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The Khārijites are usually regarded as the first faction to separate from the early Islamic community. They are viewed as rebels and heretics, constituting the first sect within early Islam. This thesis seeks to examine the narrative role and function of Khārijism in the historiographical tradition of the formative period of Islam. To that end, it looks at the major Islamic chronicles of the 3rd and 4th centuries AH/9th and 10th centuries CE and investigates their portrayal of Khārijite history. The analysis covers the period from the apparent emergence of the Khārijites at the Battle of Ṣiffīn in 37 AH/657 CE until the death of the Umayyad caliph ʿAbd al-Malik b. Marwān in 86 AH/705 CE. The thesis’ methodological approach is based on the premise that the historiographical works under study need to be approached as literary artefacts, as texts rather than databanks that can be mined for hard facts in order to reconstruct early Islamic and thus Khārijite history ‘as it really was’. This literary analysis of the source material on Khārijism leads to two major conclusions: first, there is hardly any narrative substance to the Khārijites as presented in the sources. Instead, the reports on Khārijite activities are mostly made up of structural components such as names and dates on the one hand, and topoi and schemata on the other. Consequently, no distinct and tangible identity, literary or otherwise, emerges from the material, pointing out the pitfalls of positivist approaches to Khārijite history and by extension early Islamic history in general. This phenomenon is directly connected to the second conclusion: the historiographical sources approach Khārijism not as an end in itself, but as a narrative tool with which to illustrate, discuss and criticize other actors and subject matters. The thesis is divided into six chapters. Chapters One and Two address those characteristics of and topoi in the representation of Khārijism that pervade the source material across the entire period investigated here. It emerges that the historiographers’ major concern in the depiction of Khārijism is the discussion of the perils of the rebels’ militant piety that threatens the unity and stability of the Islamic community. Chapters Three to Five look at the periods of ʿAlī’s caliphate, Muʿāwiya’s rule and the second fitna as well as t he reign of ʿAbd al-Malik, respectively, and identify the specific narrative purposes of Khārijism in the portrayal of each period. Chapter Six offers a number of observations on the early historiographical tradition as derived from the analysis over the preceding five chapters, addressing issues such as whether it makes sense to distinguish between proto-Sunnī and proto-Shīʿī sources. The Conclusion summarizes the main findings of this thesis and provides some suggestions regarding future research on Khārijite history and thought as well as early Islamic history in general.

Beaucoup de collègues et d’amis, de part et d’autre de la Méditerranée, sont impatients de lire le volume que nous avons dirigé avec Patrice Cressier et Sophie Gilotte sur Sedrata, histoire et archéologique d’un carrefour du Sahara médiéval. Il est terminé, a été relu et approuvé par deux examinateurs anonymes, et se trouve donc en … Continuer la lecture de Où en est le volume sur Sedrata ? →

"Book review: The Ibadis in the Region of the Indian Ocean. Section One : East Africa, written by Heinz Gaube" published on 04 Mar 2015 by Brill.

"Book review: Oman and Overseas éd. Michaela Hoffmann-Ruf et Abdulrahman al-Salimi, written by Oman and Overseas" published on 04 Mar 2015 by Brill.

More than 500 km, from the Mediterranean coast to the Hammada al-Hamra, were surveyed in 2002-'03 along the AGIP-Gas pipeline. Several morphological units were crossed: the Jefara, the Jebel Gharbi and the Hammada al-Hamra. This paper reports the location of more than 60 surface sites, with special attention to Lower and Middle Stone Age assemblages, by far the most represented periods. More than 6,500 lithic artifacts have been collected spanning from Mode 1 to the Late Stone Age. The survey was carried out on foot, along a narrow band of around 50 m width for 80 % of the pipeline, representing an extraordinary sample from the coast to the northern desert and, more extensively, in the Wafa area on the Hammada plateau, where stone quarries, fireplaces and important lithic scatters were documented. On the whole, the assemblages, compared with the main Stone Age sites of Northern Africa, seem older in the very southern sector, well into the Hammada, whereas sites on the Jebel cliff and immediately south are dominated by Middle and Late Stone Age cultural traits. The survey proved to be both a good tool for planning development projects and an important occasion for the study of a relevant region of Northern African prehistory. Plus de 500 km du gazoduc AGIP ont été prospectés en 2002-'03, de la côte méditerranéenne jusqu'à la Hammada al-Hamra, sur plusieurs unités morphologiques: Jefara, Jebel Gharbi, Hammada al-Hamra. Cette prospection a permis de décrire plus de 60 gisements de surface, la plupart attribués au Paléolithique inférieur et moyen (phases culturelles le plus fréquemment rencontrées). Plus de 6500 artefacts lithiques ont ainsi été récoltés, de l'Oldowayen au Late Stone Age. La prospection s'est faite à pied, le long d'une bande étroite de 50 m sur 4/5 du parcours, ce qui représente un échantillon extraordinaire, de la côte jusqu'au désert septentrional, et plus en détail dans la région de Wafa, sur le plateau de l'Hammada, où des ateliers de taille, foyers et autres sites de surface ont été trouvés. Les sites sembleraient plus anciens dans la partie méridionale du secteur, bien à l'intérieur de la Hammada. Sur les abords du Jebel, et immédiatement au Sud, les sites du Pleistocène supérieur dominent, Middle et Late Stone Age. Le potentiel archéologique de cette région est analysé dans le cadre de la préhistoire paléolithique nord-africaine.

This paper explores the history of the Chinese porcelain trade in Oman with the aim of gauging the impact of these wares on Oman's religious architecture. The large quantities of porcelain surface finds from the interior and the comparatively unusual reliance on them for the decoration of prayer niches, in the presence of equally valuable wares from Persia and elsewhere, suggest an elevated status for these objects, which is not necessarily a product of their immediate monetary value. Chemical and stylistic analyses were carried out to determine the dates and provenance of the ceramics studied, with the aim of gaining a better understanding of their introduction into the Omani market and their relation to religious design schemes.

The Sultanate of Oman is one of the few "good news" stories to have emerged from the Middle East in recent memory. This book traces the narrative of a little-known and relatively stable Arab country whose history of independence, legacy of interaction with diverse cultures, and enlightened modern leadership have transformed it in less than fifty years from an isolated medieval-style potentate to a stable, dynamic, and largely optimistic country.At the heart of this fascinating story is Oman’s sultan, Qaboos bin Sa’id, friend to both East and West, whose unique leadership style has resulted in both domestic and foreign policy achievements during more than four decades in office.Exploring Oman from a historical perspective, Funsch examines how the country’s unique blend of tradition and modernization has enabled it to succeed while others in the region have failed. Accounts of the author’s own experiences with Oman’s transformation add rich layers of depth, texture, and personality to the narrative.

It is 1964, a month after independence celebrations in the spice islands of Zanzibar, off the east coast of Africa. A brutal uprising takes place apparently led by a shadowy figure, John Okello. In the capital, Stone Town, a British official, Mark Hamilton, struggles to help the Sultan's government survive while protecting his young family. In the countryside, Ahmed al-Ibrahim, a Zanzibari Arab father, faces annihilation and a terrible decision. Fatima is his twelve-year-old daughter, and her life is changed forever by the violence that now sweeps across the islands. Fatima's survival through this chaos and the thirty years of rule by despotic Presidents takes all her courage and the kindness of other families. Elizabeth, Mark Hamilton's young daughter, also remembers the day of the Revolution and their escape across the seas. Her story too is touched by tragedy. Fatima and Elizabeth are connected in a way that takes almost fifty years to be revealed. Elizabeth will return to Zanzibar to fulfil her father's final request. The life journeys of the two women are different. The common link is the day of the Revolution and the act of a desperate man.

The Sultan's Spymaster tells the story of Peera Dewjee, an Ismaili merchant who crossed from India to Zanzibar as a boy. Later he became Sultan Barghash's barber and valet, where he became a confidant to the Sultan and a trusted advisor. Peera Dewjee acted behind the scenes during momentous events in the history of Zanzibar and East Africa - the closing of the slave markets and imperial expansion by Germany and Great Britain. The Sultan's Spymaster displays 16 pages of rare photographs from Zanzibar as well as numerous old line drawings in the text of the book itself.

La crise du tourisme est, aujourd’hui, une triste réalité à Djerba. Il convient d’exploiter cette crise pour panser les maux endémiques dont souffre l’île.