Bücher der Reihe Mamluk Studies

A unique Mamluk manuscript tells the story of a Damascene jurist. Ibn al-Zamlakani's story revolves around a dramatic episode in the life of his master, the great judge Taj al-Din al-Subki, who is the central figure (hero) of the tale. The composer justly names his document maqamah. In rhyming prose, it narrates several episodes. Transmitted by a narrator (or at least his voice), who distances himself from the event, it is a story about an escape from hardship of a hero who is supported by good characters and face some evil enemies. Yet, it is not a biography, but a dramatic plot that transmits a moral lesson. The maqamah illuminates the relations between the Mamluk ruling military aristocracy and the religious establishment, as well as the competition that divided the Damascene urban elite.

The only Arabic voice to have witnessed the Ottoman conquest of Cairo, Ibn Iyas is an eminent historical source for the late Mamluk period. This book is the first to take stock of the author's complete works, approaching him through an examination of his narrative voice and writing strategies. Tracing Ibn Iyas's working process by compilation analysis, it shows how the author adapted his representations of Egyptian history to his writing projects and audience. Ibn Iyas's ways of worldmaking are shaped deeply by beliefs, biases and intellectual trends as well as the impact of the social and historical context the author wrote in. Knowing these conditioning factors allows to understand his presentation of history as an individual voice of his time.