Papers by Mohmaed BENABBES
REVISTA DE HISTORIOGRAFÍA (RevHisto), 2021
The 7th century CE was a turning point in the evolution of North Africa, with the Arab-Muslim con... more The 7th century CE was a turning point in the evolution of North Africa, with the Arab-Muslim conquest ushering in a period of decisive change. This study seeks to develop a grid for reading the contemporary historiography on this period. We begin by focusing on the origins of studies of the topic and then turn to a división between Western and Arab authors, in order to provide a sense of the geographical specificities of the extant scholarship. In doing so, we are able to see how the Arab conquest and the arrival of Islam in the region have been represented, and then observe the gradual development of the scholarship on this period into a fully-fledged field of historical studies.
Revista de historiografía 36, 2021, pp. 69-85, 2021
Although the information provided by mediaeval Arabic sources about the Pre-Islamic history of No... more Although the information provided by mediaeval Arabic sources about the Pre-Islamic history of North Africa is often scant and confused, the description they give of the religious situation in this region in the 7th century is not far removed from that given by the classical sources. The majority of the African-Roman population was Christianised, but the local tribal world was divided between those who adopted the Christian religion and those who retained their traditional polytheism. When they invaded North Africa, the Muslims did not seem to have given much importance to the religious beliefs of the conquered peoples, instead merely distinguishing between those who agreed to submit to the new masters and those who opposed them. Bound by treaties of alliance with Roman power, the Christianised tribes raised the banner of resistance, whereas the pagan tribes, already in open struggle against the regime in place, did not adopt a united front. Those who submitted, such as the Lawāta and many others, sat uneasily within the late legal framework devised by the 9th century fuqaha concerning the status of the dhimmi. It was solely to remedy this situation that the epithet
maǧūs was applied to them, stripped of all its primitive connotations in connection with Persian Zoroastrianism.
The 1st International Prof. Dr. Fuat Sezgin Symposium on History of Science in Islam Proceedings Book, 2020
In 1465, George Amirutzes and his son, two Greek scholars who had entered the service of the Otto... more In 1465, George Amirutzes and his son, two Greek scholars who had entered the service of the Ottoman Sultan Mehemet II, produced an Arabic translation of Ptolemy's Geography, certainly based on one of the Greek manuscripts preserved in Constantinople. This translation does not seem to have attracted much attention from researchers for many reasons. Although it was made in Arabic, it does not seem to have been of great interest to specialists in medieval Arabic geography, who have difficulties in deciphering its "classical" content. Despite the ancient character of this translated work, its usefulness was also not recognized by the specialists of Classical studies, often little was initiated into Arabic manuscripts. However, must this 15 th Century translation be known, firstly, as a modern work which should be studied by modernists, particularly those who specialize in Ottoman studies? In this paper, we examine first the "scientific" context in which this translation took place. One wonders about the reasons for this translation and who sponsored it. One also wonders about the value of this Arabic translation for our knowledge of the original text of Ptolemy's Geography. Can it help us to better understand the source text? And finally, what is its interest for linguists? ÖZ 1465'te, Osmanlı Sultanı II. Mehmet'in hizmetine giren iki Rum Bilim adamı George Amirutzes ve oğlu, İstanbul'da mevcut olduğu kesin olan Rum el yazmalarını kullanarak Batylamus'un Coğrafya eserinin Arapça bir tercümesini yaptılar. Birçok sebepten dolayı tercümenin araştırmacıların ilgisini çekemediği anlaşılmaktadır. Arapça olarak hazırlanmış olmasına rağmen, "klasik" içeriğini çözmekte zorlandıkları Ortaçağ Arap Coğrafyası üzerine çalışan uzmanların çok da ilgisini çekmedi. Bu tercüme eserin eski karakterine rağmen, Klasik Dönem çalışmaları yapan uzmanlar tarafından çalışmanın kullanışlılığı da rağbet görmedi; zaten Arapça el yazmaları alanında çok az sayıda çalışma başlatılmıştı. Eğer bu 15. yüzyıl tercüme çalışmasının bilinmesi gerekiyorsa, bu eserin öncelikle modernistler tarafından, özellikle de Osmanlı çalışmalarında uzman olan modernistler tarafından çalışılması gerekmez miydi? Bu makalede, öncelikle tercüme çalışmasının yapılmış olduğu "ilmi" içeriği inceleyeceğiz. Belki bu tercümenin hangi sebeplerden dolayı yapıldığı ve bu çalışmayı kimin finanse ettiği soruları akla gelebilir. Bu Arapça tercüme çalışmasının bizim Batlamyus'un Coğrafya eserinin orijinali hakkındaki bilgimize nasıl bir katkı sağlayacağı da akla gelebilir. Bu çalışma orijinal çalışmayı daha iyi anlayabilmemize yardımcı olacak mıdır? Ve son olarak bunun Dil Bilimcilerle ile ne ilgisi vardır? soruları yönlendirilecektir.
Mélanges d'Histoire et d'Archéologie de l'Afrique antique offerts à Sadok BEN BAAZIZ, 2018
O N A SOUVENT considéré la conquête arabe en Afrique du Nord comme une coupure totale entre deux ... more O N A SOUVENT considéré la conquête arabe en Afrique du Nord comme une coupure totale entre deux phases complètement différentes de l'his-toire de cette contrée, comme si les provinces africaines avaient perdu du jour au lendemain leur identité romaine pour recouvrer une nouvelle identité orientale. Ce n'est plus l'Afrique, c'est désormais le Maghreb, aile occidentale du califat arabe. Or, il semble qu'en réalité, cette transition n'était pas aussi brutale, et qu'on a souvent minimisé le poids du passé en se focalisant sur les nouveautés imposées par le fait islamique 1. La démarche qui s'impose est de faire la part de l'héritage antique, princi-palement byzantin, et celle des nouveaux apports arabes, d'essayer de montrer la prédominance de l'un ou l'autre facteur, de mettre en évidence aussi leur symbiose, s'il y en a une. On tachera d'examiner ce phénomène à partir de la recherche des signes de continuité et de changement dans les découpages administratifs entre les provinces byzantines et l'Ifriqiya arabe. * Université de Tunis. 1. La notion géographique de Pars occidentalis existait déjà chez les auteurs latins.
Actes du quatrième colloque international du Département d'archéologie à Kairouan : Montagne et plaine dans le bassin méditerranéen, 2015
L 'un des problèmes posés par le site de Jebel Oust est celui de son nom antique, qui demeure tou... more L 'un des problèmes posés par le site de Jebel Oust est celui de son nom antique, qui demeure toujours inconnu. Cette étude part d'une enquête toponymique dans la région de la basse vallée de l'Oued Melianeet propose des pistes envisageables pour identifier le toponyme antique de ce site. A défaut de documents nouveaux, l'approche suivie s'appuie essentiellement sur de nouvelles interprétations lexicales et sémantiques de quelques toponymes antiques et modernes de la région. I/ L'étymologie du toponyme arabe «Jebel el Oust» : Dans le toponyme Jebel el Oust (ـط الوسـ ,)جبل le mot « el Oust » est une forme francisée de la transcription du mot arabe «al wasat 1 , qui veut dire en arabe classique comme dialectal : le milieu. Ce mot est d'ailleurs transcrit de plusieurs façons : Wast, Wost, West, Ouast, Ouesth, Lust, etc. C'est probablement pour éviter toute confusion avec le mot « ouest » que les Français, à la fin du XIX e siècle**, ont opté pour la forme 'Oust'. Mais, quelques soit la forme retenue, la conception du mot arabe est la même, toujours en relation avec une position médiane. C'est ainsi que V. Guérin avait traduit, en 1862, Jebel el Oust (Djebel-el-Ouesth) par « la montagne du milieu » 2. Mais comme il s'agit, en fait, d'une petite montagne, d'altitude assez basse (396 m) et d'extension assez réduite (environ 5x2km), il serait pluscorrecte de traduire ce toponyme par le «mont du milieu» ou encore mieux « le mont médian ». Comment expliquer cette épithète de 'médian' ? L'attribut arabe « al oust » (al-wasat)indique sémantiquement, une situation médiane par rapport à d'autres éléments. Dans notre cas, ça seraient ou bien des éléments de reliefs ou des villes ou autres choses. Mais, on cherchait en vain sur le terrain une telle position intermédiaire pour Jebel el Oust. Ce mont n'occupe en aucune façon une position médiane quelconque, à moins de considérer la situation de ce mont par rapport aux plaines qui l'entourent. C'est-là, à mon sens, une 1 La semi-consonne bilabiale arabe we est transcrite par l'A.P.T (alphabet Phonétique International) par w, proche de la prononciation anglaise. 2 Guérin (V.), Voyage archéologique en Tunisie, II, p. 286.
North Africa under Byzantium and Early Islam, 2015
Guerre et religion dans le monde punique Guerre et religion dans le monde punique, 2017
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Papers by Mohmaed BENABBES
maǧūs was applied to them, stripped of all its primitive connotations in connection with Persian Zoroastrianism.
maǧūs was applied to them, stripped of all its primitive connotations in connection with Persian Zoroastrianism.