A Mamluk Sultan in Genoa

The Sīrat Baybars represents a very important Arab folktale pretending to describe the life of Mamluk Sultan Baybars (r. 1260-77). While the content varies between fact and fiction, it proved to be highly entertaining and popular among the Egyptian population until the nineteenth century, where we...

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Main Author: Albrecht Fuess
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: CERES / KHK Bochum 2024-12-01
Series:Entangled Religions - Interdisciplinary Journal for the Study of Religious Contact and Transfer
Subjects:
Online Access:https://tches.iacr.org/index.php/ER/article/view/11892
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author Albrecht Fuess
author_facet Albrecht Fuess
author_sort Albrecht Fuess
collection DOAJ
description The Sīrat Baybars represents a very important Arab folktale pretending to describe the life of Mamluk Sultan Baybars (r. 1260-77). While the content varies between fact and fiction, it proved to be highly entertaining and popular among the Egyptian population until the nineteenth century, where we still hear of public recitals. As such it has shaped the image of Europeans and Christians as outer and inner foes of the Muslim realm and as a constant possible threat. The paper focusses especially on the so-called Genoa Episode of the Sīrat Baybars, when the sultan is taken as captive to Genoa but rescued by a Muslim alliance. The episode shows how real historical events like the Fatimid attack on Genoa in the tenth century and the Mamluk conquest of Cyprus in the fifteenth merge into later narratives. It will also show how the relationship between Europeans, Christian Dhimmis and Mamluks are interwoven in networks of alliances and deceit. In doing so the Sīrat Baybars underlines the existing mental map in Egypt and ensures its survival into modern times.
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series Entangled Religions - Interdisciplinary Journal for the Study of Religious Contact and Transfer
spelling doaj-art-4287979405cf4e5e8da09fbbd382c5c22024-12-18T16:49:27ZengCERES / KHK BochumEntangled Religions - Interdisciplinary Journal for the Study of Religious Contact and Transfer2363-66962024-12-0115310.46586/er.15.2024.11892A Mamluk Sultan in GenoaAlbrecht Fuesshttps://orcid.org/0000-0001-5981-3506 The Sīrat Baybars represents a very important Arab folktale pretending to describe the life of Mamluk Sultan Baybars (r. 1260-77). While the content varies between fact and fiction, it proved to be highly entertaining and popular among the Egyptian population until the nineteenth century, where we still hear of public recitals. As such it has shaped the image of Europeans and Christians as outer and inner foes of the Muslim realm and as a constant possible threat. The paper focusses especially on the so-called Genoa Episode of the Sīrat Baybars, when the sultan is taken as captive to Genoa but rescued by a Muslim alliance. The episode shows how real historical events like the Fatimid attack on Genoa in the tenth century and the Mamluk conquest of Cyprus in the fifteenth merge into later narratives. It will also show how the relationship between Europeans, Christian Dhimmis and Mamluks are interwoven in networks of alliances and deceit. In doing so the Sīrat Baybars underlines the existing mental map in Egypt and ensures its survival into modern times. https://tches.iacr.org/index.php/ER/article/view/11892MamlukSīrat BaybarsMuslimsEuropeanGenoa
spellingShingle Albrecht Fuess
A Mamluk Sultan in Genoa
Entangled Religions - Interdisciplinary Journal for the Study of Religious Contact and Transfer
Mamluk
Sīrat Baybars
Muslims
European
Genoa
title A Mamluk Sultan in Genoa
title_full A Mamluk Sultan in Genoa
title_fullStr A Mamluk Sultan in Genoa
title_full_unstemmed A Mamluk Sultan in Genoa
title_short A Mamluk Sultan in Genoa
title_sort mamluk sultan in genoa
topic Mamluk
Sīrat Baybars
Muslims
European
Genoa
url https://tches.iacr.org/index.php/ER/article/view/11892
work_keys_str_mv AT albrechtfuess amamluksultaningenoa
AT albrechtfuess mamluksultaningenoa