IFAO

Halim el-Dabh (1921-2017) is a collector of “traditional” music and a pioneer of electronic music. He is currently being rediscovered by a new generation of Egyptian musicians who see him as a national precursor. In 1944, El-Dabh composed one of the earliest electronic compositions in history, based on selected and transformed sounds from his own recordings, made in his hometown of Cairo. Such works, and the career of this eclectic musician, both a composer and an academic, shed new light on the production and restitution of anthropological knowledge, which is not so much developed from the act of “writing cultures” as from that of recording and restoring them in different forms, including artistic ones. This text focuses on Halim El-Dabh’s youth in order to retrace his path in a technological and cultural moment of Egypt’s history, while relating it to more global dynamics. Like other 20th century figures, Halim El-Dabh developed new ways of linking collection, research and creation. The practices and itineraries of these figures question the colonial and neo-colonial dynamics of collecting, preserving and restoring music and, more broadly, the production of knowledge.

While in the Arab world, the totality of Umm Kulṯūm’s repertoire is currently considered as being “classical” both in the sense of its highly regarded status in the artistic hierarchy as well as that of its propaedeutic value; to which extent does it actually qualify as “art music” and what traces of the Nahḍa school has it retained? Starting from the term waṣla, employed throughout her career to identify a song during a concert, the article presents an appraisal of our present knowledge of the singer’s performance policy, which has greatly increased since the internet diffusion of most of her concerts, in addition to the commercially distributed versions of her songs. It suggests that Umm Kulṯūm’s metric (muwaqqaʿ) and non-metric (mursal) improvisations are the forms in which a continuity between her art and the ­aesthetic principles of the former school of court musicians is best observed. Two renditions of Salū kuʾūs al-ṭilā illustrate the successive vicissitudes of the “traditional” learned form known as qaṣīda ʿalā al-waḥda.

Despite the importance of the financial administrators of Egypt (aṣḥāb al-ḫarāǧ) and their basic role in the administration system in the early Islamic period, historical sources don’t provide sufficient information about them. On the other hand, hundreds of papyri from ­al-Ušmūnayn province still exist. These papyri, especially tax receipts, contain many names and some information about the financial directors of Egypt during the 2nd-3rd/8th-9th centuries. Some of the financial directors are not mentioned in other historical sources, but al-Ušmūnayn Arabic papyri provide some new information about known directors and introduce new ones.

What is interesting for us in this work is to understand the true meaning of the princely city through the Raqqāda model. In this context, we have conducted research using various Orientalist and Arab studies. It is clear from these studies that these royal or princely cities are divided into two categories, or possibly even three. Raqqāda, is one of the two princely cities that were founded in Ifrīqiya during the Aghlabid dynasty. The other is the city of al-ʿAbbāsiyya. The importance of Raqqāda lies in the fact that it constitutes a transitional point and a passage from the palace-villa to the palace-city, and from the open princely city to the closed princely city. This is what we have seen by navigating between historical texts and archaeological data. Raqqāda was not destroyed by the Normans, but by the severe vandalism of the Banū Hilāl. Nevertheless, there are still some archaeological traces that reflect the princely and royal character of this city, and show that its architecture has mixed the ancient heritage with the oriental influences.

إنّ الغاية التي نروم تحقيقها من خلال هذا العمل هو معرفة معنى المدينة الأميرية من خلال نموذج رقادة، ومن هذا المنطلق قمنا بالبحث عنه في مختلف البحوث والدراسات الاستشراقية والعربية. والواضح من خلال هذه الدراسات أنّ هذه المدن الملكية أو الأميرية هي على نوعين أو ثلاثة. ورقادة هي إحدى المدينتين الأميريتين اللّتين تأسّستا في إفريقية في العصر الأغلبي، والأخرى هي مدينة العبّاسيّة. إنّ أهمية رقادة تكمن في كونها تمثل نقطة عبور وتحوّل من القصر-فيلا (الضيعة) إلى القصر-المدينة، ومن المدينة الأميرية المفتوحة إلى المدينة الأميرية المغلقة. هذا ما توصلنا اليه من خلال المراوحة بين النصوص التاريخية والمعطيات الأثرية.

Documents from the Ḥaram Šarīf are considered to be among the most important historical sources from the Mamluk Jerusalem society because they provide much documentary evidence covering all aspects of life in this community during that era. Among the most important documents included in this collection; documents on the cases of marriage and divorce in the community of Jerusalem. The document being studied (No. 646) belongs to this group, and includes two marriage contracts and two divorce contracts for a former slave named Zumurrud, who lived in Jerusalem at the end of the 8th century of the Islamic calendar/14th century. Since the case of Zumurrud is one of the few cases of the lower classes that can trace a large part of its family history thanks to the existence of this document, which includes marriage and divorce contracts, in addition to another document registering a third marriage for her, this study attempts to discuss the case of Zumurrud through the publication and discussion of document 646, which appears to be rich in details revealing important aspects of the life of women in Jerusalem during the Mamluk era.

Ostrich eggs held great importance among the Arabs before Islam. Their importance also continued after the emergence of Islam, with various uses such as hanging them in religious establishments like mosques, mosuleums or civil buildings such as houses. The eggs were decorated in different ways: inscriptions, paintings and multi-level engravings on their surfaces. These decorations made them valuable gifts for Kings and Caliphs. In this paper, I am studying Ostrich eggs on different levels, from their functional uses to their religious aspects. I am relying on Egyptian museums’ collections which contain unpublished Ostrich eggs. I am also using historical sources which provide important information that has not yet been taken into account.

Le site de Douch n’avait jamais été fouillé lorsque Serge Sauneron, directeur de l’Ifao, y engagea des travaux en 1976, afin de désensabler le secteur du temple du Haut-Empire romain. Avant d’atteindre ses sols dallés, les fouilles ont mis au jour plusieurs niveaux d’occupation du Bas-Empire. Ces campagnes et les suivantes, jusqu’en 1994, ont révélé l’existence d’édifices antérieurs à l’époque romaine comme, sous le temple, un sanctuaire ptolémaïque en brique, ainsi que d’autres édifices encore plus anciens, remontant à l’époque perse ou même au-delà.

L’historique des travaux archéologiques est suivi par six chapitres sur l’architecture des édifices du secteur : les enceintes et leurs portes, les cours et leurs aménagements, le temple et son porche à colonnes, la chapelle adossée liée à une faille du terrain, probablement lieu de culte primitif. Le texte est abondamment illustré par des relevés en plans, coupes et élévations. L’examen de détails de construction a permis d’établir la succession chronologique des édifices, d’expliquer des anomalies ou de restituer des parties détruites.

La datation des principaux édifices en brique et de leurs remaniements est due à Michel Wuttmann qui, de 2007 à 2011, a fait prélever et analyser par radiocarbone des végétaux extraits des murs. Ces nouveaux repères chronologiques autorisent à proposer, dans le dernier chapitre, des restitutions en plan et en perspective des états successifs du sanctuaire, de l’époque perse au Bas-Empire romain.

The site of Douch had never been excavated at the time Serge Sauneron, director of the IFAO, began de-sanding the area of the temple of the early Roman Empire in 1976. Before reaching the paved floors, the excavations revealed several levels of occupation under the Late Roman Empire. These campaigns and those subsequent, up until 1994, revealed the existence of several buildings preceding Roman times, such as a Ptolemaic brick sanctuary beneath the temple and other even older buildings, at the least dating back to the Persian time.

The history of the archaeological works is followed by six chapters on the architecture of the buildings in the area: the enclosures and their doors, the courtyards and their fittings, the temple and its column porch, the chapel attached to a fault in the ground, probably a place of primitive worship. The text is amply illustrated with maps, sections and elevations. Examination of the construction details enabled to determine the chronological succession of the buildings, and to explain some anomalies or to restitute some of the parts destroyed.

Le site de Douch n’avait jamais été fouillé lorsque Serge Sauneron, directeur de l’Ifao, y engagea des travaux en 1976, afin de désensabler le secteur du temple du Haut-Empire romain. Avant d’atteindre ses sols dallés, les fouilles ont mis au jour plusieurs niveaux d’occupation du Bas-Empire. Ces campagnes et les suivantes, jusqu’en 1994, ont révélé l’existence d’édifices antérieurs à l’époque romaine comme, sous le temple, un sanctuaire ptolémaïque en brique, ainsi que d’autres édifices encore plus anciens, remontant à l’époque perse ou même au-delà. L’historique des travaux archéologiques est suivi par six chapitres sur l’architecture des édifices du secteur : les enceintes et leurs portes, les cours et leurs aménagements, le temple et son porche à colonnes, la chapelle adossée liée à une faille du terrain, probablement lieu de culte primitif. Le texte est abondamment illustré par des relevés en plans, coupes et élévations. L’examen de détails de construction a permis d’établir la succession chronologique des édifices, d’expliquer des anomalies ou de restituer des parties détruites. La datation des principaux édifices en brique et de leurs remaniements est due à Michel Wuttmann qui, de 2007 à 2011, a fait prélever et analyser par radiocarbone des végétaux extraits des murs. Ces nouveaux repères chronologiques autorisent à proposer, dans le dernier chapitre, des restitutions en plan et en perspective des états successifs du sanctuaire, de l’époque perse au Bas-Empire romain.

The site of Douch had never been excavated at the time Serge Sauneron, director of the IFAO, began de-sanding the area of the temple of the early Roman Empire in 1976. Before reaching the paved floors, the excavations revealed several levels of occupation under the Late Roman Empire. These campaigns and those subsequent, up until 1994, revealed the existence of several buildings preceding Roman times, such as a Ptolemaic brick sanctuary beneath the temple and other even older buildings, at the least dating back to the Persian time. The history of the archaeological works is followed by six chapters on the architecture of the buildings in the area: the enclosures and their doors, the courtyards and their fittings, the temple and its column porch, the chapel attached to a fault in the ground, probably a place of primitive worship. The text is amply illustrated with maps, sections and elevations. Examination of the construction details enabled to determine the chronological succession of the buildings, and to explain some anomalies or to restitute some of the parts destroyed. The dating of the main brick buildings and their remodeling was possible thanks to Michel Wuttmann who, from 2007 to 2011, had plants extracted from the walls, which were then collected and analyzed by radiocarbon. These new chronological markers allow to propose, in the last chapter, some restitutions of the successive states of the sanctuary in plan and perspective, from the Persian period to the Late Roman Empire.

Des premiers cylindres phonographiques au format MP4, des instruments acoustiques à l’orgue électrique des années 1970 ou à l’autotune des scènes électro contemporaines, les musiques du monde arabe prennent dès le tournant du XXe siècle différents chemins en concordance et en réaction avec l’avènement de nouvelles techniques d’amplification, de conservation et de diffusion de la musique. À partir de six études de cas proposées par des ethnomusicologues, sociologues et anthropologues, toutes dans une perspective diachronique, ce nouveau dossier des Annales Islamologiques, dirigé par Séverine Gabry-Thienpont et Frédéric Lagrange, propose d’examiner certains processus de composition et de patrimonialisation à l’œuvre depuis le début du XXe siècle dans le monde arabe. Il s’agit de comprendre de quelle façon, dans des contextes technologiques en perpétuelle mutation, ces évolutions redessinent les contours et l’esthétique des musiques de la région. Les varia qui viennent compléter ce numéro sur le patrimoine musical arabe contemporain explorent eux aussi différentes facettes de l’histoire et de l’histoire de l’art de l’Égypte et du Moyen-Orient. Des cités princières de Libye au contrat de mariage d’une ancienne esclave à Jérusalem ; des premiers administrateurs financiers de l’Égypte islamique à la décoration des œufs d’autruche et à leur utilisation comme cadeaux princiers jusqu’à l’époque contemporaine en passant par les lieux de circulation de céramiques ou des conflits fonciers à l’époque mamelouke, l’utilisation de sources inédites permet, pour chaque article, de pointer un aspect original des réalités sociales de la région et de son histoire.

Ce numéro est disponible sur OpenEdition : https://journals.openedition.org/anisl/5422

What makes Egyptian coinage so special? After its late adoption in the 5th century BC, first silver, then gold and then bronze coins, spread over the country as the Ptolemies imposed a closed monetary system. It soon became an everyday life object, used by the poor and the wealthy, though for different purposes. On one side, the production, the iconography and the circulation of coins are precious to understand their status in the society; on the other side, texts give numerous data on its use in the banks, for tax, for loans. This book aims at reuniting this data to offer a broader view of the use of coinage from the Persian Period to the beginning of Islam. Some insights from outside Egypt enable comparison of this data with other places, to rethink the position of coinage in Egypt, and to question what has been described as L’exception égyptienne.