Jordan Toone and Dr. Arnold Green, History
It is with great appreciation that I present a synopsis of my research performed during the academic year 2002-2003. With the assistance of my highly-qualified mentor, Dr. Arnold Green of BYU’s History Department, I was able to accomplish my proposed research in a timely and productive manner. This brief overview is an attempt to portray how my research was accomplished, the difficulties and successes along the way, additional insights and findings, as well as the final product.
I began my associations with Dr. Green in October of 2002. I was beginning my History 490 senior seminar class, and began discussing my ideas of research with Dr. Green. After deliberation and thought, we began a process of joint research in association with Dr. Green’s prior research dealing with Muslim families in 17th Century Jerusalem. We decided I could continue with research that he had began, namely, tracing the ascent of a Muslim elite family who rose from relative obscurity to ruling elite in a short period of time. We submitted our proposal and my project began.
Using Arabic legal documents obtained by Dr. Green during his study abroad in Jerusalem, I analyzed various documents which helped me trace the socio-economic transactions and interactions of the Al-Dajani family. I initially organized these documents, called waqf in Arabic, into specific categories which would assist me in analyzing the conditions of their time. These documents were in Arabic, and, with the help of a Palestinian graduate student at Brigham Young University, we analyzed and documented economic and social circumstances surrounding this particular family.
It was fascinating. Not only was it exciting to have a hands-on experience with my Arabic capabilities, it was exciting to uncover relatively unique information. We were extremely successful in finding the documents which recorded the history of the Al-Dajani family. We did, however, experience a few setbacks. Because these documents were written during the 17th Century, they were all hand-written and they were not preserved as well as we hoped. In addition, many of them were simply copies of the original documents still in archives in Jerusalem, therefore it made legibility even more difficult.
Our expectations were exceeded as we began to uncover many catalysts for such a rapid and successful ascent into Jerusalem’s elite governing body. Three things particularly were of great importance. First of all, near the end of the 16th Century, a member of the Al-Dajani family was endowed with a prominent location in Jerusalem known as the Tomb of David. This endowment alone generated significant respect and revenue for the Al-Dajani family. Secondly, we were able to uncover marriage contracts documenting the relations between the Al-Dajani family and very notable families of the time. Finally, we were able to trace the buying, selling, and management of lucrative family endowments, which were used effectively to generate revenue and increase family assets. Overall, we felt very pleased with our findings.
These findings were compiled into a thirty-five page paper, which included the translation of most of the waqf documents, and their sources. The experience was extremely enjoyable and prompted me to continue with my research and use it as the basis for my Honors Thesis. I extremely appreciate the resources provided by ORCA and the opportunities which stemmed from them.