IFAO

Four sources are the most important for the study of diplomatic documents in Arabic from the Islamic period.

1. The official documents :

The official documents are the most important source for the study of Islamic diplomacy. However, before using these sources a distinction should be made between the original and different forms of copied documents.

2. The Inscriptions :

Arabic inscriptions on Islamic monuments are very important sources for researching Islamic documents, because it is possible to prove that some of these inscriptions are typical copies from original documents.

3. Literary documents :

Literary documents are the text of documents in the historical books.

4. The translations :

This study deals with the subject of police administration during the Ottoman period in Egypt by examining the administrative structure of the police. It focuses on the importance of the roles that policemen played during this period. How did the state appoint them? How were they able to fulfill their roles of maintaining security ? What professional responsibilities were they given?

This research also explores the process by which the police were appointed by the Ottoman administration. Did judges have a role in appointing the police or was their role limited to registering these appointments in court to give them legitimacy ?

The dawâdâr is the official responsible for bearing and keeping the royal inkwell. This office was created by the Seljuqs and it became well known in Egypt in the Mamluk era. During the Bahari period the dawâdâr did not rank among the important amirs, but under the Circassians he became one of the first-ranking amirs of the kingdom. His duties and responsibilities increased to the extend that they were distributed among several amirs ; dawadar kabîr, dawâdâr thânî (second dawâdâr) and so on.

The Circassian Mamluk era witnessed the rise of power and influence of some of the second dawâdâr-s such as : Qurqumâs al-Sha‘bânî, Janibek al-dawâdâr al-thânî and Bardabek al-Ashrafî. Most of the second dawâdâr-s of that period held the rank of amîr tablakhânah but some held the rank of amir of thousand.

Ritual inscriptions on monuments found on the route of pilgrims through Egypt and the remains of ‘Araqîb al-Baghl in Sinai are significant and rare in type and nature. The evidence presented in this article dates the second comprehensive architectural project on the route constructed during the time of Sultân Qânṣûh Al-Ghûrî and carried out by Prince Khayr Bik Al- Mi‘mâr. The work began at ‘Ajrûd to the north-west of Suez, passed several springs and fountains along the route before finally reaching its destination at Mecca and Al-Medina. The dating of the inscriptions have been subjected to damage both in antiquity and in more recent times.

Therefore, they are of uncertain date. Those who have conducted studies on this topic have attempted to establish chronologies for the dating of these inscriptions include Shmuel Tamari who concluded that the architecture was constructed some time between 914 and 915 H /1508-1509 AD.

This essay deals with Ḥammâdid muqarnas at al-Qal‘â city, located thirty-six kilometres north-east of al-M’sila Tower in Algeria. These muqarnas have been neglected by historians since their discovery during 1908-1967 by the greatest German historian of the muqarnas style, J. Rosintal in the first half of 20th century and his compatriot Yvonne Dold Samplonius currently one of the most well-known specialista in al-Kashi muqarnas.

This article begins with a survey of the opinions of historians of Islamic art about the Ḥammâdid muqarnas ; presentation of excavations and the deteriorating condition of the remains ; interpretation and re-composition of its original order ; and its technical influence on the sites in the Mediterranean, especially those found in Morocco, Andalus and Normand Sicily.

The National Library of Cairo, the Royal Library of Copenhagen and the Fayzullah Library of Istanbul have volumes 2, 4, 11, 13, 17, 19 and 20 of a manuscript containing a miniature on the frontispiece of each volume. Recently, the author of this article discovered two new volumes of the same manuscript also written with the hand of Muḥammad b. Abî Ṭâlib al-Badrî between 614-1217/616-1219 at the Royal Library of Rabat which also has two new miniatures unknown by specialists in Arab painting.

Dans les Textes des Pyramides (TP), les mots ỉʿ, « monter », « tombe (ascensionnelle) », et sỉʿ « faire monter », sont déterminés par les signes du mastaba « à redans » et du « tronc de pyramide », tandis que les mots dérivés de la racine qrs « enterrer », « sarcophage », ainsi que le mot ḥȝt, « tombe », sont déterminés par un signe « voûté », qui doit être identifié habituellement à un sarcophage, bien qu’il puisse évoquer une tombe. La racine ỉʿ/sỉʿ renvoie à un symbolisme, un rituel et une tombe ascensionnels-solaires ; la racine qrs renvoie à une tradition funéraire chtonienne. À l’époque où les TP furent gravés, l’édifice funéraire royal et ascensionnel était la pyramide. L’article pose la question de savoir si cette réalité textuelle correspond à une réalité historique et architecturale existant avant l’âge des pyramides. L’auteur met en relation les déterminatifs évoqués et les édifices funéraires de la Ire dynastie en Abydos (mastabas d’Umm el-Qaab) et à Saqqâra-Nord (mastabas à redans et « tronc de pyramide » du mastaba 3038).

Mots-clés : Époque thinite – Ancien Empire – Saqqâra-Nord – Abydos – Textes des Pyramides – croyances funéraires – architecture – paléographie – (s)ỉʿ – qrs – « tombe ».

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In the Pyramid Texts (PT), the words ỉʿ, “ascend”, “(ascendant) tomb”, and sỉʿ, “cause to ascend”, are determined by the signs of the “niched” mastaba and the “pyramid trunk”, while the words derived from the root qrs, “bury”, “sarcophagus”, as well as the word ḥȝt, “tomb”, are determined by a “vaulted” sign, which is usually to be identified with a sarcophagus even though it can also evoke a tomb. The root ỉʿ/sỉʿ speaks about an ascendant-solar symbolism, ritual and tomb; the root qrs speaks about a chthonic funerary tradition. When the PT were first carved, the royal and ascendant funerary building was the pyramid. The following paper questions whether this textual reality expresses an historical and architectural reality in existence prior to the pyramid age. The author relates the discussed determinatives to the First Dynasty funerary buildings in Abydos (Umm el Qaab mastabas) and North Saqqara (niched mastabas and the “pyramid trunk” of mastaba 3038).

En 1977 et en 1978, 315 figurines en terre crue furent découvertes dans les fouilles de l’Ifao dans la nécropole de Qila‘ al-Dabba à Balat. Ces objets caractéristiques, d’une taille inhabituelle pour cette catégorie de statuettes (entre 20 et 30 cm), sont comparables à une figurine en terre crue similaire récemment découverte par une équipe de l’Ifao dans la nécropole de Qaret el-Toub, à Bahariya. L’étude du contexte d’invention, à Qaret el-Toub, et les apports de récentes publications, à Balat, permettent de préciser la datation de ces artefacts et de proposer des hypothèses pour en expliquer la fonction. Ces statuettes, qui remontent à la fin de la Troisième Période intermédiaire ou au début de la Basse Époque, pourraient appartenir à la catégorie des figurines de fécondité. Elles étaient peut-être utilisées dans un contexte cultuel pour demander aux « ancêtres efficaces » de la nécropole d’intervenir dans le monde d’ici-bas, par exemple pour obtenir une naissance – une pratique attestée au sein de la civilisation égyptienne ancienne à d’autres périodes et sur d’autres sites.

Mots-clés : Nécropole de Qila‘ al-Dabba – Balat (oasis de Dakhla) – Nécropole de Qaret al-Toub – oasis de Bahariya – Troisième Période intermédiaire – Basse Époque – figurines de fécondité – croyances funéraires – culte des ancêtres.

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In 1977 and 1978, 315 mud figurines were found in the Ifao excavation at Balat, in a funerary context (Qila‘ al-Dabba); their size was unusually big for this category of objects (between 20 and 30 cm). In 2005, a similar artifact was found in another oasis of the Western desert, in the necropolis of Qaret el-Toub (Bahariya) excavated by Ifao. The study of the stratigraphic context in Qaret el-Toub and recent publications on the work at Balat enable a more precise dating of these objects as well as suggesting some hypotheses about their function. It is possible that these artifacts, dating to the end of the Third Intermediate Period/beginning of the Late Period, belong to the category of the “fecundity figurines” and were used in a ritual context (votive offerings?) by people asking favours or interventions on the part of powerful ancestors of the necropolis (for example to give birth to children)–a practice known in other regions and other periods of ancient Egyptian civilization.

L’article est consacré à la publication de 18 inscriptions démotiques provenant des galeries souterraines de la nécropole d’animaux sacrés de Tuna el-Gebel (Ibiotapheion). Ces inscriptions se trouvaient sur la face externe de sarcophages en bois, de sarcophages en céramique et de sarcophages en grès utilisés pour l’enterrement des animaux sacrés dans les galeries.

Mots-clés : Touna el-Gebel – nécropole d’ibis – Époque ptolémaïque – inscriptions démotiques – animaux sacrés – sarcophages d’animaux – onomastique.

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The present paper is dedicated to publishing 18 demotic inscriptions, from the subterranean galleries of the sacred animals in Tuna el-Gebel (Ibiotapheion). These inscriptions were written on the exterior of wooden coffins, pottery coffins, and limestone sarcophagi that had been devoted to the sacred animals in the galleries.

Abandonnant le terme autochtone nnyb, le copte adopta, pour désigner le styrax et sa résine, trois mots importés : ⲥⲧⲩⲣⲁⲝ, ⲣⲟⲩⲛⲡⲁ et ⲁⲙⲓⲛⲁⲕⲟⲩ. Cette contribution vise à retracer l’histoire de chacun de ces lexèmes et celle de la famille sémantique du styrax en copte.

Mots-clés : Langue copte – lexicographie– emprunts linguistiques – scalæ – styrax – storax – aliboufier.

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Abandoning the autochthonous nnyb, the Coptic Egyptian adopted, in order to designate the styrax tree and its resin, three imported words: ⲥⲧⲩⲣⲁⲝ, ⲣⲟⲩⲛⲡⲁ and ⲁⲙⲓⲛⲁⲕⲟⲩ. This paper aims to trace back the history of each of these lexemes and that of the semantic family of the styrax in Coptic.