Obituary: Professor Clifford Edmund Bosworth, FBA, 1929–2015

Abstract

The Maghreb Review, Vol. 42, 1, 2017 © The Maghreb Review 2017 This publication is printed on FSC Mix paper from responsible sources OBITUARY PROFESSOR CLIFFORD EDMUND BOSWORTH, FBA, 1929-2015 Professor Edmund Bosworth, Emeritus Professor of Arabic Studies at the University of Manchester, gained the affectionate nickname ‘Bozzy’ in some academic circles. It really suited him, echoing both Dickens and Boswell, for Bosworth certainly shared Boswell’s enormous energy for writing and Dickens’ fascination with all levels of society. Indeed, Edmund Bosworth was not always just interested in the grand sweep of Islamic history and high culture at the courts of caliphs and sultans. His desire to discover new facets of medieval Middle Eastern history led him to examine little-known byways of Muslim society, such as his lively and fascinating translation of a work in Arabic by alTha ‘alabi (d.1038) called The Book of Curious and Entertaining Information, or his book with the intriguing title of The medieval Islamic underworld: the Banu Sasan in Arabic society and literature. Bosworth’s enthusiasm and excitement were also aroused by travellers’ tales. He often ‘relaxed’ by writing about intrepid British visitors to the Middle East who recorded their experiences in a lively manner to an eager audience back home. Thus Bosworth published articles and a book about William Lithgow from Lanark in Scotland who travelled to Syria, Palestine, Turkey and North Africa in three major journeys and in 1632 wrote a book, describing what he called ‘the rare adventures and painful peregrinations of long nineteen years travails from Scotland, to the most famous kingdoms in Europe, Asia and Africa.’ Bosworth had a long-term fascination with Lithgow and others like him, such as Mrs Isabella Bishop, the first woman to be elected a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society - who went to remote Luristan and Kurdistan in 1890 - and the more famous James Elroy Flecker (d. 1915). Indeed, it is significant that the very last of Bosworth’s books, published in 2012, is entitled Eastward Ho! Diplomats, Travellers and Interpreters of the Middle East and Beyond, 1600-1940. Clifford Edmund Bosworth was born in Sheffield on 29 December 1928. His father, who came from a local family, was a government clerk. Bosworth was educated at Sheffield City Grammar School, where he acquired a lasting love of hill walking, music and history. In 1947 he won an exhibition in history to St John’s College, Oxford. Before going there, he had to spend two years in the army (1947-49). When talking about this period, he said wryly that he had learned to type then, though it was only with two fingers; this would be a useful skill for his future career. His studies in Oxford (1949-1952) were a revelation to him, and he gained a first-class degree in modern history. Whilst there, he met an American student studying Arabic. Intrigued by this he started learning 82 PROFESSOR CLIFFORD EDMUND BOSWORTH, FBA, 1929-2015 the language, and, after moving to Edinburgh (1952) to take up a Civil Service post in the Department of Agriculture for Scotland, he was able to carry on studying Arabic with the help of the Professor of Arabic at the university, the Rev. Montgomery Watt. This experience resulted in his being awarded a scholarship at Edinburgh University in 1954 to do a degree in Arabic, Persian and Turkish, and for this too he was awarded a first-class degree. He was appointed Lecturer in Arabic at St Andrews University in 1956, and remained there until 1967. He wrote his doctoral thesis whilst in St Andrews and was awarded a Ph. D. at Edinburgh University in 1961. His next move was to the Chair of Arabic Studies at the University of Manchester in 1967, where he remained until his retirement in 1990. From that time until last year he continued to publish an immense amount of high-quality scholarly work with undiminished enthusiasm and passion for his subject. He was elected a Fellow of the British Academy in 1992. He much enjoyed being affiliated from 2004 as a Visiting Professor at Exeter University. Bosworth did much more than work on his own research and teaching. He laboured...