Table of Contents

Introduction Section One: Geography, Translation, and the Apocalypse Chapter One: Routes and Kingdoms Chapter Two: Models of Translation Chapter Three: al-Wathiq and the Translators Section Two: Marvelous Alterity Chapter Four: A Geography of Neighbours Chapter Five: Pictura ut poesis Section Three: Beyond the Barrier Chapter Six: To Live to Tell Chapter Seven: Past the Walls of the Orient Chapter Eight: Translating along the Margins Postscript: Royal Graffiti Index Bibliography

Promotional Information

The story of the 9th-century caliphal mission from Baghdad to discover the legendary barrier against the apocalyptic nations of Gog and Magog mentioned in the Quran, has been either dismissed as superstition or treated as historical fact. This title explores the history surrounding the production and early reception of this adventure.

About the Author

Travis Zadeh is Assistant Professor of Islamic Studies at Haverford College, Pennsylvania. He received his PhD from Harvard University in Comparative Literature (2007), and has published articles on Islamic intellectual and cultural history in the Journal of Arabic Literature, the Journal of Qur'anic Studies, Middle Eastern Literatures, and the Journal of the American Oriental Society. He is also the author of the forthcoming book, The Vernacular Qur'an: Translation and the Rise of Persian Exegesis (Oxford University Press in association with the Institute of Ismaili Studies), which examines early debates over translating the Qur'an and the development of Persian exegetical literature.

Reviews

'A worthy and often brilliant discussion of the themes of wonder, translation from one medium to another and other major concepts in medieval Islamic writing - both in Persian and in Arabic.' - Roy Mottahedeh, Gurney Professor of History and Chair, Committee on Islamic Studies, Harvard University