9.45am
Registration
10am
Rise and Fall of Caliphs and Sultans
The Islamic empire founded in the 7th century was one of the largest, most expansive, and enduring empires in history until the Mongol conquests of the 13th century. In this lecture, renowned historian and author Hugh Kennedy takes us on a journey that reveals the secrets of the success of the Islamic empire in political, military, economic, and cultural arenas.
Hugh Kennedy
11am
Tea/coffee break
11.30am
The Barmakids: Stories of a Glamorous and Tragic Family
The Barmakids are the most famous non-Arab family in medieval Islam, having gone from serving one of the largest Buddhist complexes in 7th century Afghanistan to being the right hands of the caliphs of the Islamic empire. In this lecture, Oxford Lifelong Learning’s Arezou Azad, who has recently published the first English translation of a history of the Barmakids, gives us an intimate view of palace life, replete with tempestuous relationships, skullduggery, and tragic endings.
Arezou Azad (presenting remotely)
12.30pm
Lunch break
1.30pm
Walk to Bodleian
1.45pm
Document and Manuscript Session
The highlight of the day will be a visit to the Bodleian Library with exclusive access to medieval documents and manuscripts, including Cairo Geniza documents and a rare manuscript of the most famous of all Persian epics - the Shāhnāma ("Epic of Kings”).
Edward Shawe-Taylor and Nadia Vidro
3pm
Walk back to Rewley House
3.15pm
Tea/coffee break
3.45pm
Scribes, Subjects and Surprises from Life Outside the Palace Walls
The medieval Islamic world produced a vast number of texts, on a par with those written in Latin and Chinese. Highly-trained scribes working across the empire resulted in an incredible congruence of writing conventions from Cairo to Bamiyan long before the digital age, spanning genres, languages and scripts. In this lecture, led by a leading expert on medieval Jews, we also explore the routes of transmission between scribes, as well as the stories of the people who hired them, including women, peasants and slave owners.
Nadia Vidro
5pm
End of day
