What's New in Papyrology

Recent publications of papyri & ostraca 4th BC-8th AD; conferences, lectures etc. from Papy-L and other sources as noted. PLEASE SEND SUGGESTIONS

Friday, March 28, 2014

The 12th Arabic Papyrology Webclass: Documents on Rural Egypt

WEBSITE

Introduction
The vaste majority of pre-modern Egypt was rural. Yet, literary evidence takes almost completely an urban point of view and has limited interest in rural conditions of life. Documentary evidence is slightly different: in this webclass, we will read tax registers of individual peasants and their crop, passports issued to local workmen, leases of different types of irrigated land, petitions to protect villages from tax farmers and their soldiers, etc.
We will try to understand the world of peasants as they had to cope with a harsh tax administration and were part of a complex economical framework.
Mode
This is an on-line webclass. We will mostly read published Arabic documents. A scan of the document to be discussed will be sent to you in advance. Estimated time for preparation: 1-2 hours/week.
Communication will be in English.
Lecturer
Professor Andreas Kaplony, Institute for Near and Middle Eastern Studies, LMU München.
Time
Summer term 2014: 14 April - 7 July 2014 (classes). Monday, 4.00-6.00 pm (Central European Time).
Time might be changed upon request.
Certificate
A certificate of participation will be given if the student has at least attended ten meetings and if he or she has met the expectances as defined at the beginning of the semester.
Participants
MA and PhD students in Arabic and Islamic studies, scholars interested in Arabic documents, persons in charge of Arabic manuscript collections, etc.
Fees
250 Euro or equivalent amount of working time. Fees are expected to be paid before the semester starts.
No fees for students of Near and Middle Eastern Studies at LMU München, or Arabic Studies, etc. at University of Zurich.
Technical issues
Students need a computer (download), internet access, and a headset. 
Technical problems showing up during the semester that prevent a student from attending the class are subject to his or her own responsibility; therefore, missed classes will not be substituted. However, if a technical event prevents all students from participating, the class will be substituted.
New participants will have a personal preparatory meeting, on Monday, 7 April 2014, to adjust book technical assets. Please, first register, than book your time slot through http://doodle.com/qhbk4b2dgb5bwdk9?locale=en.
Further Information and Registration
Professor Andreas Kaplony (andreas.kaplony at lmu.de). Registration is open until 5 April 2014.
First Reading: Arabic Papyrology
The Arabic Papyrology School: an Interactive Introduction to the Reading of Arabic Documents (www.ori.uzh.ch/aps)
Sijpesteijn, Petra M. 2009. "Arabic Papyri and Islamic Egypt". In: The Oxford Handbook of Papyrology, ed. Roger Bagnall. Oxford: 452-472 Chapter 19.
First Reading: Rural Egypt
Michel, Nicolas. 2000. "Devoirs fiscaux et droits confiers: la condition des fellah égyptiens (13e-16e siècles)". Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient 43: 521-578.
Mouton, Jean-Michel. 2002. Un village copte du Fayyoum au XIe siècle, d'après la découverte d'un lot d'archives. Comptes-rendus de l'Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres. Paris: 447-458.
Müller-Wodarg, Dieter. 1954. "Die Landwirtschaft Ägyptens in der frühen ‘Abbāsidenzeit (750-969 n.Chr. (132-358 d.H.)". In: Der Islam 31: 174-227; Tf.
Rapoport, Yossef. 2004. "Invisible Peasants, Marauding Nomads: Taxation, Tribalism, and Rebellion in Mamluk Egypt". In: Mamlūk Studies Review 8: 1 -22.
Rapoport, Yossef; Shahar, Ido. 2012. "Irrigation in the Medieval Islamic Fayyum: Local Control in a Large-Scale Hydraulic System". Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient 55: 1 -31.
Richter, Tonio Sebastian. 2009. "The Cultivation of Monastic Estates in Late Antique and Early Islamic Egypt: Some Evidence from Coptic Land Leases and Related Documents". In: Monastic Estates in Late Antique and Early Islamic Egypt: Ostraca, Papyri, and Essays in Memory of Sarah Clackson (P.Clackson), ed. Anne Boud'hors et al. Cincinnati: 205-215.
Sijpesteijn, Petra M. 2009. "Landholding Patterns in Early Islamic Egypt". In: Journal of Agrarian Change 8: 120-133.
Sijpesteijn, Petra M. 2013. Shaping a Muslim State: The world of a Mid-Eighth-Century Egyptian Official. Oxford Studies in Byzantium. Oxford: 15-48 (Chapter 1 "The Egyptian Context: Geography and History")
Earlier webclasses
1: Letters from Quṣayr (HS 2007)
2: Early Letters [from the Yale Collection] (FS 2008)
3: Arabic Contracts of Renting and Buying Real Estate (HS 2008)
4: Bilingual Greek and Arabic Documents, with Dr Raffaele Luiselli, Florence (FS 2009)
5: Petitions to and Letters from Mamluk Officials (HS 2009)
6: Authentification Procedures on Arabic Coins, Seals and Letters from Mamluk Officials, with Dr Lutz Ilisch, Tübingen (FS 2010)
7: Documentary Evidence on Childhood (HS 2010)
8: Lists, Registers, Accounts (SoSe 2011)
9: Documents from al-Andalus (WiSe 2011/12)
10: Documents from Edfu, WiSe 2012/13
11: Documents from the Berlin Collection (WiSe 2012/13)

 Earlier webclasses
1: Letters from Quṣayr (HS 2007)
2: Early Letters [from the Yale Collection] (FS 2008)
3: Arabic Contracts of Renting and Buying Real Estate (HS 2008)
4: Bilingual Greek and Arabic Documents, with Dr Raffaele Luiselli, Florence (FS 2009)
5: Petitions to and Letters from Mamluk Officials (HS 2009)
6: Authentification Procedures on Arabic Coins, Seals and Letters from Mamluk Officials, with Dr Lutz Ilisch, Tübingen (FS 2010)
7: Documentary Evidence on Childhood (HS 2010)
8: Lists, Registers, Accounts (SoSe 2011)
9: Documents from al-Andalus (WiSe 2011/12)
10: Documents from Edfu, WiSe 2012/13
11: Documents from the Berlin Collection (WiSe 2012/13)