The Mediterranean
This chapter discusses Dante’s relationship with major issues of interest to scholars of Mediterranean history, including his knowledge of Mediterranean geography; his understanding of the ships used to cross the Mediterranean from Italian ports; and his references to literature, philosophy and technology that reached Italy from across the Mediterranean. In particular, the chapter considers Dante’s knowledge of the mi ‘raj (the traditional narratives of the Prophet Muhammad’s miraculous journey to Hell and Heaven), as well as Islamic stories of the opening of the heart of Muhammad in preparation for his role as prophet. It reviews Dante’s references to the philosophy of Averroes. It argues that the new papermaking technologies that had reached Italy from the eastern Mediterranean during the century before Dante’s life, and Italian papermaking innovations like the watermark, were of particular importance to Dante in a practical sense and as source of poetic imagery.