Adam Sabra | University of California, Santa Barbara (original) (raw)

Books by Adam Sabra

Papers by Adam Sabra

Histories of the Middle East

Social historians of the Medieval Middle East are always searching for new sources. Increasingly,... more Social historians of the Medieval Middle East are always searching for new sources. Increasingly, they are making use of chronicles, documents, and archeology to write the social history of the region at a time when archival collections are largely lacking. This chapter attempts to draw attention to another genre of writing that can be of considerable value to social historians-hagiography. For some time now, historians of medieval Europe have been utilizing the lives of saints to learn about various aspects of medieval society that do not appear in other sources. Muḥammad al-Ḥanafī illustrates several important aspects of Egyptian Sufism and its relationship with Egyptian Mamluk society as a whole. Keywords: Artisan; Egypt; Egyptian sufism; Fifteenth century; social mobility

There is a consensus among historians of Mamluk Egypt that the fifteenth century was a turning po... more There is a consensus among historians of Mamluk Egypt that the fifteenth century was a turning point in the country's social and economic history. For some, the key element lies in demographics, in the failure of the Egyptian population to recover from repeated blows dealt by the arrival of the Black Death and subsequent recurrences of epidemic disease. For others, the arrival of the Portuguese in the Indian Ocean spelled the end of Egypt's central role in the transit trade between the East Indies and the Mediterranean. Still others argue that Egypt's manufacturers were unable to keep pace with technological improvements taking place in Europe. Whatever one's perspective, however, it is difficult to deny that insufficient attention has been paid to Egypt's most important economic resource, agriculture. The fifteenth century saw fundamental changes in the types of land tenure and the identity of landholders. In this context, ‘Ima≠ d Badr al-D|n Abu≠ Gha≠ z|'s book F| Ta≠ r|kh Mis̋r al-Ijtima≠ ‘|: Tat ̧awwur al-H ̨iya≠zah al-Zira≠‘|yah Zaman al-Mama≠l|k al-Jara≠kisah (On the social history of Egypt: the development of landholding in the age of the Circassian Mamluks) helps to fill an important gap. Abu≠≠ Gha≠z| uses a variety of sources, including Ottoman registers that have only recently begun to be utilized by Mamluk historians, to examine changes in landholding in the last century of Mamluk rule. Although Abu≠≠ Gha≠z| is a Marxist historian, he begins by setting himself up in opposition to those historians, Marxist or otherwise, who see Egypt as an example of Oriental despotism or the Asiatic Mode of Production. These historians have argued that Egypt's riverine agricultural system made it inevitable that state property would predominate over private property in agriculture. Here he is clearly correct. Although a series of Egyptian states were involved in maintaining the system of canals and dikes that irrigated much of Egypt's farmland, this never prevented the existence of private ownership of land or the growth of a class of landowners with

De Gruyter, 2005

The student of medieval Islamic endowments is confronted with a paradox. On the one hand, pious e... more The student of medieval Islamic endowments is confronted with a paradox. On the one hand, pious endowments (awqäf) were a significant instrument by which rulers tried to alleviate social problems such as poverty, sickness, and lack of education, among their subjects. Monumental awqäf were built to provide services to the poor, orphans, unattached women, and other social groups marginalized by medieval Islamic society, especially in the major urban centers of the Islamic world. Given that rulers and other prominent members of the military and civilian elites also intervened to provide food to the poor during famines and food shortages, it is tempting to see the establishment of a pious endowment as an act of public policy. At the same time, however, sultans, amirs, and scholars were also private individuals, and the endowments they founded benefited their private interests as well. Many of the very same awqäf that provided services for the poor and other marginalized groups also functioned as family trusts which benefited the founder's family and his or her descendents in perpetuity. Furthermore, not all founders of pious endowments held government office. In many cases, awqäf were established by individuals whose private initiative benefited family and the poor alike. In many respects, it is difficult to draw a clear line between the kinds of endowments established by public figures and those established by private individuals. This article reexamines this well-known problem from a different perspective. Conceding the dual nature of Islamic endowments from the beginning, it seeks to explain why different types of awqäf predominated at certain periods, and not others. Primarily drawing on evidence from the period 1000-1500 C.E., this article is intended as a contribution to the history of waqf and charity in the Islamic Middle Ages. It breaks with the frequent tendency to regard waqf as a timeless institution, enshrined in Islamic law, and therefore largely static during the pre-modern period. A further clarification is in order. While it is possible to see waqf as a response to a set of social problems, that is not the approach that dominates in this article. Rather, my focus is on the motives of the founders. That is, I will deal with waqf insofar as it is donor-driven, rather than crisis-driven-with what Sandra Cavallo calls the "supply

"Between the Private and Public Spheres: Charity and State Intervention in Mamluk Egypt", 2018


Histories of the Middle East

Social historians of the Medieval Middle East are always searching for new sources. Increasingly,... more Social historians of the Medieval Middle East are always searching for new sources. Increasingly, they are making use of chronicles, documents, and archeology to write the social history of the region at a time when archival collections are largely lacking. This chapter attempts to draw attention to another genre of writing that can be of considerable value to social historians-hagiography. For some time now, historians of medieval Europe have been utilizing the lives of saints to learn about various aspects of medieval society that do not appear in other sources. Muḥammad al-Ḥanafī illustrates several important aspects of Egyptian Sufism and its relationship with Egyptian Mamluk society as a whole. Keywords: Artisan; Egypt; Egyptian sufism; Fifteenth century; social mobility

There is a consensus among historians of Mamluk Egypt that the fifteenth century was a turning po... more There is a consensus among historians of Mamluk Egypt that the fifteenth century was a turning point in the country's social and economic history. For some, the key element lies in demographics, in the failure of the Egyptian population to recover from repeated blows dealt by the arrival of the Black Death and subsequent recurrences of epidemic disease. For others, the arrival of the Portuguese in the Indian Ocean spelled the end of Egypt's central role in the transit trade between the East Indies and the Mediterranean. Still others argue that Egypt's manufacturers were unable to keep pace with technological improvements taking place in Europe. Whatever one's perspective, however, it is difficult to deny that insufficient attention has been paid to Egypt's most important economic resource, agriculture. The fifteenth century saw fundamental changes in the types of land tenure and the identity of landholders. In this context, ‘Ima≠ d Badr al-D|n Abu≠ Gha≠ z|'s book F| Ta≠ r|kh Mis̋r al-Ijtima≠ ‘|: Tat ̧awwur al-H ̨iya≠zah al-Zira≠‘|yah Zaman al-Mama≠l|k al-Jara≠kisah (On the social history of Egypt: the development of landholding in the age of the Circassian Mamluks) helps to fill an important gap. Abu≠≠ Gha≠z| uses a variety of sources, including Ottoman registers that have only recently begun to be utilized by Mamluk historians, to examine changes in landholding in the last century of Mamluk rule. Although Abu≠≠ Gha≠z| is a Marxist historian, he begins by setting himself up in opposition to those historians, Marxist or otherwise, who see Egypt as an example of Oriental despotism or the Asiatic Mode of Production. These historians have argued that Egypt's riverine agricultural system made it inevitable that state property would predominate over private property in agriculture. Here he is clearly correct. Although a series of Egyptian states were involved in maintaining the system of canals and dikes that irrigated much of Egypt's farmland, this never prevented the existence of private ownership of land or the growth of a class of landowners with

De Gruyter, 2005

The student of medieval Islamic endowments is confronted with a paradox. On the one hand, pious e... more The student of medieval Islamic endowments is confronted with a paradox. On the one hand, pious endowments (awqäf) were a significant instrument by which rulers tried to alleviate social problems such as poverty, sickness, and lack of education, among their subjects. Monumental awqäf were built to provide services to the poor, orphans, unattached women, and other social groups marginalized by medieval Islamic society, especially in the major urban centers of the Islamic world. Given that rulers and other prominent members of the military and civilian elites also intervened to provide food to the poor during famines and food shortages, it is tempting to see the establishment of a pious endowment as an act of public policy. At the same time, however, sultans, amirs, and scholars were also private individuals, and the endowments they founded benefited their private interests as well. Many of the very same awqäf that provided services for the poor and other marginalized groups also functioned as family trusts which benefited the founder's family and his or her descendents in perpetuity. Furthermore, not all founders of pious endowments held government office. In many cases, awqäf were established by individuals whose private initiative benefited family and the poor alike. In many respects, it is difficult to draw a clear line between the kinds of endowments established by public figures and those established by private individuals. This article reexamines this well-known problem from a different perspective. Conceding the dual nature of Islamic endowments from the beginning, it seeks to explain why different types of awqäf predominated at certain periods, and not others. Primarily drawing on evidence from the period 1000-1500 C.E., this article is intended as a contribution to the history of waqf and charity in the Islamic Middle Ages. It breaks with the frequent tendency to regard waqf as a timeless institution, enshrined in Islamic law, and therefore largely static during the pre-modern period. A further clarification is in order. While it is possible to see waqf as a response to a set of social problems, that is not the approach that dominates in this article. Rather, my focus is on the motives of the founders. That is, I will deal with waqf insofar as it is donor-driven, rather than crisis-driven-with what Sandra Cavallo calls the "supply

"Between the Private and Public Spheres: Charity and State Intervention in Mamluk Egypt", 2018


Gorgias Press is delighted to announce the launch of its new inter-disciplinary book series: The ... more Gorgias Press is delighted to announce the launch of its new inter-disciplinary book series: The Modern Muslim World. The series will provide a platform for scholarly research on Islamic and Muslim thought, emerging from any geographic area and dated to any period from the 17th century until the present day. Academics dealing with any aspect of the Muslim world, irrespective of their specialisations (history, theology, philosophy, anthropology, science, art, economics, etc.), are invited to contribute to the series.

by Gorgias Press, Simon Wolfgang Fuchs, Isabel Toral-Niehoff, Joas Wagemakers, Susan Ashbrook Harvey, David Hernández de la Fuente, Anna Rogozhina, Elena Narinskaya, Johanne Louise Christiansen, Amina Inloes, Marcus Milwright, Najib George Awad (Dr. Phil; Dr. Theol. Habil.), Ryan Schaffner, Laura Hassan, Vladimir Bošković, Mark D Calder, Pietro Longo, Paolo Maggiolini, Keenan Baca-Winters, Saer El-Jaichi, Avraham Elmakias, Orhan Elmaz, Luca Patrizi, Rana Issa, Adam Sabra, Clinton Bennett, Adrian C . Pirtea, Michael R J Bonner, and Paul C. Dilley

Gorgias Press' 2018 Islamic Studies' catalogue sets out a selection of Gorgias' published and for... more Gorgias Press' 2018 Islamic Studies' catalogue sets out a selection of Gorgias' published and forthcoming publications that are related to Islamic and Near Eastern studies, as well as studies carried out for other fields of research that intersect with Islamic studies.