Editing Abd al-Latif al-Baghdadi (section)

==''Account of Egypt''==
ʿAbd al-Laṭīf was a man of great knowledge and of an inquisitive and penetrating mind. Of the numerous works (mostly on medicine) which Ibn Abī Uṣaybiʿah ascribes to him, one only, his graphic and detailed ''Account of Egypt'' (in two parts), appeared to be known in [[Europe]].<ref name="EB1911">{{EB1911|inline=1|wstitle=Abdallatif|volume=1|pages=30-31}}</ref>

In addition to measuring the structure, alongside the other pyramids at Giza, al-Baghdadi also writes that the structures were surely tombs, although he thought the Great Pyramid was used for the burial of [[Agathodaimon]] or [[Hermes]]. Al-Baghdadi ponders whether the pyramid pre-dated the Great flood as described in Genesis, and even briefly entertained the idea that it was a pre-Adamic construction.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Riggs |first1=Christina |title=Egypt: Lost Civilizations |date=15 April 2017 |publisher=Reaktion Books |isbn=978-1-78023-774-9 |pages=37–38 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KmwvDwAAQBAJ&q=Riggs,+Christina+(2017).+Egypt:+Lost+Civilizations. |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Daly |first1=Okasha El |title=Egyptology: The Missing Millennium – Ancient Egypt in Medieval Arabic Writings |date=2005 |publisher=Psychology Press |isbn=978-1-84472-063-7 |page=58-49 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rdI96px90kUC |language=en}}</ref>

===Archeology===
ʿAbd al-Laṭīf was well aware of the value of ancient monuments. He praised some Muslim rulers for preserving and protecting pre-Islamic artefacts and monuments, but he also criticized others for failing to do so. He noted that the preservation of antiquities presented a number of benefits for Muslims:{{sfn|El Daly|2004|page=10}}
* "monuments are useful historical evidence for chronologies";
* "they furnish evidence for Holy Scriptures, since the Qur'an mentions them and their people";
* "they are reminders of human endurance and fate";
* "they show, to a degree, the politics and history of ancestors, the richness of their sciences, and the genius of their thought".

While discussing the profession of [[treasure hunting]], he notes that poorer treasure hunters were often sponsored by rich businessmen to go on [[Archeology|archeological]] expeditions. In some cases, an expedition could turn out to be [[fraud]]ulent, with the treasure hunter disappearing with large amounts of money extracted from sponsors.{{sfn|El Daly|2004| page=36}}

===Egyptology===
{{further|Cannibalism in Africa#North Africa in the Middle Ages|Human cannibalism#Whole-body roasting and baking}}
His manuscript was one of the earliest works on [[Egyptology]]. It contains a vivid description of a [[famine]] which occurred during the author's residence in Egypt. The famine was caused by the [[Nile]] failing to overflow its banks and according to ‘Abd al-Latif's detailed account, the food situation became so dire that many people turned to [[human cannibalism|cannibalism]].<ref name="EB1911"/><ref>{{cite book |last1=Tannahill |first1=Reay |title=Flesh and Blood: A History of the Cannibal Complex |date=1975 |publisher=Stein and Day |location=New York |isbn=978-0-8128-1756-0 |pages=47–55 |url=https://archive.org/details/fleshbloodhisto00tann}}</ref> He also wrote detailed descriptions on [[Ancient Egyptian architecture|ancient Egyptian monuments]].{{sfn|El Daly|2004}}

===Autopsy===
Al-Baghdādī wrote that during the famine in Egypt in 597 AH (1200 AD), he had the opportunity to [[observe]] and [[Physical examination|examine]] a large number of [[skeleton]]s, through which he came to the view that [[Galen]] was incorrect regarding the formation of the [[bone]]s of the lower [[jaw]] [mandible], coccyx and [[sacrum]].{{sfn|Savage-Smith|1996 |p=951}}

===Translation===
Al-Baghdādī's Arabic manuscript was discovered in 1665 by the English [[oriental studies|orientalist]] [[Edward Pococke]] and is preserved in the [[Bodleian Library]].<ref name="EB1911"/> Pococke published the Arabic manuscript in the 1680s. His son, Edward Pococke the Younger, translated the work into [[Latin]], although he was only able to publish less than half of his work. [[Thomas Hunt (professor)|Thomas Hunt]] attempted to publish Pococke's complete translation in 1746, although his attempt was unsuccessful.{{sfn|Toomer|1996|p=272-273}} Pococke's complete Latin translation was eventually published by [[Joseph White (professor)|Joseph White]] of [[University of Oxford|Oxford]] in 1800.<ref>{{cite book | last1=al-Baghdādī | first1=M.D.A.L. | last2=Hyde | first2=T. | last3=Pococke | first3=E. | last4=White | first4=J. | author5=Oxford University Press | title=Abdollatiphi Historiæ Ægypti compendium,: Arabice et Latine | publisher=Typis academicis, impensis editoris; prostat venalis apud J. Cooke, Hanwell et Parker, Oxonii; J. White, Fleet Street; D. Bremner, Strand; et R. Faulder, Bond Street, Londini. | year=1800 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qTxbAAAAQAAJ}}</ref> The work was then translated into [[French language|French]], with valuable notes, by [[Silvestre de Sacy]] in 1810.{{sfn|Toomer|1996|p=275}}<ref>{{cite book | last1=al-Baghdd | first1=M.D.A.L. | last2=de Sacy | first2=A.I.S. |author-link2=Antoine Isaac Silvestre de Sacy | title=Relation de l'Égypte | publisher=Imprimerie impériale, chez Dreuttel et Würtz | year=1810 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6dZQAAAAcAAJ | language=fr}}</ref>