Lecture 1 – sponsored by the Department of Islamic Studies, 11:30 am
“An old friend revisited: a new translation of al- Balādurī's Futūh al-Baldān (Conquests of the Lands)"
Al-Baladhuri's "Conquests of the Lands” (c.865 CE) is one of the most important and best known of the early Arabic accounts of the Muslim Conquests of the Middle East. Yet it remains a curious and enigmatic book, and the editions at our disposal do not present a clear account of the subject. In this talk Prof. Kennedy will explain why a new English translation was needed and what the ultimate meaning of the work might have been. In doing so he will also discuss wider aspects of early Arabic language historiography.
Lecture 2 – sponsored by the Islamic Archaeology Research Unit, 15.00 (3:00 pm)
“Greater Mesopotamia and the globalization of Baghdad in the early Abbasid period”
This lecture documents how the unification of Roman northern Syria and Sasanian Iraq and Khuzistan after the Muslim conquests created a large, and potentially very wealthy, economic common area, which allowed Baghdad to grow into the largest city of Western Eurasia in the eighth, ninth and early tenth centuries. How the purchasing power of the city created a demand which pulled in goods and services from China and Indonesia to Western Christendom will also be explored.
Both lectures will be held in hybrid form, in-person in the seminar room, 2nd floor, Bruehler Strasse 7, and by Zoom at this address:
https://uni-bonn.zoom.us/j/92426924211?pwd=YjkzQWM4aCtzZGw3R2paQkJMRTRTZz09
For in-person attendance, we follow the 3-G guidelines of the university, with mask-wearing until you are seated. Please be prepared to show documentation of full vaccination, recovery from Covid, or a negative Covid test result on arrival.