From Diyārāt to Ziyārāt: The Transmutation of the Sacred and Generic Landscape in Syria

From Diyārāt to Ziyārāt: The Transmutation of the Sacred and Generic Landscape in SyriaJournal of Arabic LiteratureSyriaca.org: The Syriac Reference PortalThe National Endowment for the HumanitiesThe International Balzan Prize FoundationDavid A. Michelsoncbsc_adminRecord added to Zotero bycbsc_adminSyriaca.org: The Syriac Reference Portalhttp://syriaca.org/cbss/M9NHJ7K6/tei

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2024-08-15-04:00

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CREATED: This bibl record was autogenerated from a Zotero record.DanaSajdiFrom Diyārāt to Ziyārāt: The Transmutation of the Sacred and Generic Landscape in Syriahttp://syriaca.org/cbss/M9NHJ7K6https://www.zotero.org/groups/a_comprehensive_bibliography_on_syriac_studies/items/M9NHJ7K6https://www.zotero.org/groups/4861694/items/M9NHJ7K6Journal of Arabic Literature53:3-42022216-245This essay explores the relationship between two geographical and literary genres, the diyārāt (Books of Monasteries), which disappeared in the 11th century, and the ziyārāt (shrine pilgrimage guides), which appeared in the 13th century. The relationship is discussed in the context of the transformation of the Syrian sacred landscape, which became thoroughly Islamized through the erection of Islamic public buildings including shrines and mausolea between the 11th–13th centuries. I argue that these two genres had a similar function of spatially inscribing the political order through the invitation to liminal practices in the marginal sites of the monastery and the Islamic shrine/mausoleum. The diyārāt registered the caliphal order and courtly culture, while the ziyārāt served to sanctify the professional scholar whose authority emerged in the post-caliphal sultanic age. Sajdi, Dana. “From Diyārāt to Ziyārāt: The Transmutation of the Sacred and Generic Landscape in Syria.” Journal of Arabic Literature 53:3-4 (2022): 216–45. Dana Sajdi, From Diyārāt to Ziyārāt: The Transmutation of the Sacred and Generic Landscape in Syria,” Journal of Arabic Literature 53:3-4 (2022): 216–45.Muslim-Christian relationsSyriac influence [Arabs]VII-XVIII CEXI CEmonasteries