2020-21

The course deals with cultural matters, such as public and private education, schools for the public, academies, libraries, the circulation of manuscripts and printed matter, literary production, painting and music. Selected archival sources are discussed and analysed, with a view to students familiarizing themselves with archival sources.
Students may take an optional one-hour study session, whose aim is to familiarize them with archival sources in Greek.

The course deals with the life of Muhammad and his career as a religious, political and military leader (570-632). It examines the creation and the evolution of the first Islamic community, firstly in Mecca and later in Medina. Different aspects of pre-Islamic Arab society (religion, culture, economy, social stratification, racial organisation and others.) are analysed, as well as how they affected Islam and, in their turn, how they were affected by the new religion