Muhsin Mahdi
Muḥsin Mahdī (born June 21, 1926 , † July 9, 2007 ) was an American Arabist and Islamic scholar of Iraqi origin. He was one of the leading authorities on Arab history, philology, and philosophy.
In 1954 he earned a doctorate in philosophy. From 1955 to 1957 he taught at the University of Baghdad , from 1957 to 1962 as an assistant professor of Arabic at the University of Chicago . Since 1965 he was Professor of Arabic and Islamic Studies at the University of Chicago. From 1969 to 1996 he was James Richard Jewett Professor of Arabic in the Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations at Harvard University .
His best-known work is the first critical edition of the Tales from the Arabian Nights . He also researched the works of the philosopher Alfarabi and the foundations of Islamic philosophy .
Works
- Ibn Khaldūn's philosophy of history: a study in the philosophic foundation of the science of culture . G. Allen and Unwin, London 1957 (English, first edition: 1954, university thesis, Persian فلسفۀ تاريخ ابن خلدون Falsafah-ʼi tārīkh-i Ibn Khaldūn ).
- Husain Haddawy: The Arabian nights - based on the text of the fourteent-century Syrian manuscript edited by Muhsin Mahdi (= Everyman's Library . Volume 87 ). Knopf, New York 1992, ISBN 0-679-41338-3 .
- Claudia Ott: A thousand and one nights . 12th edition. CH Beck, Munich 2018, ISBN 978-3-406-72291-2 (German edition).
- with others: Avicenna. In: Encyclopaedia Iranica. Volume III / 1, London / New York 1989, pp. 66–110 ( digitized , December 30, 2012).
Web links
- Steven J. Lenzner: To Unsurpassed Scholar on weeklystandard.com
- Kurzbiographie (English)
- Twelve FAS Faculty Members to Retire
- Muhsin Mahdi, other works
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Mahdi, Muhsin |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Mahdi, Muhsin; Mahdi, Muhsin S .; Mahdī, Muḥsin |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American Arabist and Islamic scholar of Iraqi origin |
| DATE OF BIRTH | June 21, 1926 |
| DATE OF DEATH | July 9, 2007 |