The Maqamat of al-Hamadhani: Manuscripts, Collection, and Early History

The Maqamat of Badi al-Zaman al-Hamadhani has been the subject of a large number of articles and monographs in the field of Arabic literature.  From the standpoint of literary history, the Maqamat of Hamadhani is, without question, one of the most important works of Middle Eastern literature.  In spite of the recognized importance of Hamadhani’s Maqamat, basic questions about the circumstances of the text’s authorship, collection, and transmission remain to be answered.  This paper demonstrates that there is still much important philological work to be done on the Maqamat by examining 40 witnesses to the text of Hamadhani’smaqamat.