Papers by Or Amir
MAMLŪK STUDIES REVIEW, 2024
that no other shaykh from the Mamluk period has received such scholarly attention, and rightly so... more that no other shaykh from the Mamluk period has received such scholarly attention, and rightly so. In fact, writers contemporaneous to Khiḍr were no less intrigued than modern ones by his personality, his influence over such a potent ruler as Baybars, the edifying value of his story, and, as importantly, his alleged scandalous (and therefore entertaining) deeds. Khiḍr is mentioned in practically every chronology or biographical compendium of the Mamluk period. Most recensions of his story seem to be ultimately derived from two main "primary" sources. The first, attributed to the amir Qashtamur al-ʿAjamī (d. after 680/1281)-Baybarsʼ comrade in the Baḥrīyah regiment and a fellow devotee of the shaykh-was originally narrated by Ibn Shaddād al-Ḥalabī (d. 684/1285), Baybarsʼ court biographer. 4 The second version appears to have originated with the Damascene chronicler Ibn al-Jazarī (d. 739/1338), relying on an account narrated to him by his father, who personally met Khiḍr. Ibn al-Jazarīʼs version is later reproduced-and embellished-by the Cairene chroniclers Ibn al-Dawādārī (fl. 736/1335), al-Nuwayrī (d. 733/1333) and Ibn Abī al-Faḍāʾil (fl. 759/1358). 5 In other words, Khiḍrʼs story gained wide publicity very early on, was founded on well-known narrators who knew him first-hand, and received wide coverage from prominent chroniclers representing both Cairene and Syrian circles. Since Khiḍrʼs story is well known to modern scholarship, in what follows I will focus on the magnitude of his influence and the dynamics that made his downfall inevitable. Meanwhile, the parallels to Rasputin-whose story verges on a Related to the Monastery of the Holy Cross in Jerusalem,"
Arabica, 2024
In pre-modern Islamic societies, the Sufi šayḫ was the ultimate model of the saint, who offered t... more In pre-modern Islamic societies, the Sufi šayḫ was the ultimate model of the saint, who offered the laity a direct channel for intercession with God. Focusing on the šayḫs’ relations with the Mamluk elite, and examining the dual meaning of the term šafāʽa, which represents both sacred and mundane intercession, this article shows that the saints’ intercessory role was not limited to the spiritual sphere but applied also to the mundane realm of interceding between rulers and subjects. Combining both forms of intercession, while maintaining the aura of otherworldliness, greatly increased the appeal of many Sufi šayḫs. However, balancing both required some maneuvering on the part of the šayḫs, which the article considers.
The Mamluk Sultanate and its Periphery, Aug 31, 2023
Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, 2024
During the Mamluk period (1260–1516), Gaza developed from a minor town into an important city in ... more During the Mamluk period (1260–1516), Gaza developed from a minor town into an important city in southern Bilād al-Shām, the capital of an administrative province. This prosperity was the product of substantial and continuous Mamluk investment in the town, the security and stability maintained by this regime, and Gaza's strategic location as the bridge connecting Egypt and Bilād al-Shām. This article will trace the concomitant development of Gaza as a provincial intellectual centre within this context. Combining narrative sources with epigraphic and material evidence, it will show how the growth of Gaza as an administrative centre instigated a flourishing—albeit modest—scholarly scene in the town, which, while strongly connected to and integrated with wider social and intellectual networks within the Sultanate, retained its unique character.
Journal of the American Oriental Society, 2023
From Saint to Eponymous Founder: Abū Bakr al-Mawṣilī (d. 797/1394) and His Ṭarīqa Mawṣiliyya or a... more From Saint to Eponymous Founder: Abū Bakr al-Mawṣilī (d. 797/1394) and His Ṭarīqa Mawṣiliyya or amir the hebrew uNiversity of Jerusalem This article offers a case study on the social role of a charismatic shaykh, Abū Bakr al-Mawṣilī (d. 797/1394), in fourteenth-century Damascus and Jerusalem, and on the way he established his saintly reputation and accumulated cultural capital. Based mainly on a to-date unstudied manuscript written by the shaykh's grandson, it analyzes how the shaykh managed to pass this capital on to his offspring and how they formalized, institutionalized, and consolidated his ṭarīqa into a stable social organization, with the Mawṣilī household at its center, which, although never spreading outside of Greater Syria, continued to flourish locally for centuries. iNtroductioN Recent decades have seen tremendous progress in the study of the social aspects of Sufism,
Along the Silk Roads in Mongol Eurasia: Generals, Merchants, and Intellectuals, edited by Michal Biran, Jonathan Brack and Francesca Fiaschetti, 2020
Asiatiche Studien , 2017
Reading through the sources written in the Mamluk Sultanate (1250-1517), one receives the impress... more Reading through the sources written in the Mamluk Sultanate (1250-1517), one receives the impression that the political borders between the Mamluk and Ilkhanid realms were just that-in no ways cultural or even serious physical barriers. This paper will demonstrate this by focusing on the biography of Niẓām al-Dīn Yaḥyā al-Ṭayyārī (685-760/1286/7-1358/9~). His father served under the Ilkhans as a physician and scribe, while Niẓām al-Dīn grew up into the Ilkhanid elite and became a prolific calligrapher, scribe and musician in his own right, being especially close to the Sultan Abū Sa'īd and his vizier, Ghiyāth al-Dīn Muḥammad. After the death of Abū Sa'īd and the subsequent disintegration of the Ilkhanate, Niẓām al-Dīn made his way to the Mamluk Sultanate, where his artistic talents were very much appreciated, representing the glorious artistic tradition of the east. Despite his seemingly smooth reception in the ruling circles of the Mamluk Sultanate, Niẓām al-Dīn seems to have remained attached to his homeland, and to the lavish properties which he left behind him. He subsequently returned to Baghdad, where he was immediately reinstated to his former duties. Following and analyzing the career of Niẓām al-Dīn can grant insights into court culture of the Muslim world of his age, where similarities in taste and bureaucratic traditions probably outweighed the differences. We also learn about mobility, cultural exchange and artistic sensibilities between the two competing courts.
Quaternary International, 2016
Chronologically-secure volcanic event histories are important for improving our understanding of ... more Chronologically-secure volcanic event histories are important for improving our understanding of volcano-climate responses, and securing ice core chronologies. We present an exploratory case-study that attempts to reconcile the chemical fingerprints of major volcanism in Greenland ice-cores for the years 670–730 CE. This period experienced considerable volcanic perturbation with multiple volcanic signals registered in all 8 Greenland ice-core datasets studied, including some comparable in magnitude to the great 1815 Tambora eruption, but reconciling signals with divergent dating between datasets presents a number of challenges. To further our understanding of the volcanic history of this period, frost-rings, tree-ring growth width and density minima from Europe, Siberia and China are considered together with Western European, Near Eastern and Chinese documentary evidence. These reveal a striking sequence of co-occurring inter-regional climatic extremes and social crises. We further examine a recently proposed 7-year adjustment to the GICC05 chronology used by many Greenland ice cores, and find that this results in a more coherent volcanic history for these years, and an improved agreement with tree-ring and written records. Three major volcanic events can now be identified, dated to 681, 684–686 and 706–707, with several moderate events further contributing to a sustained climate perturbation reflected in prolonged temperature reductions in high-resolution reconstructions.
Thesis Chapters by Or Amir
The political domination of military elites of nomadic Turkish provenance and the growing role of... more The political domination of military elites of nomadic Turkish provenance and the growing role of Sufi shaykhs, often venerated as saints, are two dominant developments of the Medieval Islamic world. Both had their origins in the ninth century and came to their zenith during the Later Islamic Middle Period (1250-1500), when they significantly
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Papers by Or Amir
Thesis Chapters by Or Amir