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School of Oriental and African Studies

Holt, Peter Malcolm (Holt Collection of the Mahdi)


IDENTITY STATEMENT

Reference code(s): GB 0102 PP MS 7

Held at: School of Oriental and African Studies

Title: Holt, Peter Malcolm (Holt Collection of the Mahdi)

Date(s): Created c1889-1970

Level of description: Collection (fonds)

Extent: 12 boxes

Name of creator(s): Holt | Peter Malcolm | b 1918 | historian

CONTEXT

Administrative/Biographical history:

Peter Malcolm Holt was born on 28 November 1918. He was educated at Lord William's Grammar School and later at Oxford University, where he obtained Master of Arts and D. Litt degrees. He joined the Sudan Civil Service, Ministry of Education in 1941, where he served until 1953. He was appointed Government Archivist from 1954-1955. In 1955 he returned to the United Kingdom and joined the School of Oriental and African Studies. In 1964 he was made Professor of Arabic History. From 1975-1982 he was Professor of History of the Near and Middle East at the University of London. In 1980 the Republic of Sudan awarded him the Gold Medal of Science, Letters and Art.

His publications include The Mahdist State in the Sudan 1881-1898 (1958); The Modern History of Sudan (1961); Historians of the Middle East (co-ed. with B. Lewis, 1962); Political and Social Change in Modern Egypt (1968); The Cambridge History of Islam (co-ed. with A. K. S. Lambton & B. Lewis, 1970); and Studies in the History of the Near East (1973).

CONTENT

Scope and content/abstract:

Papers, c1889-1970, of Professor Peter Malcolm Holt, chiefly comprising collected notes, facsimiles and microfilms of manuscripts relating to Muhammed Ahmad ibn 'Abd Allah, the Mahdi. The papers relate to Holt's major works The Mahdist State in the Sudan 1881-1898 and The Cambridge History of Islam.

ACCESS AND USE

Language/scripts of material: In addition to English, some material is written in Arabic.

System of arrangement:

The papers have been arranged in the following sections: notes, photocopies and microfilms of manuscript material relating to the Mahdi and Sudan; photocopies of Arabic manuscripts; microfilms; maps; and correspondence relating to The Cambridge History of Islam.

Conditions governing access:

Unrestricted.

Conditions governing reproduction:

No publication without written permission. Apply to archivist in the first instance.

Physical characteristics:

Finding aids:

Unpublished handlist.

ARCHIVAL INFORMATION

Appraisal, destruction and scheduling information:

Accruals:

Archival history:

Immediate source of acquisition:

Donated in 1977 and 1987.

ALLIED MATERIALS

Existence and location of originals:

Existence and location of copies:

Related material:

Publication note:

DESCRIPTION NOTES

Note:

Date(s) of descriptions: 16 May 2000


INDEX ENTRIES
Subjects
African history | National history
Arab history | National history
Colonial countries | Political systems
Islam | Ancient religions | Religions
Islamic culture | National cultures
Maps | Visual materials
Microfilms | Microforms | Film media | Information media
Moslems | Religious groups
Publishing | Publishing industry
Religious leaders | Religious groups
Writers | Authors
History

Personal names
Abdullah | Mohammed Ahmed Ibn Al-Sayid | 1844-1885 | Muslim religious leader | known as the Mahdi x Mahdi | The
Holt | Peter Malcolm | b 1918 | historian

Corporate names

Places
Sudan | East Africa