The dissertation investigates the relationship between a polity ruled by the sharifs of Mecca, descendants of the Prophet Muhammad, and the expansionist Mamluk Sultanate, which ruled Egypt and Syria from 1260-1517. The dissertation argues that, during the first half of the fifte…
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This dissertation explores the emergence of a golden age of Arabic encyclopaedic literature in the scholarly centers of Egypt and Syria during the Mamluk Empire (1250–1517). At the heart of the project is a study of Shih ab al-Din Ahmad b. `Abd al-Wahh ab al-Nuwayri's (d. 1333) …
Mamlük equestrian expertise in Egypt and Syria from mid-thirteenth to early sixteenth century reflects skills derived from a variety of sources incorporated artfully into their military institution, and which exerted influence beyond the period and the region with which it is di…
This history of a single district of Cairo explores the connections of the social fabric of Mamluk and early Ottoman society to the built environment. The al-Darb al-Ah[dotbelow]mar district of Cairo in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries was composed of a few commercial and l…
This dissertation is a social and religious history of four different groups of Sufis in medieval Egypt. The late twelfth through the early fourteenth centuries witnessed a remarkably creative episode in the religious history of Egypt, which was home to a variety of Sufi groups …
This critical English translation of the article on the jinn from the 14th-century zoological work, Hayat al-Hayawan al-Kubra written by the Egyptian al-Damiri is presented with two primary objectives in mind. The first is to investigate al-Damiris sources and scholarship in the…
The term “sgraffito” refers to a ceramic decorative technique in which a design is cut through a light-colored slip to reveal the dark-colored earthenware body of the vessel's fabric. Sgraffito ware was one of the most common and widespread forms of regular tableware in Islam an…
The role of madrasahs in Mamluk Egypt (1250-1517) has been the subject of debate among scholars of the period. Recent studies have deemphasized the importance of these institutions as centers of Islamic legal education. This dissertation responds to these assertions by looking a…
This thesis examines the methods by which the Ottoman Empire conquered and endeavored to control the city of Aleppo--a cosmopolitan urban center now in northern Syria. It employs a broad understanding of conquest, one that considers engagements and orientations stretching far ar…
This dissertation is an in depth investigation and reevaluation of the life of Ibrahim-i Gulseni, the famous and controversial founder of the Gulseni order of dervishes in Egypt and the Cairene Ottoman saint, with a specific focus on the Mamluk and Ottoman Egypt years of his lif…
The Mamluk sultans legitimated their rule through the conscious promotion of Islamic themes. Chief among them were the waging of holy war, a dispensation from the Abbasid caliphs, the special relationship of the Mamluk sultan to the H[dotbelow]ijaz, and Mamluk patronage of relig…
This thesis examines the striking disconnect between the extensive power wielded by women in medieval Cairo and the 'official' constructions of gender relationships articulated by the 'ulama'. The formal discourses produced by legal-religious scholars encouraged men to monitor, …
Arabic historical narratives from fifteenth century Egypt allow a holistic exploration of the parallels and dichotomies inherent in debates regarding plague epidemics and etiology, classical Islamic medicine, and the fluid and yet precarious societal position of the ulama as his…
This dissertation seeks to rekindle a discussion of late Sunni creativity and innovation through a study into the life and thought of Zakariyya al-Ans[dotbelow]ari (d. 926/1520), an influential Shafi'i legist and Sufi from Egypt's late-Mamluk period. It is driven by two fundamen…
This research looks at attempts by the Egyptian polymath Jalal al-Din al-Suyut [dotbelow]i (d. 1505) to frame his authority as a jurist in his legal writings. The research aims to access the multi-faceted legal persona that the author constructs through his use of the written wo…
This dissertation discusses the Sultan H[dotbelow]asan Complex in Cairo, 1357-1364, one of the most significant examples of Mamluk architecture. The focus of the study is on the architecture and decoration of the Complex in its historical, urban and stylistic context. It suggest…
This dissertation analyses the relationship between the Ottoman and the Mamluk powers from the mid-fourteenth century to 1512, or from the inception of Ottoman-Mamluk diplomatic relations through the rule of Bayezid II. During this period, the relationship between these two powe…