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The Mamluk Sultanate that dominated Egypt and Syria over slightly more than two centuries and a half (647-922/1250-1517), witnessed the development of a prodigious historiographical production. While the historiography of the Turkish Mamluk period (647-792/1250-1382) has been the object of thorough analyses to determine the patterns of interrelations amongst its authors and the respective value of its most important sources, that of the Early Circassian Mamluk period (roughly, the last quarter of the fourteenth/eighth and the first years of the fifteenth/ninth centuries) has not as of yet received proper attention. In this dissertation, this historiographical production has been surveyed and subjected to an analysis, the methodology of which was pioneered by Donald P. Little, one that consists of close word-by-word comparison of individual accounts in the works of Syrian and Egyptian authors who wrote about this period. The focus here was on specifically non-biographical historical material contained in mostly annalistic works. Amongst the results obtained during this research was the ultimate reliance, at different degrees and depths, of all historians on the works of five authors, namely Ibn Duqmaq (d. 809/1407), Ibn al-Furat (d. 807/1405), Ibn Hijji (d. 816/1413), al-Maqrizi (d. 845/1441) and al-'Ayni (d. 855/1451), but especially the first three.

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This dissertation constitutes the first monograph devoted to Qalawun's life and reign based on the contemporary and original data found in the Arabic chronicles of the period. An historiographical approach has brought to light information regarding the career of this sultan and has revealed contemporary historians' perceptions of his role as sultan. On the basis of an analysis of several aspects of the political and administrative, economic and social structure of the empire, which reflects the emphasis of the sources on the activities of the sultan, we concluded that centralization of sovereignty was enhanced during Qalawun's reign. But, whereas the historians attribute this development to the sultan's political convictions, analysis of the events they record indicates that other factors--most significant of which was the superimposition of the Mamluk system on the political, economic and social structure of Egypt and Syria--largely explain this trend.

This work analyzes the methods the Mamluk Sultanate (1250--1517) used to train and educate its military and religious elite. Three separate classes of people are examined: the Mamluks, the religious elite (' ulama') and finally the children of the Mamluks (awlad al-nas). It is demonstrated that in order for the Mamluk Sultanate to function properly, both military and religious scholarship were needed. During the Mamluk period, these methods of training and education were not applied in a uniform manner.

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Several scholars have attempted to characterize the secretaries of the bureaucracies of the Islamic empires during various eras.

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