Nabil Matar - An Arab Ambassador in the Mediterranean World: The Travels of Muhammad ibn Uthman al-Miknasi, 1779-1788

This book provides translated selections from the writings of Muammad Ibn Uthman al-Mikns (d. 1799). The only writings by an Arab-Muslim in the pre-modern period that present a comparative perspective, his travelogues offer unique insights into Christendom and Islam.

Translating excerpts from his three travelogues, this book tells the story of al-Mikns's travels from 17791788. As an ambassador, al-Mikns was privy to court life, government offices and religious buildings, and he provides detailed accounts of cities, people, customs, ransom negotiations, historical events and political institutions. Including descriptions of Europeans, Arabs, Turks, Christians (both European and Eastern), Muslims, Jews and (American) Indians in the last quarter of the eighteenth century, An Arab Ambassador in the Mediterranean World explores how the most travelled Muslim writer of the pre-modern period saw the world: from Spain to Arabia and from Morocco to Turkey, with detailed descriptions of Mecca and Jerusalem, and second-hand information about the New World.

Supplemented with extensive notes detailing the historical and political relevance of the translations, this book is of interest to researchers and scholars of Mediterranean history, Ottoman studies and MuslimChristian relations.

Nabil Matar is Professor of English at the University of Minnesota. He is author of a trilogy on early modern Britain and the Islamic World, along with translations of Arabic sources and studies on the relationship between Europe and the Arab Mediterranean between 1550 and 1798.

Culture and Civilization in the Middle East

General Editor: Ian Richard Netton

Professor of Islamic Studies, University of Exeter

This series studies the Middle East through the twin foci of its diverse cultures and civilizations. Comprising original monographs as well as scholarly surveys, it covers topics in the fields of Middle Eastern literature, archaeology, law, history, philosophy, science, folklore, art, architecture and language. While there is a plurality of views, the series presents serious scholarship in a lucid and stimulating fashion.

Previously published by Curzon

Published by Routledge