En el año 802, un elefante llegó a la corte del emperador Carlomagno en Aquisgrán, enviado como regalo por el califa abasí Harun al-Rashid. Este momento extraordinario fue parte de un conjunto mucho más amplio de relaciones diplomáticas entre la dinastía carolingia y el mundo islámico. El Emperador y el Elefante ofrece una nueva explicación de estas relaciones. Al recurrir a fuentes árabes que ayudan a explicar cómo y por qué los gobernantes musulmanes se involucraron con Carlomagno y su familia, Sam Ottewill-Soulsby ofrece una nueva perspectiva sobre un tema que hasta ahora ha estado dominado y visto a través de fuentes occidentales.
Breve descrição
No ano de 802, um elefante chegou à corte do imperador Carlos Magno em Aachen, enviado como presente pelo califa abássida Harun al-Rashid. Este momento extraordinário fez parte de um conjunto muito mais amplo de relações diplomáticas entre a dinastia carolíngia e o mundo islâmico. O Imperador e o Elefante oferece uma nova explicação dessas relações. Baseando-se em fontes árabes que ajudam a explicar como e porque é que os governantes muçulmanos se envolveram com Carlos Magno e a sua família, Sam Ottewill-Soulsby oferece uma nova perspectiva sobre um assunto que até agora tem sido dominado e visto através de fontes ocidentais.
Full description
In the year 802, an elephant arrived at the court of the Emperor Charlemagne in Aachen, sent as a gift by the ʿAbbasid Caliph, Harun al-Rashid. This extraordinary moment was part of a much wider set of diplomatic relations between the Carolingian dynasty and the Islamic world, including not only the Caliphate in the east but also Umayyad al-Andalus, North Africa, the Muslim lords of Italy and a varied cast of warlords, pirates and renegades. The Emperor and the Elephant offers a new account of these relations. By drawing on Arabic sources that help explain how and why Muslim rulers engaged with Charlemagne and his family, Sam Ottewill-Soulsby provides a fresh perspective on a subject that has until now been dominated by and seen through western sources.
The Emperor and the Elephant demonstrates the fundamental importance of these diplomatic relations to everyone involved. Charlemagne and Harun al-Rashid’s imperial ambitions at home were shaped by their dealings abroad. Populated by canny border lords who lived in multiple worlds, the long and shifting frontier between al-Andalus and the Franks presented both powers with opportunities and dangers, which their diplomats sought to manage.
Tracking the movement of envoys and messengers across the Pyrenees, the Mediterranean and beyond, and the complex ideas that lay behind them, this book examines the ways in which Christians and Muslims could make common cause in an age of faith.
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