Greek Thought, Arabic Culture: The Graeco-Arabic Translation Movement in Baghdad and Early 'Abbasaid Society (2nd-4th/5th-10th c.) / Edition 1

by Dimitri Gutas

Overview

From the middle of the eighth century to the tenth century, almost all non-literary and non-historical secular Greek books, including such diverse topics as astrology, alchemy, physics, botany and medicine, that were not available throughout the eastern Byzantine Empire and the Near East, were translated into Arabic.
Greek Thought, Arabic Culture explores the major social, political and ideological factors that occasioned the unprecedented translation movement from Greek into Arabic in Baghdad, the newly founded capital of the Arab dynasty of the 'Abbasids', during the first two centuries of their rule. Dimitri Gutas draws upon the preceding historical and philological scholarship in Greco-Arabic studies and the study of medieval translations of secular Greek works into Arabic and analyses the social and historical reasons for this phenomenon.
Dimitri Gutas provides a stimulating, erudite and well-documented survey of this key movement in the transmission of ancient Greek culture to the Middle Ages.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780415061339
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	06/25/1998
Series:	Arabic Thought and Culture
Pages:	252
Product dimensions:	5.44(w) x 8.50(h) x (d)

About the Author

Dimitri Gutas is Professor of Arabic Language and Literature at Yale University. He is the author of Greek Wisdom Literature in Arabic Translation (1975), Avicenna and the Aristotelian Tradition (1988), and, with Gerhard Endress, A Greek and Arabic Lexicon (1992-).

Table of Contents

Introduction; Part 1 Translation and Empire; Chapter 1 The Background of the Translation Movement; Chapter 2 Al-Manṣūr; Chapter 3 Al-Mahd? and his Sons; Chapter 4 Al-Ma’mūn; Part 2 Translation and Society; Chapter 5 Translation in the Service of Applied and Theoretical Knowledge; Chapter 6 Patrons, Translators, Translations; Chapter 7 Translation and History; Chapter 8 Epilogue;

Editorial Reviews

'important for any classicist interested in the legacy and transmission of Greek culture and provides excellent comparative material for those working on the interaction of all ancient cultures, including especially the development of greek thought at Rome.' - Simon Swain, The Classicla Review

'A remarkable work. It has all the makings of a classic.' - Remke Kruk, Boekbesprekingen

'Gutas' book is a most welcome tool for classicists and oreintalists...Gutas' informative book arouses the curiosity of specialists as well as of a broader public.' - Hans Daiber, Classical World, Winter 2001.

From the Publisher