Chronicles of Qalawun and his son al-Ashraf Khalil

This volume provides translations of texts on the Mamluk Sultan Qalawun (1279-90) and his son al-Malik al-Ashraf (1290-93), which cover the end of the Crusader interlude in the Syrian Levant. Translated from the original Arabic, these chronicles detail the Mamluk perception of the Crusaders, the Mongol menace, how this menace was confronted, and a wealth of materials about the Mediterranean basin in the late thirteenth century. Treaties, battles, sieges and embassies are all revealed in these chronicles, most of which have not been translated previously. The translated texts provide a range of historical records concerning Qalawun and al-Ashraf, and include the court perspective of Ibn `Abd al--ahir, the later biography by his nephew Shafi`, and the writings of the Mamluk historian Baybars al-Mansuri.

David Cook is professor of religion at Rice University, US. His areas of specialisation include early Islamic history and development, Muslim apocalyptic literature, radical Islam, historical astronomy, and Judeo-Arabic literature. His previous publications include 'The Book of Tribulations': The Syrian Muslim Apocalyptic Tradition: An Annotated Translation by Nu`aym b. Hammad al-Marwazi (2017).

Introduction; Text 1a. Ibn `Abd al--ahir, Tashrif al-ayyam wa-l-`u-ur fi sirat al-Malik al-Man-ur; Text 1b. Ibn `Abd al--ahir, al-Al-af al-khafiyya min al-sira al-sharifa al-sul-aniyya al-malikiyya al-ashrafiyya (selections); Text 2. al-Ashraf's treaty with Jaime II of Aragon; Text 3. al-Shafi` b. `Ali, al-Fäl al-ma'thur fi sirat al-Malik al-Man-ur (selections); Text 4a. Baybars al-Man-uri, Zubdat al-fikra; Text 4b. Baybars al-Man-uri, al-Tu-fa al-mulukiyya fi al-dawla al-Turkiyya; Text 4c. Baybars al-Man-uri, Mukhtarat al-akhbar