- Title Pages
- Dedication
- Figures
- Tables
- Acknowledgments
- Notes on the Text
- Epigraph
- 1 Introduction
- I: Geography
- 2 Imagining the Nile
- 3 The Pre-Islamic Nile Delta
- 4 The Western Delta in the Islamic Era
- 5 The Eastern Delta in the Islamic Era
- 6 The Bahr Yusuf
- II: Navigation
- 7 The Nile Flood Cycle
- 8 Propulsion
- 9 Local Hazards
- 10 Nile Journey Times
- 11 Onward Connections
- III: Ports and the Navigational Landscape
- 12 The Ports of Fustat and Cairo
- 13 Ports of the Western Delta
- 14 Ports of the Eastern Delta
- 15 Ports of the Red Sea
- 16 Conclusion
- Appendix 1: Historical Cartography
- Appendix 2: Geographic Reconstructions
- Appendix 3: Gazetteer of Delta place names mentioned by Ibn Hawqal and al-Idrisi
- References
- Index
Introduction
Introduction
- Chapter:
- (p.1) 1 Introduction
- Source:
- The Medieval Nile
- Author(s):
John P. Cooper
- Publisher:
- American University in Cairo Press
This introductory chapter contextualises the subject of Nile navigation within the scholarly fields of Egyptian and maritime archaeology. It highlights the under-studied nature of the Nile as a navigated landscape, and explores the reasons for that omission – pointing to Orientalist historical narratives, a preoccupation with site-based terrestrial archaeology, maritime archaeology’s historical emphasis on boats and scuba-based activity, and the impact of the Aswan High Dam on our awareness of the Nile flood cycle. It outlines the three-part structure of the book, which in turn addresses medieval Nile geography; the navigational experience; and the placement of ports within the navigated landscape.
Keywords: Egypt, Nile, Delta, Archaeology, Geography, Cultural Landscape, Navigation
Cairo Scholarship Online requires a subscription or purchase to access the full text of books within the service. Public users can however freely search the site and view the abstracts and keywords for each book and chapter.
Please, subscribe or login to access full text content.
If you think you should have access to this title, please contact your librarian.
To troubleshoot, please check our FAQs , and if you can't find the answer there, please contact us .
- Title Pages
- Dedication
- Figures
- Tables
- Acknowledgments
- Notes on the Text
- Epigraph
- 1 Introduction
- I: Geography
- 2 Imagining the Nile
- 3 The Pre-Islamic Nile Delta
- 4 The Western Delta in the Islamic Era
- 5 The Eastern Delta in the Islamic Era
- 6 The Bahr Yusuf
- II: Navigation
- 7 The Nile Flood Cycle
- 8 Propulsion
- 9 Local Hazards
- 10 Nile Journey Times
- 11 Onward Connections
- III: Ports and the Navigational Landscape
- 12 The Ports of Fustat and Cairo
- 13 Ports of the Western Delta
- 14 Ports of the Eastern Delta
- 15 Ports of the Red Sea
- 16 Conclusion
- Appendix 1: Historical Cartography
- Appendix 2: Geographic Reconstructions
- Appendix 3: Gazetteer of Delta place names mentioned by Ibn Hawqal and al-Idrisi
- References
- Index
