Trajectories of State Formation across Fifteenth-Century Islamic West-Asia Eurasian Parallels, Connections and Divergences (Rulers & Elites)

"The concept, practice, institution and appearance of 'the state' have been hotly debated ever since the emergence of history as a discipline within modern scholarship. The field of medieval Islamic history, however, has remained aloof from most of these debates. Rather it tends to take for granted the particularity of dynastic trajectories within only slowly changing bureaucratic contexts. Trajectories of State Formation promotes a more critical and connected understanding of state formation in the late medieval Sultanates of Cairo and of the Timurid, Turkmen and Ottoman dynasties. Projecting seven case studies onto a broad canvas of European and West-Asian research, this volume presents a trans-dynastic reconstruction, interpretation and illustration of statist trajectories across fifteenth century Islamic West-Asia. Contributors include: Contributors are: Georg Christ, Kristof D'hulster, Jan Dumolyn, Albrecht Fuess, Dimitri J. Kastritsis, Beatrice Forbes Manz, John L. Meloy, Jo Van Steenbergen, and Patrick Wing."-- Provided by publisher Acknowledgements vii List of Figures, Tables and Maps ix List of Contributors x Introduction: State Formation in the Fifteenth Century and the Western Eurasian Canvas: Problems and Opportunities / Jo Van Steenbergen 1 Maps 21 Part 1. Whither the Fifteenth Century? 1. From Temür to Selim: Trajectories of Turko-Mongol State Formation in Islamic West-Asia’s Long Fifteenth Century / Jo Van Steenbergen 27 2. Studying Rulers and States across Fifteenth-Century Western Eurasia / Jan Dumolyn and Jo Van Steenbergen 88 Part 2. From Cairo to Constantinople: The Construction of West-Asian Centers of Power 3. The Road to the Citadel as a Chain of Opportunity: Mamluks’ Careers between Contingency and Institutionalization / Kristof D’hulster 159 4. The Syro-Egyptian Sultanate in Transformation, 1496–1498: Sultan al-Nasir Muhammad b. Qaytbay and the Reformation of mamlūk Institutions and Symbols of State Power / Albrecht Fuess 201 5. Tales of Viziers and Wine: Interpreting Early Ottoman Narratives of State Centralization / Dimitri Kastritsis 224 Part 3. From Khwaf to Alexandria: The Accommodation of West-Asian Peripheries of Power 6. Iranian Elites under the Timurids / Beatrice F. Manz 257 7. The Judges of Mecca and Mamluk Hegemony / John L. Meloy 283 8. The Syrian Commercial Elite and Mamluk State-Building in the Fifteenth Century / Patrick Wing 306 9. Settling Accounts with the Sultan: 'Cortesia', 'Zemechia' and Venetian Fiscality in Fifteenth-Century Alexandria / Georg Christ 319 Index 353 From Temür to Selim: Trajectories of Turko-Mongol State Formation in Islamic West-Asia's Long Fifteenth Century / Jo Van Steenbergen -- Studying Rulers and States across Fifteenth Century Western Eurasia / Jan Dumolyn and Jo Van Steenbergen -- The Road to the Citadel as a Chain of Opportunity: Mamluks' Careers between Contingency and Institutionalization / Kristof D'hulster -- The Syro-Egyptian Sultanate in Transformation, 1496-1498: Sultan al-Nasir Muhammad b. Qaytbay and the Reformation of mamlūk Institutions and Symbols of State Power / Albrecht Fuess -- Tales of Viziers and Wine: Interpreting Early Ottoman Narratives of State Centralization / Dimitri Kastritsis -- Iranian Elites under the Timurids / Beatrice F. Manz -- The Judges of Mecca and Mamluk Hegemony / John L. Meloy -- The Syrian Commercial Elite and Mamluk State-Building in the Fifteenth Century / Patrick Wing -- Settling Accounts with the Sultan: Cortesia, Zemechia and Venetian Fiscality in Fifteenth Century Alexandria / Georg Christ The concept, practice, institution and appearance of the state have been hotly debated ever since the emergence of history as a discipline within modern scholarship. The field of medieval Islamic history, however, has remained aloof from most of these debates. Rather it tends to take for granted the particularity of dynastic trajectories within slow-changing bureaucratic contexts. Trajectories of State Formation promotes a more critical and connected understanding of state formation in the late medieval Sultanates of Cairo and of the Timurid, Turkmen and Ottoman dynasties. Projecting seven case studies onto a broad canvas of European and West-Asian research, this volume presents a trans-dynastic reconstruction, interpretation and illustration of statist trajectories across fifteenth-century Islamic West-Asia. The contributors are: Georg Christ, Kristof Dhulster, Jan Dumolyn, Albrecht Fuess, Dimitri J. Kastritsis, Beatrice Forbes Manz, John L. Meloy, Jo Van Steenbergen, and Patrick Wing.