With a comprehensive account of the French expedition
Merveilles biographiques et historiques; ou, Chroniques du Cheikh Abd-el-Rahman el Djabarti [...].
Small folio (188 x 278 mm). 9 volumes. X, 334; 309, (3); 276, (2); 298, (2); 235, (3); 328, (2); 429, (3); 382, (2); 335, (1) pp. Contemporary half leather over marbled boards.
€ 3,500.00
First French edition. Translation of the "'Aja'ib al-athar fi al-tarajim wa-al-akhbar" by 'Abd al-Rahman Jabarti (1754-1822): an important chronicle and source collection for the period of Ottoman rule in Egypt, an era largely marked by a dearth of historical sources from the inhabitants of the country. Jabarti's history is of particular importance for the early 19th century and the time of the French expedition, of which he gives a comprehensive account, as well as for the beginning of the regency of Muhammad Ali Pasha. Because of Jabarti's severely critical view of Muhammad Ali and his reign, the work was long banned in Egypt, and only after the accession of the Khedive Tewfiq did it see its first complete publication and translation (by Chefik Mansour bey, Abdulaziz Kalil bey, Gabriel Nicolas Kalil bey, and Iskender Ammoun effendi).
"The Cairo gentleman Al-Jabarti provides a remarkable, lucid and nuanced account on the French occupation in Egypt" (Fierro, 2).
A few insignificant edge tears or chips; a few paper flaws professionally repaired. Spines rubbed and scuffed; spine-ends chipped or repaired. Generally a very finely preserved set of this rare and important work on Egypt.
OCLC 2513833. Not in Ibrahim-Hilmy.
