About the Book
Slave King recreates a major slave revolt in Sicily led by a Syrian magus turned leader, circa 140-132 BCE, decades before Spartacus. He forges a coalition of slaves, farmers and herders to defeat Roman armies and establish an egalitarian entity. The novel uses biased ancient sources but challenges them to speak for the oppressed and present alternative cultural-historical perspectives. Among its chapters are scenes of exorcism, ancient marriage customs and a play.
About the Author :
Basem Lutfi Raʿad, a Professor (PhD, Toronto), has taught at universities in Canada and abroad, mostly in Palestine and Lebanon. He initiated community and academic projects, organized international conferences, and published in major journals, including PMLA, Modern Fiction Studies and American Literature, on topics such as literature, linguistics, landscape aesthetics, cultural studies, travel writing, and political issues. His book Hidden Histories: Palestine and the Eastern Mediterranean, which also appeared in Arabic, provides an alternative reading of the long history of a region commonly called "the Middle East," "the cradle of civilization," and "the Holy Land," that emphasizes continuities among its people and discredits old and new myths using recent scholarship. Its chapters covers ancient history, development of polytheistic and monotheistic religions, invention of religious sites, regional civilizational accomplishments, Ugarit, writing systems, and present reflections on such subjects as identity, appropriation, self-colonization, place names, and retrieval of cultural heritage. The book has been described by critics as "perhaps the first corrective history of Palestine," "a brilliant tour de force of recovery, de-colonization, re-vision and inclusivity." Among his current writings are various literary projects and a study of regional school curricula to assess their contents in relation to contemporary scholarship and a coherent historical/cultural narrative.
Review :
This is a lovely book. A fictionalised account of a slave rebellion in Roman Sicilia more than sixty years before Spartacus, it tells the story of the slave Eunus (Younis) from Phoenicia/Canaan who led a great uprising of slaves and the poor and sustained it much longer than Spartacus. The event followed earlier rebellions in the Hellenistic world, such as Messinian slaves who fought Spartan oppression and later founded the city of Messina in Sicily in the fifth century BCE. The West has been slow to take such events seriously and to reinstate their presence in popular culture as expressions of human spirituality and resistance. The role of mystics and seers as leaders is emphasised here and is reminiscent of Ayi Kwei Armah's work on ancient Africa in The Healers on ancient Africa. This book is a fascinating and brilliant account of a popular struggle that helps us to do so. It is a minor classic. -- Michael Neocosmos, Emeritus Professor in Humanities, Rhodes University, South Africa, author of Thinking Freedom; Towards a theory of emancipatory politics.
I highly recommend Basem Ra'ad's compelling and deeply researched historical novel about the fire-breathing Syrian slave who challenged Roman might in the second century BCE, seeking independence for his thousands of followers. This little-known story of resistance deserves wide attention. ... an amazing and important story. -- Adrienne Mayor, author, The Poison King: The Life and Legend of Mithradates, Rome's Deadliest Enemy
What Basem L. Ra'ad has done in this remarkable novel about slave uprisings against the Roman Empire is to demonstrate how 'the history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggles.' A moving story that casts light on many of the strifes in our times. -- Tariq Mehmood, author, Song of Gulzarina, Associate Professor, American University of Beirut
This is a lovely book. A fictionalised account of a slave rebellion in Roman Sicilia more than sixty years before Spartacus, it tells the story of the slave Eunus (Younis) from Phoenicia/Canaan who led a great uprising of slaves and the poor and sustained it much longer than Spartacus. The event followed earlier rebellions in the Hellenistic world, such as Messinian slaves who fought Spartan oppression and later founded the city of Messina in Sicily in the fifth century BCE. The West has been slow to take such events seriously and to reinstate their presence in popular culture as expressions of human spirituality and resistance. The role of mystics and seers as leaders is emphasised here and is reminiscent of Ayi Kwei Armah's work on ancient Africa in The Healers on ancient Africa. This book is a fascinating and brilliant account of a popular struggle that helps us to do so. It is a minor classic. -- Michael Neocosmos, Emeritus Professor in Humanities, Rhodes University, South Africa, author of Thinking Freedom; Towards a theory of emancipatory politics.
I highly recommend Basem Ra'ad's compelling and deeply researched historical novel about the fire-breathing Syrian slave who challenged Roman might in the second century BCE, seeking independence for his thousands of followers. This little-known story of resistance deserves wide attention. ... an amazing and important story. -- Adrienne Mayor, author, The Poison King: The Life and Legend of Mithradates, Rome's Deadliest Enemy
What Basem L. Ra'ad has done in this remarkable novel about slave uprisings against the Roman Empire is to demonstrate how 'the history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggles.' A moving story that casts light on many of the strifes in our times. -- Tariq Mehmood, author, Song of Gulzarina, Associate Professor, American University of Beirut
