An Andalusi in Fatimid Egypt

with Sumaiya Hamdani

hosted by Graham Cornwell

The story of the twelfth-century scholar Umaya b. `Abd al-`Aziz Abu al-Salt al-Dani al-Ishbili starts in al-Andalus but moves eastward, to Fatimid Cairo and Zirid Tunisia. His movement across the Mediterranean illustrates a west-east transmission of knowledge and intellectual culture. A prolific scholar trained in diverse fields, Abu al-Salt's story traces scholarly links between multiple medieval Islamic states. Professor Sumaiya Hamdani joins Graham Cornwell to discuss her work on Abu al-Salt and the historiography of intellectual culture in the medieval Mediterranean.

	Sumaiya Hamdani is Associate Professor of World History at George Mason University, and founder of the GMU Islamic Studies program. She is also the author of Between Revolution and State: The Construction of Fatimid Legitimacy, published in 2006.
	Graham H. Cornwell is a PhD Candidate in History at Georgetown University. His dissertation is entitled "Sweetening the Pot: A History of Tea and Taste in Morocco, 1856-1960.

SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHY

Sumaiya Hamdani. "Worlds apart? An Andalusi in Fatimid Egypt." Journal of North African Studies 19.1 (2014): 56-67.

Hamdani, Sumaiya. Between Revolution and State: The Path to Fatimid Statehood : Qadi Al-Nuʻman and the Construction of Fatimid Legitimacy. London: I. B. Tauris, 2006.

Salma Khadra Jayyusi. The Legacy of Muslim Spain, Volume 1. Brill: 2000.

Yaacov Lev. State and Society in Fatimid Egypt, Volume 1. Brill: 1991.

Amin Maalouf. Leo Africanus. New Amsterdam Books: 1998.

Stephen O' Shea. Sea of Faith: Islam and Christianity in the Medieval Mediterranean World. Walker: 2007.