Rocznik Orientalistyczny/Yearbook of Oriental Studies

The article presents the two known Poland-related statements by the Hungarian Orientalist Arminius Vámbéry (1832–1913), who explained his opinion on the possible independence of a Polish state twice – in 1898 and 1906. In 1898, he was interviewed by the Budapest correspondent of the Kraków-based Polish newspaper Nowa Reforma. In 1906, he answered an international survey by the cultural journal Krytyka, based in Kraków as well. Vámbéry’s answer to the question of whether Poland should gain independence once again was positive. Still, he justified the necessity of Polish independence not with the interests of the Polish people but with Europe’s wish to be protected from the Russian Empire: to Vámbéry’s mind, an independent Poland should serve as Europe’s bulwark against the Russian enemy. Vámbéry’s fear of the Russian Empire might be in line with his previous views on the Great Game, the rivalry between the Russian Empire and Great Britain on influence in Central Asia, and the European public opinion at the end of the 19th century.

This paper is based on examining a limited number of Arab–Berber sources whose main objective is to highlight that the Muslim West (Maghreb – al-Andalus) constituted a multilingual geographical space. First, I will look at the question of the Almoravids and the mastery of languages in a context of power. Then, I will raise the question of the linguistic skills of the sovereigns in al-Andalus. After this, I will give some details on the Berber language in the Marinid Maghreb. Finally, I will propose some brief conclusions of a provisional nature, emphasizing the interest of the study of linguistic uses and cultural contacts in the Muslim West in the Middle Ages.

In and around the 13th century, two eastern authors describe the island of Sicily from different perspectives but with the common purpose of linking it to the Arab and Islamic world it had belonged to. Both describe the place with varied images which combine the real physical aspects with fantasy, and which show natural landscapes, both urban and rural, dominated by the presence of the great volcano. The study of this island using its landscapes as a key allows us to investigate the ideological processes of the authors who describe it. Al-Qazwīnī and Al-Harawī undertake a literary itinerary in which the images of idealization and Islamization or sanctification of the island are crystallised.

The Arab Republic of Egypt – the most important Middle Eastern Arabic country, is one of the oldest countries in the world, believed by some to be the cradle of civilization. Patriotic songs are very popular in it. They can be heard in times of peace and when the country may be facing some difficulties. They are shown on television, played on the radio, broadcast during official ceremonies, and used in social media, coffee shops, and weddings. In recent years, there has been something of a phenomenon around songs titled Taḥyā Maṣr. Notwithstanding the main messages – for Egypt to “live long” and show the artist’s love for their country – other messages and differences in how the singer expresses their love can be found. An analysis of six songs released in the years 2013–2018 under the same title, Taḥyā Maṣr, will be presented in this article. Any clear distinctions between them and the reasons for their being made under the same title will be shown.

The aim of the paper is to analyze the political trajectory of changes in Saudi Arabia during the reign of Prince Muhammad Ibn Salman and the effects it has on the traditional and conservative values of the Saudi kingdom. The point of reference for the prince’s reform policy is the Vision 2030 project of changes announced in 2016, which aims to maintain a balance between modernization, including economic reforms, privatization and cultural initiatives, on the one hand, and Islam and political authoritarianism on the other. The structure of my article is built around the hypothesis that assumes that the reformist policy of Muhammad Ibn Salman is aimed at improving the economic and social conditions of Saudi Arabia in order to obtain social legitimization and loyalty and in the long term to ensure regime survival and its stability. I have posed three research questions which are as follows: 1) Can traditionalism and modernization be combined? 2) What is the impact of the authoritarian regime on modernization policy? 3) How has the relationship between the political authority and the Wahhabi establishment changed?

The wave of revolutionary uprisings in a series of Arab countries in 2010/11 also encouraged a number of minorities in the MENA region to take to the streets and raise their voices against discrimination and marginalization. Parts of Kuwait’s stateless Bidun were among the subalterns who now began to call for their civil rights as long-term residents of the country. The protests began in 2011, were upheld sporadically until 2014, and resurfaced in mid-2019 following the suicide of a young Bidun. After a brief look at the historical background and context, this contribution will focus on the mobilization and activities of pro-Bidun organizations in recent years (2011–2014/15, 2018–19/20) and ask whether there are signs of a broader alliance between Bidun and Kuwaiti citizens to counter the increasingly authoritarian, anti-democratic governmental policies. It will be argued that as from 2018/19, a rapprochement of positions can be discerned. However, the year 2020 brought a new setback.

This paper comments on two Mesopotamian bricks belonging to collections of the Asia and Pacific Museum and the National Museum in Warsaw. Both bricks bear cuneiform inscriptions. The first was fashioned during the reign of the Ur king Amar-Suen (c. 2046–2038 BC) while the second is to be dated to the reign of the Neo-Assyrian king Shalmaneser III (858–824 BC). They commemorate building projects commissioned by these two Mesopotamian kings.

In his contribution, the author discusses the Yakut forms in the travelogue of the physician, botanist and geologist Johann Redowsky (1.1.1774–8.2.1807). The travelogue was recorded on the occasion of Count Yurii Aleksandrovich Golovkin’s diplomatic mission to China. Redowsky accompanied Golovkin representing the Academy of Sciences. The travel diary documents Redovsky’s journey from Irkutsk to Kamchatka in 1806–1807 and contains much ethnographic information about Tungus and Yakuts. Redowsky’s material is interesting because it contains lexemes that are not found elsewhere, or at least not in the form noted in the diary.