Marsden Jones | |
---|---|
Born |
Three Crosses, Gower |
20 December 1920
Died |
Cyprus |
11 June 1992 (age 71)
Cause of death | Aortic dissection |
John Marsden Beaumont Jones (20 December 1920 – 11 June 1992), known as Marsden Jones, was an emeritus professor and the founder and first director of the Center for Arabic Studies at the American University in Cairo.
He received his PhD from the University of London's School of Oriental and African Studies in 1953 and founded the Center for Arabic Studies at the AUC a decade later.
Jones then sought to make the Center one of excellence for the study of Arabic history, literature, language, art, and architecture. His special interests were early Islam, the early emergence of Islamic institutions, and the study of modern Islamic movements in Egypt. He is reputed for his edition of Al-Waqidi's Kitab Al Maghazi and his work on early sira literature, and he helped publish a series of volumes in Arabic on Leaders of Contemporary Literature in Egypt.
He was the brother-in-law of Sir Philip Jones.