Legal Documents as Sources for the History of Muslim Societies (SPUI25)

– In cooperation with the Faculty of Humanities –

The book launch of ‘Legal Documents as Sources for the History of Muslim Societies’, a tribute to the work of legal and social historian and Arabist Rudolph Peters (University of Amsterdam) which will be presented to him by the editors, contributors and colleagues.

Offering case studies from different periods and areas of the Muslim world, the book examines the use of legal documents for the study of the history of Muslim societies. From examinations of the conceptual status of legal documents to comparative studies of the development of legal formulae and the socio-economic or political historical information documents contain, the aim is to approach legal documents as specialised texts belonging to a specific social domain, while simultaneously connecting them to other historical sources. It discusses the daily functioning of legal institutions, the reflections of regime changes on legal documentation, daily life, and the materiality of legal documents. 

About the editors
Maaike van Berkel is professor of Medieval History at Radboud University. Her research focuses on the social and cultural history of Muslim societies, with a particular interest in literacy, court culture and urban organization.

Léon Buskens holds a chair for Law and Culture in Muslim societies at Leiden University and is director of the Netherlands  Institute in Morocco. His research focuses on Islamic law and society, and the anthropology of Muslim societies, with a particular interest in Morocco and Indonesia.

Petra Sijpesteijn is professor of Arabic at Leiden University. Her research concentrates on recovering the experience of Muslims and non-Muslims living under Islamic rule, using the vast stores of radically under-used documents surviving from the early Islamic world.

There will be additional speakers at the event, some of whom are a surprise to Rudolph Peters.

This book launch is organized in cooperation with Netherlands Interuniversity School for Islamic Studies, Leiden University Centre for the Study of Islam and Society, Amsterdam Centre for Middle Eastern Studies and Historical, Literary and Cultural Studies, Radboud University. 

Register
You can sign up for this program for free. If you subscribe for the program we count on your presence. If you are unable to attend, please let us know via spui25@uva.nl | T: +31 (0)20 525 8142.

More information, updates and registration: www.spui25.nl