Picturing the Islamicate World: The Story of al-Iṣṭakhrī’s Book of Routes and Realms

Description

In Picturing the Islamicate World, Nadja Danilenko explores the message of the first preserved maps from the Islamicate world. Safeguarded in al-Iṣṭakhrī’s Book of Routes and Realms (10th century C.E.), the world map and twenty regional maps complement the text to a reference book of the territories under Muslim rule. Rather than shaping the Islamicate world according to political or religious concerns, al-Iṣṭakhrī chose a timeless design intended to outlast upheavals. Considering the treatise was transmitted for almost a millennium, al-Iṣṭakhrī’s strategy seems to have paid off. By investigating the Persian and Ottoman translations and all extant manuscripts, Nadja Danilenko unravels the manuscript tradition of al-Iṣṭakhrī’s work, revealing who took an interest in it and why. Contents Acknowledgements Figures and Tables Notes on Transliteration Introduction Maps in Manuscripts Chapter 1 What Is the World Like? 1 Literary Context 2 Organizing the World 3 Maps before al-Iṣṭakhrī Chapter 2 Show, Don’t Tell 1 Evolution and Versions of the Book 2 The World at a Glance 3 The Islamicate Realm in Pieces Chapter 3 In Persian, Please! 1 Why Translate in the Thirteenth Century? 2 The Odd One 3 The Lonely One 4 The Popular One Chapter 4 Something Old, Something New 1 Claiming Space and Knowledge for the Ottoman Court 2 Arabic Manuscripts 3 Persian Manuscripts and the Ottoman Translation Conclusion Making Sense of the Book of Routes and Realms Appendix 1 Map Outlines from the Book of Routes and Realms Appendix 2 Copies of the Book of Routes and Realms Worldwide Bibliography Index