Christian Theology in Arabic Dress

Stylistic Features of the Kitāb al-Maǧdal

Bibliographic Data

ID16644231
AuthorsAyşe İçöz (0000-0002-7521-739X, Marmara University, corresponding author), Mustafa Draper (Retired Lecturer of University of Birmingham)
Year2024
Volume71
Issue6
Pages667-703
Publication date2024-12-27
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueArabica (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0570-5398 • E-ISSN: 1570-0585
PublisherWalter de Gruyter GmbH (PUBLISHER • DE)
DOI10.1163/15700585-20246891
OpenAlexW4405952943
LanguageEN
References cited9

Kitāb al-Maǧdal ( The Book of Tower ) is one of the earliest known theological encyclopaedias produced in Arabic by a man called ʿAmr ibn Mattā who was a member of the Church of the East towards the end of the tenth century. Its peculiar stylistic features make it one of the most intriguing examples of Christian Arabic corpus. The book is composed in saǧʿ (rhymed prose) and embellished with various types of rhetorical figures. Each chapter represents part of a strong, defensive tower correlated with the metaphorical title of the work. Moreover, the work is divided into specific numbers of chapters and subsections, which all have biblical significance. Considering the socio-political and intellectual milieu in which the Kitāb al-Maǧdal was produced, this article focuses on these specific stylistic features of the work, analyses them in detail, and seeks an answer to the question of the author’s possible inspirational sources

Arabic · Archaeology · Art · Linguistics · Literature · Politics · Rhetorical question · Theology · Tower · Tower of Babel · Archaeology and Historical Studies · Classics · Historical and Linguistic Studies · History · Islamic Studies and History · Law · Philosophy

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