Abbasid History Podcast

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  • Summary

  • An audio platform for the study of the pre-modern Islamic(ate) past and beyond. We interview academics, archivists and artists on their work for peers and junior students in the field. We aim to educate, inspire, perhaps infuriate, and on the way entertain a little too. https://linktr.ee/abbasidhistorypodcast Suitable also for general listeners with an interest in geographically diverse medieval history.
    (c) All right reserved to S. Talha Ahsan and Abbasid History Podcast 2021.
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Islam Spirituality World
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Episodes
  • 🖋EP056 Ali Hammoud on the life and works of Rudaki (d. 941): Father of Persian Poetry

    🖋EP056 Ali Hammoud on the life and works of Rudaki (d. 941): Father of Persian Poetry
    Dec 21 2024

    Living under the Samanid dyansty in modern-day Tajikistan, Rudaki is considered the first of the great classical Islamic Persian poets and the father of Tajik literature. Despite being a celebrated, patronised court poet, he would fall into poverty near the end of his life dying blind and alone.

    To discuss with us today the life, works and legacy of Rudaki is Ali Hammoud. Ali Hammoud is a PhD candidate at Western Sydney University. He is broadly interested in Shīʿīsm and Islamicate intellectual history.

    Q1. Rudaki was born around 858CE and died around 941CE at around 83 years old. He lived under the Samanid dynasty who at their height ruled much of modern day central Asia under the auspices of the Abbasid caliphs in Baghdad. Tell us about the cultural context in which he was born.

    Q2. We know little about his life. We know we he was patronised by the Samaind vizier Abū al-Faḍl al-Balʿamī. What else can we say with certainty about his life?

    Q3. Rudaki was as much a musician and singer as he was a poet. How is his work characterised.

    Q4. If people want to learn more about Persian literature in general, where would you recommend they start? What translations would you recommend of Rudaki?

    Q5 Finally before we end, give us a sample of Rudaki's work.

    Ali Hammoud:
    https://x.com/AliHammoud7777
    https://alihammoud7.substack.com/

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    28 mins
  • 📖EP055 Faheem Hussain on Thomas Bauer's "A Culture of Ambiguity: An Alternative History of Islam"

    📖EP055 Faheem Hussain on Thomas Bauer's "A Culture of Ambiguity: An Alternative History of Islam"
    Oct 31 2024
    Thomas Bauer's "A Culture of Ambiguity" stands out as one of the most important contributions to Islamic Studies in recent decades. First published in German in 2011, it wasn't until 2021 that it became available in English. Bauer's three decades of knowledge and expertise shine through in the work, which earned him the Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Award in Germany. It is rare for an academic book rich in insights for specialists to also be engaging enough for general readers, yet this is exactly what Bauer has achieved. However our guest today has an essay published in the Maydan journal online journal interogating Bauer's conceptualisation of "ambiguity" and its application in the history of islamic culture. Faheem A. Hussain is an independent researcher. He has a BA (Hons.) in Arabic and Islamic studies from the School of Oriental and African Studies, London, a PGCE in Religious Studies from Roehampton University, and an MA in philosophy from Heythrop College, University of London. His writings can be found at https://faheemahussain.substack.com/ and https://x.com/FaheemAMHussain. Faheem's article: https://themaydan.com/2024/08/ambiguity-as-a-master-key-critically-reading-thomas-bauers-culture-of-ambiguity/ https://x.com/FaheemAMHussain/status/1772736085627457970 Timestamps 02:11 You say in your essay: Now this does not pretend to be anything but a critical review of Bauer, interrogating his ideas of ambiguity, its coherence and implications, and despite my best efforts in civility, there’s no hiding my polemical intent. Even so, I wish to insist that this book is a product of a fine mind and generous soul, and that I have no doubt that if anyone reads the book, they will only leave more humbled, indebted as well as greatly enriched by reading it. Without a doubt, this is a book that should be read as well as kept on a shelf. Before we start why don't you give us an overview of the book and what he liked best about it. 16:23 At the heart of Bauer's work is this concept of Ambiguity. Tell us what he means by this and your reservations. 37:52 For me, my favourite parts were on the divergent readings of the Quran and the difference between the comfort of medieval scholars about that, particularly Ibn al-Jazari and the anxiety of modern Muslims. Though at first blush the late Saudi-Salafi cleric, Sheikh Ibn al-ʿUthaymin and the Pakistani activist al-Mawdudi, God be kind to their souls, might seem apart yet they share the same modern anxiety about ambiguity according to Bauer. It seems you are more on board with him on this then his other applications of ambiguity in the cultural history of Islam. 49:25 Like you, I wasn't convinced by his thoughts on the concept of foreigness in Islamic cultural history. You also take him to task on his take on homoerotica. I also feel that with current debate about gender and the like whether it makes sense to say there is a lack of ambiguity in contemporary culture. I feel if we had experts on medieval, early modern and modern Europe as Bauer is an expert on medieval Arabic whether we would have better insights on ambiguity as a concept. 01:03:52 And finally before we end tell us where listeners can turn next to learn more about today's topic and what are other current projects that listeners can anticipate? Works mentioned in episode: Pieter Coppens, Did Modernity End Polyvalence? Some Observations on Tolerance for Ambiguity in Sunni tafsīrhttps://www.euppublishing.com/doi/abs/10.3366/jqs.2021.0450?role=tab Usaama al-Azami,Traditional Islam, Ideology, Immigrant Muslims, and Grievance Culture: A Review of Travelling Home: Essays on Islam in Europe by Abdal Hakim Murad https://muslimmatters.org/2021/02/05/traditional-islam-ideology-immigrant-muslims-and-grievance-culture-a-review-of-travelling-home-essays-on-islam-in-europe-by-abdal-hakim-murad/ Frank Griffel, The Formation of Post-Classical Philosophy in Islam https://www.academia.edu/47378325/The_Formation_of_Post_Classical_Philosophy_in_Islam Sponsored by shop.ihrc.org Get 15% off with discount code AHP15 at checkout. Terms and conditions apply. Contact IHRC Bookshop for details.
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    1 hr and 13 mins
  • 💧EP054 GUEST EPISDODE (8/8) The Great Valens Aqueduct of Constantinople/ Istanbul

    💧EP054 GUEST EPISDODE (8/8) The Great Valens Aqueduct of Constantinople/ Istanbul
    Oct 2 2024

    The longest aqueduct of the ancient world, the Valens aqueduct brought water to the capital of the eastern Roman empire: Byzantium or Constantinople, today known as Istanbul. Monumental sections of the aqueduct bridge still majestically stride across the city. In this episode we talk about the reasons for embarking on this colossal project, its development, decline and adaptation, and its place in the cultural heritage of today’s Turkey.

    Speaker: Mariëtte Verhoeven. Interviewer: Edmund Hayes.

    Mariëtte Verhoeven is university lecturer and researcher at Radboud University specialising in the field of late antique and Byzantine cultural and architectural history and heritage.

    This episode was produced by Edmund Hayes and Jouke Heringa.

    Further Reading

    Mariëtte Verhoeven, F. Gerritsen, & Özgün Özçakır, Revitalizing Istanbul’s Water Heritage: The Valens Aqueduct. Blue Papers, 2(1) (2023): 154–163. https://doi.org/10.58981/bluepapers.2023.1.15

    Ward, Kate, James Crow and Martin Crapper. 2017. “Water-Supply Infrastructure of Byzantine Constantinople.” Journal of Roman Archaeology 30: 175–95. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1047759400074079

    ---

    Edmund Hayes

    Twitter: @Hedhayes20

    https://www.linkedin.com/in/edmund-hayes-490913211/

    https://leidenuniv.academia.edu/EdmundHayes

    https://hcommons.org/members/ephayes/

    Mariette Verhoeven

    https://www.linkedin.com/in/mariëtte-verhoeven-ba10153

    https://radboud.academia.edu/Mari%C3%ABtteVerhoeven
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    47 mins

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