A critical edition of Kitab Raf' shan al-hubshan by Jalal al-din al-Suyuti

Abstract

The edition is based on nine manuscripts. The work deals with the virtues of noble Abyssinians and is based on the earlier work by ibn al-Jawzi which it partly extends.

The Arabic writings on the black races are reviewed from the beginnings of the genre to works influenced by Suyuti. Attention is therefore particularly given to Suyuti's predecessors and successors from the 2nd to the 11th centuries with special reference to the relations between Suyuti's work and that of ibn al-Jawzi.

The thesis is divided into two parts. The first part is the English introduction which consists of four chapters with the conclusions placed after Chapter Three.

The first chapter deals with the works relevant to al-sudan and the Abyssinians. First, the two terms "al-Habashah" and "al-Sudan" are briefly discussed in an attempt to define their usage. The second chapter, which is a critical study of Kitab Raf Shan al-Hubshan, is divided into six sections, in the last section of which it will be shown how this book was more popular than ibn al-Jawzi's work' on which it was dependent. The third chapter provides biographical detail of al-Suyuti's life with some comments on the number of his works. The fourth chapter contains the description of the manuscripts and editing principles. Finally, the bibliography is provided at the end of this part.

The second part consists of the list of works cited in the footnotes of the Arabic Text, the list of abbreviations used in these footnotes, the conventional signs used in the Text, the Text, and the indexes.