IFAO

This paper aims at bringing to light the modest causes that were the talk of Mamluk Cairo around 1450. The former chief Šāfiʿī qāḍī Muḥammad al-Safṭī met with legal troubles after having a brilliant career owing to Sultan Ǧaqmaq’s patronage and falling immediately after into disgrace. Charges were laid against him for debt, extortion or embezzlement of waqf assets. The lawsuits were put forward by the sultan as a pretext to seize the wealth of his former protégé. Such methods were usual in the Mamluk exercising of power. What is less regular is the fact that Sultan Ǧaqmaq strictly remained within the limits of lawfullness. Indeed the sultan secured his ends by laying back the charges, holding courts with the four chief qāḍī-s and playing with the fours maḏhab-s’ competition. Even though he could have exercised discretionary powers or have turned to the maẓālim court, he decided to follow the qāḍī-s’ judicial settlements in order to compromise his former protégé. During the Fifteenth century indeed, the Mamluk power’s acculturation to lawfullness was effective.

The third reign of sultan al-Nāṣir Muḥammad is usually seen as a turning point in the political history of the Mamluk sultanate. Coming back to power in 1310, al-Nāṣir Muḥammad found the opportunity to implement economic and institutional reforms enabling him to consolidate and expand his house and his private domain. While during his two previous reigns al-Nāṣir’s authority has been reduced and his power controlled by the leading emirs, from the beginning of his third reign, the sultan managed to establish new practices in the exercise of power, which layed the foundations of a real court society in which the favor of the prince was the main way to promote individual, militaries and civilians. Al-Nāṣir Muḥammad encouraged the lightning rise and the enrichment of powerful civil administrators of the Mamluk state. One of them, Karīm al-Dīn al-Kabīr, intendant of the mamluk domain of the sultan, appears to be a crucial cog of the wheel of al-Nāṣir Muḥammad’s new power. Studying his career, his prerogatives and his relations with the sultan and the Mamluk emirs, the aim of this paper is to enlight the reality of al-Nāṣir’s power, which is usually depicted as absolutist.

The article identifies and interprets significant changes in the designs, script and other visual elements on gold and occasionally silver Islamic coins stuck in Egypt and when appropriate Syria beginning with those minted from the Fatimid era to the end of Ottoman suzerainty in 1914 C.E. For each chronological period interpretations that, in most cases, are not dependent on the ability of the user of the coin to read the engraved text in Arabic script. In all these cases the market or monetary role of the currency was far more important, initially, then their specific political messages, which, while inscribed on the coins were not signaled by visual clues. Over time a new style of coinage in terms of its visual appearance was created by the ruling sultans and it became the new standard.

Après le temps des califats, marqué par des pouvoirs où le leader politique et le chef religieux sont confondus dans la personne du Prince, et avant celui des réformes (les Tanzimat) et de la naissance des États modernes, l’ensemble du monde musulman a connu, entre le Xe et le XVe siècle, l’apparition d’un type de pouvoir particulier, qui, dans certaines contrées, a perduré jusqu’à nos jours : le sultanat. Cette appellation est encore en usage à l’époque moderne, voire contemporaine, ce qui est le signe qu’on ne s’attendra pas à ce que ce terme recouvre une réalité unique.

A glass goblet in the form of a rounded cup kept in the Museum of Islamic Art, Cairo was discovered at Fustat city in 1962. This lustered glass cup was famous as the goblet of al-Amīr ʿAbd al-Ṣamad Ibn ʿAlī and is 9.5 cm high and 13.5 cm in diameter. The decoration is painted in luster and the rim bears a simple kufic inscription that reads : “Bismillāh [al-Raḥmān al-Raḥīm mimma ama]ra ʿAbd al-Ṣamad Ibn ʿAlī aṣlaḥahu Allāh wa ʿazza naṣruhu”. “In the name of God the Merciful, the Compassionate. One of the things ordered by ʿAbd al-Ṣamad Ibn ʿAlī. May God make him prosper and his his victory be glorified”.

It is worth mentioning that when Scanlon first published this goblet he dated it to the year 155 A.H. / 733 A.D. He based his dating on the inscription, which bears the name ʿAbd al-Ṣamad, and whom he identified as the governor of Egypt for one month in the year 155 A.H. / 733 A.D. under the second Abbasid Caliph Abū Ǧaʿfar al-Manṣūr. Several other scholars in the field accepted Scanlon’s words without question. However, none of the historical sources mention the name al-Amīr ʿAbd al-Ṣamad Ibn ʿAlī among the Abbasid governors of Egypt at this date. Accordingly, and after further investigation in the historical sources, it became clear that ʿAbd al-Ṣamad Ibn ʿAlī was one of the Abbasid officers who held several high positions under the Abbasids. On present historical evidence, however, this study concludes that the goblet can be firmly dated within the years 136-137 A.H. / 753-755 A.D., which precedes the generally accepted date by about eighteen or nineteen years. It now seems certain that the technique of painting in luster on glass was developed in Egypt as early as the second century A.H. / eighth century A.D.

Keywords : ʿAbd al-Ṣamad Ibn ʿAlī – lustered glass – boblet glass – Abbasid – inscription – islamic art – Fustat.

The Surra (bundle) for Mecca and Medina is the traditional money or funds sent by countries with the Haǧǧ caravan to be distributed among the poor of Mecca and Medina. Egyptian Sultans used to send Surra of money to Mecca and Medina with The Trustee of the Surra (who is responsible for its delivery cash remittance) who go to with Haǧǧ-journey and al-Maḥmal. This search publishes new document of Surra which khedive Ismail sent to Mecca and Medina in 1290 A.H – 1873 A.D.

Keywords : Surra – holy carpet – Maḥmal – piligrimage – money – piaster – palaces – coin – document – bundle – Mecca – Medina – poor – trustee – Egyptian sultans – khedive.

In this study, pigment materials in the Sabil Al-Kazlar were studied using XRD, SEM-EDAX, light optical microscope, UV analysis and FTIR in order to determine their miner-alogical and chemical composition and to evaluate how these pigments were affected by air pollution and clay minerals. The pigments revealed are golden pigment as gold (Au), black as bone black, and red pigment as cinnabar (HgS). The wooden ceiling collating the render-ing layer on which the pigments were applied is composed of anhydrite and gypsum mixed with sand. Lead sulfide was detected in the examined cinnabar red sample which indicates the effect of lead as a pollutant on the deterioration of the wall paintings. Clay minerals de-tected in the plaster layer on the ceiling in the Sabil are kaolinite and a smectite-illite mixed layer. The detection of halite in all the studied samples indicates the effect of rising ground-water on the studied ceiling. The wall paintings in Sabil Al-Kazlar were created using tem-pera technique with a rabbit skin glue medium. The artist used the multilayer style using the gesso grosso and the gesso sotile techniques.

Keywords : Sabil Al-Kazlar – pigments – air pollution – clay minerals – gold – cinnabar – bone black – Xrd – Sem-Edax – Ftir – cross section.

L’objectif de cet article est de présenter le fonds des archives grecques de Suez qui a été découvert en novembre 2008 dans la ville portuaire de la mer Rouge. Les archives sont constituées d’un matériau riche et diversifié (des registres des actes notariés, fiches d’enregistrement des ressortissants grecs de Suez, etc.), issu de la communauté, de l’école et du consulat grecs de Suez. Le fonds couvre, dans son ensemble, une période assez vaste : dès la fin du XIXe siècle jusqu’aux années 1960. Pendant cette période, la population grecque de Suez fut la population étrangère la plus nombreuse de la ville ainsi que la plus active sur les plans économique, social et culturel. Compte tenu de la rareté des informations sur la présence grecque dans les villes d’Égypte, à l’exception d’Alexandrie et du Caire, ce fonds s’avère extrêmement précieux pour les historiens intéressés par l’histoire contemporaine de l’Égypte et par l’histoire de la présence grecque dans ce pays.

Mots-clés : Égypte – Grecs – Suez – communauté – étrangers – archives – histoire contemporaine.

This article presents the collection of the Greek records of Suez, which was discovered in November 2008 in the port-city of the Red Sea. These records, deriving from the Greek community, school and consulate of the city, constitute a rich and diversified material (notarial acts, registration files of the Greek citizens of Suez, etc.), that covers a vast period: from the late 19th century to the 1960s. During that time the Greek population was the most numerous foreign group of Suez and the most active in terms of economic, social and cultural activities. Given the scarcity of information on the Greek presence in Egyptian cities other than Alexandria and Cairo, these records are extremely valuable for scholars interested in the contemporary history of Egypt and the history of the Greek presence in that country.

Keywords : Egypt – Greek community – Suez – foreigners – archives – contemporary history.

L’Éthiopie a souvent été considérée comme une région essentiellement chrétienne. La présence de l’islam, pourtant attestée dès le Xᵉ s., a fait l’objet de peu d’études. Outre les témoignages qui nous ont été transmis par des auteurs ayant appartenu au domaine musulman, il existe de rares témoins épigraphiques en arabe qui, bien que documentés depuis plus d’un siècle, ont trop souvent été négligés. Cet article étudie quelques-unes de ces inscriptions qui ont été identifiées au cours des dernières années et, dans certains cas publiées, offrant alors une nouvelle lecture et interprétation. Il contribue ainsi à une meilleure connaissance de la diffusion de l’islam dans cette région.

Mots-clés : Épigraphie – Éthiopie – Tombes – XIᵉ-XVᵉ s.

Ethiopia has often been regarded as a mainly Christian area. The presence of Islam, yet recorded from the tenth century, was the subject of few studies. In addition to the testimonies that have been transmitted by writers belonging to the Muslim area, there are few epigraphic witnesses in Arabic that, though documented for over a century, have too often been neglected. This article examines some of the inscriptions that have been identified in recent years and, in some cases, published, offering, in this case, a new reading and interpretation. It thus contributes to a better understanding of the spread of Islam in this region.

Keywords : Epigraphy – Ethiopia – Tombs – 11th-15th c.

Rares sont les lettres privées à porter une date. La plus ancienne semble la présente, adressée par un inconnu à quatre femmes vivant sous le même toit.

Mots-clés : papyrologie arabe, correspondance, datation, premiers siècles de l’islam.

Private letters are rarely dated. The oldest surviving specimen may well be the one presented in this article. It was addressed by an unknown person to four wives living under the same roof.

Keywords : Arabic papyrology – correspondence – datation – Early Islam.