) was a turbulent time in Egypt and within the Azhar itself, with President Nasser's socialist government initiating a radical reorganization of that institution in accordance with its policy of exerting greater control over the forces of Islam in Egypt. One of the most popular and progressive Rectors of the Azhar in recent times, his writings have received extremely wide readership throughout the Muslim world. They reflect both his traditional religious background and his great concern with the contemporary problems of Muslims, thus providing an insight into some of the tensions that arise in the confrontation with modernity. In his important work in the areas of Islamic jurisprudence and Qur'ānic commentary, he strove to demystify Islamic scholarship and make its fruits available to ordinary Muslims. He issued fatwās on a wide range of topics of particular relevance in the modern age, such as financial transactions and family planning.
Graham Gould
- Published in print:
- 1993
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198263456
- eISBN:
- 9780191682551
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198263456.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Early Christian Studies
This book studies the life and thought of the Christian monks of 4th- and 5th-century lower Egypt. It works from collections of their sayings and stories which were compiled in the late 5th century ...
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This book studies the life and thought of the Christian monks of 4th- and 5th-century lower Egypt. It works from collections of their sayings and stories which were compiled in the late 5th century and which are known collectively as the Apopthegmata Patrum. These texts show that the Desert Fathers were deeply concerned with the nature of the monastic community that they formed and with the problems which might affect relationships between individuals within it. Successive chapters of the book centre on the text of the Apopthegmata itself as a witness to the community's sense of its own history and identity; on the relationship between teacher and disciple in the context of which the practices and virtues of the monastic life were taught; on the importance of good relationships between a monk and his companions in the monastic life; on the problems of anger, judgement, and praise, which interfere with good relationships; on the tension between the desire for solitude and the necessity of interaction with others; and on the connection between relationships with others and a monk's own life of prayer. The overall conclusion is that the Desert Fathers saw community as an integral part of their monastic ideal and rarely regarded solitude as a way of life to be pursued at the expense of community.Less
This book studies the life and thought of the Christian monks of 4th- and 5th-century lower Egypt. It works from collections of their sayings and stories which were compiled in the late 5th century and which are known collectively as the Apopthegmata Patrum. These texts show that the Desert Fathers were deeply concerned with the nature of the monastic community that they formed and with the problems which might affect relationships between individuals within it. Successive chapters of the book centre on the text of the Apopthegmata itself as a witness to the community's sense of its own history and identity; on the relationship between teacher and disciple in the context of which the practices and virtues of the monastic life were taught; on the importance of good relationships between a monk and his companions in the monastic life; on the problems of anger, judgement, and praise, which interfere with good relationships; on the tension between the desire for solitude and the necessity of interaction with others; and on the connection between relationships with others and a monk's own life of prayer. The overall conclusion is that the Desert Fathers saw community as an integral part of their monastic ideal and rarely regarded solitude as a way of life to be pursued at the expense of community.
David Wengrow
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691159041
- eISBN:
- 9781400848867
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691159041.003.0004
- Subject:
- Archaeology, Historical Archaeology
This chapter considers the case for a much earlier beginning to the composite's story, among the hunter-gatherers and villagers of remote prehistory. It has been suggested that “imaginary animals,” ...
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This chapter considers the case for a much earlier beginning to the composite's story, among the hunter-gatherers and villagers of remote prehistory. It has been suggested that “imaginary animals,” “monsters,” and composite figures are found throughout the Upper Paleolithic art tradition that flourished among hunter-gatherers of the last Ice Age, between around 40,000 and 10,000 years ago. That tradition, or better complex of traditions, is most richly documented across a broad swath of southern Europe, on what were then the fringes of a vast steppe bordering the zone of maximum glaciation. The chapter first examines the frequency of composites among the surviving corpus of Paleolithic art, along with the significance of such images in the ritual life of prehistoric societies, before discussing the development of pictorial art in the later Neolithic of the Near East. It also describes animal figures in predynastic Egypt.Less
This chapter considers the case for a much earlier beginning to the composite's story, among the hunter-gatherers and villagers of remote prehistory. It has been suggested that “imaginary animals,” “monsters,” and composite figures are found throughout the Upper Paleolithic art tradition that flourished among hunter-gatherers of the last Ice Age, between around 40,000 and 10,000 years ago. That tradition, or better complex of traditions, is most richly documented across a broad swath of southern Europe, on what were then the fringes of a vast steppe bordering the zone of maximum glaciation. The chapter first examines the frequency of composites among the surviving corpus of Paleolithic art, along with the significance of such images in the ritual life of prehistoric societies, before discussing the development of pictorial art in the later Neolithic of the Near East. It also describes animal figures in predynastic Egypt.
David Wengrow
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691159041
- eISBN:
- 9781400848867
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691159041.003.0005
- Subject:
- Archaeology, Historical Archaeology
This chapter considers the cultural ecology of composite animals. Paleolithic and Neolithic societies sometimes created durable images of composite beings, and the few surviving candidates have often ...
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This chapter considers the cultural ecology of composite animals. Paleolithic and Neolithic societies sometimes created durable images of composite beings, and the few surviving candidates have often been accorded great prominence in modern interpretations. Yet they remain strikingly isolated. If the popularity of minimally counterintuitive images is to be explained by their core cultural content and its appeal to universal cognitive biases, the question that arises is: Why did composite figures fail so spectacularly to “catch on” across the many millennia of innovation in visual culture that precede the onset of urban life? Much hinges here upon our conceptualization of the “counterintuitive” and its role in cultural transmission. To determine what kind of “cultural ecology” the composite animal belongs to, the chapter examines composites in early dynastic Egypt before discussing the relationship between the spread of urban civilization and the widespread transmission of images depicting composite beings.Less
This chapter considers the cultural ecology of composite animals. Paleolithic and Neolithic societies sometimes created durable images of composite beings, and the few surviving candidates have often been accorded great prominence in modern interpretations. Yet they remain strikingly isolated. If the popularity of minimally counterintuitive images is to be explained by their core cultural content and its appeal to universal cognitive biases, the question that arises is: Why did composite figures fail so spectacularly to “catch on” across the many millennia of innovation in visual culture that precede the onset of urban life? Much hinges here upon our conceptualization of the “counterintuitive” and its role in cultural transmission. To determine what kind of “cultural ecology” the composite animal belongs to, the chapter examines composites in early dynastic Egypt before discussing the relationship between the spread of urban civilization and the widespread transmission of images depicting composite beings.
Stuart Weeks
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- May 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199291540
- eISBN:
- 9780191710537
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199291540.003.0002
- Subject:
- Religion, Biblical Studies
Instructions arose in Egypt, and perhaps independently in Mesopotamia and elsewhere, as a type of poetic literature. They take the form of a testamentary speech, in which an individual passes on his ...
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Instructions arose in Egypt, and perhaps independently in Mesopotamia and elsewhere, as a type of poetic literature. They take the form of a testamentary speech, in which an individual passes on his knowledge and experience, usually to his son, at the point when he must hand over to the next generation. Beyond that convention, instructions have no fixed form or content. Classic texts in the genre were perceived as culturally significant, and were read in schools, which may have influenced certain developments in the genre, but which does not suggest that they were ever composed expressly as pedagogical textbooks.Less
Instructions arose in Egypt, and perhaps independently in Mesopotamia and elsewhere, as a type of poetic literature. They take the form of a testamentary speech, in which an individual passes on his knowledge and experience, usually to his son, at the point when he must hand over to the next generation. Beyond that convention, instructions have no fixed form or content. Classic texts in the genre were perceived as culturally significant, and were read in schools, which may have influenced certain developments in the genre, but which does not suggest that they were ever composed expressly as pedagogical textbooks.
Michele George (ed.)
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- January 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199268412
- eISBN:
- 9780191708589
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199268412.001.0001
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, European History: BCE to 500CE
This book examines family life in the Roman empire and Italy, focusing on the influence of Rome on provincial family structure and attitudes towards family life as well as regional differences in ...
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This book examines family life in the Roman empire and Italy, focusing on the influence of Rome on provincial family structure and attitudes towards family life as well as regional differences in family structure, forms of marriage, and kinship patterns. The chapters cover Roman Egypt, Judaea, Spain, Gaul, North Africa, and Pannonia, and make use of both conventional textual sources and epigraphic evidence, as well as material that is less frequently treated, such as the medical writers and the Justinianic receipts. Notions surrounding the family are explored in the abstract and in reality, such as the idea of family as used in the forensic works of Cicero as a touchstone for elite morality, especially for men, and how the social family norms of pietas and affection informed the identity of the Roman nobility. A discussion of family portrait groups on Republican and early imperial funerary commemoration takes up the same set of attitudes toward family life and shows how the emerging urban middle class of Italy, former slaves in Rome and citizens of mixed origins in Cisalpine Gaul, used family imagery to position themselves in the mainstream culture. There is also a chapter on the harder side of ancient family life in a survey of diseases and treatments of illnesses, thus retrieving a sobering dimension of ancient experience which is radically different from the modern. The remaining chapters look at family life in the Roman world outside Italy in a systematic way focusing on specific regions.Less
This book examines family life in the Roman empire and Italy, focusing on the influence of Rome on provincial family structure and attitudes towards family life as well as regional differences in family structure, forms of marriage, and kinship patterns. The chapters cover Roman Egypt, Judaea, Spain, Gaul, North Africa, and Pannonia, and make use of both conventional textual sources and epigraphic evidence, as well as material that is less frequently treated, such as the medical writers and the Justinianic receipts. Notions surrounding the family are explored in the abstract and in reality, such as the idea of family as used in the forensic works of Cicero as a touchstone for elite morality, especially for men, and how the social family norms of pietas and affection informed the identity of the Roman nobility. A discussion of family portrait groups on Republican and early imperial funerary commemoration takes up the same set of attitudes toward family life and shows how the emerging urban middle class of Italy, former slaves in Rome and citizens of mixed origins in Cisalpine Gaul, used family imagery to position themselves in the mainstream culture. There is also a chapter on the harder side of ancient family life in a survey of diseases and treatments of illnesses, thus retrieving a sobering dimension of ancient experience which is radically different from the modern. The remaining chapters look at family life in the Roman world outside Italy in a systematic way focusing on specific regions.
