Arabic Medieval Inscriptions from the Republic of Mali: Epigraphy, Chronicles and Songhay-Tuareg History: 4 (Fontes Historiae Africanae, New Series: Sources of African History) - Tapa dura

[Farias's] method is broadly inclusive in all its aspects, and effectively anticipates just about any question a reader might bring to it. (David Henige, History in Africa)

This book is unquestionably a masterpiece... This study is unique and its value and stature will surely grow and achieve a classic status in the years ahead. (Harry T. Norris, Libyan Studies)

[This] superb book ... illustrates wonderfully the multiplicity and the depth of Dr. Moraes Farias's talents, his erudition and his rigour. (Abdel Wedoud Ould Cheikh, Journal of African History)

This book is the brilliant achievement of over 30 years meticulous scholarship. It is carefully edited and contains Arabic transcriptions and English translations of 250 inscriptions, most of which are reproduced as plates and/or line drawings and have never been published before. (Richard Kuba, Journal of African Archaeology)

This analytical edition makes available a unique corpus of primary-source material and demonstrates its wide implications for African and Arabic studies.
Through Arabic transciptions, English translations, line-drawing reconstructions, and plate illustrations, the volume catalogues the large number of eleventh-fifteenth century Arabic-Islamic inscriptions from the Republic of Mali - including the earliest datable writing from West Africa.
Dr Moraes Farias uses this rich resource to reinterpret West African chronicles (including the Timbuktu Chronicle) and Tuareg and Songhay oral traditions. Challenging chauvinistic portrayals of the past, he demonstrates that the Tuareg and Songhay, peoples divided by civil war in the 1990s, in fact share a composite history.
Crucial for our understanding of West African history, this volume also discusses a wide range of linguistic and literary issues, and contributes to current debates about the nature of epigraphic evidence.