Ibn Iyas
(b. 1448; d. > 1522)
Title:
Muhammad b. Ahmad
PDF (English):
Life:

Ibn Iyas (also Ayas) was a chronicler of the late Mamluk and early Ottoman periods in Egypt. In the absence of any known biography, the information about I.I.’s life is limited to that provided by the few passing references in his principal historical work Bada’i al-zuhur. I.I. belonged to the fourth generation of a Mamluk military family, whose origins go back to the first quarter of the 8th/14th century. I.I. writes that his father, Shihabaddin Ahmad b. Iyas, was among the awlad al-nas (Sons of Mamluks), and therefore not eligible for military career. Yet, he associated with emirs and powerful men of the state.

According to his own account, I.I. was born on 6 Rabi I 852/8 June 1447 and performed the hajj in 882/1477. Not known to hold any official position, he seems to have devoted his time to study and writing. He had considerable income from revenues from land holdings (iqta) granted by the Mamluk state to its military personnel and their families. The date of his death is not known. Judging by the fact that the last (i.e. eleventh) part of Bada’i was completed at the end of 928/1522 and that I.I. intended to write the twelfth part, one can conclude that he must have died after this date.

I.I.’s most distinguished teachers were the jurist and historian Abd al-Basit b. Halil al-Hanafi (d. 920/1514) and the polymath Jalaladdin al-Suyuti (d. 911/1505). Well-read in the Egyptian historiography, I.I. was influenced by it in terms of his choice of subject matter as well as the organization of his chronicle.

Works:
(1)
Bada’i al-zuhur fi waqa’i al-duhur

Even though I.I. refers to his masterpiece as Bada’i al-zuhur fi waqa’i al-duhur (‘The Beautiful Flowers about the Events of the Times’), he also uses the title Bada’i al-umur fi waqa’i al-duhur and Marj al-zuhur. I.I.’s importance lies in his direct, sensitive, detailed, and usually reliable reporting of events that took place in Egypt, particularly in Cairo, during the last decades of the Mamluk sultanate and the first five years of Ottoman rule. I.I.’s chronicle is the only historical source written by an eyewitness to the occupation in 923/1517 and the establishment of the new regime until 928/1522.

In the Introduction to Part Four I.I. states that he started to write the Bada’i in 901/1495-96. I.I. was 20 years old when Sultan Qayitbay (d. 901/1495-96) assumed power in 872/1468. I.I. planned to write his comprehensive history of Egypt in twelve parts (juz’) from the earliest times until his own day. Nothing is known about the first three parts of the work, but it seems that he intended to write the pre-Islamic history of Egypt and also a section on general cosmology. Such elements are included in the first volume of the later edition of Bada’i and in other works of the author. Only six parts of Bada’i survived as autographs or as other reliable copies. The parts break down as such:

Part Period covered Number of folios Date of writing
4 1-741 255 901/1495-96
5 742-788 221 901/1495-96
8 857-890 231 913/1507
9 891-912 167 914/1508
10 913-921 307 922/1516
11 922-928 262 928/1522

As the above list indicates, the parts of the work constituting I.I.’s original contribution are much more detailed than his accounts based on previous chroniclers from the Mamluk period, such as Ibn Kathir (d. 774/1373), al-Maqrizi (d. 845/1442), Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani (d. 852/1449), Ibn Fadlallah al-Umari (d. 842/1439), and Jalaladdin al-Suyuti (d. 910/1505). I.I.’s work provides continuity in the historical coverage in that this part of Bada’i starts when another chronicle, Abu’l-Mahasin b. Taghribirdi’s (d. 874/1470) al-Nujum al-Zahira fi muluk Misr wa’l-Qahira, ends. After the reign of Qayitbay I.I.’s chronicle is virtually the only source.

In volumes 1 and 2, I.I. describes the history of the Mamluk Empire: its civilization, the ceremonies and processions of the sultans, and the reception of ambassadors. The plagues that hit the country are also described, including estimates of the dead. He shows interest in the poets, scholars and ascetics. Some of the strongest and the most touching rhymes of political poetry that are scattered in the chronicle were composed by the historian himself. He also wrote about the scholars in Islamic sciences, and poets, ascetics, and other distinguished persons who lived in Egypt.

I.I. provides important information about the battles between the Mamluks and the Ottomans in Anatolia during the reign of Qayitbay as well as the diplomatic relations between the two powers. He tells about the reception of the Ottoman prince Qorqud (919/1513) in the Mamluk court and reports the exact size of the Mamluk force that was sent to Syria to fight the Ottomans. We owe him the fullest description of the battle of Marj Dabiq (Mercidabık) which sealed the fate of the Mamluk sultan and annexed Syria to the Ottomans and of how Selim I (918-926/1512-1520) took the Mamluk treasury from the Citadel of Aleppo (Haleb) by sending his weakest servant.

According to I.I.’s account, the Ottoman conquest of Cairo was traumatic. He compares it to the invasion by Nebuchadnezzar in antiquity and to the Mongol conquest of Bagdad in 1258. Despite the shock of the invasion with such a huge army, by the chronicler’s own admission, the number of civilian casualties was low. Even though Selim I ordered the execution of the Mamluks at first, he later changed his decision and integrated the Mamluks into the Ottoman army as a separate unit. I.I. recounts how later the Sultan even used the Mamluks to discipline unruly janissaries.

As a member of a family of awlad al-nas, I.I.’s pain is understandable. He often expresses his anger at the injustice of the Mamluks, and even writes that their fall was God’s punishment for their crimes. But in his judgment, the new masters were much worse. He describes the Ottomans as bad and ignorant Muslims who disregard the injunctions of the sharia. This includes Selim I, his qadis and his troops, who are accused of being pederasts and drinkers, who do not pray and do not fast during Ramadan. Similar to many of his Arab contemporaries, I.I. considers Ottoman qanun (administrative law) as un-Islamic. He regards the yasaq tax on marriage contracts as particularly unjust and contravening the Prophet’s sunna. I.I. describes the Ottoman army as a rabble in which one could not tell an officer from a soldier.

The fifth volume of Bada’i is full of criticism of the innovations in the administration of Cairo that were introduced by the Ottomans. I.I. expresses the feelings of dismay in Cairo caused by the banishment to Istanbul of groups of people, notables and craftsmen, and relates that the exile of the last Abbasid caliph was seen as a symbolic blow to Cairo despite his political irrelevance. He also describes as oppressive and unjust the rule of Ha’ir Bey (d. Dhulqada 928/October 1522), the Mamluk governor of the Aleppo who had betrayed Sultan al-Ghawri and was awarded with the governorship of Egypt.

Although I.I. does not mention his sources, his reports indicate that he was knowledgeable about the politics and diplomacy of the state and must have received inside information about developments in the center of Mamluk power. His descriptions of the sultans are credible and cannot have been based on popular rumors alone. Employed by the state in respectable positions, I.I.’s father, brother and brother-in-law could have been the source of such inside information. As a typical member of the awlad al-nas class, I.I. was well-positioned to understand both the ruling elite and the common people and shared these qualities with previous historians of the Mamluk period.

I.I. mentions 37 historical works upon which he relied for the composition of the earlier parts of Bada’i. Among the historians of the Mamluk period whose writings he had consulted, he names his teacher al-Suyuti. Yet unlike his teacher, who was a man of adab (belles-lettres), I.I. wrote in non-literary, sometimes colloquial language, and used a concrete and straightforward style, narrating the day-to-day events with some personal comments.

Like other chroniclers of the period, I.I. organized his chronicle as a diary, dividing his report by years and months. Each year begins with the names and positions of the heads of the state: the caliph, the sultan, the commanders of the army, the four chief judges (one for each madhab), etc. The events are then told chronologically, without an effort to tell a whole story uninterrupted. At the end of the year I.I. often summarizes the main events and expresses his personal attitude, sometimes in moralistic terms. Upon the death of a sultan (particularly strong ones such as Qayitbay or Qansawh al-Ghawri) I.I. wrote moving and insightful obituaries, weighing the ruler’s good and bad qualities.

Although Bada’i is I.I.’s only work of significance as an original historical source for Egypt, he has several historical or pseudo-historical works written before Bada’i. According to David Wasserstein, I.I.’s six works before Bada’i were composed between a date before 891/1486 and 922/1516.

(2)
Bada’i al-zuhur fi waqa’i al-duhur: Bad’ al-halq wa-sirat al-anbiya’

There is some confusion about his other works primarily since he wrote another work under the same title Bada’i al-zuhur fi waqa’i al-duhur. Yet, this work also has a subtitle Bad’ al-halq wa-sirat al-anbiya’ (‘The Beginning of the World, and the Lives of the Prophets’) and is an entirely different book, a survey of the sacred history from Adam until Jesus, and some eschatological elements. Clearly expressing his deep attachment to Egypt, I.I. discusses among other things, the Nile, Alexandria, the pyramids and the sphinx.

(3)
Nuzhat al-umam fi’l-aja’ib wa’l-hikam

Written before 891/1486, this is a work about the characteristics, advantages and marvels of Egypt, the customs of the Egyptians, the Muslim conquest, and the Coptic calendar and festivals.

(4)
Jawahir al-suluk fi (ahbar) al-hulafa’ wa’l-muluk

A historical treatise on the Muslim rulers of Egypt down to the reign of Qansawh al-Ghawri (904-905/1499-1500).

(5)
Marj/Bada’i al-zuhur

A history of Egypt up to 2 Muharram 909/25 June 1503.

(6)
Uqud al-juman fi waqa’i al-azman

Completed on 17 Rabi I 905/23 September 1499, the work is the history of Egypt from 654/1256 until 904/1499 and is a separate work, unrelated to Bada’i al-zuhur or to the abridged versions based on it.

(7)
Nashq al-azhar fi aja’ib al-aqtar

A cosmography with special reference to Egypt’s antiquity and kings. Much attention is devoted to the Coptic calendar and feasts, owing to their importance to Egyptian agriculture. The contents and the organization of the material are similar to Nuzhat al-umam.

Bibliography:

1) Bada’i al-zuhur fi waqa’i al-duhur
Manuscripts: Although P. Kahle mentions 33 manuscript copies of the work in his Introduction to the 1931 Istanbul edition of the chronicle (P. Kahle, M. Mustafa and M. Sobernhein (eds.). Part Four of Bada’i al-zuhur fi waqa’i al-duhur), more manuscripts have been located since then. The most important ones are listed below:

Autographs: (1) Istanbul, Süleymaniye Library, Fatih 4197; 255 fol., 23 lines. Part Four. Date of completion: 12 Muharram 901/2 October 1495. Coverage: 1-741/622-1341. (2) Istanbul, Süleymaniye Library, Fatih 4200; 221 fol., 23 lines. Part Five. Date of completion: 2 Shawwal 901/14 June 1496. Coverage: 742-788/1341-1386. (3) Istanbul, Süleymaniye Library, Fatih 4198; 231 fol., 23 lines. Part Eight. Date of completion: 4 Rabi I 913/14 July 1507. Coverage: 857-890/1453-1485. (4) Istanbul, Süleymaniye Library, Fatih 4199; 262 fol., 23 lines. Part Eleven. Date of completion: last day of Dhulhijja 928/19 November 1522. Coverage: 922-928/1516-1522.

Other manuscripts: (1) Paris, Bibliothèque Nationale, no. 1822 (Ancien Fonds 595A); 383 fol., 31 lines. First part of the manuscript was completed on 6 Safar 1058/ 2 March 1648 and covers the period between 1-784/622-1382. The second part of the manuscript (fol. 217-224 and 231-383) covers the period between 785-857/1383-1453. (2) Paris, Bibliothèque Nationale, no. 1823 (Ancien Fonds 595B). 317 fol. [TBC]. Copy date: 1 Muharram 1118/15 April 1706. Fol. 1-84a cover the period between 857-906/1453-1501; fol. 84a-317 cover the period between 922-928/ 1516-1522. (3) Paris, Bibliothèque Nationale, no. 1824 (Arab. 686); 167 fol., 29 lines. Part Nine. Copy date: 1127/1715. Copy made from an autograph copy which was completed on 15 Muharram 914/4 May 1508. Coverage: 891-912/1486-1506. (4) Paris, Bibliothèque Nationale, no. 1825 (Ancien Fonds 689); 340 fol., 15 lines. Part Eleven. Follows Fatih 4199. Date of completion: 27 Dhulhijja 934/13 September 1528. Coverage: 922-928/1516-1522. (5) St. Petersburg, Aziiatskii muzei, Ms. Rosen 46; 307 fol., 29 lines [Baron Victor Rosen. Les manuscrits arabes de l’Institut des langues orientales (St. Ptersburg, 1877)]. Part Ten. Copy date: 1127/1715. Copy made from an autograph copy which was completed on 1 Muharram 922/4 February 1516. Coverage: 913-921/1507-1515.

Miscellaneous other manuscripts of Bada’i, which are less complete than those previously mentioned:
(1) Cairo, Ahmad Basha Taymur Library, Tarih 92. Shortened abstract of the work. Coverage: 824-906/1421-1501 and 922-928/1516-1522. (2) Cairo, Ahmad Basha Taymur Library, Tarih 2337. Coverage: 922-928/1516-1522. (3) Cairo, National Library, Tarih 545; 306 fol., 21 lines. Similar to autograph Fatih 4199. Coverage: 922-928/1516-1522. Copy date: 1031/1622. (4) Cambridge, Library of Cambridge, 256 fol., 27 lines. (Edward G. Browne, A hand-list of Muhammadan manuscripts; including all those written in the Arabic characters, preserved in the Library of Cambridge (Cambridge, 1900), 58, no. 300). An undated and nearly exact copy of Fatih 4199. [See Reynold A. Nicholson, Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society (1899), 909] (5) Istanbul, Süleymaniye Kütüphanesi, Aşir Efendi, II, 232; 332 fol., 31 lines. Coverage: 1-781/622-1379. Copy date: 1120/1708. (6) Istanbul, Süleymaniye Kütüphanesi, Çorlulu Ali, no. 347; [TBC], 23 lines. Entitled as the second part of Marj (sic!) al-zuhur fi waqa’i al-duhur. Coverage: 678-825/1279-1422. Copy date: 1110/ 1698. (7) Istanbul, Süleymaniye Kütüphanesi, Çorlulu Ali, no. 348; [TBC]. Entitled as the third part of Marj (sic.) al-zuhur fi waqa’i al-duhur. Coverage: 825-906/1422-1501. (8) Istanbul, Süleymaniye Kütüphanesi, Çorlulu Ali, no. 349; [TBC]. Entitled as the fourth part of Marj (sic.) al-zuhur fi waqa’i al-duhur. Coverage: 922-928/1516-1522. Copy date: 1110/1698. Apparently an excerpt from Paris 1824, this manuscript is copied by a different hand than the former two. (9) Istanbul, Süleymaniye Kütüphanesi, Damad İbrahim Paşa, no. 887; [TBC], 35 lines. Coverage: 1-865/622-1461. The introduction is more detailed than that of Fatih 4197. The work discusses general cosmology, the prophets up to Prophet Muhammad, and Egypt’s marvels, her towns, and more. Basically, the manuscript resembles the Leiden manuscript. (10) Istanbul, Süleymaniye Kütüphanesi, Damad İbrahim Paşa, no. 888; [TBC]. Coverage: 865-906/1461-1501 and 922-928/1516-1522. (11) Leiden, Bibliothecae Academiae Lugduno-Btavae, no. 367; 251 fol., 21 lines [R.P.A. Dozy, et al. Catalogus codicum Orientalium Bibliothecae Academiae Lugduno-Batavae. 6 vols. (Lugd. Batavorum, 1851-1877), 832]. Copy date: 1005/1569. Coverage: 784-857/ 1382-1453. Since the beginning of the text is identical with the autograph, its end follows the Paris manuscript, and the manuscript resembles the autograph in its length, Paul Kahle believes that this is a copy of the autograph. (12) London, British Museum, Add. 7323; 252 fol., 21 lines. [Catalogus Codd. Mss. Orientalium qui in Museo Britannico asservantur (London, 1846-1879), Ms. no. 317]. Date of manuscript not indicated. Coverage: 784-857/1382-1453. (13) London, British Museum, Add. 18514, Ms. no. 941. A very short version of Bada’i in two parts. The first part covers the period until 648/1250 (the beginning of Mamluk rule in Egypt), while the second part covers the period up to 784/1382 (the end of the Turkish or Bahri Mamluk state and the advent of the Circassian or Burji Mamluk state). Dated 1115/1703. (14) London, British Museum, Add. 18515, Ms. no. 942; 277 fol. A short version of Bada’i the work covering the period 784-906/1382-1500. Dated 1116/1704. (15) London, British Museum, Add. 18516, Ms. no. 943; 277 fol. Coverage: 922-928/ 1516-1522 (the last year of the Mamluk state and the first five years of the Ottoman occupation of Egypt). Dated 1117/1705. (16) Rome, Bibliothecae Vaticana, Arab. 869; 152 fol., 32 lines. [Bibliothecae Apostolicae Vaticanae codd. Ms. Catalogus (Rome, 1766; Paris, c. 1926)]. Coverage: 874-906/1470-1501. (17) Vienna, Nationalbibliothek, A.F. 274 (454); 207 fol., 19 lines [Listed under no. 923 in Flügel, Die arabischen und türkischen Handschriften der Kaiserlich-Königlichen Hofbibliothek zu Wien (Vienna, 1863-67, reprint: New York, 1977, 3 vols.]. Coverage: 785-810/ 1383-1412.

Editions: (1) Bulaq, 1311-12/1893-94. An unsatisfactory edition based only on manuscripts found in Cairo. The 15 years prior to the Ottoman conquest are missing. Some periods are reported in detail, whereas others are very short. It seems that they are excerpts of a fuller version. The editors were unaware of the existence in Fatih Mosque Library in Istanbul of the 4 volumes penned by I.I. himself. (2) Istanbul, 1931-32. Ed. by Paul Kahle, Muhammad Mustafa, and Moritz Sobernheim. The first critical edition. Annemarie Schimmel prepared the indices which were published in 1945. This edition includes Part Four (covering the period 906-921/1501-1516) and Part Five (covering the period 922-928/1516-1522). The editors of the Istanbul edition used the autographs and two manuscript copies located in Paris and St. Petersburg, which were copied from other autographs that are lost. (3) Safahat lam tunshar min Bada’i al-zuhur fi waqa’i al-duhur. Cairo, 1951. Ed. by Muhammad Mustafa. A part of Bada’i which had not been published before, namely period between 857-872/1453-1468, the 15 years before the reign of Qayitbay. (4) The next edition of Bada’i was published in stages as several editions and printings by Franz Steiner Publishing House in Wiesbaden and Cairo from 1960 until 1992:

Vol. 1, part one: from the beginning of the book until 764/1363.
Vol. 1, part two: 764-810/1363-1412.
Vol. 2: 815-872/1412-1468.
Vol. 3: 872-906/1468-1501.
Vol. 4: 906-921/1501-1515. 
Vol. 5: 922-928/1516-1522.
Vols. 6-9: indices: names; officeholders and offices, trades; place-names and buildings; technical terms.

Translations: (1) [Into Turkish] Tercüme-i en-nüzhe es-seniyye fi zikr el-hulefa ve’l-müluk el-mısriyye (See Benjamin Lellouch’s article on Abdussamed Diyarbekri in Historians of the Ottoman Empire and ibidem., Les Ottomans en Égypte. Historiens et conquérants au XVIe siècle (Paris, 2006)). This is a Turkish chronicle written by a qadi who arrived in Egypt with Selim I’s army. The work consists of a translation of the last part of Bada’i with significant changes followed by an independent continuation of the narrative for two and a half years. The chronicle is important in that it provides an Ottoman perspective and also serves as a guide to the Ottoman usage of some Arabic terms. (2) [Into English] W.H. Salmon (trans.). An Account of the Ottoman conquest of Egypt in the year A.H. 922 (A.D. 1516) (London, 1921; Reprinted: Westport, CT, 1981). Translation of the 3rd volume of Bada’i. (3) [Into French] Gaston Wiet (ed./trans.). Histoire des mamlouks circassiens Ibn Iyas, Bada’i al-zuhur fi waqa’i al-duhur for the years 872-906 (1467-1500) (Cairo, 1945). (4) [Into French] Gaston Wiet (trans.). Journal d’un bourgeois du Caire: chronique d’Ibn Iyas, 906-921. With bibliographical references and indices (Paris, 1955-60), 2 vols. (5) [Into German] Annemarie Schimmel (ed. and trans.). Alltagsnotizien eines ägyptischen Bürgers (Stuttgart, c. 1985). Translation of selections from the fourth volume of Bada’i (scenes from the reign of Qansawh al-Ghawri during the period 906-921/1500-1515).

2) Bada’i al-zuhur fi waqa’i al-duhur: Bad’ al-halq wa-sirat al-anbiya’
Manuscript: According to Muhammad Mustafa’s introduction in Arabic to Kahle’s edition of Bada’i (p. waw) this work is based on Istanbul, Süleymaniye Kütüphanesi, Damad İbrahim Paşa, no. 887. 
Editions: (1) Cairo, 1288/1871. (2) Beirut, 1992. Ed. by Halil Ibrahim.
Translation: Jamal Asri (trans.). Les meilleurs roses sur les évenéments grandioses (Beirut, 1995).

3) Nuzhat al-umam fi’l-aja’ib wa’l-hikam
Manuscript: Istanbul, Süleymaniye Kütüphanesi, Ayasofya 3500.
Edition: Muhammad Zaynahum Muhammad Azab (ed.). Nuzhat al-umam fi’l-aja’ib wa’l-hikam (Cairo, 1995).

4) Jawahir al-suluk fi (ahbar) al-hulafa’ wa’l-muluk
Manuscripts: (1) Cambridge, Cambridge University Library, Qq74. (2) London, British Library, Ms. 6854. (3) Paris, Bibliothèque Nationale, Ancien Fonds 774A, no. ar. 1616.
Edition: Muhammad Zaynahum Muhammad Azab (ed.). Jawahir al-suluk fi (ahbar) al-hulafa’ wa’l-muluk (Cairo, 2005).

5) Marj/Bada’i al-zuhur:
Manuscripts: (1) Paris, Bibliothèque Nationale, no. 1554; 349 fol., 13 lines. (2) Princeton, Princeton University Library, Collection Garrett, section Yahuda, no 4411; 247 fol. 18 lines [R. Mach. Catalogue of Arabic Manuscripts (Yahuda section) in the Garrett Collection, Princeton University Library (Princeton, 1977), 378-79].

6) Uqud al-juman fi waqa’i al-azman
Manuscript: Istanbul, Süleymaniye Kütüphanesi, Ayasofya 3311. Autograph copy.

7) Nashq al-azhar fi aja’ib al-aqtar
Manuscripts: (1) Berlin, Staatsbibliothek, no. 6050; 85 fol., 29 lines. Date of completion: 922/1516-17. [W. Ahlwardt. Verzeichniss der arabischen Handschriften der Königlichen Bibliothek zu Berlin (Berlin, 1889-1899), V, 1893, pp. 376-77.] (2) Paris, Bibliothèque Nationale, ms. 2207; 356 fol., 19 lines. (3) Paris, Bibliothèque Nationale, ms. 2208; 410 fol., 29 lines. (4) Paris, Bibliothèque Nationale, ms. 2209; 389 fol., 9 lines. (5) Paris, Bibliothèque Nationale, ms. 2210; 54 fol., 23 lines. Partial version of the work.

General Bibliography: F. Wüstenfeld. Die Geschichtschreiber der Araber und ihre Werke (Göttingen, 1881), no. 513. Ch. Vollers. “La Chronique égyptienne d’Ibn Iyas.” Revue d’Egypte (Cairo, 1895), 545-73. D. S. Margoliouth. Introduction to W. H. Salmon (trans.). An account of the conquest of Egypt in the year A.H. 922 (A. D. 1516) (London, 1921), vii-xiii. Idem. Lectures on Arabic Historians (Calcutta, 1930; Reprinted New York, 1972), 158 f. Paul Kahle. “Einleitung” to P. Kahle, M. Mustafa and M. Sobernhein (eds.). Part Four of Bada’i al-zuhur fi waqa’i al-duhur (Istanbul, 1931), 1-29. M. Sobernheim. “Ibn Iyas.” Encyclopaedia of Islam (first edition, 1913-36; new printing, 1993), vol. 2, 414. W. M. Brinner. “Ibn Iyas,” Encyclopaedia of Islam (new edition) vol. 3, 812-13. K. Brockelmann. Geschichte der arabischen Litteratur, vol. 2, 295, no. 1; Suppl. II, 405-06, no.1. Muhammad Mustafa. “Introduction.” Muhammad b. Ahmad b. Iyas. Safahat lam tunshar min Bada’i al-zuhur fi waqa’i al-duhur (Cairo, 1951), 13-32. Muhammad Mustafa (ed.). English title page: The Chronicle of Ibn Iyas, A.H. 857-872/A.D. 1453-1468 (Cairo, 1951). P. M. Holt. “Ottoman Egypt (1517-1798): An Account of Arabic historical sources.” Political and Social Change in Modern Egypt (London, 1986), 3-12. David J. Wasserstein. “Tradition manuscrite, authenticité, chronologie et dévelopment de l’oevre littéraire d’Ibn Iyas.” Journal Asiatique, 280/1-2 (1992), 81-114. C. Petry. Twilight of Majesty: The Reigns of the Mamluk Sultans al-Ashraf Qaytbay and Qansuh al-Ghawri in Egypt (Seattle, 1993), 9-11. M. Winter. “An Arabic and a Turkish chronicle from the beginning of Ottoman rule in Egypt.” Amy Singer and Amnon Cohen (eds.). Aspects of Ottoman History: Papers from CIEPO IX, Jerusalem, Scripta Hierosolymitana (Jerusalem, 1994), 318-26. (The article discusses the chronicle of Diyarbakri, mentioned below among the translations.).

 
Author:
Michael Winter
April 2007