The Abbasid Caliphate of Cairo, 1261-1517 - (Edinburgh Studies in Classical Islamic History and Culture) by Mustafa Banister (Paperback)

About the Book

Mustafa Banister presents a thorough investigation of a forgotten dynasty: the Cairene descendants of the Abbasid family. He uncovers the public and private lives of the 18 men invested as caliphs during the period of 'Mamluk' rule in Egypt and Syria (1250-1517) and reveals a nuanced understanding of the Abbasid Caliphate.

Book Synopsis

Mustafa Banister presents a thorough investigation of a forgotten dynasty: the Cairene descendants of the Abbasid family. He uncovers the public and private lives of the 18 men invested as caliphs during the period of 'Mamluk' rule in Egypt and Syria (1250-1517) and reveals a nuanced understanding of the Abbasid Caliphate according to elite members of Syro-Egyptian society. In doing so, he addresses the function of the caliph and his office amidst the breakdown and recreation of each new socio-political order of the sultanate.

From the Back Cover

Explores and analyses the Abbasid Caliphate as it was re-imagined in late medieval Cairo This book presents a thorough investigation of a forgotten dynasty: the Cairene descendants of the Abbasid family. It uncovers the public and private lives of the eighteen men invested as caliphs during the period of 'Mamluk' rule in Egypt and Syria (1250-1517) and reveals a nuanced understanding of the Abbasid Caliphate according to elite members of Syro-Egyptian society. In doing so, it addresses the function of the caliph and his office amidst the breakdown and recreation of each new socio-political order of the sultanate. The uniquely Cairene context of the idea and institution of the caliphate is examined, including the ways in which it was socially and textually performed in the late medieval sultanate of Cairo. Key Features  Provides the first and only complete historical treatment of the Abbasid dynasty in late medieval Cairo  Presents different types of source material - jurisprudential, historiographical and documentary - which speak about topics in turn, resulting in a highly nuanced image of the Abbasid Caliphate of Cairo  Includes multiple passages of previously unpublished material in translation including biographical literature, investiture documents and epigraphical evidence  Explores a variety of textual dimensions of the Abbasid Caliphate of Cairo based on narrative, prescriptive and documentary sources Mustafa Banister is a post-doctoral researcher at Ghent University, Belgium

Review Quotes

The book is the most detailed and comprehensive historical study of the Abbasid Caliphate of Cairo to date.--Bulletin critique des Annales islamologiques "Mehdi Berriah"

Mustafa Banister's masterful study captures the tensions between an institution of lofty stature in the medieval Islamic world with the reality of its minimal influence in the political hierarchy of the Mamluk Sultanate in Cairo that gave it a new lease on life. Banister's monograph is the definitive treatment of a critical topic that, to date, has been discussed tangentially.-- "Carl F. Petry, Northwestern University"

About the Author

Mustafa Banister is a post-doctoral researcher in Arabic Historiography at Ghent University, Belgium. He obtained a Ph.D. in Near and Middle Eastern Civilizations from the University of Toronto in 2015 and then spent several years as a post-doctoral fellow at the University of Bonn and Ghent University. Banister has published articles in the Mamlūk Studies Review and a chapter in Knowledge and Education in Classical Islam edited by Sebastian Günther (Brill, 2020). His current research focuses on the historiographical writing of the Syro-Egyptian litterateur Aḥmad ibn 'Arabshāh (d. 1450).