While Ibn Khaldun remains the most famous historian from the late medieval Islamic world, this panel will highlight some of the lesser known riches of historical writing from the 14th and 15th centuries. The papers will present case studies of Baybars al-Mansuri (d. 1325) writing in Mamluk Egypt, Ibn al-Khatib (d. 1374) in Nasrid Granada, and Ibn al-Shamma‘ (d. after 1457) in Hafsid Tunisia. These historians produced works of universal, local, and dynastic history, all building on long and shared legacies of historical writing. The panel explores how common concerns of patronage, political power, legitimacy and memory informed their historical narratives.
Speakers:
Gowaart Van Den Bossche
Mohamad Ballan
Sébastien Garnier
Chair:
Jo van Steenbergen