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Book/Printed Material The Generations of the Nations, or the Descendants of Humanity.

About this Item

Title

  • The Generations of the Nations, or the Descendants of Humanity.

Summary

  • Ṭabaqāt al-umam aw Al-salāʼil al-basharīyah (The generations of the nations, or The descendants of humanity) is an ambitious work of ethnography and anthropology, aimed at describing human societies in both their historical development and contemporary features. The book was published in 1912 by the Hilāl printing house of Cairo. Its author, Jirjī Zaydān, was born in Beirut in 1861 and studied medicine at the local American University. He later completed his literary and philosophical education in Cairo, before returning to Lebanon, where he studied Hebrew and Syriac. Zaydān worked as a journalist for the newspapers Al-Muqtaṭaf and Al-Hilāl, and his works include books on the philosophy of language and on Arabic rhetoric. In the book presented here, he offers an overview of historical and contemporary societies from all over the world. The book opens with chapters on the geological eras of the earth, the origin of man, and prehistoric societies. Zaydān devotes several chapters to the invention of writing and to the use of different systems of numeration in early civilizations. Subsequent chapters deal briefly with historical and modern societies, including ancient Egypt, the Sumerians, Akkadians, Mongols, Native Americans, Mayans, Aztecs, and modern Western societies. For each of these societies, Zaydān offers an overview of their customs, main discoveries, religious and philosophical beliefs, and literary production.

Names

  • Zaydān, Jirjī, 1861-1914 Author.

Created / Published

  • Cairo : Maṭbaʻat al-Hilāl, 1912.

Headings

  • -  50000 B.C. to 1899
  • -  Anthropology
  • -  Aztecs
  • -  Civilization
  • -  Ethnography
  • -  Indians of Central America
  • -  Indians of North America
  • -  Indigenous peoples
  • -  Mayas
  • -  Mongols
  • -  Number concept
  • -  Sumerians
  • -  Writing--History

Notes

  • -  Title devised, in English, by Library staff.
  • -  Original resource extent: 286 pages ; 24 centimeters.
  • -  Original resource at: Qatar National Library.
  • -  Content in Arabic.
  • -  Description based on data extracted from World Digital Library, which may be extracted from partner institutions.

Medium

  • 1 online resource.

Digital Id

Library of Congress Control Number

  • 2021666246

Online Format

  • compressed data
  • pdf
  • image

Additional Metadata Formats

IIIF Presentation Manifest

Rights & Access

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Credit Line: [Original Source citation], World Digital Library

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Cite This Item

Citations are generated automatically from bibliographic data as a convenience, and may not be complete or accurate.

Chicago citation style:

Zaydān, Jirjī, Author. The Generations of the Nations, or the Descendants of Humanity. Cairo: Maṭbaʻat al-Hilāl, 1912. Pdf. https://www.loc.gov/item/2021666246/.

APA citation style:

Zaydān, J. (1912) The Generations of the Nations, or the Descendants of Humanity. Cairo: Maṭbaʻat al-Hilāl. [Pdf] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/2021666246/.

MLA citation style:

Zaydān, Jirjī, Author. The Generations of the Nations, or the Descendants of Humanity. Cairo: Maṭbaʻat al-Hilāl, 1912. Pdf. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/2021666246/>.