Baghdad and Isfahan: A Dialogue of Two Cities in an Age of Science ca. 750–1750

Description

Renowned as great centres of learning, the cities of Baghdad and Isfahan were at the heart of the Islamic ‘age of science’. Their distinct cultural voices inspired a unique historical dialogue, which finds new expression in Baghdad and Isfahan: A Dialogue of Two Cities in an Age of Science, the story of how knowledge was transmitted and transformed within Islamic lands, and then spread across the globe. Charting the history of Baghdad and Isfahan from 750 to 1750, Elaheh Kheirandish draws on the voices of court astronomers, mathematicians, scientists, mystics, jurists, statesmen and Arabic and Persian translators and scholars. Telling the story of the rise of Baghdad and the decline of Isfahan, as capital cities and as centres of intellectual thought, this unique book addresses Islamic culture’s extensive and lasting contribution to the history of science. Kheirandish bases her narrative on a unique medieval manuscript and other historical sources and the result is more than a thousand-year “tale of two cities”—it is a city by city, and century by century, look at what it took to change the world. In a feat of travelogue and time travel, Kheirandish creates parallel stories with modern and historical characters, crossing cities worldwide, and capturing changes through time. Cover page Halftitle page Title page Copyright page Dedication Contents List of Plates Preface Notes on Conventions Introduction Why This Book? What Age of Science? Which Baghdad and Isfahan? Whose ‘Dialogue’? Chapter Summaries Chapter Zero: Cast and Stage Chapter One: Time and Place Chapter Two: Moon and Sun Chapter Three: Round and Square Chapter Four: Word and Line Chapter Five: East and West Chapter Six: Old and New Chapter Seven: Plan and Chance Chart: Names an Dates 0 Cast and Stage 0.1 An Old Manuscript with Many Lives 0.2 A Young Narrator with Many Gift s 0.3 An Arab City with a Lunar Calendar 0.4 A Persian City with a Solar Calendar 1 Time and Place 1001 Years (ca. 750–1750): Through the Lands of 1001 Nights 1.1 An Old Manuscript with a Special Day 1.2 A Young Student with a Special Year 1.3 An Arab City with Eastern Links 1.4 A Persian City with Western Links 2 Moon and Sun 500 Hundred Years (ca. 750–1250; 1250–1750) 2.1 An Old Manuscript with Gold Illuminations 2.2 A Young Viewer with Rich Inspirations 2.3 An Arab City with a Growing Moon 2.4 A Persian City with a Glowing Sun 2.5 An Arab City with a ‘Westerner’ 2.6 A Persian City with a ‘Falconer’ 3 Round and Square 100 Years: A Crescent Phase (ca. 750–850) 3.1 An Old Manuscript with a Microfilm 3.2 A Young Reader with a ‘Micromap’ 3.3 An Arab City with a ‘House of Wisdom’ 3.4 A Persian City with an Ancient Kingdom 4 Word and Line 200 Years: A Quarter Phase (ca. 850–1050) 4.1 An Old Manuscript with Colour Scans 4.2 A Young Visitor with Secret Plans 4.3 An Arab City with a ‘Critical’ Mind 4.4 A Persian City Left Behind 5 East and West 300 Years: A Half Phase (ca. 1050–1350) 5.1 An Old Manuscript in a Virtual Space 5.2 A Young Traveller with Paths to Trace 5.3 An Arab City with a Western Court 5.4 A Persian City with an Eastern Fort 6 Old and New 400 Years (ca. 1350–1750): Three-Quarter Phase 6.1 An Old Manuscript in a Digital Age 6.2 A Young Curator with a ‘Future’ Stage 6.3 An Arab City with a Treasure Box 6.4 A Persian City with a Tower Clock 6.5 An Eastern City and an ‘End of Time’ 6.6 A Western City with a Turn of Tides 7 Plan and Chance 1000 Years (ca. 750–1750): Full Phase 7.1 An Old Manuscript in a Game of Chance 7.2 A Young Player with a Change of Plans 7.3 An Arab City with Living Traces 7.4 A Persian City with Lasting Places Postscript Bibliography Name Index Subject Index General Index Plates