Vol. 1 No. 001 (2015): Issue 001

غلاف العدد 1 من دورية أسطور

Issue 1 of Ostour for Historical Studies (2015) includes the following studies and articles: “World History: Themes and Methodologies through the History of Objects” (Amr Osman); “The Past as Viewed in Ancient Egypt” (Sherine El-Menshawy); “The Maqāmāt of Badīʿ al-Zamān al-Hamadhānī: Text, Manuscript and History” (Bilal Orfalli, Maurice Pomerantz); “A History of Mandean Studies with Highlights on the Study of their Origins and of their Beliefs” (Ahmed Al-Adawy); “Representation of the Central Authority and Authoritarian Practices” (Elbachir Aberzaq); “A Social History of Concubines in Egypt: The Case of Nafisa Khatun” (Nasser Ahmed Ibrahim); “The Aleppo incidents of 1850: a study in the form and impetus of urban violence during the early Ottoman tanzimat” (Feras Krimsti); “The Negotiations between the Jewish Agency and the Syrian National Bloc” (Mahmoud Muhareb); “After the Armistice: The Ottoman Response to Zidan Saadi’s Petition” (Abderrahim Benhadda); “A reading of” (Khaled Tahtah, Yousef Almohajer); “A reading of Antonio de Saldanha’s memoirs of captivity by Sultan Ahmad al-Mansur of Morocco” (Brahim Elkadiri Boutchich); “On Colonial Ethnography in Morocco: Artefacts of Colonialism” (Yahya Ben Alwaleed); “Infidels: A History of the Conflict between Christendom and Islam” (Emadeddin Ashmawy).

Published: 2015-01-01

Studies

  • World History: Themes and Methodologies through the History of Objects

    Author: Amr Osman
    7-23

    This article explores World History as a growing field within contemporary historical studies, one that is virtually absent in Arab universities. The history, themes, sources and methodologies...

  • The Past as Viewed in Ancient Egypt

    Author: Sherine El-Menshawy
    25-37

    This article aims to investigate ancient Egyptians’ view of their past. Relying on well-known archaeological and written artefacts, including the Palermo Stone, Karnak, Abydos, Saqqara lists and...

  • The Maqāmāt of Badīʿ al-Zamān al-Hamadhānī: Text, Manuscript and History

    Authors: Bilal Orfalli, Maurice Pomerantz
    38-55

    This article represents the preliminary findings of a study of the textual history of the Maqāmāt of Badīʿ al- Zamān al-Hamadhānī. The article discusses different extant manuscript collections...

  • A History of Mandean Studies with Highlights on the Study of their Origins and of their Beliefs

    Author: Ahmed Al-Adawy
    56-75

    Whether or not Mandaeans emigrated from Palestine to Mesopotamia, as the supporters of the Western origin theory suggest, or if Mesopotamia was the area from which the group emerged, as...

  • Representation of the Central Authority and Authoritarian Practices

    Author: Elbachir Aberzaq
    76-91

    A local unit for authoritarian control is an integral part of a state’s centralized power structure. It is the administrative and intellectual body that oversees the implementation of decisions...

  • A Social History of Concubines in Egypt: The Case of Nafisa Khatun

    Author: Nasser Ahmed Ibrahim
    92-119

    This article portrays the life of Nafisa Khatun, a member of Egypt's social elite during the tumultuous period between the 18th and 19th centuries. Originally taken captive in the Caucus...

  • The Aleppo incidents of 1850: a study in the form and impetus of urban violence during the early Ottoman tanzimat

    Author: Feras Krimsti
    120-139

    In the autumn 1850, the Ottoman state decided to advance its administrative reforms, originally proclaimed in the 1839 Gülhane edict. Aleppo was at that time one of the places in Bilad ash-Sham...

  • The Negotiations between the Jewish Agency and the Syrian National Bloc

    Author: Mahmoud Muhareb
    140-159

    In its efforts to establish a Jewish State in Palestine at the expense of the Palestinian people, and its fight against the Palestinian national movement, the Jewish Agency in Palestine, the...

Documents and Texts

  • After the Armistice: The Ottoman Response to Zidan Saadi’s Petition

    Author: Abderrahim Benhadda
    211-220

    The author presents a document extracted from Munseat us selatin by Feridun Bey - a compendium of correspondence, edicts, and rulings of sultans of the Ottoman Empire. A letter sent by Sultan...

Book Reviews

  • A reading of

    Authors: Khaled Tahtah, Yousef Almohajer
    163-173

    Intellectual interest in "the event" as a matter for enquiry has been rekindled since the 1980s. In France, this can be understood through the increased attention paid to the event by media...

  • A reading of Antonio de Saldanha’s memoirs of captivity by Sultan Ahmad al-Mansur of Morocco

    Author: Brahim Elkadiri Boutchich
    174-185

    A review of this book must go beyond merely introducing the subject matter and the author to the readership, but must also include a description of the author’s contributions to historical...

  • On Colonial Ethnography in Morocco: Artefacts of Colonialism

    Author: Yahya Ben Alwaleed
    186-199

    The author reviews Bousbir: Prostitution in Colonial Morocco: Ethnography of a Red-light District, a study conducted between 1949 and 1950 in Casablanca by two French medical doctors, Jean...

  • Infidels: A History of the Conflict between Christendom and Islam

    Author: Emadeddin Ashmawy
    200-208

    Wheatcroft's book provides a detailed history of enmity and hated across the worlds of Christinity and Islam, dating from the seventh century and to the present day. It is a history that is...