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Abdullah Alabduljabbar (King Saud University, Riyadh)
Classical Sources and the Arabian Peninsula
This paper represents the ongoing project that aims at translating into Arabic all
written account about the Arabian Peninsula from the classical sources. It covers
the period from the fifth century B.C to the sixth century A. D. It traces the ancient
writing about Arabia and its people from the time of Herodotus to that of Procopius.
It is a part of the project of translating intoArabic all passages from the classical and
Byzantine sources that are relevant to theArabian Peninsula before Islam. The project
is sponsored by King Abdulaziz Foundation for Research and Archives, a nonprofit
organization that is based in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.The purpose of initiating the
translation of the works of classical writers is to give theArabic readers, researchers,
students, or ordinary readers, a firsthand access to the first western literature about
the Arabian Peninsula.
So far as can be ascertain, no complete translation of all classical sources exists
inArabic, although there have been translation of some of the classical writers, such
as Herodotus. Moreover, anArabic translation of the classical sources has never been
attempted on a professional scale, which includes the original texts in Greek and
Latin. The project, in the endeavor to obtain a satisfactory translation, will seek to
consult most important literary, theological, and historical works related to Arabian
history before Islam. It will also assign translation of texts to professional in the
field of classical and ancient studies. The role of historian is confined to the notes,
to explain the personal and geographical names, and provide information about the
historical background, that are sufficient for the purposes of identification of the
value of the sources.
Секция I.
Источниковедение
и историография арабских стран
Historiography of Arab Countries
