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Copyright of Cappadocia Journal of History & Social Sciences is the property of CAHIJ and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

In the University of Glasgow Library's copy of Pius II's Epistolae familiares (Nuremberg: Anton Koberger, 16 Sept. 1481), recorded on leaf 1–1v one can find a copy of a letter addressed to Pope Innocent VIII that starts with the heading "Soldanus pontifici Romano pro Restauracione Iunioris filii senioris Turchi". The letter's sender, who is referred to in the text as the "Sultan of Babylon", was the Caliph of Cairo, al-Mutawakkil II (Abdul Aziz ibn Yaʿqub ibn Muhammad). The present text discusses the content of the letter and the issues regarding the question of its authorship. To ensure a comprehensive presentation of the argumentation, the paper not only discusses the content of the letter but also explores the wider context in which it was produced, situating it against the wider history of the Mamluk state and Mamluk diplomacy as well as the late medieval tradition of the exchange of correspondence (both real and fictitious) between the Christian and Muslim worlds. It needs underlining that not only has the content of the letter in question hitherto been substantially unknown to scholars, but the letter is furthermore the first discovered correspondent from an ʿAbbasid Caliph sent to the head of Western Christianity. The paper offers a contribution to research on intercultural communication. The paper comes with three appendices: a transliteration and a translation of the letter and a facsimile of the original record. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the role of Louis IX's defeat and captivity during the Seventh Crusade in the transition from Ayyubid to Mamluk sultanate. It focuses on the attempt of amir Fakhr al-Dīn ibn al-Shaykh (d. 647/1250), al-Malik al-Ṣāliḥ Ayyūb's (r. in Egypt 637/1240–647/1249) vizier and commander of his army during the crusade, to seize power and argues that following the death of the sultan, Louis IX's campaign tilted the balance among the various contenders for the Egyptian throne and decisively contributed to the assumption of power by the Mamluks. The article offers a new framework to explain this major political transition by comparing the failure of the Ayyubid traditional and hereditary military elites to repel Louis IX's invasion with the astounding successes of the Mamluks, all within the context of the structural and administrative changes instituted by al-Ṣāliḥ Ayyūb and his prevalent patterns of interaction with the Franks. It shows that Fakhr al-Dīn's endeavour to capture the Egyptian throne and to recreate the diplomatic conditions and political consequences of the Fifth and Sixth Crusades failed in the case of the Seventh since Louis IX did not intend to conclude any peace agreement with the Muslims. The article highlights how Louis IX's military and diplomatic defeats allowed the Mamluk regime to quickly consolidate its power and how the Mamluks succeeded where Fakhr al-Dīn failed: they ended the Ayyubid line, defeated Louis IX, forced the latter to surrender Damietta on their own terms, and garnered the necessary legitimacy and popular support. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses on the category of Egyptian provincial officials called mutadarrik who emerged in the late 14th century, to understand the relationship between the government and rural areas, and the state of rural society in late medieval Egypt. After the mid-14th century, the iqṭāʿ land system underwent a major transformation. Amidst repeated plagues, declining agricultural production, rampant political instability, and the rise of Arab tribes in the provinces, the financial and local administrations of the Mamluk Sultanate underwent a substantial process of restructuring. This paper shows that the emergence of the mutadarrik was closely related to these changes in the administration as well as in rural society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The question that led to the research and writing of this article was created by the information that Ibn Battuta gave in his travel book about a lantern he saw when he set out on his travels but that was later destroyed. The scope of this article is about the history of the Lighthouse of Alexandria based on medieval Islamic period literature. More specifically, the main issue that determined the scope is to reveal what happened to the Lighthouse of Alexandria particularly the structural problems and repairs until its collapse in the Mamluk period. The study wanted to find out when and how this lighthouse was finally destroyed. This event took place in the Mamluks period and ultimately resulted in the disappearance of the lighthouse and the construction of a castle in the Qaitbay period. In this study, Islamic period sources, which provided information about the lighthouse from the 9th to the 15th centuries, were used. The method used to solve the determined problem was through evaluating and comparing historical literature. When and how was the Lighthouse of Alexandria destroyed during the Mamluk period? The lighthouse, one of the ancient wonders of the world, fell victim to the devastating earthquakes that Egypt was subjected to. In the period between 796-1480, Egypt was exposed to about 57 major and minor earthquakes, and about 22 of them affected the Lighthouse of Alexandria. Earthquakes of 796, 884, 956, 1303, 1334, 1341, 1348 caused the Alexandria Lighthouse to collapse. As we learned from historic records, Egyptian rulers had the lighthouse repaired at different times. For example, one of them was Mamluk Sultan Baibars. The historic literature revealed the fate of the Lighthouse of Alexandria occurred in 1375 when a severe earthquake caused it to collapse completely. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores how the Egyptian revolutionary regime exploited the Mamluk past through rewriting school textbooks in order to legitimize the revolution and their leadership. Three dominant Egyptian nationalist ideologies are used to reinterpret the Mamluk past: Egyptian nationalism, Egyptian Arab nationalism and Egyptian Arab socialism. The historians were inspired by Egyptian nationalism and Egyptian Arab nationalism, reshaped history from the standpoint of Egypt and the Arabs, respectively, and selectively assimilated Mamluk history into Egyptian or Arab history. For example, the glorious Mamluk victory over the Mongols and Crusaders is represented as Egypt's or the Arabs' victory. Similarly, not only Mamluk leaders (mostly Baybars), but also other distinguished Mamluk leaders (Iraqi Mamluk leaders) are revived as Egyptian or Arab heroes. On the other hand, the historians of Arab socialism pursued a different pattern, to a certain extent. According to this narrative, the ones who actually brought victory over the Mongols and Crusaders were not the Mamluk leaders, but 'the people'. In an intensive manner, Mamluk memory was politically exploited by the Free Officers' government for reviving the splendor of the Egyptian past and reproducing it again in the real world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Mamluk siege of Montfort castle provides a rare opportunity to examine one of the most celebrated but also misrepresented technologies of the Middle Ages: mechanical artillery. The castle was inhabited for only about forty-five years before it was taken and then destroyed by the Mamluks, creating a time capsule for archaeologists to peer into life in a mid-thirteenth-century stronghold and carefully examine evidence of the siege that ultimately led to its abandonment. Among the finds are a number of artillery projectiles that date to the final siege of the castle. An investigation of the surrounding topography has revealed that there are only a couple of places from which these stones could have been thrown. This rare combination of clearly datable projectiles and a topographical environment that provides a good indication of range allows for a unique quantitative assessment of the development of trebuchet technology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article provides an editio princeps and English translation of al-Maqāma al-Hītiyya al-Šīrāziyya by al-Šābb al-Ẓarīf al-Tilimsānī (d. 688/1289) preserved in Berlin MS Wetzstein 1847. The maqāma describes a romantic liaison conducted between an older Mamluk and a younger boy. The analysis considers the various literary forms deployed by the author in the course of the maqāma , such as: an erotic epigram, a love letter, mujūn verse, and a marriage ḫuṭba. The conclusion of the article explores what this work reveals about the history of the maqāma form, language, and truth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Exactly one month before the outbreak of the Great War, on 28 June 1914, Thomas Edward Lawrence hastily wrote a note to the great specialist in Arabic epigraphy, the Swiss scholar Max van Berchem. At that time Lawrence, together with Charles Leonard Woolley, was preparing the publication of The Wilderness of Zin, regarding the archaeological survey of the southern Negev conducted shortly before on behalf of the Palestine Exploration Fund. Discussing the problems of archaeological research at a time when the European powers were seeking to consolidate their strategic positions in the Middle East in view of the impending war, this article touches on the birth of Arabic epigraphy through the epigraphic evidence left by the penultimate Mameluke Sultan, Qansuh al-Ghuri. In particular, the paper provides an update on the inscription from Naqb (Sinai/Negev) referring to the Muslim pilgrimage from Cairo to Mecca, the subject of Lawrence's letter to van Berchem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article I suggest that, although many Jews perished during the wars between the Mamluks and the Franks during the thirteenth century's second half, and others migrated to different Jewish communities in the Middle East and Europe, some Jews migrated to Safed, Jerusalem, and perhaps to Gaza as well. A significant number of the Jews who lived in Safed and Jerusalem during the early decades of the fourteenth century were of a Western European origin but were not newcomers from Europe. I suggest that some of these were Jews who previously lived in Acre and Tyre and migrated to Safed and Jerusalem either shortly before the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem got its coup de grâce, or afterwards. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Historische Zeitschrift is the property of De Gruyter and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Journal of Ottoman Legacy Studies (OMAD) / Osmanlı Mirası Araştırmaları Dergisi is the property of Journal of Ottoman Legacy Studies and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Journal of Oriental Studies (Al-Farabi Kazakh National University) / Kazahskij Nacional'nyj Universitet Imeni Al'-Farabi Vestnik Seriâ Vostokovedeniâ is the property of Al-Farabi Kazakh National University and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Magazine of Historical Studies & Archaeology is the property of Republic of Iraq Ministry of Higher Education & Scientific Research (MOHESR) and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Journal of Eskişehir Osmangazi University Faculty of Theology is the property of Journal of Eskisehir Osmangazi University Faculty of Theology and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The first part of the article focuses on the opening and closing chapters of Sicilian born polymath Ibn Ẓafar's (d. ca. 566 /1171) mirror for princes, Sulwān al-muṭāʿ , which are devoted to "trusting [God]" (tafwīḍ) and "self-denial" (zuhd) respectively, and analyzes the combination of historical narratives and animal fables contained therein. In the complex "telescoping" structure devised by Ibn Ẓafar, both types of narratives represent an essential tool for reflecting on political circumstances related to the role of a local ruler. From this perspective, the analysis targets the relationship between history and fictionality set by the author and the transition from one dimension to the other. The final part of the article considers the reception of the Sulwān al-muṭāʿ by Ayyubid and Mamluk authors and their different approaches to various types of narratives when quoting (more or less substantial) parts of Ibn Ẓafar's work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A scholar known as "Mubārakshāh" features in sources from the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries as a teacher of a number of prominent early Ottoman scholars, and of the influential Persian scholar al-Sayyid al-Sharīf al-Jurjānī (d. 816/1413). According to these sources, Mubārakshāh taught in Cairo in the mid- to late fourteenth century. Yet, despite the large number of Mamluk historical works covering this period, the precise identity of this scholar has so far proven elusive. The present article reviews the evidence and makes an identification that, though circumstantial, may be more satisfying than those that have been offered so far. It suggests that "Mubārakshāh" was a nickname, and that he can plausibly be identified with Maḥmūd b. Quṭlūshāh al-Sarāʾī, who taught in Cairo from 1358 until his death in 1373. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of History Studies (13094688) is the property of History Studies and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The practice of gift-giving was omnipresent in trans-Saharan embassies. Gifts were the material expression of the political dialogue between rulers. Their quality and quantity was a good barometer of relations between rulers. A close analysis of the gifts sent or received by the Borno rulers (present-day Nigeria) between the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries reveals a system of norms and customs on the part of the Borno chancellery. Their material value also raises the question of their economic dimension and how they were recycled. By focusing on the embassies between Tripoli and Borno in the early modern period, the aim of this article is to demonstrate that the gifts were a part of a normalized practice of diplomacy. Beyond the message carried by the gifts themselves, the Borno sultans mixed economic and political interests by integrating the exchanges of gifts into the wider trans-Saharan trade. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of History Studies (13094688) is the property of History Studies and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Secure property rights are considered a common institutional feature of rapidly growing economies. Although different property rights regimes have prevailed around the world over time, relatively little scholarship has empirically characterized the historical property rights of societies outside Western Europe. Using data from Egypt's Mamluk Sultanate (1250–1517 CE), this article provides a detailed characterization of land tenure patterns and identifies changes to real property holdings associated with an institutional bargain between Egypt's slave soldiers—the mamluks—and the sultan. Although agricultural land was a collective resource of the state, individual mamluks—state actors themselves—established religious endowments as a privatizing work-around to the impermissibility of transferring mamluk status to their sons. The article's characterization of landholding patterns in medieval Egypt provides an empirical illustration of how Middle Eastern institutions differed from those in other world regions as well as an understanding for how and why regimes come under political stress as a result of their property rights institutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Itobiad: Journal of the Human & Social Science Researches / İnsan ve Toplum Bilimleri Araştırmaları Dergisi is the property of Itobiad: Journal of the Human & Social Science Researches and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Journal of The Iraqi University is the property of Republic of Iraq Ministry of Higher Education & Scientific Research (MOHESR) and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This study analyses the original waqf documents belonging to Qijmās al-Isḥāqī, an amir who lived in late Mamluk Egypt and Syria, from three perspectives: first, the types of assets possessed or endowed by Qijmās and the creation of these assets; second, the contexts and purposes of establishing waqfs by comparing the data obtained from the documents and the life history of Qijmās, which was reconstructed from literary sources; and third, how his personal relationships reflected the character of his waqfs. Further, this study reveals how he selectively and strategically used the waqf system for personal and/or public benefit at different stages of his life and according to the prevalent social circumstances. This case study proves that the waqf system had multi-dimensional and complex functions: in addition to realizing its universal purpose of enabling the performance of charitable deeds, the waqf system fulfilled the founder's particularistic secular intentions and expectations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]