In the Sultan's Salon: Learning, Religion and Rulership at the Mamluk Court of Qāniṣawh al-Ghawrī (r. 1501–1516)

‎Contents
‎Acknowledgments
‎Tables, Maps, and Figures
‎Note on Transliteration, Style, and Periodization
‎Abbreviations
‎Chapter 1. Introduction
	‎1.1. Topics and Research Questions
	‎1.2. What Is a Court? Theoretical and Terminological Considerations
		‎1.2.1. Arabic Terminology and the Concept of the Court
		‎1.2.2. Norbert Elias and the Court in Historical Sociology and European History
		‎1.2.3. The Court as a Series of Occasions and Acts of Communication
		‎1.2.4. The Court as a Social Entity
		‎1.2.5. The majlis as an Aspect of Islamicate Court Culture
‎Chapter 2. Historical Context and State of Research
	‎2.1. Historical Context: The Standard Narrative
		‎2.1.1. The Source of the Standard Narrative: Ibn Iyās
		‎2.1.2. Al-Ghawrī’s Reign according to Ibn Iyās
			‎2.1.2.1. Early Years (906–12/1501–7)
			‎2.1.2.2. Middle Years (912–9/1507–13)
			‎2.1.2.3. Late Years (919–22/1513–6)
	‎2.2. State of Research
		‎2.2.1. Political and Economic Developments during al-Ghawrī’s Reign
		‎2.2.2. Cultural and Religious Developments during al-Ghawrī’s Reign
‎Chapter 3. Arabic, Turkic, and Other Sources
	‎3.1. Arabic Accounts of al-Ghawrī’s majālis
		‎3.1.1. Nafāʾis majālis al-sulṭāniyya fī ḥaqāʾiq asrār al-Qurʾāniyya
			‎3.1.1.1. The Manuscript and Its Editions
			‎3.1.1.2. Structure and Contents
			‎3.1.1.3. Authorship, Context of Origin, and Intended Readership
		‎3.1.2. al-Kawkab al-durrī fī masāʾil al-Ghawrī
			‎3.1.2.1. The Manuscript and Its Editions
			‎3.1.2.2. Structure and Contents
			‎3.1.2.3. Authorship, Context of Origin, and Intended Readership
		‎3.1.3. al-ʿUqūd al-jawhariyya fī l-nawādir al-Ghawriyya
			‎3.1.3.1. The Manuscript
			‎3.1.3.2. Structure and Contents
			‎3.1.3.3. Authorship, Context of Origin, and Intended Readership
		‎3.1.4. The Genre of the Texts
		‎3.1.5. The Value of the Texts as Historical Sources
	‎3.2. Other Arabic Sources
		‎3.2.1. Chronicles, Journals, and Historical Romances
		‎3.2.2. Biographical Dictionaries
		‎3.2.3. Literary Offerings and Related Works
		‎3.2.4. Mirrors-for-Princes
		‎3.2.5. Chancery Manuals
		‎3.2.6. Documentary Sources
		‎3.2.7. Poems
	‎3.3. Turkic Sources
		‎3.3.1. Poems
		‎3.3.2. Translations and Commentaries
		‎3.3.3. Ottoman Historiographical and Chancery Sources
	‎3.4. Sources in European Languages
	‎3.5. Material and Epigraphic Sources
	‎3.6. Synopsis of Sources Utilized
‎Chapter 4. Learning and the Transmission of Knowledge at al-Ghawrī’s Court
	‎4.1. Al-Ghawrī’s majālis as Historical Events
		‎4.1.1. The Time, Place, and Etiquette of al-Ghawrī’s majālis
		‎4.1.2. The Participants in al-Ghawrī’s majālis
			‎4.1.2.1. The Host: Qāniṣawh al-Ghawrī
			‎4.1.2.2. The Local Participants: Scholars and Officeholders
			‎4.1.2.3. The Guests: Itinerant Scholars, Envoys, and Foreign Political Dignitaries
			‎4.1.2.4. People on the Periphery: Musicians, mamlūks, Servants, and Jesters
	‎4.2. The Topics of al-Ghawrī’s majālis
		‎4.2.1. Jurisprudence
		‎4.2.2. Quranic Exegesis
		‎4.2.3. Creed and Rational Theology
		‎4.2.4. Stories of the Prophets before Muḥammad
		‎4.2.5. Poetry, Riddles, Prose Stories, and Related Fields of Literature
		‎4.2.6. Prophetic Traditions and the Life of the Prophet Muḥammad
		‎4.2.7. History
		‎4.2.8. Philosophy and Mirrors-for-Princes Material
		‎4.2.9. Other Fields of Knowledge
	‎4.3. Al-Ghawrī’s majālis as Salons
	‎4.4. Other Educational and Scholarly Activities at al-Ghawrī’s Court
	‎4.5. Courtly Education and Scholarship in Its Late Mamluk Context
‎Chapter 5. Religious Life at al-Ghawrī’s Court
	‎5.1. Events, Influences, and Topics of Religious Life at the Sultan’s Court
		‎5.1.1. Religious Events at the Court
			‎5.1.1.1. The Friday Prayer
			‎5.1.1.2. The Prophet’s Birthday
			‎5.1.1.3. The Day of ʿĀshūrāʾ
		‎5.1.2. Sufism at al-Ghawrī’s Court
		‎5.1.3. Shiʿis and Members of Other Religious Groups at al-Ghawrī’s Court
		‎5.1.4. Religious Debates in al-Ghawrī’s Salons
			‎5.1.4.1. Eschatology
			‎5.1.4.2. God’s Attributes and the Concept of Faith
	‎5.2. The Sultan’s Role in Religious Life
		‎5.2.1. The Sultan as Protector of Religion and Morals
		‎5.2.2. The Sultan as a Promoter of Religious Activities
		‎5.2.3. The Sultan’s Participation in Religious Scholarship
		‎5.2.4. The Sultan as mujaddid
	‎5.3. The Significance of Religious Communication at al-Ghawrī’s Court
‎Chapter 6. Rulership, Representation, and Legitimation of Rule at al-Ghawrī’s Court
	‎6.1. The Crisis of Late Mamluk Legitimacy
	‎6.2. Rulership and Political Theory in the majālis and at al-Ghawrī’s Court
		‎6.2.1. The Exemplary Rulers of the Past
		‎6.2.2. Al-Ghawrī and the Mainstays of Sultanic Rulership
			‎6.2.2.1. Noble Pedigree
			‎6.2.2.2. Divine Ordainment
			‎6.2.2.3. Justice
			‎6.2.2.4. Military Prowess
		‎6.2.3. The Sultan and the Caliphate
			‎6.2.3.1. Introductory Remarks
			‎6.2.3.2. The Caliphate in Political Theory
			‎6.2.3.3. The Caliphate in Mamluk Politics
			‎6.2.3.4. Sultanic and Caliphal Rule at al-Ghawrī’s Court
			‎6.2.3.5. Long-Term Ramifications
	‎6.3. Communicative Strategies of Courtly Representation and Legitimation of Rule
		‎6.3.1. The Salons
		‎6.3.2. Construction Activities and Coinage
		‎6.3.3. Parades, Feasts, and Other Celebrations
		‎6.3.4. Literary Production and the Book Arts
	‎6.4. The Political Communication at al-Ghawrī’s Court between Tradition and Innovation
‎Chapter 7. Conclusion
	‎7.1. Summary
	‎7.2. Research Results and Outlook
‎Appendix 1. Works Cited in the Accounts of al-Ghawrī’s majālis
‎Appendix 2. Participants in al-Ghawrī’s majālis
‎Appendix 3. Parallel Passages in the Accounts of al-Ghawrī’s majālis
‎Bibliography
‎Index of People, Places, and Texts
‎Index of Quran Citations
‎Index of Ḥadīth Citations
‎Index of Subjects and Terms