Introduction: Story before History Handling the sources of Arabic historiography on Pre-Islamic A... more Introduction: Story before History Handling the sources of Arabic historiography on Pre-Islamic Arabia Himyar Dynasty Inventions and inventiones of the Arabic-Islamic Tradition about the sequence of the Himyar dynasty Tales 1. The legacy of Saba' 2. The birth of Abu Karib As'ad al-Kamil 3. Why Bilqis, instead of a man, ruled over Himyar? 4. The four kings and their sister Abda'a 5. The story of king Yusuf Du Nuwas Bibliographical references Table
Analysis of some lines of poetry recorded in Classical Arabic repertories (namely in the Aḫbār by... more Analysis of some lines of poetry recorded in Classical Arabic repertories (namely in the Aḫbār by ʿAbīd b. Šariyya and in the commentary on Našwān al-Ḥimyarī’s Qaṣīda Himyariyya, as well as lexical literature), may receive light from Hadramautic inscriptions from al-ʿUqla (Shabwa, Yemen), and vice versa. Here three terms ( gndl, s1 yr, bqr) are investigated, with an attempt to establish a semantic-linguistic connection between two cultural contexts: the Hadramite monarchy of early 3rd century CE and the military environment of the 1rst century of Hijra.
Analysis of some lines of poetry recorded in Classical Arabic repertories (namely in
the Aḫbār... more Analysis of some lines of poetry recorded in Classical Arabic repertories (namely in
the Aḫbār by ʿAbīd b. Šariyya and in the commentary on Našwān al-Ḥimyarī’s Qaṣīda Himyariyya, as well as lexical literature), may receive light from Hadramautic inscriptions from al-ʿUqla (Shabwa, Yemen), and vice versa. Here three terms ( gndl, s1 yr, bqr) are investigated, with an attempt to establish a semantic-linguistic connection between two cultural contexts: the Hadramite monarchy of early 3rd century CE and the military environment of the 1rst century of Hijra.
This paper follows the stages of the construction of legends about pre-Islamic Yemeni rulers’ ges... more This paper follows the stages of the construction of legends about pre-Islamic Yemeni rulers’ gestae in Arab-Islamic historiography and literature, pointing out how narrative material of the Islamic conquests possibly contributed in this construction. The given examples concern specifically the story of Šammar Yurʿiš, the king of ancient Yemen well-known from epigraphic sources, and their presumptive raids and conquests in Central Asia, as exposed by South-Arabian historiographers from ʿAbīd b. Šariyya to Našwān al-Ḥimyarī.
Many poems and fragmentary verses have been ascribed to Ḥassān b. Ṯabit al-Anṣārī (d. ca. 40/659)... more Many poems and fragmentary verses have been ascribed to Ḥassān b. Ṯabit al-Anṣārī (d. ca. 40/659). In some sources of Southern-Arabian cultural or political orientation—as al-Hamdānī’s Kitāb al-Iklīl, the commentary to Našwān al-Ḥimyarī’s Qaṣīda al-ḥimyariyya, and particularly the anonymous Waṣāyā almulūk (occasionally ascribed to al-Aṣmaʿī or to al-Ḫuzāʿī)—about fifty lines by Ḥassān are found which are not recorded in his “official” dīwān. Here a brief investigation is conducted in order to reconstruct the poems which could be ascribed either to Ḥassān b. Ṯābit or one of his forgers. A collation of those same verses is then presented together with an English translation.Keywords: Arabic poetry; Ḥassān b. Ṯābit; qaṣīda.
Here is an analysis of the tale of the marriage of al-Hadhād (of the Ḥimiar royal dynasty) with a... more Here is an analysis of the tale of the marriage of al-Hadhād (of the Ḥimiar royal dynasty) with a woman of jinn found in Arabic sources dated from the 9th to 12th centuries. In the light of archaeological data and other folklore sources collected by scholars in the last 60 years (Serjeant, Daum, Rodionof), this tale could be interpreted as a foundation myth, with its strong anthropological and political implications, for the community of Maʾrib, the capital city and the main site of Sabaic religiousness in pre-Islamic times. It could also provide some keys of interpretation of a more general religious sensitivity in Arabia encompassing polytheistic or monotheistic creeds.
The great polymath Gregory Bar ʿEbroyo (d. 1286), known as Barhebraeus, composed two historiograp... more The great polymath Gregory Bar ʿEbroyo (d. 1286), known as Barhebraeus, composed two historiographical works: the “Chronicle” (Maktbānut zabnē) in Syriac and the “Summa on Dynasties” (Muḫtaṣar fī l-duwal) in Arabic. Though he likely worked on them at the same time, the differences in language, structure, and choice of themes, show that different goals lay behind the two works. Through an examination of recent studies and a comparison of some passages of the two texts, this paper introduces a tentative reassessment of the issue and offers suggestive indications on Bar ʿEbroyo’s personal vision of history in the context of early Mongol (Ilkhanid) rule.
ROAMING TRIBES - TRIBES ON THE MOVE The epos of al-Azd and Qudaa TALES 1. 'Amr b &#39... more ROAMING TRIBES - TRIBES ON THE MOVE The epos of al-Azd and Qudaa TALES 1. 'Amr b 'Amir leaves Ma'rib with al-Azd before the dam fall 2. The introduction of horses among the Arabs 3. The battle of Salut 4. Qudaa and Tanuh reach Iraq 5. The fall of Hatra Bibliographical references Mascitelli Daniele Anno di Edizione: 2017 Edizione: L'ERMA di BRETSCHNEIDER Collane: Quaderni di Arabia antica, 5 ISBN: 978-88-913-1293-8 Pagine: 74
These are two chapters from the book "Culture dell'Arabia preislamica" (IPO-Aseq 2021). The book ... more These are two chapters from the book "Culture dell'Arabia preislamica" (IPO-Aseq 2021). The book is a sketch of some salient cultural elements that can be traced in the civilizations of pre-Islamic Arabia. It is written with didactic and "popularizing" intents, as required by the "Collana Didattica" series of the Istituto per l'Oriente, yet it includes critical views on the matter.
The great polymath Gregory Bar ʿEbroyo (d. 1286), known as Barhebraeus, composed two historiograp... more The great polymath Gregory Bar ʿEbroyo (d. 1286), known as Barhebraeus, composed two historiographical works: the "Chronicle" (Maktbānut zabnē) in Syriac and the "Summa on Dynasties" (Muḫtaṣar fī l-duwal) in Arabic. Though he likely worked on them at the same time, the differences in language, structure, and choice of themes, show that different goals lay behind the two works. Through an examination of recent studies and a comparison of some passages of the two texts, this paper introduces a tentative reassessment of the issue and offers suggestive indications on Bar ʿEbroyo's personal vision of history in the context of early Mongol (Ilkhanid) rule.
The ARABI (Arabs Recount Arabia Before Islam) series aims to investigate the narration about pre-... more The ARABI (Arabs Recount Arabia Before Islam) series aims to investigate the narration about pre-Islamic Arabia built in the Arab-Muslim Tradition and compare it, whence possible, with the historical data resumed from direct (epigraphic and archaeological) and external sources. Each volume introduces some short tales, both in Arabic original and English translation, as examples of how the Tradition itself recorded and re-narrated events and characters of Pre-Islamic Arabian history; these stories are selected preferably among unpublished texts or texts which are not yet translated in English. The tales are preceded by a brief critical study discussing the historical and cultural context either those same tales are framed in, or the sources narrating those tales were collected and written down.
Part III of this series deals with the shift from polytheism to monotheism in pre-Islamic Arabia. The voice of the first left little traces in contemporary sources; at the same time the voice of the latter re-shaped every narration according to its historical-religious perspective, since its main goal was to find Arab precedents of the prophecy that revealed in the 7th century CE with the coming of Islam. This volume introduces excerpts from: - Nihaya al-irab fi ahbar al-Furs wa-l-Arab ("The final purpose on the news about the Persians and Arabs") a work preserved in several manuscripts in European libraries - ascribed to al-Asma i (d. 828), but highly suspected to be apocryphal. - A commentary to the poem Dat al-furu' fibuyut Adnan wa-qaba ili-ha wa-fada' ili-ha ("The leafy [poem] on the houses of the Adnan, their tribes and their qualities") by al-Nasir Muhammad b. al-Imam al-Mansur (d. 1226), found in the Arabic manuscript A 68 ar. preserved in the Biblioteca Ambrosiana in Milan. - The Wasaya al-muluk wa-abna' al-muluk min walad Qahòtòan b. Hud ("The testaments of the kings and the the princes of the children of Qahtan b. Hud", a work again ascribed to al-Asma' I or al-Huza' i, but likely anonymous. - The Kitab al-tigan fi muluk Himyar, ("The book of crowns on the kings of Himyar") by Wahb b. Munabbih (d. 729 ca.), though remastered by Abu Muhammad Ibn Hisam al-Himyari (d. 833). Part III Mascitelli Daniele
Year: 2019 Edizione: L'ERMA di BRETSCHNEIDER Series Quaderni di Arabia antica, 07 ISBN: 9788891318916 Binding: Brossura Pages: 68 Size: 17 x 24 cm
Many poems and fragmentary verses have been ascribed to Ḥassān b. Ṯabit al-Anṣārī (d. ca. 40/659)... more Many poems and fragmentary verses have been ascribed to Ḥassān b. Ṯabit al-Anṣārī (d. ca. 40/659). In some sources of Southern-Arabian cultural or political orientation-as al-Hamdānī's Kitāb al-Iklīl, the commentary to Našwān al-Ḥimyarī's Qaṣīda al-ḥimyariyya, and particularly the anonymous Wa ṣāyā al-mulūk (occasionally ascribed to al-Aṣmaʿī or to al-Ḫuzāʿī)-about fifty lines by Ḥassān are found which are not recorded in his "official" dīwān. Here a brief investigation is conducted in order to reconstruct the poems which could be ascribed either to Ḥassān b. Ṯābit or one of his forgers. A collation of those same verses is then presented together with an English translation.
Here is an analysis of the tale of the marriage of al-Hadhād (of the Ḥimyar royal dynasty) with a... more Here is an analysis of the tale of the marriage of al-Hadhād (of the Ḥimyar royal dynasty) with a woman of jinn found in Arabic sources dated from the 9th to 12th century. In the light of archaeological data and other folklore sources collected by scholars in the last 60 years (Serjeant, Daum, Rodionof), this tale could be interpreted as a foundation myth, with its strong anthropological and political implications, for the community of Maʾrib, the capital city and the main site of Sabaic religiousness in pre-Islamic times. It could also provide some keys of interpretation of a more general religious sensitivity in Arabia encompassing polytheistic or monotheistic creeds.
This version of the paper includes some emendation in respect of the one published in Folia Orientalia LV.
Some reflections on the Greek-Nabataean inscription from Umm al-Ğimāl (CIS A 192), in particular ... more Some reflections on the Greek-Nabataean inscription from Umm al-Ğimāl (CIS A 192), in particular on the meaning of the word rb.
This paper follows the stages of the construction of legends about pre-Islamic Yemeni rulers’ ges... more This paper follows the stages of the construction of legends about pre-Islamic Yemeni rulers’ gestae in Arab-Islamic historiography and literature, pointing out how narrative material of the Islamic conquests possibly contributed in this construction. The given examples concern specifically the story of Šammar Yurʿiš, the king of ancient Yemen well-known from epigraphic sources, and their presumptive raids and conquests in Central Asia, as exposed by South-Arabian historiographers from ʿAbīd b. Šariyya to Našwān al-Ḥimyarī.
A pun-sentence recorded in Arabic sources (namely Wahb b. Munabbih and Ibn Isḥāq) about the story... more A pun-sentence recorded in Arabic sources (namely Wahb b. Munabbih and Ibn Isḥāq) about the story of Ḥimyarite king Ḏū Nuwās is here analysed, showing as it includes some linguistic features that may be interpreted as "South-Arabian", though they can hardly be ascribed specifically to one of the epigraphic languages we know. The suggested interpretation could be a little hint for a reflection on non-written languages of Yemen in Late Antiquity and early Islamic Age.
It has been recognized that the last radical consonant in a Semitic, and specifically Arabic, roo... more It has been recognized that the last radical consonant in a Semitic, and specifically Arabic, root bears a rather strong function in expanding the semantic value of the first two (or three) consonants of the same root (e. g. Classical Arabic verbs massa=“to touch”, massada=“to massage”; masaḥa= “to rub, to oil”; masaka= “to grab, to grab”). Here a not-exhaustive survey of M-ending roots, both three-consonantal and four-consonantal, recorded in Classical Arabic lexica is introduced, giving special attention to some couple of words and roots (e. g. fū/fam=“mouth”, afsaḥ/fusḥum= “wide”, azraq/zurqum=“azure”, qaraṭa/qarṭama=“to cut in pieces”, suthum/astah= “someone having a big bottom”, etc.) which are synonyms or quasi-synonyms. At least a dozen of these entries, once fully analysed, shows interesting features suggesting that this adding of a mīm could be not a simply semantic extension, but may point to a former morphological function of what Arabian Grammars simply called the mīm zā'ida (“augmentative mīm”).
I testamenti dei re dei principi della stirpe di Qaḥṭān ibn Hūd, 2018
This is a new edition with an Italian translation of the book formerly publishe with the title "T... more This is a new edition with an Italian translation of the book formerly publishe with the title "Taʾrīḫ al-ʿArab qabla al-islam", ascribed to al-Aṣmaʿī, or "Waṣāyā al-mulūk wa-abnā’ al-mulūk min wa-lard Qaḥṭān b. Hūd" ascribed to Diʿbil b. ʿAlī al-Ḫuzāʿī. The work is a sort of "mirror for princes" set in the form of the last will of pre-Islamic Yemenite kings to their offspring. The file uploaded reproduce the introduction
Introduction: Story before History Handling the sources of Arabic historiography on Pre-Islamic A... more Introduction: Story before History Handling the sources of Arabic historiography on Pre-Islamic Arabia Himyar Dynasty Inventions and inventiones of the Arabic-Islamic Tradition about the sequence of the Himyar dynasty Tales 1. The legacy of Saba' 2. The birth of Abu Karib As'ad al-Kamil 3. Why Bilqis, instead of a man, ruled over Himyar? 4. The four kings and their sister Abda'a 5. The story of king Yusuf Du Nuwas Bibliographical references Table
Analysis of some lines of poetry recorded in Classical Arabic repertories (namely in the Aḫbār by... more Analysis of some lines of poetry recorded in Classical Arabic repertories (namely in the Aḫbār by ʿAbīd b. Šariyya and in the commentary on Našwān al-Ḥimyarī’s Qaṣīda Himyariyya, as well as lexical literature), may receive light from Hadramautic inscriptions from al-ʿUqla (Shabwa, Yemen), and vice versa. Here three terms ( gndl, s1 yr, bqr) are investigated, with an attempt to establish a semantic-linguistic connection between two cultural contexts: the Hadramite monarchy of early 3rd century CE and the military environment of the 1rst century of Hijra.
Analysis of some lines of poetry recorded in Classical Arabic repertories (namely in
the Aḫbār... more Analysis of some lines of poetry recorded in Classical Arabic repertories (namely in
the Aḫbār by ʿAbīd b. Šariyya and in the commentary on Našwān al-Ḥimyarī’s Qaṣīda Himyariyya, as well as lexical literature), may receive light from Hadramautic inscriptions from al-ʿUqla (Shabwa, Yemen), and vice versa. Here three terms ( gndl, s1 yr, bqr) are investigated, with an attempt to establish a semantic-linguistic connection between two cultural contexts: the Hadramite monarchy of early 3rd century CE and the military environment of the 1rst century of Hijra.
This paper follows the stages of the construction of legends about pre-Islamic Yemeni rulers’ ges... more This paper follows the stages of the construction of legends about pre-Islamic Yemeni rulers’ gestae in Arab-Islamic historiography and literature, pointing out how narrative material of the Islamic conquests possibly contributed in this construction. The given examples concern specifically the story of Šammar Yurʿiš, the king of ancient Yemen well-known from epigraphic sources, and their presumptive raids and conquests in Central Asia, as exposed by South-Arabian historiographers from ʿAbīd b. Šariyya to Našwān al-Ḥimyarī.
Many poems and fragmentary verses have been ascribed to Ḥassān b. Ṯabit al-Anṣārī (d. ca. 40/659)... more Many poems and fragmentary verses have been ascribed to Ḥassān b. Ṯabit al-Anṣārī (d. ca. 40/659). In some sources of Southern-Arabian cultural or political orientation—as al-Hamdānī’s Kitāb al-Iklīl, the commentary to Našwān al-Ḥimyarī’s Qaṣīda al-ḥimyariyya, and particularly the anonymous Waṣāyā almulūk (occasionally ascribed to al-Aṣmaʿī or to al-Ḫuzāʿī)—about fifty lines by Ḥassān are found which are not recorded in his “official” dīwān. Here a brief investigation is conducted in order to reconstruct the poems which could be ascribed either to Ḥassān b. Ṯābit or one of his forgers. A collation of those same verses is then presented together with an English translation.Keywords: Arabic poetry; Ḥassān b. Ṯābit; qaṣīda.
Here is an analysis of the tale of the marriage of al-Hadhād (of the Ḥimiar royal dynasty) with a... more Here is an analysis of the tale of the marriage of al-Hadhād (of the Ḥimiar royal dynasty) with a woman of jinn found in Arabic sources dated from the 9th to 12th centuries. In the light of archaeological data and other folklore sources collected by scholars in the last 60 years (Serjeant, Daum, Rodionof), this tale could be interpreted as a foundation myth, with its strong anthropological and political implications, for the community of Maʾrib, the capital city and the main site of Sabaic religiousness in pre-Islamic times. It could also provide some keys of interpretation of a more general religious sensitivity in Arabia encompassing polytheistic or monotheistic creeds.
The great polymath Gregory Bar ʿEbroyo (d. 1286), known as Barhebraeus, composed two historiograp... more The great polymath Gregory Bar ʿEbroyo (d. 1286), known as Barhebraeus, composed two historiographical works: the “Chronicle” (Maktbānut zabnē) in Syriac and the “Summa on Dynasties” (Muḫtaṣar fī l-duwal) in Arabic. Though he likely worked on them at the same time, the differences in language, structure, and choice of themes, show that different goals lay behind the two works. Through an examination of recent studies and a comparison of some passages of the two texts, this paper introduces a tentative reassessment of the issue and offers suggestive indications on Bar ʿEbroyo’s personal vision of history in the context of early Mongol (Ilkhanid) rule.
ROAMING TRIBES - TRIBES ON THE MOVE The epos of al-Azd and Qudaa TALES 1. 'Amr b &#39... more ROAMING TRIBES - TRIBES ON THE MOVE The epos of al-Azd and Qudaa TALES 1. 'Amr b 'Amir leaves Ma'rib with al-Azd before the dam fall 2. The introduction of horses among the Arabs 3. The battle of Salut 4. Qudaa and Tanuh reach Iraq 5. The fall of Hatra Bibliographical references Mascitelli Daniele Anno di Edizione: 2017 Edizione: L'ERMA di BRETSCHNEIDER Collane: Quaderni di Arabia antica, 5 ISBN: 978-88-913-1293-8 Pagine: 74
These are two chapters from the book "Culture dell'Arabia preislamica" (IPO-Aseq 2021). The book ... more These are two chapters from the book "Culture dell'Arabia preislamica" (IPO-Aseq 2021). The book is a sketch of some salient cultural elements that can be traced in the civilizations of pre-Islamic Arabia. It is written with didactic and "popularizing" intents, as required by the "Collana Didattica" series of the Istituto per l'Oriente, yet it includes critical views on the matter.
The great polymath Gregory Bar ʿEbroyo (d. 1286), known as Barhebraeus, composed two historiograp... more The great polymath Gregory Bar ʿEbroyo (d. 1286), known as Barhebraeus, composed two historiographical works: the "Chronicle" (Maktbānut zabnē) in Syriac and the "Summa on Dynasties" (Muḫtaṣar fī l-duwal) in Arabic. Though he likely worked on them at the same time, the differences in language, structure, and choice of themes, show that different goals lay behind the two works. Through an examination of recent studies and a comparison of some passages of the two texts, this paper introduces a tentative reassessment of the issue and offers suggestive indications on Bar ʿEbroyo's personal vision of history in the context of early Mongol (Ilkhanid) rule.
The ARABI (Arabs Recount Arabia Before Islam) series aims to investigate the narration about pre-... more The ARABI (Arabs Recount Arabia Before Islam) series aims to investigate the narration about pre-Islamic Arabia built in the Arab-Muslim Tradition and compare it, whence possible, with the historical data resumed from direct (epigraphic and archaeological) and external sources. Each volume introduces some short tales, both in Arabic original and English translation, as examples of how the Tradition itself recorded and re-narrated events and characters of Pre-Islamic Arabian history; these stories are selected preferably among unpublished texts or texts which are not yet translated in English. The tales are preceded by a brief critical study discussing the historical and cultural context either those same tales are framed in, or the sources narrating those tales were collected and written down.
Part III of this series deals with the shift from polytheism to monotheism in pre-Islamic Arabia. The voice of the first left little traces in contemporary sources; at the same time the voice of the latter re-shaped every narration according to its historical-religious perspective, since its main goal was to find Arab precedents of the prophecy that revealed in the 7th century CE with the coming of Islam. This volume introduces excerpts from: - Nihaya al-irab fi ahbar al-Furs wa-l-Arab ("The final purpose on the news about the Persians and Arabs") a work preserved in several manuscripts in European libraries - ascribed to al-Asma i (d. 828), but highly suspected to be apocryphal. - A commentary to the poem Dat al-furu' fibuyut Adnan wa-qaba ili-ha wa-fada' ili-ha ("The leafy [poem] on the houses of the Adnan, their tribes and their qualities") by al-Nasir Muhammad b. al-Imam al-Mansur (d. 1226), found in the Arabic manuscript A 68 ar. preserved in the Biblioteca Ambrosiana in Milan. - The Wasaya al-muluk wa-abna' al-muluk min walad Qahòtòan b. Hud ("The testaments of the kings and the the princes of the children of Qahtan b. Hud", a work again ascribed to al-Asma' I or al-Huza' i, but likely anonymous. - The Kitab al-tigan fi muluk Himyar, ("The book of crowns on the kings of Himyar") by Wahb b. Munabbih (d. 729 ca.), though remastered by Abu Muhammad Ibn Hisam al-Himyari (d. 833). Part III Mascitelli Daniele
Year: 2019 Edizione: L'ERMA di BRETSCHNEIDER Series Quaderni di Arabia antica, 07 ISBN: 9788891318916 Binding: Brossura Pages: 68 Size: 17 x 24 cm
Many poems and fragmentary verses have been ascribed to Ḥassān b. Ṯabit al-Anṣārī (d. ca. 40/659)... more Many poems and fragmentary verses have been ascribed to Ḥassān b. Ṯabit al-Anṣārī (d. ca. 40/659). In some sources of Southern-Arabian cultural or political orientation-as al-Hamdānī's Kitāb al-Iklīl, the commentary to Našwān al-Ḥimyarī's Qaṣīda al-ḥimyariyya, and particularly the anonymous Wa ṣāyā al-mulūk (occasionally ascribed to al-Aṣmaʿī or to al-Ḫuzāʿī)-about fifty lines by Ḥassān are found which are not recorded in his "official" dīwān. Here a brief investigation is conducted in order to reconstruct the poems which could be ascribed either to Ḥassān b. Ṯābit or one of his forgers. A collation of those same verses is then presented together with an English translation.
Here is an analysis of the tale of the marriage of al-Hadhād (of the Ḥimyar royal dynasty) with a... more Here is an analysis of the tale of the marriage of al-Hadhād (of the Ḥimyar royal dynasty) with a woman of jinn found in Arabic sources dated from the 9th to 12th century. In the light of archaeological data and other folklore sources collected by scholars in the last 60 years (Serjeant, Daum, Rodionof), this tale could be interpreted as a foundation myth, with its strong anthropological and political implications, for the community of Maʾrib, the capital city and the main site of Sabaic religiousness in pre-Islamic times. It could also provide some keys of interpretation of a more general religious sensitivity in Arabia encompassing polytheistic or monotheistic creeds.
This version of the paper includes some emendation in respect of the one published in Folia Orientalia LV.
Some reflections on the Greek-Nabataean inscription from Umm al-Ğimāl (CIS A 192), in particular ... more Some reflections on the Greek-Nabataean inscription from Umm al-Ğimāl (CIS A 192), in particular on the meaning of the word rb.
This paper follows the stages of the construction of legends about pre-Islamic Yemeni rulers’ ges... more This paper follows the stages of the construction of legends about pre-Islamic Yemeni rulers’ gestae in Arab-Islamic historiography and literature, pointing out how narrative material of the Islamic conquests possibly contributed in this construction. The given examples concern specifically the story of Šammar Yurʿiš, the king of ancient Yemen well-known from epigraphic sources, and their presumptive raids and conquests in Central Asia, as exposed by South-Arabian historiographers from ʿAbīd b. Šariyya to Našwān al-Ḥimyarī.
A pun-sentence recorded in Arabic sources (namely Wahb b. Munabbih and Ibn Isḥāq) about the story... more A pun-sentence recorded in Arabic sources (namely Wahb b. Munabbih and Ibn Isḥāq) about the story of Ḥimyarite king Ḏū Nuwās is here analysed, showing as it includes some linguistic features that may be interpreted as "South-Arabian", though they can hardly be ascribed specifically to one of the epigraphic languages we know. The suggested interpretation could be a little hint for a reflection on non-written languages of Yemen in Late Antiquity and early Islamic Age.
It has been recognized that the last radical consonant in a Semitic, and specifically Arabic, roo... more It has been recognized that the last radical consonant in a Semitic, and specifically Arabic, root bears a rather strong function in expanding the semantic value of the first two (or three) consonants of the same root (e. g. Classical Arabic verbs massa=“to touch”, massada=“to massage”; masaḥa= “to rub, to oil”; masaka= “to grab, to grab”). Here a not-exhaustive survey of M-ending roots, both three-consonantal and four-consonantal, recorded in Classical Arabic lexica is introduced, giving special attention to some couple of words and roots (e. g. fū/fam=“mouth”, afsaḥ/fusḥum= “wide”, azraq/zurqum=“azure”, qaraṭa/qarṭama=“to cut in pieces”, suthum/astah= “someone having a big bottom”, etc.) which are synonyms or quasi-synonyms. At least a dozen of these entries, once fully analysed, shows interesting features suggesting that this adding of a mīm could be not a simply semantic extension, but may point to a former morphological function of what Arabian Grammars simply called the mīm zā'ida (“augmentative mīm”).
I testamenti dei re dei principi della stirpe di Qaḥṭān ibn Hūd, 2018
This is a new edition with an Italian translation of the book formerly publishe with the title "T... more This is a new edition with an Italian translation of the book formerly publishe with the title "Taʾrīḫ al-ʿArab qabla al-islam", ascribed to al-Aṣmaʿī, or "Waṣāyā al-mulūk wa-abnā’ al-mulūk min wa-lard Qaḥṭān b. Hūd" ascribed to Diʿbil b. ʿAlī al-Ḫuzāʿī. The work is a sort of "mirror for princes" set in the form of the last will of pre-Islamic Yemenite kings to their offspring. The file uploaded reproduce the introduction
Šaʿbān b. Salīm b. ʿUṯmān al-Ṣanʿānī - Il verdetto finale nel contenzioso fra la dama e la cortigiana - Introduzione traduzione e cura di Daniele Mascitelli, 2019
A white free-woman and a coloured maidservant (amah) ask a judge for a verdict about which one of... more A white free-woman and a coloured maidservant (amah) ask a judge for a verdict about which one of the two men prefer. This is the starting point for the 191 lines of the urǧūza by Šaʿbān b. Salīm al-Ṣanʿānī – an otherwise unknown Yemenite poet died in 1736 – where three characters moves inside a brilliant dialogue in which literary clichés are mixed with smart cues, irony and sharp juridical disquisitions. This short poem is here introduced in the original Arabic text, basing mainly on two unpublished manuscripts preserved in the Biblioteca Ambrosiana in Milan, sided by an Italian translation that aims to render the elegance and the verve of the Arabic poetic language. Some notes are added on the so-called “temporary marriage” (mutʿa) and other peculiar sexual contracts of Arabian tradition, which the poems introduces among its themes.
ARABI - Arabs Recount Arabia Before Islam - Part III, 2019
The ARABI (Arbs Recount Arabia Before Islam) series aims to investigate the narration about pre-I... more The ARABI (Arbs Recount Arabia Before Islam) series aims to investigate the narration about pre-Islamic Arabia built in the Arab-Muslim Tradition, and compare it, whence possible, with the historical data desumed from direct (epigraphy, archaeology) and external sources. Each volume introduced some short tales, both in Arabic original and English translation, as examples of how the Tradition itself recorded and re-narrated events and characters of Pre-Islamic Arabian history; these stories are selected preferably among unpublished texts or texts which were not yet translated in English. The tales are preceeded by a brief critical study discussing the historical and cultural context either those same tales are framed in, or the sources narrating those tales were collected and written down. Part III of this series deals with the shift from polyteism to monotheism in pre-Islamic Arabia. The voice of the first left little traces in contemporary sources; at the same time the voice of the latter re-shaped every narration according to its historical-religious perspective, since its main goal was to find Arab precedents of the prophecy that revealed in the 7th century CE with the coming of Islam.
This volume introduces excerpts from: - Nihāya al-irab fī aḫbār al-Furs wa-l-ʿArab (“The final purpose on the news about the Persians and Arabs”) a work preserved in several manuscripts in European libraries – ascribed to al-Aṣmaʿī (d. 213/828), but highly suspected to be apocryphal. - A commentary to the poem Ḏāt al-furūʿ fī buyūt ʿAdnān wa-qabāʾili-hā wa-faḍāʾili-hā (“The branchful [poem] on the houses of the ʿAdnān, their tribes and their qualities”) by al-Nāṣir Muḥammad b. al-Imām al-Manṣūr (d. 623/1226), found in the Arabic manuscript A 68 ar. preserved in the Biblioteca Ambrosiana in Milan. - The Waṣāyā al-mulūk wa-abnāʾ al-mulūk min walad Qaḥṭān b. Hūd (“The testaments of the kings and the the princes of the children of Qaḥṭān b. Hūd”, a work again ascribed to al-Aṣmaʿī or al-Ḫuzāʿī. - The Kitāb al-tīǧān fī mulūk Ḥimyar, (“The book of crowns on the kings of Ḥimyar”) by Wahb b. Munabbih (d. 729 ca.), though remastered by Abū Muḥammad Ibn Hišām al-Ḥimyarī (d. 833).
ARABI - Arabs Recout Arabia Before Islam - Part II, 2017
The ARABI (Arabs Recount Arabia Before Islam) series aims to investigate the narration about pre-... more The ARABI (Arabs Recount Arabia Before Islam) series aims to investigate the narration about pre-Islamic Arabia built in the Arab-Muslim Tradition, and compare it, whence possible, with the historical data desumed from direct (epigraphy, archaeology) and external sources. Each volume introduced some short tales, both in Arabic original and English translation, as examples of how the Tradition itself recorded and re-narrated events and characters of Pre-Islamic Arabian history; these stories are selected preferably among unpublished texts or texts which were not yet translated in English. The tales are preceded by a brief critical study discussing the historical and cultural context either those same tales are framed in, or the sources narrating those tales were collected and written down. Part II of this series deals with the myth of Arab dispersion from South Arabia to the North, and it is mainly focused on the Azd epic literature, trying to figure out when it rides, how was it elaborated, and whether it may reflect some historical event. The volume introduces excerpts from: - The Waṣāyā al-mulūk wa-abnāʾ al-mulūk min walad Qaḥṭān b. Hūd (“The testaments of the kings and the the princes of the children of Qaḥṭān b. Hūd”, a work again ascribed to al-Aṣmaʿī or al-Ḫuzāʿī. - the Kitāb nasab al-ḫayl fī al-ğāhiliyya wa-l-islām wa-ahbāri-hā by Abū al-Mundir Hišām b. Muḥammad Ibn Sāʾib al-Kalbī, (published in G. Levi Della Vida: Le ‘Livres des chevaux’ de Hišām ibn al-Kalbī et Muḥammad al-A‛rābī, pubbliés d’aprés le manuscript de l’Escorial Ar 1075, Leiden: Brill 1928). - the Kitāb al-Ansāb by Salama b. Muslim al-ʿAwtabī al-Ṣuḥārī. - the Muʿǧam mā istaʿǧama by Abū ʿUbayd ʿAbdallāh b. ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz al-Bakrī (edited by F. Wüstenfeld, Das geographische worterbuch del Abu 'Obeid ben 'Abd el-'Aziz el-Bekri, Göttingen – Paris 1876-1877) - the Mulūk Ḥimyar wa-aqyāl al-Yaman by Našwān b. Saʿīd al-Ḥimyarī, (edited by ʿAlī b. Ismāʿīl al-Muʾayyid and Ismāʿil b. Aḥmad al-Ǧarrāfī, ediz. Beirut, 1406/1985).
Uploads
Papers
the Aḫbār by ʿAbīd b. Šariyya and in the commentary on Našwān al-Ḥimyarī’s Qaṣīda Himyariyya, as well as lexical literature), may receive light from Hadramautic inscriptions from al-ʿUqla (Shabwa, Yemen), and vice versa. Here three terms ( gndl, s1 yr, bqr) are investigated, with an attempt to establish a semantic-linguistic connection between two cultural contexts: the Hadramite monarchy of early 3rd century CE and the military environment of the 1rst century of Hijra.
Each volume introduces some short tales, both in Arabic original and English translation, as examples of how the Tradition itself recorded and re-narrated events and characters of Pre-Islamic Arabian history; these stories are selected preferably among unpublished texts or texts which are not yet translated in English. The tales are preceded by a brief critical study discussing the historical and cultural context either those same tales are framed in, or the sources narrating those tales were collected and written down.
Part III of this series deals with the shift from polytheism to monotheism in pre-Islamic Arabia. The voice of the first left little traces in contemporary sources; at the same time the voice of the latter re-shaped every narration according to its historical-religious perspective, since its main goal was to find Arab precedents of the prophecy that revealed in the 7th century CE with the coming of Islam.
This volume introduces excerpts from:
- Nihaya al-irab fi ahbar al-Furs wa-l-Arab ("The final purpose on the news about the Persians and Arabs") a work preserved in several manuscripts in European libraries - ascribed to al-Asma i (d. 828), but highly suspected to be apocryphal.
- A commentary to the poem Dat al-furu' fibuyut Adnan wa-qaba ili-ha wa-fada' ili-ha ("The leafy [poem] on the houses of the Adnan, their tribes and their qualities") by al-Nasir Muhammad b. al-Imam al-Mansur (d. 1226), found in the Arabic manuscript A 68 ar. preserved in the Biblioteca Ambrosiana in Milan.
- The Wasaya al-muluk wa-abna' al-muluk min walad Qahòtòan b. Hud ("The testaments of the kings and the the princes of the children of Qahtan b. Hud", a work again ascribed to al-Asma' I or al-Huza' i, but likely anonymous.
- The Kitab al-tigan fi muluk Himyar, ("The book of crowns on the kings of Himyar") by Wahb b. Munabbih (d. 729 ca.), though remastered by Abu Muhammad Ibn Hisam al-Himyari (d. 833).
Part III
Mascitelli Daniele
Year: 2019
Edizione: L'ERMA di BRETSCHNEIDER
Series
Quaderni di Arabia antica, 07
ISBN: 9788891318916
Binding: Brossura
Pages: 68
Size: 17 x 24 cm
This version of the paper includes some emendation in respect of the one published in Folia Orientalia LV.
possibly contributed in this construction. The given examples concern specifically the story of Šammar Yurʿiš, the king of ancient Yemen well-known from epigraphic sources, and their presumptive raids and
conquests in Central Asia, as exposed by South-Arabian historiographers from ʿAbīd b. Šariyya to Našwān al-Ḥimyarī.
Conference Presentations
Here a not-exhaustive survey of M-ending roots, both three-consonantal and four-consonantal, recorded in Classical Arabic lexica is introduced, giving special attention to some couple of words and roots (e. g. fū/fam=“mouth”, afsaḥ/fusḥum= “wide”, azraq/zurqum=“azure”, qaraṭa/qarṭama=“to cut in pieces”, suthum/astah= “someone having a big bottom”, etc.) which are synonyms or quasi-synonyms. At least a dozen of these entries, once fully analysed, shows interesting features suggesting that this adding of a mīm could be not a simply semantic extension, but may point to a former morphological function of what Arabian Grammars simply called the mīm zā'ida (“augmentative mīm”).
Books
The work is a sort of "mirror for princes" set in the form of the last will of pre-Islamic Yemenite kings to their offspring.
The file uploaded reproduce the introduction
the Aḫbār by ʿAbīd b. Šariyya and in the commentary on Našwān al-Ḥimyarī’s Qaṣīda Himyariyya, as well as lexical literature), may receive light from Hadramautic inscriptions from al-ʿUqla (Shabwa, Yemen), and vice versa. Here three terms ( gndl, s1 yr, bqr) are investigated, with an attempt to establish a semantic-linguistic connection between two cultural contexts: the Hadramite monarchy of early 3rd century CE and the military environment of the 1rst century of Hijra.
Each volume introduces some short tales, both in Arabic original and English translation, as examples of how the Tradition itself recorded and re-narrated events and characters of Pre-Islamic Arabian history; these stories are selected preferably among unpublished texts or texts which are not yet translated in English. The tales are preceded by a brief critical study discussing the historical and cultural context either those same tales are framed in, or the sources narrating those tales were collected and written down.
Part III of this series deals with the shift from polytheism to monotheism in pre-Islamic Arabia. The voice of the first left little traces in contemporary sources; at the same time the voice of the latter re-shaped every narration according to its historical-religious perspective, since its main goal was to find Arab precedents of the prophecy that revealed in the 7th century CE with the coming of Islam.
This volume introduces excerpts from:
- Nihaya al-irab fi ahbar al-Furs wa-l-Arab ("The final purpose on the news about the Persians and Arabs") a work preserved in several manuscripts in European libraries - ascribed to al-Asma i (d. 828), but highly suspected to be apocryphal.
- A commentary to the poem Dat al-furu' fibuyut Adnan wa-qaba ili-ha wa-fada' ili-ha ("The leafy [poem] on the houses of the Adnan, their tribes and their qualities") by al-Nasir Muhammad b. al-Imam al-Mansur (d. 1226), found in the Arabic manuscript A 68 ar. preserved in the Biblioteca Ambrosiana in Milan.
- The Wasaya al-muluk wa-abna' al-muluk min walad Qahòtòan b. Hud ("The testaments of the kings and the the princes of the children of Qahtan b. Hud", a work again ascribed to al-Asma' I or al-Huza' i, but likely anonymous.
- The Kitab al-tigan fi muluk Himyar, ("The book of crowns on the kings of Himyar") by Wahb b. Munabbih (d. 729 ca.), though remastered by Abu Muhammad Ibn Hisam al-Himyari (d. 833).
Part III
Mascitelli Daniele
Year: 2019
Edizione: L'ERMA di BRETSCHNEIDER
Series
Quaderni di Arabia antica, 07
ISBN: 9788891318916
Binding: Brossura
Pages: 68
Size: 17 x 24 cm
This version of the paper includes some emendation in respect of the one published in Folia Orientalia LV.
possibly contributed in this construction. The given examples concern specifically the story of Šammar Yurʿiš, the king of ancient Yemen well-known from epigraphic sources, and their presumptive raids and
conquests in Central Asia, as exposed by South-Arabian historiographers from ʿAbīd b. Šariyya to Našwān al-Ḥimyarī.
Here a not-exhaustive survey of M-ending roots, both three-consonantal and four-consonantal, recorded in Classical Arabic lexica is introduced, giving special attention to some couple of words and roots (e. g. fū/fam=“mouth”, afsaḥ/fusḥum= “wide”, azraq/zurqum=“azure”, qaraṭa/qarṭama=“to cut in pieces”, suthum/astah= “someone having a big bottom”, etc.) which are synonyms or quasi-synonyms. At least a dozen of these entries, once fully analysed, shows interesting features suggesting that this adding of a mīm could be not a simply semantic extension, but may point to a former morphological function of what Arabian Grammars simply called the mīm zā'ida (“augmentative mīm”).
The work is a sort of "mirror for princes" set in the form of the last will of pre-Islamic Yemenite kings to their offspring.
The file uploaded reproduce the introduction
This short poem is here introduced in the original Arabic text, basing mainly on two unpublished manuscripts preserved in the Biblioteca Ambrosiana in Milan, sided by an Italian translation that aims to render the elegance and the verve of the Arabic poetic language.
Some notes are added on the so-called “temporary marriage” (mutʿa) and other peculiar sexual contracts of Arabian tradition, which the poems introduces among its themes.
Each volume introduced some short tales, both in Arabic original and English translation, as examples of how the Tradition itself recorded and re-narrated events and characters of Pre-Islamic Arabian history; these stories are selected preferably among unpublished texts or texts which were not yet translated in English. The tales are preceeded by a brief critical study discussing the historical and cultural context either those same tales are framed in, or the sources narrating those tales were collected and written down.
Part III of this series deals with the shift from polyteism to monotheism in pre-Islamic Arabia. The voice of the first left little traces in contemporary sources; at the same time the voice of the latter re-shaped every narration according to its historical-religious perspective, since its main goal was to find Arab precedents of the prophecy that revealed in the 7th century CE with the coming of Islam.
This volume introduces excerpts from:
- Nihāya al-irab fī aḫbār al-Furs wa-l-ʿArab (“The final purpose on the news about the Persians and Arabs”) a work preserved in several manuscripts in European libraries – ascribed to al-Aṣmaʿī (d. 213/828), but highly suspected to be apocryphal.
- A commentary to the poem Ḏāt al-furūʿ fī buyūt ʿAdnān wa-qabāʾili-hā wa-faḍāʾili-hā (“The branchful [poem] on the houses of the ʿAdnān, their tribes and their qualities”) by al-Nāṣir Muḥammad b. al-Imām al-Manṣūr (d. 623/1226), found in the Arabic manuscript A 68 ar. preserved in the Biblioteca Ambrosiana in Milan.
- The Waṣāyā al-mulūk wa-abnāʾ al-mulūk min walad Qaḥṭān b. Hūd (“The testaments of the kings and the the princes of the children of Qaḥṭān b. Hūd”, a work again ascribed to al-Aṣmaʿī or al-Ḫuzāʿī.
- The Kitāb al-tīǧān fī mulūk Ḥimyar, (“The book of crowns on the kings of Ḥimyar”) by Wahb b. Munabbih (d. 729 ca.), though remastered by Abū Muḥammad Ibn Hišām al-Ḥimyarī (d. 833).
Each volume introduced some short tales, both in Arabic original and English translation, as examples of how the Tradition itself recorded and re-narrated events and characters of Pre-Islamic Arabian history; these stories are selected preferably among unpublished texts or texts which were not yet translated in English. The tales are preceded by a brief critical study discussing the historical and cultural context either those same tales are framed in, or the sources narrating those tales were collected and written down.
Part II of this series deals with the myth of Arab dispersion from South Arabia to the North, and it is mainly focused on the Azd epic literature, trying to figure out when it rides, how was it elaborated, and whether it may reflect some historical event.
The volume introduces excerpts from:
- The Waṣāyā al-mulūk wa-abnāʾ al-mulūk min walad Qaḥṭān b. Hūd (“The testaments of the kings and the the princes of the children of Qaḥṭān b. Hūd”, a work again ascribed to al-Aṣmaʿī or al-Ḫuzāʿī.
- the Kitāb nasab al-ḫayl fī al-ğāhiliyya wa-l-islām wa-ahbāri-hā by Abū al-Mundir Hišām
b. Muḥammad Ibn Sāʾib al-Kalbī, (published in G. Levi Della Vida: Le ‘Livres des chevaux’ de
Hišām ibn al-Kalbī et Muḥammad al-A‛rābī, pubbliés d’aprés le manuscript de l’Escorial Ar
1075, Leiden: Brill 1928).
- the Kitāb al-Ansāb by Salama b. Muslim al-ʿAwtabī al-Ṣuḥārī.
- the Muʿǧam mā istaʿǧama by Abū ʿUbayd ʿAbdallāh b. ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz al-Bakrī (edited by F. Wüstenfeld, Das geographische worterbuch del Abu 'Obeid ben 'Abd el-'Aziz el-Bekri,
Göttingen – Paris 1876-1877)
- the Mulūk Ḥimyar wa-aqyāl al-Yaman by Našwān b. Saʿīd al-Ḥimyarī, (edited by ʿAlī b. Ismāʿīl
al-Muʾayyid and Ismāʿil b. Aḥmad al-Ǧarrāfī, ediz. Beirut, 1406/1985).