Description

Ascribed to the Egyptian scholar Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti (1445-1505), this medieval Arabic history was translated into English by the orientalist James Reynolds (1805-66). An outstanding Islamic polymath, al-Suyuti produced a large body of work in such fields as grammar, rhetoric, theology, medicine and history. The present work may have been compiled from his earlier General History and Critical History of Traditions. It contains rich descriptions of religious places and buildings in Jerusalem, including the Dome of the Rock and the Mosque of Omar, and offers a historical account of the city. First published in 1836 for the Oriental Translation Fund of the Royal Asiatic Society, the translation was based on the text of two Arabic manuscripts preserved in the British Museum. Including a translator's preface and detailed exegetical notes, this publication remains a rich source for the architectural and topographical history of Jerusalem.