An Arab's Journey to Colonial Spanish America: The Travels of Elias Al-Musili in the Seventeenth Century

In 1905, the Jesuit scholar Ant n Rabb t discovered the writings of Elias al-M sili in a Jacobite diocese in Aleppo, Syria. Al-M sili, 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 t transcribed into Arabic and published those portions relating to al-M sili's travels.

Surrounded by a world seemingly filled with exotic miracles, al-M sili 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 sili 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
Publisher: Syracuse University Press
Published: 11/01/2003
Pages: 117
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 0.76lbs
Size: 9.00h x 5.80w x 0.57d
ISBN: 9780815607908

Review Citation(s):
Reference and Research Bk News 02/01/2004 pg. 54

About the Author
Caesar E. Farah was professor of Middle Eastern and Islamic history at the University of Minnesota. He authored numerous books including Islam, The Sultan's Yemen: Nineteenth-Century Challenge to Ottoman Rule, and Arabs and Ottomans: A Checkered Relationship.