The Lost Archive: Traces of a Caliphate in a Cairo Synagogue

Description

A compelling look at the Fatimid caliphate's robust culture of documentation The lost archive of the Fatimid caliphate (909-1171) survived in an unexpected place: the storage room, or geniza, of a synagogue in Cairo, recycled as scrap paper and deposited there by medieval Jews. Marina Rustow tells the story of this extraordinary find, inviting u

Marina Rustow is the Khedouri A. Zilkha Professor of Jewish Civilization in the Near East and professor of Near Eastern studies and history at Princeton University. She is director of the Princeton Geniza Lab and a MacArthur fellow, and is the author of Heresy and the Politics of Community: The Jews of the Fatimid Caliphate.

"Winner of the British-Kuwait Friendship Society Book Prize" "Winner of the Middle East Medievalists Book Prize" "Winner of the Haskins Medal, Medieval Academy of America" "Finalist for the National Jewish Book Award in Writing Based on Archival Material" "One of the Times Literary Supplement's Books of the Year 2020" "[T]hose seeking to ask important questions about the Jewish-Arab dynamic in medieval times will ... find much to glean [in this book]."---Dr. Stu Halpern, Jewish Book Council "A handsome volume with compelling illustrations . . . . This magisterial study is a must for anyone interested in the geniza but also for anyone considering how we relate to the texts of our predecessors and what we hope to leave to those who follow."---Elka Weber, Segula Jewish History Magazine "Ferociously thoroughly researched, beautifully written."---Robert Irwin, Times Literary Supplement "A pleasure to read. Rustow writes exceptionally well, approaching her material with an often informal, jocular tone, which makes all the talk of ligatures, tax receipts and bureaucracy go down more smoothly."---Christian Sahner, Times Literary Supplement "[Rustow's] book under review deserves to be perused and read for generations to come."---Ephraim Nissan, Quaderni di Studi Indo-Mediterranei "A tremendous service to the scientific community. Rustow enthralls her reader with her style and her art of telling intricate stories. "---Frederic Bauden, Medieval Encounters