Description

Book Synopsis
Starting from 135 manuscripts that were once part of the library of the late Mamluk sultan Qanisawh al-Ghawri (r. 1501--1516), this book challenges the dominant narrative of a 'post-court era', in which courts were increasingly marginalized in the field of adab. Rather than being the literary barren field that much of the Arabic and Arabic-centred sources, produced extra muros, would have us believe, it re-cognizes Qanisawh's court as a rich and vibrant literary site and a cosmopolitan hub in a burgeoning Turkic literary ecumene. It also re-centres the ruler himself within this court. No longer the passive object of panegyric or the source of patronage alone, Qniawh has an authorial voice in his own right, one that is idiosyncratic yet in conversation with other voices. As such, while this book is first and foremost a book about books, it is one that consciously aspires to be more than that: a book about a library, and, ultimately, a book about the man behind the library, Qniawh al-Ghawr.

Browsing through the Sultan's Bookshelves:

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    A Hardback by Kristof D'hulster

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      Book details

      Publisher V&R Unipress
      Published 1 September 2022
      ISBN-13 9783847112921
      978-3847112921
      ISBN-10 3847112929
      Also in:
      Middle Eastern history General studies and General knowledge Institutions and learned societies

      Description

      Book Synopsis
      Starting from 135 manuscripts that were once part of the library of the late Mamluk sultan Qanisawh al-Ghawri (r. 1501--1516), this book challenges the dominant narrative of a 'post-court era', in which courts were increasingly marginalized in the field of adab. Rather than being the literary barren field that much of the Arabic and Arabic-centred sources, produced extra muros, would have us believe, it re-cognizes Qanisawh's court as a rich and vibrant literary site and a cosmopolitan hub in a burgeoning Turkic literary ecumene. It also re-centres the ruler himself within this court. No longer the passive object of panegyric or the source of patronage alone, Qniawh has an authorial voice in his own right, one that is idiosyncratic yet in conversation with other voices. As such, while this book is first and foremost a book about books, it is one that consciously aspires to be more than that: a book about a library, and, ultimately, a book about the man behind the library, Qniawh al-Ghawr.

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