The Jābirian Kitāb al-Nukhab and Teaching the Science of Talismans in the Abbasid Era
This article introduces a hitherto overlooked work on the science of talismans attributed to Jābir b. Ḥayyān, called Kitāb al-Nukhab (The Compendium), but widely known as Kitāb al-Baḥth (The Book of the Quest). The work contains a long and rich text on the natural and metaphysical foundations of the...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Interlibrary Loan: | Interlibrary Loan for the Fachinformationsdienste (Specialized Information Services in Germany) |
| Published: |
2024
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| In: |
Journal of Abbasid Studies
Year: 2024, Volume: 11, Issue: 1, Pages: 98-123 |
| Further subjects: | B
Professionalisation
B Jābir b. Ḥayyān B Esotericism B Magic B Talismans B Jābirian Corpus B Teaching |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (kostenfrei) Volltext (kostenfrei) |
| Summary: | This article introduces a hitherto overlooked work on the science of talismans attributed to Jābir b. Ḥayyān, called Kitāb al-Nukhab (The Compendium), but widely known as Kitāb al-Baḥth (The Book of the Quest). The work contains a long and rich text on the natural and metaphysical foundations of the science of talismans, primarily, but also alchemy, and artificial generation. The author explicitly promotes his book as a textbook for learning talismanry that also describes the proper teacher-student relationship needed for this craft. This affords us important insights on the professionalisation of talismanry as science and craft, and a glimpse into how the occult sciences were integrated in the teaching structures of the Abbasid era. |
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| ISSN: | 2214-2371 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Journal of Abbasid Studies
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1163/22142371-00802021 |
