A Microhistorical Study of the First Translators of Dār al-Funūn

In recent years, microhistory has shifted the focus of some translation historians from translated texts to individual translators’ life and work. Because of its emphasis on microscopic small-scale investigations, microhistory enables us to see the forgotten individuals, to uncover the hidden facts and to reveal the gaps in our historical knowledge. At the center of microhistory lies the archival method, which involves in-depth examination of archives and primary sources. The present article is an archival microhistorical research on the first translators of Dār al-Funūn in the Naseri era (1848–1896). Examining the archives, this study aims at providing a detailed portrait of these translators. To this end, first, the document repositories of five archives were closely investigated. Then the first-hand information extracted from primary sources were put together to write a narrative for each translator.