The contribution of prof. Tadeusz Lewicki (1906–1992) to Islamic and West African studies

Prof. Tadeusz Lewicki (the member Académie des Sciences d’Outre-Mer, Association Internationale d’Études des Civilisations Méditerranéennes, Royal Asiatic Society) was not only one of the most famous scholars of Oriental studies in Poland 20th century but also one of the top experts on the history of the Ibadites. For example, he has gathered exhaustively all the references to Ibadites and placed with a certain amount of commentary of his own (Études ibadites nord-africaines, part 1. Warsaw 1955). He has studied and published Arabic sources (mostly Ibāḍī) on the history of the Ibadites and of the Slavic peoples and cataloged eighth- and ninth-century Arab coins found on Polish territory (Arabic External Sources for the History of Africa to the South of Sahara, Wrocław 1969; Polska i kraje sąsiednie w świetle “Księgi Rogera” geografa arabskiego z XII w. al-Idrīsī’ego, parts 1–2. Warsaw, 1945–54; Źródła arabskie do dziejów słowiańszczyzny, vols. 1–2. Wrocław 1956–69). Professor Tadeusz Lewicki attempts to reconstruct also the economic base of West African society between the 10th and 16th centuries (West African Food in the Middle Ages: According to Arabic Sources, London 1974). His basic sources are 15 Arab authors, all of whom noted the diet of the countries they described.The purpose of this paper is to provide a review and critical analysis of Lewicki’s researches and answer which of his interpretations and philological speculations still have found acceptance. This paper also respect to how Lewicki supports, extends, and qualifies the previous literature on West African, Islamic and Ibadites study, and how gives directions for future research.Prof. Tadeusz Lewicki (the member Académie des Sciences d’Outre-Mer, Association Internationale d’Études des Civilisations Méditerranéennes, Royal Asiatic Society) was not only one of the most famous scholars of Oriental studies in Poland 20th century but also one of the top experts on the history of the Ibadites. For example, he has gathered exhaustively all the references to Ibadites and placed with a certain amount of commentary of his own (Études ibadites nord-africaines, part 1. Warsaw 1955). He has studied and published Arabic sources (mostly Ibāḍī) on the history of the Ibadites and of the Slavic peoples and cataloged eighth- and ninth-century Arab coins found on Polish territory (Arabic External Sources for the History of Africa to the South of Sahara, Wrocław 1969; Polska i kraje sąsiednie w świetle “Księgi Rogera” geografa arabskiego z XII w. al-Idrīsī’ego, parts 1–2. Warsaw, 1945–54; Źródła arabskie do dziejów słowiańszczyzny, vols. 1–2. Wrocław 1956–69). Professor Tadeusz Lewicki attempts to reconstruct also the economic base of West African society between the 10th and 16th centuries (West African Food in the Middle Ages: According to Arabic Sources, London 1974). His basic sources are 15 Arab authors, all of whom noted the diet of the countries they described.The purpose of this paper is to provide a review and critical analysis of Lewicki’s researches and answer which of his interpretations and philological speculations still have found acceptance. This paper also respect to how Lewicki supports, extends, and qualifies the previous literature on West African, Islamic and Ibadites study, and how gives directions for future research

The contribution of prof. Tadeusz Lewicki (1906-1992) to Islamic and West African studies

Prof. Tadeusz Lewicki (the member Académie des Sciences d’Outre-Mer, Association Internationale d’Études des Civilisations Méditerranéennes, Royal Asiatic Society) was not only one of the most famous scholars of Oriental studies in Poland 20th century but also one of the top experts on the history of the Ibadites. For example, he has gathered exhaustively all the references to Ibadites and placed with a certain amount of commentary of his own (Études ibadites nord-africaines, part 1. Warsaw 1955). He has studied and published Arabic sources (mostly Ibāḍī) on the history of the Ibadites and of the Slavic peoples and cataloged eighth- and ninth-century Arab coins found on Polish territory (Arabic External Sources for the History of Africa to the South of Sahara, Wrocław 1969; Polska i kraje sąsiednie w świetle “Księgi Rogera” geografa arabskiego z XII w. al-Idrīsī’ego, parts 1–2. Warsaw, 1945–54; Źródła arabskie do dziejów słowiańszczyzny, vols. 1–2. Wrocław 1956–69). Professor Tadeusz Lewicki attempts to reconstruct also the economic base of West African society between the 10th and 16th centuries (West African Food in the Middle Ages: According to Arabic Sources, London 1974). His basic sources are 15 Arab authors, all of whom noted the diet of the countries they described.The purpose of this paper is to provide a review and critical analysis of Lewicki’s researches and answer which of his interpretations and philological speculations still have found acceptance. This paper also respect to how Lewicki supports, extends, and qualifies the previous literature on West African, Islamic and Ibadites study, and how gives directions for future research

Between the Syriac heritage and the Papacy. The cultural influence and contribution of the Maronite Church to the growth of the Middle East in the 14ᵗʰ–19ᵗʰ centuries

Taking into account the Maronites connections with the West the article rises aquestion: in what areas did the Syriac Christian community constitute a bridge between the East and the West? Although not all critical remarks of Kamāl Ṣalībī (b. 1929) on the Maronite view of history are accepted without reservation, his remark that “the awareness of the historic truth constitutes the ultimate foundation for the possibility to build a healthy society” seems valuable. The postulate of the verification of over-interpretation is always valid, nevertheless the discussion: what is a myth and what is the truth in the history of Lebanon continues.Taking into account the Maronites connections with the West the article rises aquestion: in what areas did the Syriac Christian community constitute a bridge between the East and the West? Although not all critical remarks of Kamāl Ṣalībī (b. 1929) on the Maronite view of history are accepted without reservation, his remark that “the awareness of the historic truth constitutes the ultimate foundation for the possibility to build a healthy society” seems valuable. The postulate of the verification of over-interpretation is always valid, nevertheless the discussion: what is a myth and what is the truth in the history of Lebanon continues

The Churches of Damascus according to Ibn ‘Asākir (d. 1176) : the destruction of the Church of St. John the Baptist by caliph Walīd I

The Islamic commentators on the Damascus mosque from the eighth to the twelfth centuries demonstrated superiority of Islam to Christianity to reduce the influence of the earlier owners of the sanctuary, giving this holy place the exclusively Muslim meaning. The tradition recorded by Ibn ‘Asākir in his Tārīh madīnat Dimašq confirms this tendency. Although one can speak about some kind of tolerance in medieval Islam according to the researches of Yohannan Friedmann Muslims faced other religions from the position of a ruling power and were, therefore, able to determine the nature of that relationship in accordance with their world-views and beliefs. This phenomenon explains why from among 15 churches in the first part of the 7th century in Damascus in the 12th century there were only three churches used in the Christian cult, one was partially destroyed, seven were ruined and four were changed into mosques

Between the Syriac heritage and the Papacy : the cultural influence and contribution of the Maronite Church to the growth of the Middle East in the 14th-19th centuries

Taking into account the Maronites connections with the West the article rises aquestion: in what areas did the Syriac Christian community constitute a bridge between the East and the West? Although not all critical remarks of Kamāl Ṣalībī (b. 1929) on the Maronite view of history are accepted without reservation, his remark that “the awareness of the historic truth constitutes the ultimate foundation for the possibility to build a healthy society” seems valuable. The postulate of the verification of over-interpretation is always valid, nevertheless the discussion: what is a myth and what is the truth in the history of Lebanon continues

Jewish and Christian religious influences on pre-Islamic Arabia on the example of the term RḤMNN (“the Merciful”)

The well known epithet, RḤMNN is constantly confirmed in inscriptions particularly from so-called “Late Sabaean Period” (after 380) which were associated with monotheism. In this time Judaism and Christianity attempted to replace the traditional South Arabian religion. In this context RḤMNN was used by polytheists Arabs, Jews and Christians.The well known epithet, RḤMNN is constantly confirmed in inscriptions particularly from so-called “Late Sabaean Period” (after 380) which were associated with monotheism. In this time Judaism and Christianity attempted to replace the traditional South Arabian religion. In this context RḤMNN was used by polytheists Arabs, Jews and Christians

A battle or a campaign? : historical facts about the battle of Al-Qādisiyya (636/637?) and the role of story-tellers in the origin of its narratives

The paper presents how the pluralism of relations in the early Muslim sources concerning the memory the Qādisiyya narrative is problematic for reconstructing the event of the battle by modern scholars. Specific studies of the early Islamic sources concerning the Battle of Al-Qādisiyya lead to the conclusion that it is certainly easier to interpret the functions of particular topoi than to determinate the facts about the Ma'rakat al-Qādisiyya. The main, unsolved questions related to the Qādisiyyah narrative are the uncertainty of the date of the battle, the size of the Muslim and Persian forces that fought in the Ma'rakat al-Qādisiyya as well as some contradictions and different presentations of the battle. Scholars have undertaken many attempts to make the conflicting accounts more coherent but in fact, they only made some speculations or, at the best, case scenario - explanations made on the basis of limited and uncertain evidence. For these reasons, the paper contains the suggestion to avoid an undue emphasis on the importance of the Ma'rakat al-Qādisiyya and to replace this term by the more general expression "the Mesopotamian campaign 634-637." The critical evaluation of the Muslim sources leads to a more general description of the Battle of Al-Qādisiyya as an element of the campaign (stage 634-637) whose unambiguous evaluation is impossible