The Sword of Ambition: Bureaucratic Rivalry in Medieval Egypt: 52 (Library of Arabic Literature) - Softcover

Al-Nābulusī, ʿUthmān Ibn Ibrāhīm

Softcover

ISBN 10: 147982478X ISBN 13: 9781479824786

Publisher: NYU Press, 2019

Synopsis

Patronage, power, and competition in the Sultan’s court

The Sword of Ambition opens a new window onto interreligious rivalry among elites in medieval Egypt. Written by the unemployed bureaucrat ?Uthman ibn Ibrahim al-Nabulusi (d. 660/1262), it contains a wealth of little-known historical anecdotes, unusual religious opinions, obscure and witty poetry, and humorous cultural satire. Leaving no rhetorical stone unturned, al-Nabulusi pours his deep knowledge of history, law, and literature into the work―addressed to the Ayyubid sultan―as he argues against the employment of Coptic and Jewish officials.

Written at a time when much of the inter-communal animosity of the era was conditioned by fierce competition for scarce resources that were increasingly controlled by an ideologically committed Sunni Muslim state, The Sword of Ambition reminds us that “religious” conflict must always be considered in its broader historical perspective.

About this title

Review:

Avery reader-friendly modern English version of this mediaeval Arabic text . . .Yarbrough's informative introduction usefully situates the book both in its own time and in terms of the later uses that have been made of it. . .Yarbrough's fine translation allows the contemporary English-speaking reader to hear the full range of its author's wheedling, monomaniacal voice. * al-Ahram * Luke Yarbrough has done the field of medieval Middle Eastern history a service... [An] excellent edition and exemplary translation. -- Journal of the American Oriental Society An amazing narrative that combines erudition, poetry, belles lettres, history, law, and anecdotal accounts into a compelling work. * Islamic Sciences * [An] elegant and well-edited bilingual edition. * Times Literary Supplement * Luke Yarbrough is to be congratulated for a very fine piece of philological scholarship combining [a] first-class edition with a wonderful translation. * Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies *

About the Author:

Luke Yarbrough is Assistant Professor in the Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations at UCLA. His research is concerned with the history of the pre-modern Middle East and North Africa, including inter-communal relations, law and prescriptive discourses, Arabic historiography, the oral transmission of knowledge, and comparative history.

About this edition

• Publisher: NYU Press
• Publication date: 2019
• ISBN 10: 147982478X
• ISBN 13: 9781479824786
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 224