Classical Studies 2900 Lecture Notes - Lecture 14: Aulus Gabinius, Saint Gabinus, Talmud

• School: Western University
• Department: Classical Studies
• Course: Classical Studies 2900
• Professor: Kelly Olson

Document Summary

Cleopatra was seen as a national heroine to the egyptians. She was known for her erudition (smartness), shrewdness, and beneficence (generosity). The arabic sources do not describe her looks like latin sources often do. Arab historians were fascinated by her personality instead, and described it at length: while the arabic sources describe her as a the virtuous scholar , the latin sources also do not describe her that way. Cleopatra appeared in almost all medieval arab sources on ancient egypt because she has a strong tradition and important place in arabic history. She was seen by the arabic historians as a strong, able monarch who made significant contributions in the field of alchemy, medicine, and mathematics. The historians site scientific books written by her as definitive works. They also believed that she wrote books on arabic history. The treatment of women in medieval arab sources was different from latin sources who viewed women as second class citizens.