Religion
Maqamat al-Hariri, Kuttab School
In this painting of a kuttab, or primary school, boys sit on a mat or carpet huddled close together with their writing boards. Boys, and sometimes girls, learned to recite the Qur'an at an early age, as well as the basics of reading, writing, and arithmetic in schools called kuttabs.
Majalis al-‘ushshak: Gathering in a Mosque
This image from a 16th-century Persian manuscript illustrates the visit of a renowned teacher to a mosque. Such visits were much anticipated, and this image demonstrates the wide range of people who attended. Seating arrangements illustrate the social organization for the event.
Child in Ramdan Lantern Family Workshop
In the weeks and months before the start of Ramadan, the ninth lunar month when Muslims fast, traditional workshops like the one on Ahmad Maher Street in the medieval quarter of Cairo, turn recycled tin cans into glittering lanterns.
Egyptian Ramadan Lanterns
The photograph at the top shows two children gazing into the soft light of a fanoos [fan-NOOS], or traditional Ramadan lantern. In the photograph below, Ramadan lanterns are hung outside a shop in a section of medieval Cairo.
Eid Holiday Amusements
On the two major celebrations of the Islamic lunar calendar—Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha—public festivities in cities and towns across Muslim regions of Asia, Africa, and elsewhere include rides of various kinds.
Ijazahs (Diploma)
During the medieval period, gifted children who successfully memorized the entire Qur'an left their home at the age of about 12-14 to travel to a nearby town and eventually around the Middle East to study with renowned academic authorities to hear historical, religious, philosophical, and legal t
M. Cornelius Statius
Death is part of every society, but the rituals and objects surrounding death have varied across centuries and continents.
Child’s Life Course
Death is part of every society, but the rituals and objects surrounding death have varied across centuries and continents.
The Dance of the Dead
Children are not frequent subjects of medieval art, but the figure of the child does occur in a medieval artistic and literary form known as the Danse macabre or Dance of the Dead.
The Dance of Death
Children are not frequent subjects of medieval art, but the figure of the child does occur in a medieval artistic and literary form known as the Danse macabre or Dance of the Dead.