RT Article
T1 Christian Theology in Arabic Dress: Stylistic Features of the Kitāb al-Maǧdal
JF Arabica
VO 71
IS 6
SP 667
OP 703
A1 İçöz, Ayşe
A2 Draper, Mustafa
LA English
YR 2024
UL https://ixtheo.de/Record/1913343669
AB Kitāb al-Maǧdal (The Book of Tower) is one of the earliest known theological encyclopaedias produced in Arabic by a man called ʿAmr ibn Mattā who was a member of the Church of the East towards the end of the tenth century. Its peculiar stylistic features make it one of the most intriguing examples of Christian Arabic corpus. The book is composed in saǧʿ (rhymed prose) and embellished with various types of rhetorical figures. Each chapter represents part of a strong, defensive tower correlated with the metaphorical title of the work. Moreover, the work is divided into specific numbers of chapters and subsections, which all have biblical significance. Considering the socio-political and intellectual milieu in which the Kitāb al-Maǧdal was produced, this article focuses on these specific stylistic features of the work, analyses them in detail, and seeks an answer to the question of the author’s possible inspirational sources.
K1 Littérature arabe chrétienne
K1 Le livre de la Tour
K1 Symbolisme numérique
K1 Nestoriens
K1 Chrétiens arabophones
K1 Christian Arabic literature
K1 The Book of Tower
K1 Kitāb al-Maǧdal
K1 ʿAmr ibn Mattā
K1 number symbolism
K1 Nestorians
K1 Arabic speaking Christians
DO 10.1163/15700585-20246891