A Culmination in Traditionalism 167 copies to ensure that these were identical with the text being read. In the centuries before the advent of the printing press, the majlis al-sama ' was one way to ensure the accuracy of handwritten texts. Often students would attend multiple sessions for the same text, thereby raising the probability that the copy in their possession was faithful to the original. An overview of several sama ‘at in which Zaynab is mentioned suggests that the richest documentary evidence for women’s educational participation in classical Muslim society has yet to be explored. In the index compilation of Damascene certificates, Mu ‘jam al-Sama'at al-Dimasbqiyya, thirty-four certificates name Zaynab as a presiding authority, either alone or in conjunction with other teachers, over a majlis al-sama '. A typical certificate that served as a record of the assembly contains the following elements: the name of the presiding shaykb(s) or shaykha(s); the name of the text being read or studied; the place and date of the meeting; the name of the reader of the text (in cases where the reader is not the presiding teacher); the name of the writer of the sama '; and the number of students present for the occasion. Hirschler concludes that the practice of recording the names of all attendees became more widespread starting around the sixth/twelfth century, a trend indicative of shifts in the culture of reading among the scholarly elite as well as those who pursued a range of other full-time occupations. 4 Sama ‘at are invaluable because they offer concrete details concerning the routines of students and teachers. In addition, their precise dating allows a fuller reconstruction of scholars’ careers. All of the certificates in which Zaynab is mentioned as a teacher were awarded between the years 713 and 739, when she was between seventy-seven and ninety years old. She held these assemblies in a variety of locations, including her home and the homes of the readers of the texts. 5 Once, she presided over a small 72 For example, Ibn Ha jar, in his al-Mu ‘jam al-Mufahras , lists the names of everyone from whom he transmitted texts, either by reading the text(s) out loud or by hearing them in an assembly. See, for example, his isnads for the Sahib of Muslim, where it is clear that he heard the work from a number of shaykhs and shaykhas , at times in its entirety and at times in parts; al-Mu ‘jam. al-Mufahras , 27-29. 73 Stefan Leder et al. (eds.), Mu'jam al-Sama‘at al-Dimasbqiyya (Damascus: al-Ma‘had al-Faransi li’l-Dirasat al-‘Arabiyya, 1996), 311-12. 74 Hirschler, Written Word in the Medieval Arabic Lands, 60-70. Examples of assemblies in her home can be found in Mu ‘jam al-Sama ‘at, p. 30, ms. 955, risala 9, sama'a 4; p. 58, ms. 1137, risala 1, sama'a 18; and p. 59, ms. 1137, risala 1, sama'a 22; for assemblies held in the home of the reader of the text, see p. 31, ms. 955, risala 9, sama ‘a 8; and p. 41, ms. 1039, risala 7, sama'a 4.