Abraham's Luggage

Elizabeth A. Lambourn is a historian of South Asia and the Indian Ocean world, specializing in cultural exchanges with the Middle East before 1500. She is Reader (Associate Professor) in South Asian and Indian Ocean Studies at De Montfort University.

• 1. Introduction. A list of luggage from the Indian Ocean world; 2. From Ifriqiya to Malibarat – introducing Abraham Ben Yiju; Part I. A Mediterranean Society in Malibarat: 3. Making homes and friends: on shopping and Ṣuḥba; 4. Making a meal of it: on food cultures; 5. A Jewish home: on ritual foods; Part II. A Mediterranean Society at Sea: 6. The 'simple' bare necessities: on water and rice; 7. 'Things for the cabin': inhabiting the Ocean; 8. The balanced body: on vinegar and other sour foods; 9. From Malibarat to Misr and beyond – afterlives; Appendix: Abraham's list of luggage.

'Transforming a twelfth-century list into a history of the stuff of life, Lambourn brilliantly demonstrates how Southern India was linked to the Middle East. From the production of food to the maintenance of purity, and even staying watered and well on the journey itself, this is exemplary Indian Ocean history.' Michael Laffan, Princeton University, New Jersey