From Diyārāt to Ziyārāt

Abstract

This essay explores the relationship between two geographical and literary genres, the diyārāt (Books of Monasteries), which disappeared in the 11th century, and the ziyārāt (shrine pilgrimage guides), which appeared in the 13th century. The relationship is discussed in the context of the transformation of the Syrian sacred landscape, which became thoroughly Islamized through the erection of Islamic public buildings including shrines and mausolea between the 11th–13th centuries. I argue that these two genres had a similar function of spatially inscribing the political order through the invitation to liminal practices in the marginal sites of the monastery and the Islamic shrine/mausoleum. The diyārāt registered the caliphal order and courtly culture, while the ziyārāt served to sanctify the professional scholar whose authority emerged in the post-caliphal sultanic age.