The Ultimate Ambition in the Arts of Erudition - by Shihab al-Din al-Nuwayri

The Ultimate Ambition in the Arts of Erudition by Shihab al-Din al-Nuwayri, translated by Elias Muhanna: This book is a condensed translation of a 14th-century Arabic encyclopedia, Nihayat al-Arab fi Funun al-Adab, compiled by the Egyptian scholar al-Nuwayri. Spanning cosmology, history, poetry, and practical knowledge, it reflects the medieval Islamic world's intellectual ambition to catalog all human knowledge. Muhanna’s translation highlights its eclectic scope, offering insights into the cultural and scholarly richness of the Mamluk era.