A Window to the Past?

The only Arabic voice to have witnessed the Ottoman conquest of Cairo, Ibn Iy?s, is an eminent historical source for the late Mamluk period. This book is the first to take stock of the author's complete works, approaching him through an examination of his narrative voice and writing strategies. Tracing Ibn Iy?s's working process by compilation analysis, it shows how the author adapted his representations of Egyptian history to his writing projects and audience. Ibn Iy?s's ways of worldmaking are shaped deeply by beliefs, biases and intellectual trends as well as the impact of the social and historical context the author wrote in. Knowing these conditioning factors allows to understand his presentation of history as an individual voice of his time.

Dr Anna Kollatz is professor for Islamic Studies (Arabic), University of Heidelberg, who focuses on Islam in the Mediterranean and in South Asia.