IFAO

Due to the scarcity of documents that were exchanged between Muslim powers prior to the 16th century, the historian, in order to study the nature of these relations, is compelled to rely upon secondary sources such as copies that might have survived. A particularly fruitful and yet underused genre is represented by the collections of letters compiled, for the most part, by secretaries employed at the chancery of state. Of particular interest to the author and known since the 19th century is ms. ar. 4440 now held at the Bibliothèque nationale in Paris. This manuscript contains several copies of letters exchanged by powers pertaining to the Dār al-islām and the Mamluk Sultanate. The study of these documents provides the opportunity to understand the nature of relations between the Muslim powers and in particular the protocols that prevailed at the chancery. The aim of this paper is to draw attention to the importance of this manuscript as well as to construct an inventory of the material that the document provides.

Keywords: Chancellery, Diplomatic, Relations, Mamluk Sultanate, Correspondence, Collections of letters (munša’āt), Embassies, Envoys.