Summary
This work is a collection of edicts by Saladin concerning taxation and land reform in Egypt and Syria, though the provided passages primarily document the intellectual and political context surrounding these regions rather than the edicts themselves. The text references the travels of the scholar Abdallatif, who visited Egypt with letters from Saladin’s vizier and later joined Saladin’s circle of learned men at Jerusalem, teaching medicine and philosophy at Cairo and Damascus. It also details the reign of Caliph Mamun, who fostered literature and science, founded a college in Khorasan, and had Greek, Persian, Chaldean, and Coptic works translated into Arabic at his own expense. A reader learns about the scholarly networks that Saladin cultivated, the translation movement under Mamun, and the development of Talmudic study through figures like ’Al-phasi, whose Digest influenced Maimonides. The passages also describe a famine in Egypt caused by the Nile failing to overflow, recorded in Abdallatif’s *Account of Egypt*.
Key concepts
- Halakhoth (Decisions) — ’Al-phasi’s Talmudical Digest that condensed the Talmud with a focus on practical law, omitting homiletical passages and rules only applicable in Palestine.
- Mo′tazilites — A heterodox sect that asserted free-will in man and denied the eternity of the Koran, adopted by Caliph Mamun in 827.
- Account of Egypt — Abdallatif’s graphic and detailed two-part work, known in Europe from a manuscript discovered by Edward Pococke, describing a famine from the Nile’s failure to overflow.
- Saladin’s vizier — The official who provided Abdallatif with letters of recommendation to visit Egypt, facilitating his meeting with Maimonides.
- Mamun’s observatories — Astronomical institutions founded at Bagdad and Kassiun (near Damascus) that determined the inclination of the ecliptic and measured a degree of the meridian on the plain of Shinar.
From the book
For other versions of this work, see Encyclopædia Britannica . ← 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica ( 1911 ) Title page → related portals : Reference Works Shortcut : EB11 or EB1911 Notes on reading the Wikisource edition . A special disclaimer for this project . Collaboration page for contributors . 12543 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica 1911 Table of contents This work is in the public domain in the United States because it was published before January 1, 1931. This work may be in the public domain in countries and areas with longer native copyright terms that apply the rule of the shorter term to foreign works . Public domain Public domain false false← Alabama 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica , Volume 1 "Alabama" Arbitration by Montague Hughes Crackanthorpe Alabama River → See also Alabama Claims on…
He is commonly known as Rab.← Abbadie, Jakob 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica , Volume 1 'Abbahu Abba Mari → See also Abbahu on Wikipedia ; and our 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica disclaimer . 12925 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica , Volume 1 — 'Abbahu ʼABBAHU, the name of a Palestinian ʼamora ( q.v. ) who flourished c . 279–320. ʼAbbahu encouraged the study of Greek by Jews. He was famous as a collector of traditional lore, and is very often cited in the Talmud.
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