International records / OpenAlex research

Sīrat Banī Hilāl : introduction and notes to an Arab oral epic tradition

This poetic tradition which Egypt’s preeminent literary scholar, Ṭaha Hussein, recalls at the outset of his autobiography is one familiar through much of the Arab world—the sīra of the Banī Hilāl Bedouin tribe which chronicles the tribe’s massive migration from their homeland on the Arabian peninsula, their sojourn in Egypt, their conquest of North Africa, and their final defeat one hundred years later. The migration, the conquest, and the defeat are historical events which took place between the tenth and twelfth centuries A.D. From this skein of actual events Arabic oral tradition has woven …