| George Strachan of the Mearns: Seventeenth-Century Orientalist Contributor(s): McInally, Tom (Author) |
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ISBN: 1474466222 ISBN-13: 9781474466226 Publisher: Edinburgh University Press OUR PRICE: $114.00 Product Type: Hardcover Published: August 2020 |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - History | Europe - Great Britain - General - History | Modern - 16th Century - History | Middle East - General |
| Physical Information: 0.56" H x 6.14" W x 9.21" (1.06 lbs) 216 pages |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: This book examines the life of George Strachan (1572 - 1635), early 17th century Scottish Humanist scholar, Orientalist and traveller. The book draws on a wealth of newly discovered archival material to offer new insights into Strachan's life and work, as well as utilising recent scholarship on the relationship between the cultures and religions of East and West. The book explains the voyages that the Catholic exile took to many of the Catholic courts of Europe as a scholar and spy before turning eastwards to embark upon a 22 year journey around the Ottoman, Safavid and Mughal empires. By becoming fully literate in Arabic and Farsi he was able to gain a unique knowledge of Eastern societies. Strachan's collection of Arabic and Farsi texts on Islam, philosophy and humanities, which he translated and sent to Europe for the advancement of European knowledge of Islam and Islamic societies, became Strachan's real intellectual legacy. |
