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The Darvishes is an invaluable contribution to the study of the Belief and spiritual principles of the Darvish Orders and is one of the most accurate reference works on the subject. Drawn exclusively from the original Oriental works, and from Turkish, Arabic and Persian manuscripts the originality and authenticity of the work is beyond doubt. As well as discussing Darvish doctrines and history, the volume also examines the spiritual and metaphysical significance of Sufism as a living tradition
Archaeology; anthropology; Balkan Peninsula; history; 1878-1920.
A fascinating and readable account of a deeply complex issue. Many of the earliest books, particularly those dating back to the 1900s and before, are now extremely scarce and increasingly expensive. We are republishing these classic works in affordable, high quality, modern editions, using the original text and artwork.
Little is known in the West about the division of the Islamic world into Shiites and Sunnites and even less about the stratification of these two groups, with most of the attention going to the Sunnites. Moosa's comprehensive study of the origins and cultural aspects of the different extremist, or Ghulat, Shiite sects in the Middle East is a ground-breaking work. These sects whose 'extremism' is essentially religious are generally a peaceful people and, except for the Nusayris of Syria, are not political activists.
The Bektashi dervish order is a Sufi Alevite sect found in Anatolia and the Balkans with a strong presence in Albania. In this, his final book, Robert Elsie analyses the Albanian Bektashi and considers their role in the country's history and society. Although much has been written on the Bektashi in Turkey, little has appeared on the Albanian branch of the sect. Robert Elsie considers the history and culture of the Bektashi, analyses writings on the order by early travellers to the region such as Margaret Hasluck and Sir Arthur Evans and provides a comprehensive list of tekkes (convents) and tyrbes (shrines) in Albania and neighbouring countries. Finally he presents a catalogue of notable Albanian Bektashi figures in history and legend. This book provides a complete reference guide to the Bektashi in Albania which will be essential reading for scholars of the Balkans, Islamic sects and Albanian history and culture.
During the nineteenth century the Balkan countries b ecame the subject of a rather romantic fascination for the public at large. This has had important consequences for the way in which the region has been viewed since then, and the creation of this image has had an impact on the many aspects of West European and North American responses to the Balkans, ranging from diplomatic and military involvement to the burgeoning flow of tourists. This vision of the area has been created in large measure by the writing of women travellers such as those represented in this volume. The achievements of these women are quite remarkable: in many cases their travels were adventurous, and even dangerous, reaching into parts of the countryside which were remote and hardly known to outsiders. Not only as travellers but also in the fields of medical and military service, scholarship and education, journalism and literature, did these travellers contribute in very significant ways to the expansion of women's horizons, and to the attempt to gain greater freedom for women in society in general.
Joseph M. Levine provides a witty and erudite account of one of the most celebrated chapters in English cultural history, the acrimonious quarrel between the "ancients" and the "moderns" which Jonathan Swift dubbed "the Battle of the Books." The dispute that amused and excited the English world of letters from 1690 until the 1730s was, Levine shows, an installment in the long-standing debate about the relationship of classical learning to modern life. Levine argues that the debate was fundamentally a quarrel about the rival claims of history and literature concerning the proper way to understand the authors of the past. He skillfully examines how both sides wrote their own brands of history:...
'Before the Nation' argues that there is more than a grain of truth to nostalgic traditions following genocide. It points to the fact that intercommunality, a mode of everyday living based on the accommodation of cultural difference, was a normal and stabilizing feature of multi-ethnic societies.
Essays describing recent research and new discoveries of Hellenistic sculpture, based on papers presented at an international conference at the American School of Classical Studies at Athens in 1996.