The book of Charlatans / Jamāl al-Dīn ʿAbd al-Raḥīm al-Jawbarī ; translated by Humphrey Davies ; foreword by S. A. Chakraborty.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

al-Jawbarī, Jamāl al-Dīn ʻAbd al-Raḥīm, author.

Contributor:

Davies, Humphrey T. (Humphrey Taman), translator.

Chakraborty, Shannon, 1985- writer of foreword.

Series:

Library of Arabic literature ; 82.

Library of Arabic literature ; 82

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Swindlers and swindling.

Physical Description:

1 online resource

Place of Publication:

New York : New York University Press, [2021]

Language Note:

In English.

Summary:

Uncovering the professional secrets of con artists and swindlers in the medieval Middle East The Book of Charlatans is a comprehensive guide to trickery and scams as practiced in the thirteenth century in the cities of the Middle East, especially in Syria and Egypt. Al-Jawbarī was well versed in the practices he describes and may have been a reformed charlatan himself. Divided into thirty chapters, the book reveals the secrets of everyone from “Those Who Claim to be Prophets” to “Those Who Claim to Have Leprosy” and “Those Who Dye Horses.” The material is informed in part by the author’s own experience with alchemy, astrology, and geomancy, and in part by his extensive research. The work is unique in its systematic, detailed, and inclusive approach to a subject that is by nature arcane and that has relevance not only for social history but also for the history of science. Covering everything from invisible writing to doctoring gemstones and quack medicine, The Book of Charlatans opens a fascinating window into a subculture of beggars’ guilds and professional con artists in the medieval Arab world.

Contents:

Frontmatter

Contents

Foreword

Acknowledgments

Introduction

Map: al-Jawbarī’s World: The Periphery

Map: al-Jawbarī’s World: The Ce

Note on the Text

Notes to the Introduction

The Book of Charlatans

Chapter One, in Fourteen Sections: Exposé of the Tricks of Fake Prophets

Chapter Two, in Twenty-Four Sections: Exposé of the Tricks of Fake Shaykhs and Illusionists27 among the Dervishes, the Shaykhs, and “the Righteous”

Chapter Three, in Four Sections: Exposé of the Tricks of Fire-and-Brimstone Preachers

Chapter Four, in Five Sections: Exposé of the Tricks of Monks

Chapter Five, in Five Sections: Exposé of the Tricks of Jews and Others

Chapter Six, in Eight Sections: Exposé of the Tricks of the Banū Sāsān

Chapter Seven, in Two Sections: Exposé of the Tricks of Those Who Work Solomon’s Ant

Chapter Eight, in Seven Sections: Exposé of the Tricks of Those Who Practice War and Bear Arms

Chapter Nine, in Nine Sections: Exposé of the Tricks of the People of the Kāf, That Is, Alchemy

Chapter Ten, in Twelve Sections: Exposé of the Tricks of Apothecaries

Chapter Eleven, in Five Sections: Exposé of the Tricks of the People of the Mīm 136 (Who Are Treasure Hunters Who Pretend to Have Access to Hoards of Wealth and Buried Treasure)

Chapter Twelve, in Nine Sections: Exposé of the Tricks of Astrologers Who Ply Their Trade on the Highway

Chapter Thirteen, in Thirteen Sections: Exposé of the Tricks of Spirit Conjurors

Chapter Fourteen, in Twenty-Two Sections: Exposé of the Tricks of the Doctors Who Practice on the Highways

Chapter Fifteen, in Six Sections: Exposé of the Tricks of Those Who Extract Worms from Teeth

Chapter Sixteen, in One Section: Exposé of the Tricks of Eye Doctors Who Use Metal Instruments

Chapter Seventeen, in Six Sections: Exposé of the Tricks of Those Who Dye Horses

Chapter Eighteen, in Ten Sections: Exposé of Their Tricks; Example: Those Who Dye Humans

Chapter Nineteen, in Three Sections: Exposé of the Tricks of Those Who Manipulate Fire and Can Block Its Heat

Chapter Twenty, in Eight Sections: Exposé of the Tricks of Those Who Concoct Artificial Foodstuffs

Chapter Twenty-One, in Five Sections: Exposé of the Tricks of Those Who Work Knockout Drugs and Stupefacients

Chapter Twenty-Two, in Six Sections: Exposé of the Tricks of Notaries, That Is, of the People Who Draw Up Contracts

Chapter Twenty-Three, in Eight Sections: Exposé of the Tricks of Prestidigitators

Chapter Twenty-Four, in Eleven Sections: Exposé of Jewelers and Their Fake Products

Chapter Twenty-Five, in Six Sections: Exposé of the Tricks of Money Changers, of Scams They Pull and Scams Pulled on Them

Chapter Twenty-Six, in One Section: Exposé of the Tricks of Those Who Creep Up on Beardless Boys at Music and Chanting Performances and Weddings and on Journeys and So On

Chapter Twenty-Seven, in Thirty-Two Sections: Exposé of the Tricks of “the Masters of the Crafts”

Chapter Twenty-Eight, in Three Sections: Exposé of the Tricks of Sneak Thieves (Thieves Who Enter Houses Unlawfully)

Chapter Twenty-Nine, in Four Sections: Exposé of the Tricks of the Thieves Who Enter Houses by Making Holes in Walls and Committing Murder

Chapter Thirty, in Two Sections Exposé of the Tricks of Women, and of Their Cunning, Craftiness, and Duplicity

Notes

Glossary of People, Places, and Little-Known Simples

Bibliography

Further Reading

Index

About the NYU Abu Dhabi Institute

About the Editor

The Library of Arabic Literature

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

1-4798-1325-7

OCLC:

1334344074