This book is an investigation into the robust culture of written documentation in the Middle East of medieval times, based on a close examination of examples of Arabic-language official decrees, memoranda, orders, accounts, registers, receipts and other written artifacts that have been retrieved from the Cairo Geniza.
Marina Rustow is the Khedouri A. Zilkha Professor of Jewish Civilization in the Near East and professor of Near Eastern studies and history at Princeton University. She is director of the Princeton Geniza Lab and a MacArthur fellow, and is the author of Heresy and the Politics of Community: The Jews of the Fatimid Caliphate.
"Winner of the British-Kuwait Friendship Society Book Prize"
"Winner of the Middle East Medievalists Book Prize"
"Winner of the Haskins Medal, Medieval Academy of America"
"Finalist for the National Jewish Book Award in Writing Based on
Archival Material"
"One of the Times Literary Supplement's Books of the Year 2020"
"[T]hose seeking to ask important questions about the Jewish-Arab
dynamic in medieval times will … find much to glean [in this
book]."---Dr. Stu Halpern, Jewish Book Council
"A handsome volume with compelling illustrations . . . . This
magisterial study is a must for anyone interested in the geniza but
also for anyone considering how we relate to the texts of our
predecessors and what we hope to leave to those who follow."---Elka
Weber, Segula Jewish History Magazine
"Ferociously thoroughly researched, beautifully written."---Robert
Irwin, Times Literary Supplement
"A pleasure to read. Rustow writes exceptionally well, approaching
her material with an often informal, jocular tone, which makes all
the talk of ligatures, tax receipts and bureaucracy go down more
smoothly."---Christian Sahner, Times Literary Supplement
"[Rustow’s] book under review deserves to be perused and read for
generations to come."---Ephraim Nissan, Quaderni di Studi
Indo-Mediterranei
"A tremendous service to the scientific community. Rustow enthralls
her reader with her
style and her art of telling intricate stories."---Frédéric Bauden,
Medieval Encounters
"The Lost Archive’s landmark contributions set new directions for
Islamic History, and the book deserves a wider readership among
historians interested in the state, archival practices, and
orientalism."---Lev Weitz, American Historical Review
![]() |
Ask a Question About this Product More... |
![]() |