(University of Arizona)
Abstract:
The Circle of Justice has often been regarded as a literary device, unknown to the majority of the people. Linda Darling's new book, A History of Social Justice and Political Power in the Middle East: The Circle of Justice from Mesopotamia to Globalization, reveals that the ideas comprising the Circle have been known since at least the third millennium BCE. This talk will discuss not only how the idea was transmitted and translated in the many literatures of the region, but also the role of these ideas in the political activities of peoples, individuals, and groups as well as rulers and administrators. It will also explore how the Circle in the Ottoman context changed its function according to the changing shape of politics over the centuries.
P.S.: The seminar will be held in English.