In the 14th century, Ibn Battuta’s travel accounts vividly captured great cities such as Cairo and Damascus. Far more than busy urban centers, these cities were dynamic cultural hubs that actively shaped how knowledge was preserved and shared in the Middle Ages. Rihla’s eyewitness stories reveal a bustling educational scene: lively scholarly reading sessions, numerous grand and local colleges [madrasas] catering to different Islamic schools, free primary education for children, and a massive network of charitable endowments [waqf] that funded it all. He even joined a group reading session at Damascus's famous Umayyad Mosque, to earn a teaching certificate to transmit the Hadith literature, namely the sayings attributed to the Prophet Muhammad.These accounts open a window onto one of the world’s most bookish societies, where oral traditions and written texts worked hand in hand, giving rise to a highly organised writerly culture. This episode explores the rich literary life of medieval Egypt, Syria and beyond and uncovers how both ordinary people and elite scholars learned, read, and shared knowledge.

Konrad Hirschler is a historian of the written word who specialises in the social and cultural history of reading, libraries, and information management in medieval Western Asia and North Africa. His research explores the fascinating interplay between oral and written traditions, knowledge transmission and the everyday reading practices of both elite scholars and mainstream society in the Middle Ages (11-15th century). He is the author and editor of several acclaimed books on the subject, most notably the prize-winning The Written Word in the Medieval Arabic Lands: A Social and Cultural History of Reading Practices.

What we cover in this episode

• Modes of knowledge transmission in the Middle Ages (11-15th century)
• Popular reading sessions
• Scholarly gatherings and colleges 
• Children education
• Reading certificates: oral vs aural 
• Literacy and its measures
• Involvement of special groups: Women and dependants
• Spread of local endowed libraries

Conversation key insights

• Modes of knowledge transmission: In the Middle Ages, Islamic societies were fundamentally handwriting cultures, remaining so into the 19th century. Written transmission dominated, yet the spoken word remained a powerful and complementary mode.
• Literacy: Because so much knowledge circulated orally and memorisation was prized cultural capital, the ability to read was not essential. If you could memorise, you were considered a literate member of society.
• Forces behind the writerly boom: The rise of paper and the shift from centralised rule to powerful regional households transformed literary life. Wealthy families in cities like Damascus, Cairo, and Aleppo competed through cultural patronage—founding libraries, building madrasas, and endowing teaching posts.
• Reading sessions: These sessions were hugely popular, ranging from small scholarly circles to gatherings of 800 people. They took place not only in mosques but in markets, gardens, riverbanks, and private homes—woven into the very fabric of urban life. Walking through 13th‑century Damascus, you’d likely encounter one and you could participate too.
• Mosques as public spaces: Mosques were not secluded sacred enclaves but bustling public venues—places for meeting, resting, trading—and thus ideal hosts for large reading sessions.
• Certificates: Syrian and Egyptian manuscript culture uniquely preserved attendance lists—audition certificates—recording hundreds of participants who listened and attended the reading sessions. So we really have 800 names of those who were sitting there in Damascus on an afternoon and listening to this work or following it with a copy they had in their hand. These certificates were written in the books which were read out. So today they are distributed across libraries of the world
• Women’s participation: Women were active participants in reading cultural practice, especially in Hadith sessions which they gained recognised transmission lines. Large audition certificates consistently include women’s names, and seating arrangements show they were not segregated. Many women were sought‑after authorised teachers.
• Local endowed libraries: From the 11th century, locally endowed libraries proliferated. Urban elites used them to display scholarly engagement and prestige. Major cities often had dozens—perhaps over a hundred—at any given time.

Terms

• Madrasa [مدرسه]: Institutions of higher education in Islamic lands and Muslim communities 
• Hadith [حدیث]: Sayings and deeds attributed to the Prophet Mohammad
• Waqf [وقف]: Charitable Endowment held in trust in Islamic Law 

A passage from Rihla

The colleges of Damascus. The Shafi'ites have a number of colleges in Damascus, the largest of which is al-'Adiliya [العادلیه]. It is here that the Chief Qadi delivers judgment. Facing it is al-Zahiriya College [الظاهریه], containing the tomb of al-Malik al-Zahir [الملک الظاهر], and in it are held the sessions of the qadi's substitutes. The Hanafites also have many colleges in Damascus, the largest of them being the college of al-Sultan Nur al-Din [السلطان نورالدین], where the Hanafite Chief Qadi delivers judgment. The Malikites have three colleges in Damascus: al-Samsamiya [الصمصامیه], where the Malikite Chief Qadi has his residence and holds his tribunal; al-Nuriya [النوریه] College established by al-Sultan Nur al-Din Mahmud bin Zangi [السلطان نورالدین محمود ابن زنگی]; and al-Sharabeshiya (الشرابشیه) College, founded by the merchant Shihab al-Din al-Sharabishi [شهاب الدین الشرابشی]. The Hanbalites have many colleges, the largest of them being al-Najmiya [النجمیه] College.

Recommended reading

The Written Word in the Medieval Arabic Lands: A Social and Cultural History of Reading Practices, Konrad Hirschler, Edinburgh University Press, 2012. 

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