Abu ‘Abdollâh' Jafar ibn Mohammad Rudaki (c. 880 CE-941 CE) was a poet to the Samanid court which ruled much of Khorâsân (northeastern Persia) from its seat in Bukhara.

He is widely regarded as "the father of Persian poetry, for he was the first major poet to write in New Persian language, following the Arab conquest in the seventh and eighth centuries, which established Islam as the official religion, and made Arabic the predominant literary language in Persian-speaking lands for some two...

Dit volume in de ASLU-serie bestudeert Frankische kastelen met als doel het in kaart brengen van de relatie van de toenmalige bewoners met de geconstrueerde ruimte. Dit onderzoek biedt nieuwe inzichten in het functioneren van het fort, zowel in de functie als bescherming tegen vijandige machten, als de invloed van het gebouw op het gedrag van de bewoners binnen de muren van deze kastelen.

- Met een uitgeklede versie van dit werk won Eva Mol de Leidse Universitaire Scriptieprijs in het jaar 20...

Wat kunnen we concluderen over de lezer aan de hand van een onderzoek naar de lay-out van een middeleeuwse tekst? Mogen we aan de hand van een collectie van een bibliotheek conclusies trekken over de cultuur waarin deze collectie werd samengesteld?

Gedurende de middeleeuwen waren manuscripten voor boeken voortdurend onderhevig aan veranderingen. Deze kwamen voort uit nieuwe inzichten in bijvoorbeeld het gebruik van koppen bij teksten of de toepassing van hoofdstuknummering.

Met de focus op de...

Dit deel in de serie Iranian Studies onderzoekt de filosofische onderbouwing en filmische technieken die kenmerkend zijn voor Iraanse film. Het laat zien hoe thema's als martelaarschap en oorlog, gender en sociaal beleid in Iraanse cinema worden benaderd, en hoe de regisseurs ze met behulp van een verscheidenheid aan technieken behandelen. Er wordt een overzicht gegeven van de poëtische en mystieke dimensies van Abbas Kiarostami's films. Daarnaast wordt beschreven wat de effecten van de Isla...

Since the origins of architectural history, proportional systems have served as objects of belief and modes of iconographical communication. Whether they are capable of fulfilling more tangible functions remains a matter of debate today, for this ancient and diverse belief system continues to infiltrate architectural thinking in subtle and sometimes surprising ways.

In this collection of original essays, twenty-six leading scholars reconsider the long history of proportional systems across nu...

This volume of the ASLU series examines perspectives on maritime and underwater cultural heritage (MUCH) in southern Africa and proposes new management approaches to advance protection and public engagement. By redefining the maritime historical narratives in countries that have predominantly interpreted their maritime past through colonial shipwrecks, it is possible to create an environment in which stakeholders become active participants in heritage management. The application of a broad ma...

In the historiography of the period of Dutch rule in the Cape of Good Hope, from 1652 until 1795, Cape burghers are represented as the perpetual underdogs bristling against the rule of a restrictive Dutch East India Company (VOC). But was this relationship really so antagonistic?

The author places Cape colonial society in the wider context of the Dutch Republic and, in doing so, compares the political structures, institutions and dynamics of the Republic and its overseas settlement. He shows ...

Gum Arabic is a natural product which grows exclusively in the Sahel and has played an ever increasing role in the global economy. In the time of the crusades, Europeans bought the ingredient in Arab countries. Soon, it was not only used in ink or medicine, but also as a symbol of its putative Arab origin, the noble Orient. Later, gum was bought directly in the countries where it was produced, but western dependence on it grew. As European countries were laying the foundations for their colon...

The remains of Dutch East India Company forts are scattered throughout littoral Asia and Africa. But how important were the specific characteristics of European bastion-trace fortifications to Early-Modern European expansion? Was European fortification design as important for Early-Modern expansion as has been argued? This book takes on these questions by studying the system of fortifications built and maintained by the Dutch East India Company (VOC) in present-day India and Sri Lanka. It unc...