Mamluk Studies Research Papers - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

2025, in: Economic Warfare and the Crusades, ed. Stefan K. Stantchev

2025, Hespéris-Tamuda LX, 1 (2025): 69-85.

ʾIbn al-Bannāʾ serait né à Marrakech dans le quartier Qāʿat ʾIbn Nāhiḍ en 1256. C’est également dans ce quartier qu’il aurait habité. La tradition orale a conservé la mémoire de sa demeure. Il s’agirait d’une maison située au fond du derb Sīdī Aḥmad ʾIbn Nāṣir. Il est question de faire le point sur les sources historiques. Nous comparerons notre description de la maison dans son état actuel avec celle qu’en a proposée Abdelaziz Touri. S’agit-il vraiment de la maison du célèbre polygraphe ? Cette discussion sera l’occasion d’évoquer l’organisation urbaine d’un des plus anciens quartiers de Marrakech.

2025, Tarihyazımı

The Battle of Ankara in 1402 between Tīmūr and Sulṭān Yıldırım Bāyezīd I occupy an important place in the history of the Ottoman Empire and marks the beginning of the Ottoman Interregnum or Fetret Devri. The decentralization and subsequent collapse of the centralized Ottoman state is largely attributed to this battle. This paper examines the narrative of the Battle of Ankara by the sixteenthcentury scholar Muṣliḥ al-Dīn al-Lārī, a Safavid immigrant who settled in the Ottoman Empire. A unique perspective on the battle is provided by Lārī's universal history, Mirʾāt al-Advār wa-Mirqāt al-Akhbār, written in Persian which he presented to the Ottoman Sulṭān Selīm II on his enthronement. This paper argues that despite the work being dedicated to an Ottoman sultan, Lārī's account legitimizes Tīmūr and his campaign against the Ottomans by presenting Tīmūr's actions in a favorable light.

2025

This article examines the role played by Damascus in the crusaders'/Eastern Franks' strategic thinking across the lifespan of the mainland Crusader States. It also discusses further matters including trade between Damascus and... more

2025, Fiscalité et coercition dans le monde islamique à l’époque pré-moderne (viie -xvie siècles)

2025, Approches pluridisciplinaires sur le sonore dans le monde arabe

2025, İlahiyat Akademi Dergisi

Ibn al-Ḥājj, renowned for his Madkhal, a work written in Mamluk Cairo during the 8th century hijrī, focuses on the revival of the sunnahs that were at risk of being lost and the opposition to the bid'ahs that were seen as their replacements.In this context, his work is a significant component of the anti-bid'ah literature, although it is predominantly the subject of studies in the field of education. The present study aspires to illuminate the bid'ah debates of the era through the lens of the author, drawing upon the comprehensive content of the work within the scope of the revival of sunnahs and the abolition of bid'ahs.The impetus for this study stems from the author's provision of exhaustive illustrations of the applications of bid'ah in daily life under nearly every category. In this regard, Madkhal emerges as a highly favourable source for constructing a social history narrative of the period. In this study, the testimonies embedded within the text have been identified and analysed, with a focus on topics related to bid'ah. Given the comprehensive nature of the author's four-volume work, which encompasses numerous topics related to bid'at, a selection of those more readily associated with the historical context of the author's era has been made. In this direction, in addition to unveiling the author's perspectives on the selected subjects, the historical underpinnings in Ibn al-Ḥājj's meticulous accounts have been scrutinised to ascertain the basis upon which they became the focal point of bid'ah discourses in the first century of the Mamluks. It has been determined that the political, doctrinal (madhhabī), geographical, etc. conjuncture of his time played a significant role in shaping Ibn al-Ḥājj's understanding of bid'ah. Madkhal not only reflects the views of its author but also contains historical data that can shed light on the bid'ah debates of his time. In this context, it is noteworthy that Ibn al- Ḥājj's stricter stance on the observance of the Mawlid and the prayer of Raghā'ib, in comparison to his predecessors, was influenced by the fact that these days were celebrated with great opulence in the Mamluk Cairo where he resided. Indeed, the details he provides offer insight into the extent of this opulence. The most original part of Ibn al- Ḥājj's work is arguably the chapters devoted to women, in which the author, expressing concern over women's increased visibility and consequent impact on society, seeks to justify this phenomenon from various perspectives. The author's detailed narratives on the subject reveal a sensitivity among the ulama, particularly himself, towards the increased visibility of women in his period. Madkhal also provides data on the reasons for the increased sensitivity during this period.

2025, Diyanet Arapça İlmî Dergi

Tercüme makale / Translation article ÖZ Kudüs, 1517 ilâ 1917 yılları arasında Osmanlı Devleti tarafından yönetildi. Kudüs'ün Müslümanlar tarafından kutsal sayılması Osmanlı Devleti'nin bu dört asırlık yönetimindeki sosyal politikalarına doğrudan yansıdı. Bu kapsamda Müslümanların müreffeh bir yaşam sürmeleri için şehirde mevcut bulunan vakıf eserler yaşatılmaya devam etti ve ayrıca vakıflar aracılığıyla yeni eserler inşa edildi. Ancak Osmanlılar tarafından Kudüs'te inşa edilen ilk vakıf eseri 1517 senesinin daha öncesine uzanmaktadır. Çandarlı İbrahim Paşa'nın eşi İsfahan Şah Hatun 1437 senesinde Kudüs Harem-i Şerifi'nde bir medrese inşa ettirmiştir. Medrese, Osmaniyye, Hanım Hatun ve İsfahan Şah Hatun isimleriyle tanınmaktadır. Osmanlı Devleti tarafından Kudüs'te görev yapan Hanefî müftülerin bu medresedeki müderrisler arasından atanması medreseyi ayrıcalıklı kılmaktadır. İsfahan Şah Hatun, bu medrese için kurduğu vakfa temlik yoluyla edindiği 33 köy ve 1 mezrayı akar olarak tahsis etmiştir. 15. yüzyılda kurulan medresenin asırlar boyunca ilmî faaliyetlerini sürdürmesinde bu zengin vakıf akarlar etkili olmuştur. Bu çalışma Kudüs'teki ilk Osmanlı vakıf eseri olan İsfahan Şah Hatun Medresesi için kurulan vakfın tarihî serencamını ortaya koymayı amaçlamaktadır. İsfahan Şah'ın kimliğine ilişkin literatürde yer alan tartışmalara değinildikten sonra vakfiyesinden hareketle vakfın gelir ve giderleri tespit edilmiştir. Ayrıca arşiv belgelerine yansıdığı şekliyle vakfa yönelik müdahaleler ve bu müdahalelere karşı verilen mücadeleler ele alınmıştır.

2025, Pamukkale Üniversitesi İlahiyat Fakültesi Dergisi

Works on the biography (sīrah) of the Prophet Muhammad occupy a significant place within Islamic sciences. The discipline of sīra, which began to take a systematic form from the first century of the Hijrī calendar, has continued to develop with its own distinct methodology in the field of historiography up to the present day. Among these works, al-Mawāhib al-Ladunniyya, authored by the Egyptian hadith and qirāʾāt scholar Aḥmad b. Muḥammad al-Qasṭallānī (923/1517), holds a prominent position in the intellectual and cultural world due to its unique characteristics. Like in other Islamic lands, this work attracted considerable attention in the Ottoman Empire and was translated into Turkish by the renowned poet and litterateur Bāqī (1008/1600). Furthermore, the gloss (ḥāshiyah) by the Egyptian scholar Nūr al-Dīn ʿAlī b. ʿAlī alShibrāmallasī (1087/1676)and the commentary (sharḥ) by Muḥammad b. ʿAbd al-Bāqī b. Yūsuf al-Zurqānī (1122/1710) played a significant role in the dissemination and comprehension of the work. One of the objectives of this study is to identify the manuscript copies of al-Qasṭallānī’s al-Mawāhib al-Ladunniyya, along with its commentaries, glosses, and translations, preserved in the Suleymaniye Manuscript Library, which houses a vast collection of Islamic scholarly works. Based on this corpus, detailed tables have been compiled to assist researchers working on the text. Although the manuscript tradition is analyzed primarily in terms of quantity, qualitative assessments have also been made of the earliest and most unique copies. Due to limitations in article scope, however, manuscripts housed in other libraries across Turkey and printed editions of the text have been excluded from this study.
Keywords: Islamic History, Sirah, Ahmed b. Muhammed el-Qastallani, al-Mawāhib alLadunniyya, Suleymaniye Manuscript Library.

2025, Tasavvur / Tekirdağ İlahiyat Dergisi

Muhammed el-Muveylihî’nin kaleme aldığı Hadîsu Îsâ b. Hişâm adlı eser, klasik edebi tür olan makâme tarzında ele alınmaya çalışılmıştır. Bu-nunla birlikte roman ve hikâye gibi modern edebiyat türlerinden de izler taşımaktadır. Eser, yaklaşık olarak elli yıllık bir zaman zarfında Mısır top-lumunda meydana gelen sosyal değişimleri eleştirel bir bakış açısı ile ele al-maktadır. Doğu ve batı medeniyetlerinin özellikleri, eğitim, kültür, hukuk ve yargı gibi birçok konuyu farklı açılardan ele almaktadır. İlk olarak Mısır top-lumunu meydana getiren bütün bireylerin adalet önünde eşit olduğu dü-şüncesi vurgulanmaktadır. Ardından haksızlığa uğramış ve masum oldu-ğunu ispatlamak için adalet arayışına çıkan tarihi bir şahsiyetin karşılaştığı sorunlar ele alınmaktadır. Polis şubesinden başlayan sorunlar istinaf mah-kemesine kadar uzanmaktadır. Bu sayede yargı sisteminde meydana gelen ve adaletin sağlanmasını geciktiren bireysel ve kurumsal aksaklıklara dikkat çekilmek istenmektedir. Çalışmanın temel amacı el-Muveylihî hakkında kı-saca bilgi verildikten sonra Hadîsu Îsâ b. Hişâm başlıklı eserin konu, şahıs, zaman, mekân ve üslup açısından incelenmesidir. Eserde ele alınan Mısır toplumundaki sosyal değişim örneklerinin özellikle hukuk ve adalet bağla-mında ortaya konulması da hedeflenmiştir. Ayrıca araştırma yöntemlerin-den doküman analizi kullanılarak elde edilen bilgiler, ilgili konu bağlamında işlenmeye çalışılmıştır.

2025, Tasavvur / Tekirdağ İlahiyat Dergisi

Throughout human history, places of worship, such as monasteries, churches, synagogues, and mosques, have been regarded as sacred spaces. Central to this concept lies the idea of sacred space as a site where divinity manifests. For believers, such spaces serve as reminders of God's greatness and their own sense of belonging and humility. They foster devotion, sub-mission, gratitude, and reverence while also symbolizing purification and renewal. In Islamic belief, al-Masjid al-Haram and al-Masjid an-Nabawi are the two most significant mosques, collectively referred to as al-Masjidayn (the Two Mosques). Together, these two mosques served as spiritual centers shaping Muslim society and supporting the spread of Islam. Al-Masjid al-Haram distinguished Makkah, he Prophet Muhammad’s birthplace and the city where he began his prophetic mission; the Masjid an-Nabawi distingu-ished Medina, where he spent the second half of his mission, led the Muslim community as a head of state, and passed away. The aim of this study is to examine the religious, historical, and social functions, as well as the archi-tectural and symbolic depth of al-Masjid al-Haram and al-Masjid an-Nabawi through a comparative approach, thereby identifying the similari-ties and differences between the two mosques. In line with this objective, a qualitative method has been adopted; through thematic analysis of Islamic historical sources—particularly works on the urban histories of Makkah and Medina—the structural and functional characteristics of both mosques are addressed comparatively. Both the Kaaba and al-Masjid an-Nabawi were initially built as simple, roofless structures with only modest enclosures. Over time, various architectural elements such as roofs, columns, and cano-pies were added to meet the growing needs of the Muslim community. The columns within the Kaaba were originally made of wood and served only to support the roof. It is recorded that the Prophet Muḥammad prayed inside the Kaaba, standing between the two front pillars. However, he did not encourage praying within the Kaaba itself. In contrast, al-Masjid an-Nabawi holds a distinct feature: the Prophet encouraged believers to enter this area. Ultimately, this study argues that even though al-Masjid al-Haram and al-Masjid an-Nabawi differ in terms of architecture and func-tion, they form a complementary whole in the spiritual lives of Muslims. The historical and religious elements of these two mosques provide a sense of unity for believers, fostering a profound connection between them, their Lord, and their Prophet. This article aims to make an original academic contribution to the current literature by examining the architectural and symbolic dimensions of al-Masjid al-Haram and al-Masjid al-Nabawi thro-ugh a comparative approach, focusing on their place, meaning, and value within Islamic civilization.

2025, Marmara Üniversitesi İlahiyat Fakültesi Dergisi

This article explores the diversity of educational institutions in Damascus between the 11th and 16th centuries, focusing on their names, functions, and scholarly content. Building on al-Nuʿaymī’s al-Dāris, it proposes a dual typology that goes beyond traditional classifications to reveal their functional transformation over time.
Drawing on al-Nuʿaymī’s accounts, this study examines how institutions like madrasas, dār al-ḥadīths, and khānqāhs evolved in their curricula and scholarly roles over time. Spatial analysis using GIS reveals the distribution and clustering of these institutions across key districts of Damascus.
This article re-evaluates the classification of educational institutions in Damascus based on both traditional nomenclature and their actual functions. It introduces a new typology—narrow and comprehensive—that aims to better reflect the multidisciplinarity and social roles of these institutions.

2025, Connecting Courts and Coasts: Trade, Knowledge, and Cultural Networks in the Western Indian Ocean. University of Liège, Belgium.

This paper interrogates architectural historiography’s persistent framing of religious buildings in Malabar as either “Indic” or “non-Indic”, or as isolated expressions of Hindu, Muslim, or Christian traditions. Drawing on my doctoral research, a material and architectural study of historical building traditions comprising temples, mosques, churches, and synagogues in Malabar, I argue that these structures are not disconnected ‘civilisational’ artefacts. Rather, they emerge as entangled material forms shaped by shared building traditions, artisan mobility, environmental adaptation, and layered histories of interreligious patronage.
Rather than casting Malabari mosques as “temple-like” or synagogues as anomalous, this paper advances a methodological framework of transculturality that foregrounds convergence, adaptation, and situated translation, rather than visual mimicry or passive influence. This approach disrupts bounded and homogenous models of architectural tradition and instead reveals how stylistic forms were negotiated and reinterpreted within regional idioms. By historicising the Southwestern Coastal Architectural Style, the paper offers a decolonial reading of architectural heritage that neither defaults to Hindu prototypes nor treats diversity as fragmentation.
The paper contributes to the conference’s central themes by presenting Malabar as a nodal point in the Indian Ocean World, where religious architecture materialised through the interconnected networks of trade, artisanal knowledge, and cosmopolitan patronage. It advocates for processual, decolonised methodologies that recognise transculturation not as an exception, but as a formative condition of architectural knowledge production in Malabar.

2025, Journal of Arabic and Islamic Studies

The reputation of Ḥanbalite thinkers among academicians is one of an aggressive opponent to other Islamic fields of thought. They refute the scholars of Muslim theology, philosophy and mysticism on the basis of pure Islamic faith, represented they believe by the pious ancestors (al-salaf al-ṣāliḥ). According to the Ḥanbalites, true Islamic belief can only be derived from the Qurʾan, the Sunnah of Prophet Muhammad and the first generation of companions. Ibn Taymiyya (d. 728 AH/1328 CE), the subject of this discussion belonged to the Ḥanbalite school of thought in Islam and was regarded as their most prominent representative. He has indeed come to be known as the father of the salafī 1 doctrine.Key words: Ḥanbalite, Ibn Taymiyya, Islamic philosophy, Qur’an, sunna, generation (ḥudūth), divine will and knowledge, kalam, God’s essence, reason, eternal creation, God’s attributes, genera and species, Ashʿarite and Muʿtazilite.

2025

Dr. Dimitris Liakos (Thessaloniki) "Patronage on Mount Athos in the light of written sources, shinning artworks and recent archaeological findings (10th -early 16th centuries)" Spanning the period from the 10th until to the 16th century, the relations between the Athonite monasteries and several persons, such as emperors, aristocrats, military or administrative dignitaries, rulers of other Orthodox countries, patriarchs, bishops, abbots, monks and laymen, were intense and complicated. Among other things, they are strongly reflected by luxury donations that directly echo the social status and the economic power of their patrons. Moreover, taking into account documents, inventories, wills, etc. numerous artworks kept in Athonite churches and sacristies, we can gain an idea of the wealth that was at the disposal of the monasteries and mainly what has been lost, since such objects have always been vulnerable to theft, fire etc. Ιn this lecture we will focus on patterns of patronage on Mount Athos from the 10th to the 16th century, with a selected presentation of some donations for the building of monasteries, as well as donations of luxury items. Dimitris Liakos studied at the Faculty of History and Archaeology of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (1991Thessaloniki ( -1995) ) and earned his Ph.D. in Byzantine and Post-Byzantine Art from the Faculty of Architecture at the same university (2000). He currently works at the Ephorate of Antiquities of Chalkidiki and Mount Athos, under the Ministry of Culture and Sports, Greece. His research focuses on Byzantine and Post-Byzantine sculpture, woodcarving, metalwork, minor objects, inscriptions, and opus sectile pavements of Mount Athos.

2025, Trajectories of State Formation across Fifteenth-Century Islamic West-Asia

On the morning of the tenth of January 1420, four high-ranking Venetian merchants made their way towards the office of the Venetian consul, Biagio Dolfin, in the fondaco in Alexandria, Egypt.1 The four, Carlo Contarini, Lorenzo Bembo, Angelo Michiel, and Polo Michiel then proceeded to copy pages 45, 95 and 111 of the consul's ledger ('libro'). Each of them produced their own copy of these pages and each of them added a note specifying that they had done this on the behest of the consul.2 Such procedure seems unusual. Who were these merchants and what had happened? What was contained in the consul's ledger to motivate such solemn proceedings?

2025, Heritage

The conservation of monuments in Cairo represents a complex matter, influenced by the cultural context, the intrinsic features of a vast and heterogeneous architectural heritage, and the environmental conditions. Monument vulnerability levels strongly need to be systematized to delineate adequate programs of control, management, and intervention. Despite their leading role in the Egyptian architectural heritage, many monuments experience a critical state of conservation. Here, we report the results of a multi-scale investigation of the northern mausoleum in the complex of the Khanqah of Al-Nasir Faraj Ibn Barquq, located in the Islamic cemetery of Al-Qarafa Al-Kubra (Cairo, Egypt). Our research aims to increase the knowledge on the decorative stones used in the mausoleum and their decay processes. The investigation has been focused on the two areas of the building covered by a colored stone-slabs pattern: the floor and the qibla wall. A detailed architectural survey, carried out thr...

2025, al-Qantara

The retrieval of an Arabic notary deed produced in Cyprus in 1435 triggers this inquiry into the overlapping scribal systems under the Crusaders. The article discusses the Crusaders' reluctant attitudes toward writing and archiving their own laws and the myths around old archives and their destruction that arose in the literature. Frankish chanceries, populated mainly by Syrians, followed an archival logic that had much in common with their Islamic counterparts. The article reconsiders recent literature dealing with chancery practices, the materiality of documents, and the lack of archives in Medieval Islam.

2025, Beni iste bulursen… Une traduction mamelouke-turque inconnue de la Prière Syrienne

Paper presented at the 6e Congrès des études sur le Moyen-Orient et les mondes musulmans (GIS MOMM), June 24-27, Strasbourg Depuis l’étude fondamentale de János Eckmann en 1963, le petit corpus de la littérature mamelouke-turque n’a... more

2025

Que se cache derrière le terme usurpé de Civilisation arabo-musulmane

2025, Journal of Islamic Manuscripts

Embedded in a lively research trend in the Arabic manuscript studies, this contribution aims at providing a preliminary picture of the library of the Beiruti physician Yūsuf Ṣayfī. The latter’s manuscript collection, currently kept at the University of Leeds, will be thoroughly analysed with regard to its codicological and palaeographical features as well as its thematic arrangement. Whereas Yūsuf Ṣayfī’s library can be consistently classified as a specialised collection of medical texts, his approach to book culture as exhibited in the collection is heterogenous. Through the evidence of the manuscripts, a partial profile of this unknown man and his library will be sketched. The specificities identified in this case study will be then mirrored into its reference framework, that is, 13th-/19th-century Bilād al-Shām, thereby enabling us to contextualise Yūsuf Ṣayfī’s library into the book and literary culture of this fascinating (and revolutionary) period in the history of the Arabic-speaking world.

2025, Tarih Yazımı

Öz: Rüya, insanoğlunun varoluş serüveninde yerini alan, gelecek, Tanrı, ölüm ve sonrasına dair sorgulamanın inanç temelinde işlenmesiyle anlam kazanmış bir kavramdır. Sümerlerden itibaren, bilinen en eski yazılı kayıtlarda rüyalardan bahsedilmiş; Animizm, öğreti dinleri ve semavi dinlerin önemli bir motif olarak rüyaları referans aldığı görülmüştür. Gerek kutsal kitaplarda yer alması ve gerekse de peygamberlerin rüyalara verdiği önem nedeniyle, rüya anlatıcılığı ve rüya yorumculuğu kutsiyet dairesi içine dâhil edilmiştir. Orta Çağ tarih yazıcılığında, tarihe iz bırakan devlet adamları hakkında yazılan eserlerin büyük çoğunluğunda rüya motifinin kullanıldığı görülür. Biz bu makalede, rüya motifinin tarih yazıcılığındaki yerine teorik bir açıklama getirdikten sonra, icraatlarıyla adını tarihe yazdırmış iki devlet adamı olan Sultan Sencer ve Cengiz Han'a dair bazı eserlerde geçen rüyaları doğrudan naklettik. Seçmiş olduğumuz rüyaların ana temalarının ve kullanılan motiflerin benzerliğine dikkat çekmeye çalıştık. Bu bağlamda iki farklı inanca sahip bu iki hükümdarın, yine farklı inançların etkisinde yazılan eserlerde nasıl sunuldukları meselesi de bu makalenin ana sorunsalıdır. Rüyalarda hangi konuya odaklanıldığı, hangi kavramların öne çıkarıldığı ve bunların tarihi kayıtlarla ne ölçüde örtüştüğü meselesi de bu makalede cevap aranan sorular arasındadır.

2025, Journal of Qur'anic Studies

The Mamlūk biographer al-Sakhāwī (d. 902/1497) praised Sirāj al-Dīn al-Bulqīnī (d. 805/1403), the pre-eminent scholar and judge of the late fourteenth to early fifteenth century, for curtailing the practice of tafsīr al-Qurʾān bi’l-taqṭīʿ. This was a new category of Qur’an interpretation: a method of generating meaning through the use of word-breaking. The main proponents of this practice were the Shādhilī Sufi Ḥusayn al-Ḥabbār (d. 791/1389) and his followers, who perpetuated his exegetical approach. Attempts to curtail this practice of Qur’an commentary in Mamlūk Cairo were made by scholars and members of the judicial class, the most prominent among them being Sirāj al-Dīn al-Bulqīnī and his son Jalāl al-Dīn (d. 824/1421). This practice was policed not for its actual interpretations but because of its method, which undermined the shared philological basis for deriving meaning from the Qur’an. This study accounts for these historical controversies over word-breaking in interpreting the Qur’an, augmenting and correcting previous studies on the is subject published by Walid Saleh and Jonathan Berkey. It also analyses the role institutions such as the zāwiya and the office of the Shāfiʿī chief judge played in promoting such interpretations and regulating religious life and education. These controversies ultimately result from a tension between the oral and the written, as is demonstrated in this article by analysis of the use of word-breaking in the interpretation of the Qur’anic term salsabīl, and of similar problems of orality discussed in classical manuals on the proper recitation of the Qur’an.

2025, Asiatische Studien

The Qurʾān commentary of Zamakhsharī (d. 538/1144), his Kashshāf, gained wide acclaim shortly after being written, and was widely used in research and teaching throughout the Islamic world. This favourable reception was largely due to its new rhetorical insights on how ideas are articulated in the Qurʾān through specific linguistic constructions. The work was also critiqued for its Muʿtazilī content, the work viewed with suspicion for championingsurreptitiously at thatthe heterodox interpretations of that theological school. Appraisal and critique formed much of the basis for scholarly engagement with this work in the form of teaching and commentary writing, especially the form of supercommentary writing (ḥawāshī) the Kashshāf initiated. That Mamluk scholarly culture had an overly negative response to the Kashshāf for theological reasons has been vastly overstated in recent scholarship, possibly due to a tendency to view theology as a sufficient impetus driving past intellectual activity. This general portrayal derives from specific Mamluk scholars being depicted as warning against the book, forbidding its study, calling for it to be banned, and undermining or disparaging others for supporting it. This negative reception has also served to justify the transition in the Islamic world to the tafsīr of Bayḍāwī, a work which largely excised the Muʿtazilism of the Kashshāf. This article reconsiders the evidence for an overall negative Mamluk era reception of the Kashshāf, with specific reference to the activities of those scholars whose depiction contributes to an inaccurate portrayal of a crucial moment in tafsīr history, both for the activities of Mamluk era scholars themselves, as well as the subsequent shift to the use of Bayḍāwī.

2025, Uluslararası Türk Lehçe Araştırmaları Dergisi (TÜRKLAD)

1250-1517 yılları arasında hüküm süren Memlük Devleti’nde, Mısır ve çevresindeki Türklerin yönetimdeki önemli etkisi, Arap toplumunda Türkçe öğrenme ihtiyacını ortaya çıkarmıştır. Bu ihtiyaca yönelik olarak Arapça-Türkçe sözlükler yazılmış, bunlardan biri de Cemâlu’d-dîn Abdullah et-Türkî’ye ait Kitābu Bulġatu’l-Muştāḳ fi Luġati’t-Turk ve’l-Ḳıfçāḳ adlı sözlüktür. Bu sözlüğün bilinen tek nüshası, Paris Bibliotheque Nationale’dedir ve bu nüsha üzerine Polonyalı Türkolog Ananiasz Zajaczkowski çalışmıştır. Zajaczkowski, bu çalışmasını iki ayrı cilt halinde (1954, 1958) yayımlamıştır. Gülhan al-Türk, sözlüğün dil özelliklerini doktora tezinde (2012) incelemiş ve sözlük içindeki alıntı kelimeler üzerine bir makale (2018) yayımlamıştır. 2022 yılında Savaş Karagözlü ve Musa Salan tarafından Kastamonu’da tespit edilen ikinci bir nüsha, Kitābu Bulġatu’l-Muştāḳ Fi Luġati’t-Turk Ve’l-Ḳıfçāḳ Kastamonu Nüshası (Giriş–İnceleme–Tıpkıbasım–Transkripsiyon–Dizin) adıyla Türkoloji dünyasına kazandırılmıştır. Bu nüsha, Paris nüshasındaki 71 sözcüğe ek olarak 759 yeni sözcük tanıklaması içermektedir. Kastamonu nüshasında yer alan söz varlığı, Paris nüshasına kıyasla hem nicelik hem de nitelik bakımından farklılık göstermektedir. Ayrıca sözlükte Oğuz ve Kıpçak lehçelerine ait unsurlar da yer almaktadır. Bu tanıtım yazısı, iki nüsha arasındaki temel farkları dil verileri üzerinden ele alarak Kastamonu nüshasının sözlükbilim ve tarihî Türk lehçeleri açısından önemini ortaya koymayı hedeflemektedir.

2025, IJOT 24

This paper provides a comprehensive analysis and interpretation of a Mamlūk decree found on the façade of al-Utrush Mosque in Aleppo. The decree is dated 874 AH/1470 AD. The governor of Aleppo, Amir Qansuh el-Yahyawi, issued this decree to eliminate a recently imposed tax on singers and weddings, which was charged by the Amir and Mihtar (مهتار) of the Ṭabl-K̲h̲āna. This tax, known as manfouʿ el-maghānī (منفوع المغاني), has now been abolished. The edict did not include provisions for the elimination of the levy known as ḍaman al maghānī (ضمان المغاني), nor did it prohibit singers and dancers from participating in wedding celebrations or practicing their profession. The inscription garnered the interest of numerous orientalists who captured photographs of it and endeavoured to decipher its meaning. Ernst Herzfeld was an orientalist who was content with the knowledge he gained via reading one of those who tried to read the inscription. Consequently, the reading was insufficient and riddled with several deficiencies. This failed to assist him in attaining information regarding the subject matter of the inscription or its intended objective. The decree persisted throughout that period, albeit with some elements missing. In 2005, I captured a photograph of this inscription prior to its significant damage during the recent conflict. Additionally, I accessed the images in the Herzfeld archive at the Freer/Sackler Gallery, which is associated with the Smithsonian Institution in Washington. Subsequently, I utilised various advanced software programmes to magnify the images multiple times without compromising their quality, thereby enhancing the visibility of the letter shadows. This process required considerable effort to complete.
This paper provides a thorough examination of the Mamlūk decree, elucidating its substance, purpose, and historical importance. The findings enhance our comprehension of the socio-economic dynamics and legal practices that were prevalent in Aleppo throughout the Mamlūk period.

2025, Sevtap Gölgesiz, Karaca (ed.), The Crusades. Historiography, Representations and Relations from Europe to the Latin East

On 5 August 1243 the emperor of Constantinople Baldwin II of Courtenay (1240-1273) addressed a letter to Blanche of Castile, mother of the king of France Louis IX (1226-1270), containing a remarkable marriage-related request with regard to his recent alliance with the Seljuk sultanate of Rum. Both royals were his – rather distant – blood
relatives. Given the fact that said letter offers an interesting insight into Christian-Muslim relations from the perspective of the Latin imperial court, with this contribution I offer a detailed study of the document in question, situating it within its proper geopolitical context and taking into account earlier Seljuk-Latin imperial relations and contacts.

2025, Vem Panarmenian Journal, Linguistics N 1

The research article is devoted to the linguostylistic analysis of Abraham Lincoln's political speeches. The analysis comes to prove that the stylistic devices and expressive means used by Abraham Lincoln in his political speeches secure the realization of the persuasive message in the triangle of ideology, politics and language. It strengthens the objectivity and the credibility of the political argumentation and shows the intellectual growth of the public speaker. Thus, political discourse can be regarded as is an art of understanding and an art of explaining since the author should find himself in agreement about the ideology of the political message.

2025

يتناول التقرير دارسة لمشروع مكتب تنسيق التعريب لإصدار"المعجم الموحد لمصطلحات الأرشفة والتوثيق" . اشتمل التقرير على دراسة للمادة المجموعة وعلى قضايا التعريف والدقة اللغوية.كما تناول المصادر التي فات المعجم الاستعانة بها. وقد قدمت الورقة في ندوة عربية عقدت يوم 17 يونيو /حزيران 2025 شارك فيها عدد من الباحثين العرب في مجالي المصطلح والأرشفة. من المتوقع أن يعاد النظر في النسخة الأولية بناء على توصيات المشاركين.

2025

2025 Virtual Byzantine Colloquium
4–5 June 2025
Senate House, University of London
Malet Street, London WC1E 7HU

2025, Das Mittelalter. Perspektiven mediävistischer Forschung

Sam Ottewill-Soulsby, The Emperor and the Elephant. Christians and Muslims in the Age of Charlemagne, Princeton 2023, in: Das Mittelalter. Perspektiven mediävistischer Forschung 30/1 (2025), 237–238

2025, Toplumsal Tarih Akademi

Bu makale, geç Orta Çağ Anadolusu'nda tıp ve doğa bilimleri alanında yazılan Türkçe eserlerde mütāla'a kavramının işlevini inceleyerek, bu eserlerin pratik bilgi sağlayan başvuru metinleri ve bireysel öğrenimi teşvik eden araçlar olarak nasıl konumlandığını tartışmaktadır. Literatürde genellikle erken modern Osmanlı medrese bağlamında ele alınan mütāla'a pratiğinin, geç Orta Çağ Anadolusu'nda özellikle Türkçe kılavuz ve ansiklopedik metinlerde merkezi bir role sahip olduğu gösterilmektedir. Fihristli, hiyerarşik başlıklara ayrılmış ve kullanıcı dostu şekilde düzenlenmiş bu eserler, okuyucunun doğrudan bir üstad veya hocaya bağımlı olmaksızın bilgiye erişimini mümkün kılmakta, hatta hekim ya da müderrisin yokluğunda onların yerini alabileceklerini iddia etmektedir. Türkçe doğa bilimleri ve tıp kitapları, yalnızca muteber kaynaklardan bilgi aktarmakla kalmayıp, bilginin derlenme ve okunma yöntemlerini de Anadolu'ya taşımakta ve dönemin entelektüel dünyasında önemli bir dönüşümü yansıtmaktadır.

2025, Intervention: The Debate of Arquebus and Bow: A Stylistic and Textual Analysis of the Yemeni Munāẓara by Ibrāhīm b. Ṣāliḥ al-Hindī (d. 1690)

Organisation: Syrinx von Hees, Nandagopal R. Menon and Johannes Ruhstorfer

2025, Anglo-Hellenic Review

2025, Sakarya Üniversitesi İlahiyat Fakültesi Dergisi

This article explores the patrons of institutions of learning in Damascus from the fifth/eleventh to the tenth/sixteenth centuries through the lens of Damascene historian ʿAbd al-Qādir al-Nuʿaymī’s (d. 927/1521) al-Dāris fī Tārīkh al-Madāris, a book devoted exclusively to the history of madrasas and other educational institutions in Damascus. A quadruple typology is developed for patrons/endowers who contributed to the institutionalization of learning in the city, and the findings indicate that 83 institutions were endowed by the military elite (umarāʾ), 65 by scholars (ʿulamāʾ), 46 by members of ruling dynasties, and 13 by notables (i.e. merchants and artisans). The first educational institutions in Damascus were endowed during the Fatimid period (n=4). The process of institutionalization, which progressed slowly under the Seljuks (n=2) and Tughtiginid rule (n=7), reached its first significant phase during the Zangid period (n=15). Distinctively, however, the most substantial increase occurred during the Ayyubid (n=100) and Mamluk periods (n=96). According to the spatial analysis using Geographical Information Systems (GIS), all four types of endowers concentrated their institutions of learning in the Umayyad Mosque area, which is the political and cultural center of the city. This region was followed by the Sālihiyya quarter to the north and the Sharafayn district to the west, parallel with the city’s spatial expansion over time. Educational institutions of various scales, endowed by philanthropic patrons from diverse segments of society, such as dynasty members, amīrs, civil bureaucrats, scholars, women, merchants, and artisans, contributed to the formation of an extensive institutional network in Damascus during the period under study.

2025

Although al-Jildakī is one of the most important Arabic alchemists in history, he is still a shadowy, mysterious figure as are most of the Arabic alchemists. Fortunately, modern scholarly research has shown increasing interest in uncovering the mysteries surrounding the life of this celebrated alchemist. In this contribution, we aim to shed light on certain aspects of the enigmatic aura surrounding al-Jildakī, particularly regarding the geographical scope of his scientific activity, his places of residence, discussing whether he is Egyptian by origin or not. The second part of this paper will concern his opus magnum and maybe his latest work al-Miṣbāḥ fī asrār ʿilm al-miftāḥ ("The lamp, on the secrets of the science of the key"), in which al-Jildakī has collected all of his knowledge in alchemy, his important concepts, principles and views. Al-Miṣbāḥ is considered a summary of his previous books. The discussion will clarify al-Miṣbāḥ's authenticity, correct title, and whether al-Jildakī wrote the book in two parts as he mentions in the preface, which consequently may give a hint about al-Jildakī's deathdate.

2025, Universität Münster

The Turkish munāẓara genre is attested across all periods of Turkish literature’s history, from the earliest examples of post-Islamic Turkic literature to the final years of the Ottoman Empire. In this presentation, I provided a comprehensive overview of the genre’s popularity and thematic shifts over the centuries, taking into consideration all hitherto identified Turkic-language debates written and translated in Central Asia and Anatolia. Additionally, I examined how debates were conducted in Turkish munāẓaras and its relationship with the rules of ādāb al-baḥth wa-l-munāẓara. Finally, I discussed the most prominent debate in Turkish literature—those between pleasure-inducing substances (mukayyifāt).

2025, DH

There exist about 150,000 premodern Arabic documents on papyrus and paper, of which about 2,500 have been edited. Another 10,000 unpublished documents are described or mentioned in papyrological publications. It is the aim of the Arabic Papyrology Database (APD) to give access to published texts and descriptions. For the APD, an entirely new approach of organizing Arabic text was developed. The APD presents texts in five levels that account for the peculiarities of the Arabic script system and the scribal practices. The first level provides a faithful diplomatic edition of the text as found in the document. The following levels document four steps of editorial interventions. On the second level, lines of characters are broken into single words. On the third level, lacking diacritical dots are supplied. On the fourth level, Arabic vowel signs are added, providing a full phonological representation. On the fifth level, a scientific Latin transliteration is given. Each element of the fifth level is connected to a lexicon and a list of grammatical forms. All levels contain variant readings and editorial remarks. At present, the APD contains 1,806 full-text documents and is freely accessible ().

2025, Historicizing Sunni Islam in the Ottoman Empire, c. 1450-c.1750

2025, The Occult Review

The terms “occult” and “mystic” are often used interchangeably, but they have distinct meanings. The occultist studies secret sciences like alchemy and astrology, while the mystic focuses on re-establishing a connection with the divine... more

2025, Kafkas Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Enstitü Dergisi

Moğol kökenli olan Çingiz Han Türk tarihinin bir parçası kabul edilirse ki etmek gereklidir. Dünya hükümdarlığı fikri ile yola çıkmış birçok dünya liderinden biridir. Bu dünya liderleri gittikleri coğrafyalarda neler yapmışlarsa Çingiz Han'da onu veya daha az benzerini yapmıştır. Bazı Ermeni vakainüvistler yazdıkları eserlerinde kendi yaptıkları ölüm saçan icraatlarını göz ardı edip, Çingiz Han'ın komutanlarının yaptıklarını abartarak anlatmaları hakkaniyet ölçüleriyle bağdaşmamaktadır. Çingiz'in komutanları Şüregel'i aldıktan sonra huzur ortamı bir ara sağlanmış ve birçok eserin yapımı temin edilebilmiştir. Yazımızın içinde Şüregel'de egemen olan komutanlar ve bıraktıkları eserler kitabelerden ve vakayinamelerden yararlanılarak kısaca belirtilecektir.

2025, International Journal of Islamic Architecture

2025, Research Africa Reviews

One of the most overlooked figures in African diaspora studies is Suḥaym ʿAbd Banī Ḥassḥās (Suḥaym, the slave of the Ḥassḥās clan). His neglect arises from several factors: the general neglect of critical archival research on the African diaspora in Arabia, the unconventional life Suḥaym led, and his personal indifference to Islam. His poetry, which chronicles defiance during the formative years of Arab nationalism following the rise of Islam, challenged the patriarchal chauvinism of his enslavers and resisted erasure by the cultural elite. However, his execution by immolation highlights the violent limits of tolerance in a culture that celebrated his art while undermining his humanity.

2025, Contemporary Readings in Law and Social Justice 17, no. 1 (2025): 395–417. https://crlsj.com. Q2

This study explores the inscriptions engraved on the rings of the Fatimid caliphs, examining their symbolic, political, and religious significance. These inscriptions, often characterized by their brevity and rhetorical precision, encapsulated key ideological and theological concepts. The ring, with its engraved inscription, functioned as a potent symbol of authority, adopted by rulers and political leaders since antiquity. The tradition was continued by Muslim caliphs, following the example of the Prophet Muhammad, who wore a ring inscribed with the words "Muḥammad Rasūl Allāh" (Muhammad is the Messenger of God). Fatimid caliphs adopted this practice, commissioning both official and personal rings bearing eloquent and meaningful phrases that reflected their faith, trust in God, and devotion to divine will. The study is divided into two main sections. The first provides a critical analysis of the inscriptions, tracing their heritage-based sources, thematic content, stylistic features, and the political, religious, and literary messages they conveyed. It also enumerates the inscriptions attributed to each Fatimid caliph. These inscriptions reflect the caliphs' religious conviction, their sense of divine mission, and their role as protectors of the faith and the community. They serve as concentrated expressions of their personal and political identities. The second section compiles and documents the surviving inscriptions, organizing them chronologically according to the reigns of the respective caliphs. It includes detailed documentation, variant readings, and visual interpretations of the inscriptions.

2025, Bassam Dayoub

The mastaba represents a relatively understudied element of Mamluk architecture, despite the presence of a considerable documentation in contemporary sources. Primarily situated outside urban centers along major trade routes, these structures functioned as rest stations for official caravans traveling between Cairo and Aleppo. Over time, the mastaba evolved from a simple, standalone platform into a more complex architectural ensemble incorporating various buildings that addressed the diverse needs of travelers. Ultimately, the mastaba stands as a testament to the cultural and infrastructural development during the Mamluk period.

2025

تاريخ بطاركة الاسكندرية, النسخة الاثيوبى, اساقفة الكنيسة القبطية