Skip to content

Al-Jahiz

by James E. Montgomery

Cover of Al-Jahiz

Al-Jahiz was a bibliomaniac, theologian, and spokesman for the political and cultural elite, a writer who lived, counselled and wrote in Iraq during the first century of the 'Abbasid caliphate. 'In Praise of Books' explores the centrality of books to Al-Jahiz's work and to the society he lived in.

JahizBooks and readingArabic literatureHistory and criticismIntellectual lifeBibliophilieLiterature