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For nineteenth century scholars the Holy Land was not just a region of the globe -- it was an idea, an intellectual and moral space charged with the heat of debate between those trying to understand the religious, social and scientific upheavals of the time. Edwin Aiken explores the various ways in which geographical knowledge was used in these debates. In particular he shows how religious writers called upon geographical knowledge to the benefit of their readers. The result is an original and stimulating work of scholarship that demonstrates the significance of the geography of the Holy Land in Western thought and argument, and makes important contributions to the history of geography, the nature of Orientalism, and to the evolving relationship between religion and science.
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Edwin James Aiken is a member of the School of Geography, Archaeology and Palaeoecology at The Queen’s University of Belfast TAURIS HISTORICAL GEOGRAPHY SERIES Series Editor: Robert Mayhew, University of Bristol Though long established as a field of inquiry, historical geography has changed dramatically in recent years becoming a driving force in the development of many of the new agendas of contemporary geography. Dialogues with historians of science, art historians and literary scholars have revitalised the history of geographical thought, and a new, vibrant, pluralistic culture of scholarship has emerged. The Tauris Historical Geography series provides an international forum for the publication of scholarly work that encapsulates and furthers these new developments. Editorial Board: David Armitage, Harvard University. Jeremy Black, Exeter University. Laura Cameron, Queen’s University, Ontario. Felix Driver, Royal Holloway, University of London. Michael Heffernan, Nottingham University. Nuala Johnson, Queen’s University, Belfast. David Livingstone, Queen’s University, Belfast. David Matless, Nottingham University. Miles Ogborn, Queen Mary, University of London. David Robinson, Syracuse University. Charles Withers, Edinburgh University. Brenda Yeoh, National University of Singapore. Published and forthcoming in the Series: 1. Zambesi: David Livingstone and Expeditionary Science in Africa by Lawrence Dritsas 2. New Spaces of Exploration: Geographies of Discovery in the Twentieth Century by Simon Naylor and James Ryan (eds) 3. Scriptural Geography: Portraying the Holy Land by Edwin James Aiken 4. Bringing Geography to Book: Ellen Semple and the Reception of Geographical Knowledge by Innes Keighren Scriptural Geography Portraying the Holy Land EDWIN JAMES AIKEN Published in 2010 by I.B.Tauris & Co Ltd 6 Salem Road, London W2 4BU 175 Fifth Avenue, New York NY 10010 www.ibtauris.com Distributed in the United States and Canada Exclusively by Palgrave Macmillan 175 Fifth Avenue, New York NY 10010 Copyright © 2010 Edwin James Aiken The right of Edwin James Aiken to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations in a review, this book, or any part thereof, may not be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher. Tauris Historical Geography: 3 ISBN: 978 1 84511 818 1 A full CIP record for this book is available from the British Library A full CIP record is available from the Library of Congress Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: available Printed and bound in Great Britain by CPI Antony Rowe, Chippenham from camera-ready copy edited and supplied by the author For my Father and Mother Contents List of Illustrations ix Acknowledgements xi 1 Introduct