1. Biruni
- Abstract
Malagaris (Oxford Univ.) provides a useful study of one of the great, if still understudied, Indian Muslim intellectuals. Situating Biruni in his dynamic cultural and thus larger Eurasian historical context (10th–11th century), Malagaris contributes to the scholarship on the era. While the details are still debated, Malagaris provides an outline of Biruni's life that includes years of travel and cultural and educational collaboration. This text will help students explore some of Biruni’s key moments, experiences in an intellectual life that has few known parallels. Biruni is a unique subject in that he relied on the patronage of some of the most important figures of medieval Eurasia. Reporting on his remarkable range of interests, Malagaris also offers entertaining accounts of how this man engaged his contemporaries through substantive explorations in grammar, the polemics around objective truth, and methods of debate. As they learn about the conditions under which Biruni pursued such conversations, readers will gain insight into the importance of his strong alliances and spirited intellectual rivalries. Along the way, Malagaris unfolds a story of intellectual transmission that links Biruni to Avicenna, and of the long chain of scholarship that followed as future generations engaged this great scholar’s works. Readers can appreciate this legacy thanks especially to the concluding bibliographic essay.
- Published
- 2021