An Arab's Journey to Colonial Spanish America: The Travels of Elias Al-M皛ili in the Seventeenth Century (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9780815632665)

In 1905, the Jesuit scholar Ant甁 Rabb穰 discovered the writings of Elias al-M皛ili in a Jacobite diocese in Aleppo, Syria. Al-M皛ili, a seventeenth-century Arab and a priest of the Chaldean Church, traveled widely across colonial Spanish America, becoming the first person to visit the Americas from Baghdad. Rabb穰 transcribed into Arabic and published those portions relating to al-M皛ili's travels.

Surrounded by a world seemingly filled with exotic miracles, al-M皛ili shares his perceptions of native peoples and their customs, beliefs, and treatment by Spanish conquistadors. Because of the uniqueness and significance of his journey, al-M皛ili was supported by the pope and authorized by the queen regent of Spain. He provides thoughtful descriptions of high-level officials and clerics in the New World and rare insight on a voyage that would turn into a twelve-year adventure.

Acclaimed Middle Eastern historian Farah is the first to make these writings available in English translation, providing an invaluable document for scholars of Middle Eastern history and of the church in Latin America.

Author: Caesar E. Farah
ISBN-10: 0815632665
ISBN-13: 9780815632665
Publisher: Syracuse University Press
Language: English
Published: 09/15/2011
Pages: 158
Format: Paperback
Weight: 0.43lbs
Size: 8.54h x 5.59w x 0.38d