Abstract The article analyses the ways Ḥamīd al-Dīn Balḫī (d. 559/1164) adopted and adapted technique of earlier Arabic authors, most notably al-Ḥarīrī 516/1122), in his Persian maqāmas . It also emends traditional dating maqāma collection.

It had all the appearances of a conventional sentencing hearing. The accused sat quietly in the front row of the Middleton Court House with his wife beside him, arm in arm. She gave him one last hug after the judge pronounced sentence: five years in a federal institution. Among the small group attending the hearing were two young teenagers, the daughters of the accused. When the judge handed do...