IFAO

This study attempts not only explore the influence that Sufism had on Islamic art, but how we set about identifying and measuring this influence. In the author’s attempt to identify and prove this influence several steps were necessary. Firstly, it is important to examine and discuss previous studies with regard to the subject matter. Interestingly, two contrary issues are noted; one overplays the role that Sufism had on the development of Islamic art, whereas the other completely denies that this influence exists. Secondly, having asserted the effect of Sufism on Islamic art, the research path subsequently diverges into two basic themes. First and foremost it is important to locate the types of objects that would be of value within the context of Sufism, from buildings to tools. On a second, more difficult level it is important to examine the very essence existing between the philosophy of Sufi teachings and its relationship to the properties and philosophy of Islamic art. By applying this method of research to certain branches of Islamic art such as architecture, painting, applied arts, calligraphy as well as inscriptions, our study can pin point potential areas that would require further research and discussion. The aim of this paper is to highlight the relationship that does exist between Sufism and Islamic art.

Amir Kit al-Ragaby is considered to be one of the great Mamluks in Egypt and Syria during the late Mamluk Period, in particular during the court of Sultan al-Ghoury. Despite this fact, Amir Kit and his significance remains unmentioned by biographers. The author has endeavoured to collect biographical details of his life from many different sources, with particular detail to his Endowment document that provides a partial description of his house. An attempt will be made within this paper to reconstruct the house using contemporary comparative material.

The fort of Ḏāt al-Ḥāǧ is one of a number of Ottoman forts situated in the Syrian Darb al- Ḥāǧ that until now has not been carefully studied. The Ottoman Sultan Sulaymān al-Qanūnī gave the order for its erection in 967 H., completing work in 971 H. By 1266 H. the Sultan Abd al-Magid I had ordered its restoration and by 1328 H. The fort’s use was finally superseded by the construction of the al-Ḥiǧāz railway in 1318 H. The Ḏāt al- Ḥāǧ fort had served in a civil and military capacity for the Syrian al- Ḥāǧ caravans and travellers for nearly 295 years.

The author has made a comprehensive study of the fort which includes; field studies and survey of the site, photography of the exterior and interior of the structure as well as detailed descriptions of its rooms. Both the foundation plaque (971 H.) and later restoration plaque (1266 H.) have also been located and studied. This paper introduces for the first time a scientific study of one of a series of forts that operated along the Syrian Darb al- Ḥāǧ.

Although situated within close proximity of each other on the Darb al- Ḥāǧ al- Miṣrī “Egyptian” in the Sinai, Abyār al-ʿAlā’ī and Wādī al Qurrayṣ should rightly be considered as two different places. Guarding the region of the “Dark” Abyār al-ʿAlā’ī was the work of the al-ʿAyḏ tribes, in which the Tarabīn tribe was defiantly involved. Previously unknown buildings were discovered in the Abyār al-ʿAlā’ī region, along with a dam situated in Wādī al-ʿAqaba. Many wells have been noted in the area and others were found by means of drilling, excavation and probing. Important among these discoveries is the remains of a qalʿa that should be considered a new addition to the known forts along the Darb al-Ḥāǧ al-Miṣrī in particular and for Sinai forts in general. Found also was the al-sulṭān Kitbuġa al-Manṣūrī mosque, comprising of the dome, water pools with their associated water-refineries and canals. A station associated with the reign of al sulṭān al-mamlūkī Kitbuġa al-Manṣurī was uncovered that included a number of wells as well as a rare inscription from a mosque. Many important historical inscriptions were discovered that will help us interpret the civil development of this region, in particular the al-manzel or “small station” and the al-manhel or “grand station” of the Darb al-Ḥāǧ al-Miṣrī.

The weapon is a privileged vector of technological progress, but it also remarkably reveals the exchanges that took place between the Muslim Middle East and Western Europe in the 6th/12th centuries. The Franks and the Muslims’ weapons tended to standardize, even if several types of weapons always coexisted on the battle fields, and if Muslims as well as Franks kept their specificities. The evolution of three weapons is here analyzed: helmets, maces and amours. The Western helmets tended to be thicker and heavier. Those of the Muslims, which were quite as various in form and constitution, also appeared to become more and more effective. The Arabic texts show that the Muslims added a miġfar to them, a typically Eastern (but not unknown in Western Europe) mail curtain or a cap of mail like the one which the Western fighters used to wear. The maces, which were particularly appreciated by the Muslim Turkish riders, spread in Western Christianity, perhaps after their adoption by the Templars, even if the influence of the riders from the steppes of Eastern Europe cannot be ignored. Various types of armour coexisted in the Frank and Muslim armies. Once again, the ones did not hesitate to make theirs the weapons of the others.

Archaeological research conducted by the Ifao on the eastern walls of Fatimid Cairo has brought forth new scientific evidence for the presence of a Fatimid mud brick surrounding wall. Fragments of the town wall indicate a continuity of the fortification from Badr al-Ǧamālī (1087-1092 ad.) along the entire eastern part of Islamic Cairo. This town wall remained preserved until the period of Maqrīzī, when there is mentioned an area known as “Bayn al-Surayn;” known as the zone “between both walls.” Our observations, yet unpublished, make clear the stylistic practices with regard to the Fatimid fortifications of Cairo. The enclosure wall of Badr al-Ǧamālī is interspersed by towers and quadrangular supports, only the towers belonging to the gates of Bāb al-Futūh and Bāb Zuwayla comprise of semicircular elements.

Stone domes of Cairo, built throughout the Mamluk period represent one of the most significant features of Cairean construction techniques used during the 14th to 17th centuries. The stone dome of Emir Khayerbek’Mausoleum, constructed between 1502 and 1520 illustrates the high degree of technical skill needed as well as demonstrating architectural and artistic ability. A new survey and field study of the dome has enabled the author to shed new light on the building’s structure, construction materials and decorative plan. Such a survey makes possible the identification and illustration of important yet previously undocumented building techniques. Among these techniques is an understanding of how the builders organised the use of iron cramps to connect together the stone courses of the dome as well as the arrangement of the inclined mortar joints linking together the value of the keystone and the use of compression. Another technique and moreover an important theme of enquiry since the project’s inception is the association between the structure itself and decorative elements such as the sculpted detail on the extrados. These new findings enable us to formulate a hypothesis for the construction phase of the building and to understand with greater detail the synthetic approach of the builders as well as their virtuosity in design techniques.

Two arabic papyruses, the first one dated from 42/662 and the second one dated from 57/676 reveal the existence of a lunar era with sunny monthes. This lunar era was used in juridic acts.

This paper presents a unique testimony with regard to the political and religious relationships between medieval Yemen and India. A document preserved in the Yemeni archives of the Rasulid Sultanate (1229-1454) enumerates 46 Indian cities in which Muslim predicators and judges were annually sponsored by the Rasulid Dynasty. These communities are predominantly situated in coastal regions, from Gujarat to Coromandel. The establishment of the Rasulid patronage on these Indian Muslim communities can be directly associated with the collapse of the Abbasid caliphate in Baghdad. This situation allowed the Rasulid Sultan to exert a wider influence on the Muslim population living on the shores of the Indian Ocean. This patronage and influence remained in some coastal cities around Malabar until it was challenged by the conquests of the Delhi Sultanate at the end of the 14th century. A letter sent from Calicut to the Rasulid Sultan in 1393 AD illustrates the situation. This article provides an annotated translation from Arabic into French of two documents outlining these events.

This article will consider attribution problems raised by the coinage of the last Zayyanids of Tlemcen. The discussion is in response to fresh numismatic data as well as a restudy of chronicles concerning political relations between Marinids and Nasrids on the one hand, and Zayyanids and Ottomans on the other. Emphasis is given to a group of gold coins issued by the Zayyanids under the Ottoman Suzerainty during the first half of the 16th century. These coins bear in their legends reference to both political authorities: on one face the name of the Zayyanid and on the other face the name of the Ottoman Sultan.

It is on this issue that controversy between numismatists and historians exists. The coins concerned were initially attributed to the Marinids; the main criterion for the attribution was based on the political alliance contracted, according to Ibn Ḫaldūn, between the Nasrid Muḥammad III (701-708/1302-1309) and the Marinid Sultan Abū l-Rabīʿ (708-710/1308-1310). This alliance led, according to H. Lavoix, to a monetary association between the two rulers. However some decades later, a different attribution was advanced by H. Hazard for the coins in question. Doubt concerning the accuracy of these attributions continues among scholars and therefore the aim of this paper is to reconsider these attributions and discuss their historical and numismatic criteria.