Selections from Subh al-A'shā by al-Qalqashandi, Clerk of the Mamluk Court: Egypt: “Seats of Government” and “Regulation
Tarek Galal Abdelhamid, "Selections from Subh al-A'shā by al-Qalqashandi, Clerk of the Mamluk Court: Egypt: “Seats of Government” and “Regulation"
English | ISBN: 1138669938 | 2017 | 478 pages | EPUB | 819 KB
English | ISBN: 1138669938 | 2017 | 478 pages | EPUB | 819 KB
Ṣubḥ al-A‘shā
by al-Qalqashandī is a manual for chancery clerks completed in 1412 and a vital source of information on Fatimid and Mamluk Egypt which, for the first time, has been translated into English.
The text provides valuable insight into the Mamluk and earlier Muslim eras. The selections presented in this volume describe Cairo, Fustat and the Cairo Citadel and give a detailed picture of the Fatimid (AD 969–1172), Ayyubid (AD 1172-1250) and Mamluk (AD 1250–1412) court customs, rituals and protocols, and depict how the Mamluk Sultanate was ruled. It also contains a wealth of details covering the geography, history and state administration systems of medieval Egypt. An introduction preceding the translation contextualizes al-Qalqashandī’s role and manu□script, as well as introducing the man himself, while detailed notes accompany the translation to explain and elaborate on the content of the material. The volume concludes with an extensive glossary of terms which forms a mini-encyclopaedia of the Fatimid and Mamluk periods.
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