Overview
I'm working on a political science discussion question and need an explanation and answer to help me learn.
1 - Scrutinize the map of al-Mansur's Round City in Baghdad closely. This is a map from an important book on medieval Baghdad published in 1900, so you might need to strain your eyes a little bit (apologies for that!) to pinpoint where each building is located based on the map legend. Use the legend on the second page of the PDF to get a sense of the general layout of the city.
What are 2-3 general observations/conclusions about the Round City you obtained after scrutinizing the map? Discuss each observation/conclusion briefly by referring to specific points on the map.
2 - The Art of Party Crashing was written by al-Khatib al-Baghdadi (1022-1071), an 11th-century Muslim religious scholar renowned for his expertise in hadith (sayings and actions of the Prophet Muhammad; more on this on Week 6) and Islamic law. Most of his written works are on hadith and Islamic law as well. His most famous work is the monumental History of Baghdad (Tarikh Baghdad), a compilation of close to 8,000 biographies of important individuals in Islam, mostly Muslim religious scholars.
The Art of Party Crashing is a more lighthearted work by al-Khatib al-Baghdadi that was written to humor and entertain. That being said, what social class of Baghdad's society (for example, upper class? Lower class? Ruling class? Learned class? Also feel free to come up with your own "class" if it is not listed here) do you think this book is aimed at? Why do you think so? And based on the passages you read, what are some points of social etiquette this class adhered to?