Wonders and rarities : the marvelous book that traveled the world and mapped the cosmos / Travis Zadeh.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Zadeh, Travis E., author.

Contributor:

Constance L. Rosenthal Book Fund.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Geography, Arab--History.

Geography, Arab.

Cosmography--History.

Cosmography.

Natural history--History.

Natural history.

Curiosities and wonders.

Science, Medieval.

Qazwīnī, Zakarīyā ibn Muḥammad, approximately 1203-1283. ʻAjāʼib al-makhlūqāt.

Qazwīnī, Zakarīyā ibn Muḥammad.

Genre:

History.

Physical Description:

445 pages : illustrations ; 25 cm

Place of Publication:

Cambridge, Massachusetts : Harvard University Press, [2023]

Summary:

"During the thirteenth century, the great scholar, geographer, physician, and astronomer Zakariya al-Qazwini (1203-1283) authored what became perhaps the single most influential work of natural history in the Islamic world: a compendium of curiosities entitled 'Aja'ib al-Makhluqat wa Ghara'ib al-Mawjudat, or, loosely translated, Wonders and Rarities. Following the travels of Qazwini's book across time and place, Travis Zadeh examines how Muslim intellectuals and religious authorities conceived of the world before the discovery of the western hemisphere and the rise of heliocentrism: through the language of wonder and rarity"-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Introduction: Wonder's End

I. A World within a Book: Stranger Lands

Measures of Authority

Astral Power

II. Wonders to Behold: Cosmic Order

Terrestrial Designs

Alchemical Bodies

III. Distant Shores: Long Divided

Across the Globe

On the Edge

Coda: A Hidden Map.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Local Notes:

Acquired for the Penn Libraries with assistance from the Constance L. Rosenthal Book Fund.

ISBN:

9780674258457

0674258452

OCLC:

1337409097

Publisher Number:

99993616966

40031461616