Abu Bakr al-Suli (d. 335/947) was an Abbasid polymath and table companion, as well as a legendary chess player. He was perhaps best known for his work on poetry and chancery, which would have a long-lasting influence on Arabic literature. His decades of service at the court of at least three caliphs give him a unique perspective as an historian of his own time, although he is often valued as an observer rather than an interpreter of events for posterity. In History and Memory in the Abbasid Caliphate: Writing the Past in Medieval Arabic Literature, I attempted to illustrate how investigating the life, times and works of such a complex individual can serve as a fil rouge for tackling broader, contested concepts, such as biography, autobiography, court culture, and written culture. The result is an exploration of the ways in which the Abbasid court made sense of the past and, in general, of what 'historiography' means in a medieval Arabic context.
Beyond the chessboard: adventures in Abbasid literature and historiography / L. Osti. ((Intervento presentato al convegno Monday Majlis of the Centre for the Study of Islam tenutosi a Exeter nel 2022.
Beyond the chessboard: adventures in Abbasid literature and historiography
L. Osti
2022
Abstract
Abu Bakr al-Suli (d. 335/947) was an Abbasid polymath and table companion, as well as a legendary chess player. He was perhaps best known for his work on poetry and chancery, which would have a long-lasting influence on Arabic literature. His decades of service at the court of at least three caliphs give him a unique perspective as an historian of his own time, although he is often valued as an observer rather than an interpreter of events for posterity. In History and Memory in the Abbasid Caliphate: Writing the Past in Medieval Arabic Literature, I attempted to illustrate how investigating the life, times and works of such a complex individual can serve as a fil rouge for tackling broader, contested concepts, such as biography, autobiography, court culture, and written culture. The result is an exploration of the ways in which the Abbasid court made sense of the past and, in general, of what 'historiography' means in a medieval Arabic context.File | Dimensione | Formato | |
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Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies _ Research Events _ CSI'S Monday Majlis_ Professor Letizia Osti _.pdf
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