Before the invention of planes and modern air travel, ships were essential to long-distance exchanges and the Islamic world was no exception. People, animals, and commodities spent sometimes extraordinarily long periods of time at sea between ports. Sailors lived much of their lives at sea. But how long did journeys take and what was life-like onboard the ships of the period?
In a wide-ranging and richly illustrated lecture titled "Wondrous Worlds Connected: Life at Sea in the Islamic World," Elizabeth Lambourn, Professor of Material Histories and Deputy Director of the Institute of Art and Design at De Montfort University, discussed the importance of maritime spaces in the Islamic world's interactions with India and China, and presented new insights from her research into the daily lives of sailors and passengers on ships in the Indian Ocean.
This lecture was made possible by the Emory University’s Department of Middle Eastern and South Asian Studies’ South Asia Seminar Series.
