The Medieval History Journal

The following study discusses the structure of time in apocalyptic discourse, taking as an example apocalyptic traditions of mainstream Sunni traditionalism in the classical age of Islam and the Islamic Middle Ages. The main material is drawn from the repertoire of traditions assembled in Baghdad by Nu‘aym b. zammad in A.D. 833-838, the first comprehensive collection of such traditions, and from eschatological history of al-Barazan -, completed in Mecca in A.D. 1665. This was a tradition of political quietism, but not unlike activist Muslim messianism, it provides a reading of past events and of events to come—the history of the future—as so many signs of the end of time in a perspective of salvation history.

About 100 cases of bleeding host miracles have been reported for Germany between 1300 and 1550. Received opinion asserts that these are Bavarian and overwhelmingly anti-Semitic. In fact there are a number of northern German cases, not all of them anti-Jewish libels. In several of these cases not only the miraculous hosts but also objects associated with them were displayed in churches, and some of the associated objects (cooking pots, nails, etc.) survived the Reformation, during which the hosts themselves were destroyed. Exploring several cases in which such associated objects figured prominently, this article suggests a number of reasons why they survived, and argues that their survival sheds light on the late medieval desire for, and ambivalence about, ‘holy matter.’

In this article I argue that history occupies pivotal position in the world-view and philosophy of life in the Chinese tradition. Chinese civilisation is deeply imbued with historical consciousness and its people are homo historiens in every sense. Historical thinking in traditional China is infused with a moral meaning. The notion of dao, that is, heavenly principle and human norm, stands at the centre of this consciousness. In view of its practical operation, Chinese historical thinking is on one hand concrete, and on the other, analogical; it enables communication with the past and extrapolation of meanings from history. In this way, historical experience in China becomes a library where contemporary readers may engage in creative dialogues with the past.

This article is a biographical study of the alchemist and tantrik siddha Iramatevar alias Yakoppu based on his original work in medieval Tamil. In the arduous process of knowledge acquisition and production Yakoppu took the remarkable step of visiting Mecca and converting to Islam. He was a prolific writer and in many works describes the imperative and mechanism of the realigning of his personal identity in fascinating detail. The intrepid persona of Iramatevar or Yakoppu is not a simple juxta-position of two traditions, Hinduism and Islam, but a veritable alchemical symbiosis.

For the sultans of Delhi control of Bayana in eastern Rajasthan was a key to securing their southern territories from the local Hindu rajas. The first part of the study here sets out the history from inscriptions, standing monuments, and contemporary texts. It looks beyond the fort and town and establishes the boundaries of the region, its resources and the ethnic origin of its Muslim population. The second part is planned to present the history from the time of Tīmūr’s invasion, and will deal with the rise of the autonomous local Auadī rulers, and the role of Bayana under the Lodīs, Sūrīs and early Mughals, and its eventual decline after the foundation of Agra, formerly one of its villages.