Al-Idrisi’s Norman Kingdom in the South

The Book of Roger in Translation
Erscheinungsjahr 2024
ISBN: 978-1-80270-019-0
Verlag: Amsterdam University Press

Buch, Englisch, 174 Seiten, Format (B × H): 152 mm x 229 mm

Reihe: Foundations

The Book of Roger is a twelfth-century Arabic geographical treatise commissioned by King Roger II of Sicily and compiled by the Muslim polymath al-Idrisi. On its completion in around 1157 it was the most detailed description of the known world produced up to that point. This translation covers Sicily, the seat of King Roger’s government, along with the other parts of the Norman kingdom in the South: southern Italy, the Adriatic, and Ifriqiya, as well as the book’s preface.

Presented in English translation for the first time this text offers insight into Roger’s motivation in commissioning such an endeavour, and the relationship between king and scholar. A comprehensive introduction explores what this important work tells us about the Norman kingdom in the South in the Middle Ages, while a series of detailed maps will enhance the reader’s appreciation of the richness of al-Idrisi’s data.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Weitere Mitwirkende

Jacka, Katherine

Kzzo, Ahmed Fatima

King, Matt

Fachgebiete

• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Weltgeschichte & Geschichte einzelner Länder und Gebietsräume Geschichte einzelner Länder Afrikanische Geschichte
• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Alte Geschichte & Archäologie Vor- und Frühgeschichte, prähistorische Archäologie
• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Geschichtswissenschaft Allgemein
• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Weltgeschichte & Geschichte einzelner Länder und Gebietsräume Geschichte einzelner Länder Naher & Mittlerer Osten

Inhaltsverzeichnis

List of Illustrations

Introduction: The Life, Times, and Works of al-Idrisi

Kitab Nuzhat al-Mushtaq fi Ikhtiraq al-Afaq / The Book of Pleasure for Those who Desire to Visit Far Away Places: Translation

The Preface

Clime 3, Part 1: Ifriqiya (partial)

Clime 3, Part 2: Ifriqiya

Clime 4, Part 2: Mediterranean Islands and Sicily

Clime 4, Part 3: South Italy and Southern Adriatic

Clime 5, Part 2: South Italy (partial)

Clime 5, Part 3: South Italy and Northern Adriatic

Bibliography

Index of Placenames

Über Autor(innen)

King, Matt
Matt King is Associate Professor in the Department of History at the University of South Florida and works on the medieval Mediterranean. His first monograph, Dynasties Intertwined: The Zirids of Ifriqiya and the Normans of Sicily, was published in 2022.

Kzzo, Ahmed Fatima
Ahmed Fatima Kzzo has a PhD from the University of Rome “Sapienza”. Ahmed has been a member of the Italian Expedition in Ebla (Syria) since 2004 and is currently a fellow at the Columbia University Global Centre in Amman.

Jacka, Katherine
Katherine Jacka has a PhD in Middle Eastern History and Arabic from the University of Sydney. Her work has appeared in various publications including The Medieval Globe and The Conversation. She has taught medieval history at Macquarie University and in secondary schools in Sydney.