Movement of Scholars to the Mamluk Region and the Range of Scholarly Institutions in Mamluk Cairo
Muhammet Enes MidilliFrom the hijri 7th century onwards, instabilities seen to the east and west of the Egyptian-Syrian region and Mamluks’ effort in making this region a secure area by defending it against external threats constitutes one of the principle motivations for scholars to move there. In addition to promoting safety and stability in the region they ruled, Mamluks made the cities like Cairo, Damascus, Aleppo, and Jerusalem prominent learning centers in the Islamicate world by constructing a great number of scholarly institutions and providing facilities for scholars. The influx of scholars from the east and west constituted the cosmopolitan scholarly milieu in the cities of Egypt and Syria, and, thanks to that, numerous works in almost all branches of Islamic sciences were produced, and new encyclopedic genres came to light. This article deals with the motivations behind the movement of scholars to the Egyptian-Syrian region in the Mamluk period and evaluates remarks in modern scholarship on this issue. Moreover, the article proposes that three interrelated tendencies came into view at the scholarly institutions of Cairo which was the political and cultural center of the Mamluks. These tendencies are: first; the harmonization of madrasa and mosque in terms of their architectural forms and institutional functions; second; the emergence of scholarly institutions that combined the functions of institutions such as mosque, madrasa, hanqāh, bīmāristān, and mausoleum; and lastly; the formation of scholarly institutions, that offered a lot of stipendiary positions (mansibs) to ulama by providing lessons for four Sunni schools of law together with lessons for tafsīr, hadīth, nahw, qirā’ā, and medicine.
Ulemânın Memlük Coğrafyasına Yönelmesi ve Memlükler Döneminde Kahire İlim Kurumları
Muhammet Enes MidilliVII. (XIII.) yüzyılın başlarından itibaren Mısır-Şam bölgesinin doğusunda ve batısında bulunan bölgelerde yaşanan istikrarsızlıklar ve Memlükler’in Mısır-Şam bölgesini dış tehditlere karşı savunarak güvenli bir alan haline getirmesi ulemânın buraya yönelmesinin temel sebeplerinden biri olmuştur. Memlükler, hâkim oldukları bölgede sağladıkları güven ve istikrarın yanı sıra Kahire, Dımaşk, Halep ve Kudüs gibi şehirlerde inşa ettirdikleri çok sayıda ilim kurumu ve ulemâya sundukları geniş imkânlar ile bu şehirlerin İslâm dünyasının en önemli ilim merkezleri haline gelmesini sağlamışlardır. Doğudan ve batıdan çok sayıda âlimin yöneldiği Mısır ve Şam şehirlerinde oluşan zengin ve kozmopolit ilmî ortam, İslâmî ilimlerin hemen her sahasında çok sayıda eser telif edilmesinin yanında yeni ve ansiklopedik telif türlerinin ortaya çıkışına da zemin hazırlamıştır. Bu çalışmada Memlükler döneminde ulemânın Mısır-Şam bölgesine yönelmesine etki eden sebepler ve bu konuyla ilgili modern literatürde ortaya konulan görüşler değerlendirilmektedir. Çalışmada ayrıca Memlükler’in siyasi ve kültürel merkezi olan Kahire’de bulunan ilim kurumlarında birbiriyle irtibatlı üç temel eğilimin ortaya çıktığı öne sürülmüştür. Birincisi, medrese ve caminin mimari formları ve kurumsal işlevleri bakımından birbiriyle yakınlaşması, ikincisi, cami, medrese, hankâh, bîmâristan ve türbe gibi birden fazla kurumun işlevini bir araya getiren ilim kurumlarının ortaya çıkışı ve son olarak dört fıkıh mezhebine göre dersler başta olmak üzere tefsir, hadis, nahiv, kıraat ve tıp gibi çeşitli ilimlere dair dersleri bir araya getirerek ulemâya çok sayıda mansıb sunan ilim kurumlarının teşekkülüdür.
Mamluks held a distinguished status in Islamic history by virtue of putting an end to the Crusader threat in the Egyptian-Syrian region and to the Mongol invasion, which had destroyed the eastern Islamicate world. First the Mongol invasion, then Timur’s expeditions wreaked havoc in the eastern Islamicate world and caused the movement of a great number of scholars to the Mamluk-ruled territories. Similarly, on one hand, the uneasiness derived from the ongoing reconquista in al-Andalus, and on the other, the memories of pilgrim-scholars of al-Andalus and al-Maghrib regarding the cities of Egypt and Syria, where prominent scholars preferred to live and numerous scholarly institutions existed, attracted the Andalusi and Magribi scholars’ attention to Egyptian-Syrian cities. Scholars coming from east and west of the Egyptian-Syrian region participated in the scholarly milieu of Mamluk cities such as Cairo and Damascus within a short period of time. They acquired positions like the post of chief judge and mudarris, and the majority preferred to live in these cities to the end of their lives with the pleasure of having multiple facilities. The influx of scholars from the east and west constituted the cosmopolitan scholarly milieu in the cities of Egypt and Syria, and, thanks to that, numerous works in almost all branches of the Islamic sciences were produced, and new encyclopedic genres came to light.
Mamluks fashioned themselves as the guardians of the Islamic world by protecting the Egyptian-Syrian region from external threats, like the Crusades and the Mongols, as the restorers of the caliphate by reinstituting the caliphate in Cairo after the collapse of the Baghdadcentered Abbasid caliphate; and as the servants of the two holy places (khadim al-haramayn) after acquiring the obedience of the sharif of Makkah. All of these developments increased the respect of scholars for the Mamluks.
In addition to promoting the safety and stability in the region they ruled, Mamluks made cities like Cairo, Damascus, Aleppo, and Jerusalem prominent learning centers in the Islamicate world by constructing a great number of scholarly institutions and providing a wide range of facilities for scholars. During the Mamluk period, what is called “scholarly institution” was by no means restricted to the institution of madrasa. Thus, historians of ulama and educational institutions of that period need to take into consideration other scholarly institutions alongside the madrasa. For instance, in that period, mosques and hanqāhs had lessons supported by waqfs and also offered stipendiary positions (mansibs) to ulama. Furthermore, institutions like madrasa, mosque and hanqāh intertwined with each other in terms of their architectural forms and institutional functions, so that they became multi-functional scholarly institutions, with the names: “mosque-madrasa”, “hanqāh-madrasa”, “mausoleum-madrasa”, “mosquemadrasa-hanqāh” and “mosque-madrasa-mausoleum”. In the period covered by this article, scholarly institutions, which have lessons for four Sunni schools of law together with lessons for hadīth, tafsīr, usūl al-fiqh, qirā’ā, nahw, medicine, and ‘ilm al-mīqāt, were formed. These types of scholarly institutions paved the way for a large number of scholars and students to establish personal, scholarly, and professional networks with each other.
This article deals with the motivations behind the movement of scholars to the EgyptianSyrian region in the Mamluk period and evaluates remarks in modern scholarship on this issue. Moreover, the article proposes that three interrelated tendencies came into view at the scholarly institutions of Cairo, which was the political and cultural center of the Mamluks. These tendencies are: first, the harmonization of madrasa and mosque in terms of their architectural forms and institutional functions; second, the emergence of scholarly institutions that combine the functions of a number of institutions such as mosque, madrasa, hanqāh, bīmāristān, and mausoleum; and lastly, the formation of scholarly institutions, that offer a large number of mansibs to ulama by providing lessons for the four Sunni schools of law together with lessons for tafsīr, hadīth, and the other sciences mentioned above.
