Winslow Williams Clifford is one of the few historians so far who have addressed the history and culture of the so-called Mamluk Sultanate (1250-1517) on the basis of theoretical models. This volume is a posthumous publication of his doctoral thesis, submitted in 1995 at the University of Chicago. Through his skillful application of social theory, Clifford succeeded in providing highly convincing evidence that the Mamluk rulers did not - as was maintained fo a long time - constitute a static form of "oriental despotism" but was, rather, a highly differentiated society. It was primarily based on compliance with a complex system of order that had established itself during the rule of the first sultans.

Winslow Williams Clifford ist einer der wenigen Historiker, die sich bisher auf der Basis von theoretischen Ansätzen der Geschichte und Kultur des sogenannten Mamlukensultanates (1250–1517) gewidmet haben. In diesem Band erscheint nun posthum seine 1995 an der University of Chicago eingereichte Dissertation. Durch die geschickte Benutzung gesellschaftstheoretischer Ansätze gelingt es Clifford, sehr überzeugend zu zeigen, dass der mamlukische Herrschaftsverbund – wie lange Zeit behauptet – keine statische »Orientalische Despotie« darstellte, sondern im Gegenteil eine sehr ausdifferenzierte Gesellschaft war. Sie fußte vor allem auf der Einhaltung eines komplexen Ordnungssystems, das sich während der Herrschaft der ersten Sultane etabliert hatte.

The general field of study of this volume is the history and culture of the Mamluk Sultanate (1250–1517). It contains the proceedings of the First German-Japanese Workshop held at the Toyo Bunko in Tokyo, Japan. The authors write about a variety of topics from rural irrigation systems to high diplomacy vis à vis the Safavid empire and the Ottoman threat. The volume includes case studies of important personalities and families living in the centres of Mamluk power such as Cairo and Damascus as well as analyses of contemporary writers and their stance toward the ruling military class. Next to innovation in the field, this volume is an agenda of an increasing globalisation of scholarship that is fertilizing future research.

Ziel dieses Bandes ist, neue Akzente in der Mamlukenforschung zu setzen. Die Beiträge berühren eine Reihe spannender Themen: Heirat, Ehe und Scheidung, narrative Strategien in den Biogrammen hanbalitischer Richter, Wissensvermittlung, die zeitgenössische politische Ordnung, Wirtschaftswachstum, islamische Philosophie, die Präsenz der Zawawi-Gruppen in der Ayyubiden- und Mamlukenzeit sowie die Islamisierung von Ägypten und Syrien. Alle Beiträge tragen dazu bei, zu einem besseren, differenzierten Verständnis der Mamlukenzeit zu gelangen.Die Autorinnen und Autoren dieses Bandes, Fellows des Bonner Annemarie Schimmel Kollegs »History and Society of the Mamluk Era«, präsentieren in diesem Band die Ergebnisse ihrer am Kolleg durchgeführten Forschungen.

This book focuses on the Mansuriyya regiment, the mamluks of sultan al-Mansur Qalawun. It traces the lives of these mamluks during the career of their master Qalawun (ca. 1260-1290), the period they ruled the Sultanate of Egypt and Syria de jure or de facto (1290-1310), and their aftermath, during the third reign of sultan al-Nasir Muhammad b. Qalawun (1310-1341). Based on dozens of contemporary Arabic sources, the book traces the political and military events of the turbulent Mansuriyya period, as well as the basic military-political principles and socio-political practices that evolved during this period. It suggests that the Mansuriyya period marks the beginning of the demilitarization, or politicization, of the Mamluk sultanate.

The concept, practice, institution and appearance of ‘the state’ have been hotly debated ever since the emergence of history as a discipline within modern scholarship. The field of medieval Islamic history, however, has remained aloof from most of these debates. Rather it tends to take for granted the particularity of dynastic trajectories within slow-changing bureaucratic contexts. Trajectories of State Formation promotes a more critical and connected understanding of state formation in the late medieval Sultanates of Cairo and of the Timurid, Turkmen and Ottoman dynasties. Projecting seven case studies onto a broad canvas of European and West-Asian research, this volume presents a trans-dynastic reconstruction, interpretation and illustration of statist trajectories across fifteenth-century Islamic West-Asia. The contributors are: Georg Christ, Kristof D’hulster, Jan Dumolyn, Albrecht Fuess, Dimitri J. Kastritsis, Beatrice Forbes Manz, John L. Meloy, Jo Van Steenbergen, and Patrick Wing.

This book is a study of architecture and urban design across the Mediterranean Sea from the 12th to the 14th Century, a time when there was no single, hegemonic power dominating the area. The focus of the study--four cities on the Italian peninsula, and four in Syria and Egypt--is the interconnectedness of the design and use of urban structures, streets and open space. Each chapter offers an historical analysis of the buildings and spaces used for trade, education, political display and public action. The work includes historical and social analyses of the mercantile, social, political and educational cultures of the eight cities, highlighting similarities and differences between Christian and Islamic practices. Sixteen new maps drawn specifically for this book are based on the writings of medieval travelers.