The 25th Arabic Papyrology Webclass: Living Together: The Merging of Cultures and Laws through Arabic Documents and Manuscripts from Toledo and Egypt (12th to 14th Centuries) (Winter Termin 25/26)

Permanent link to the Arabic Papyrology Webclass: http://www.naher-osten.lmu.de/apw.

General Description

• With the 12th century began the struggle for a "new world order," - the Crusaders, the Mongols-, in the East as well as in the West of the Islamicate World. In Egypt as well as the Iberian Peninsula, especially in Toledo, the impact of this struggle for a new world order changed society and led to social transformations that affected the different religious communities in one or other direction. By comparing the transformations that took place and the driving forces active in two different societies, parallels can be drawn and the mechanism of social transformation can be examined.
• This Webclass explores especially the merging of legal cultures as a mirror and factor of social transformation and interaction between Islamic and Christian milieus - within two distinct yet comparable contexts:
• Toledo, after the Christian conquest in 1085, where Arabic continued to be written and used in legal documentation for nearly 300 years. A wealth of over 1,000 Arabic Christian documents from the cathedral and city of Toledo - comprising wills, marriage contracts, sales agreements, and donations - will be studied. These documents reflect a unique blending of Byzantine, Visigothic, and Islamic legal traditions.
• Medieval Egypt, where Coptic Christians actively engaged with the Islamic legal system. Numerous legal documents and Christian Arabic manuscripts containing Coptic Nomocanons reveal how Islamic law impacted and merged into Coptic Nomocanons. In particular, Islamic civil and inheritance law was integrated into the canon law of the Coptic Church between the 12th and 14th centuries.
• The Webclass will focus on identifying the various legal traditions present in the legal sources while analyzing the socio-political factors that drove this legal fusion. We will explore how these transformations affected different religious communities, with special attention to shifts in socio-political power dynamics and the legal status of women. The aim is to obtain a clear picture of the socio-political reality and driving forces in both societies.
• Themes include:
• The role of women in merged legal systems
• Conversion and its legal implications
• Inclusion and exclusion of religious and social groups
• The agents behind legal transformations and their motivations
• Broader socio-political and economic forces shaping these processes
• The course also aims to encourage reflection on modern-day legal pluralism by drawing parallels between historical and contemporary societies, and considering potential solutions for legal challenges in pluralistic contexts.
• Course Structure
• Hour 1: Group discussion based on assigned readings exploring the socio-political transformations of this historical period.
• Hour 2: Hands-on work with Arabic documents and manuscripts, including reading, analysis, and translation. This comprises examining palaeographic features, typologies, vocabulary, and notarial practices.
• Note: Students without knowledge of Arabic are welcome to attend the first session of each class.
• Optional final Workshop with visit to the Archives in Toledo, Spain. To be arranged with the participants of the Webclass (January or February 2026).

Mode

• This is an on-line webclass. Scans of documents will be made accessible in advance.
• Communication will be in English. 

Lecturer 

• Dr. Rocio Daga Portillo, LMU Munich, Institut for Near and Middle Eastern Studies
• In collaboration with Prof. Dr. Ignacio Sánchez, University Castilla-La Mancha, Escuela de Traductores de Toledo

Time

• Wednesday, 4:15 - 6:00 PM (Central European Time); time might be changed, if all participants agree.
• 15 October 2025 – 4 February 2026, no teaching on 31 December 2025.

Certificate

• A certificate of participation will be given if students have attended at least twelve meetings and if they have met the expectations as defined at the beginning of the semester.
• The Arabic Papyrology Webclass forms part of the Webinar Initiative in Islamic Material Culture (https://www.islamic-material-culture.uni-hamburg.de). 

Participants

• This Webclass is designed for students of Arabic and Islamic Studies, Middle Eastern Cultures and History, Medieval Studies, and Christian Arabic Studies.

Fees

• 250 Euro or an equivalent amount of working time.
• No fees for students of Near and Middle Eastern Studies at LMU Munich, Universität Bonn, Universität Hamburg, and New York University.

Technical Issues

• Technical problems arising during the semester that prevent students from attending the class are the students’ own responsibility; therefore, missed classes will not be substituted. However, if a technical event prevents all students from participating, the class will be substituted. Further information and registration

Further Information and Registration

• To register, please submit a CV and an email outlining your motivation for joining the Webclass to rociodaga at lmu.de with name, academic affiliation and current position.
• Register until 30 September 2025. The webclass usually fills up quickly.

Readings

• (to be announced)

Former webclasses

• 1: Letters from Quṣayr, by Andreas Kaplony (Fall Term 2007)
• 2: Early Letters [from the Yale Collection], by Andreas Kaplony (Spring Term 2008)
• 3: Arabic Contracts of Renting and Buying Real Estate, by Andreas Kaplony(Fall Term 2008)
• 4: Bilingual Greek and Arabic Documents, by Andreas Kaplony and Raffaele Luiselli, Florence (Spring Term 2009)
• 5: Petitions to and Letters from Mamluk Officials, by Andreas Kaplony (Fall Term 2009)
• 6: Authentification Procedures on Arabic Coins, Seals and Letters from Mamluk Officials, by Andreas Kaplony and Lutz Ilisch, Tübingen (Spring Term 2010)
• 7: Documentary Evidence on Childhood, by Andreas Kaplony (Fall Term 2010)
• 8: Lists, Registers, Accounts, by Andreas Kaplony (Summer Term 2011)
• 9: Documents from al-Andalus, by Andreas Kaplony (Winter Term 2011/12)
• 10: Documents from Edfu, by Andreas Kaplony (Winter Term 2012/13)
• 11: Documents from the Berlin Collection, by Andreas Kaplony (Winter Term 2013/14)
• 12: Documents on Rural Egypt, by Andreas Kaplony (Summer Term)
• 13: Petitions on Paper, by Andreas Kaplony (Winter Term 2014/15)
• 14: Documents on Marriage and Divorce, by Andreas Kaplony (Winter Term/16)
• 15: Papyrus Letters from Umayyad and Abbasid Egypt, by Andreas Kaplony (Summer Term 2017)
• 16: Arabic Documents Referring to Jerusalem, by Andreas Kaplony (Summer Term 2018)
• 17: Merchants, Mules, and Misunderstandings: Commercial Letters on Papyrus and Paper, by Ursula Bsees (Summer Term 2020)
• 18: Formal Types and Paleographical Features of Arabic Documents, by Eugenio Garosi (Summer Term 2021)
• 19: A Society in Transition: Property and Law in Arabic Documents from Toledo (11th-14th Centuries), by Rocio Daga Portillo and Andreas Kaplony (Winter Term 2021/22)
• 20: Reading Documents from Rural Fayyūm, by Andreas Kaplony (Winter Term 2022/23)
• 21: Emotions and Legal Norms in Christian and Islamic Legal Documents: Women and Families Through the Prism of Legal Practice, by Rocio Daga Portillo (Summer Term 2023)
• 22: Lending and Borrowing in Fatimid Egypt, by Leonora Sonego (Winter Term 2023/24)
• 23: A Papyrological Circular Economy: Recycling Arabic Documents, by Eugenio Garosi (Winter Term 2024/25)
• 24: Arabic Papyrus Letters (1st-4th/ 7th to 10th Cent.): Style and Phraseology, by Khaled Younes (Summer Term 2025)