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Reinterpreting Medieval Islamic Autobiography: The Case of al-Sakhāwī’s Irshād (1428/831 AH - 1497/902 AH)

This thesis research aims to contribute to the study of medieval Arabic autobiographies by examining the autobiography of one of fifteenth-century Mamluk scholars, Muḥammad Ibn ʿabd al-Raḥmān al-Sakhāwī (1428/831 AH - 1497/902 AH). The objective of this research is to understand more about the art o...

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Main Author: Shawki, Maha
Format: Thesis
Published: AUC Knowledge Fountain 2022
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access_status_str Open Access
author Shawki, Maha
author_browse Shawki, Maha
author_facet Shawki, Maha
author_sort Shawki, Maha
collection Thesis
description This thesis research aims to contribute to the study of medieval Arabic autobiographies by examining the autobiography of one of fifteenth-century Mamluk scholars, Muḥammad Ibn ʿabd al-Raḥmān al-Sakhāwī (1428/831 AH - 1497/902 AH). The objective of this research is to understand more about the art of writing an autobiography during the late Mamluk period and how it relates to broader Islamic tradition. This will be done by considering al-Sakhāwī’s autobiography in the context of other similar concurrent texts written during the late Mamluk period to detect possible links and investigate how a medieval autobiography can be shaped by the character and ideology of its author. Then, the thesis tries to analyze the context that led to the emergence of many autobiographies during the time of al-Sakhāwī to understand why this genre became prevalent. The research suggests several intellectual and social changes that might have fostered a flourishing environment for this type of writing. The final objective of this thesis is to show how an autobiography such as al-Sakhāwī can reveal some aspects related to family conditions and dynamics. This will be done by examining the portrayal of al-Sakhāwī’s family as presented in the autobiography in terms of socio-economic background as well as marriage and divorce conditions.
format Thesis
id oai:fount.aucegypt.edu:etds-2885
institution American University in Cairo (Egypt)
last_indexed 2026-06-10T12:35:51.500Z
license_str Not specified — see source repository
provenance_str_mv Harvested via OAI-PMH from AUC Knowledge Fountain — bepress
publishDate 2022
publishDateRange 2022
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source_str AUC Knowledge Fountain — bepress
spelling oai:fount.aucegypt.edu:etds-2885 Reinterpreting Medieval Islamic Autobiography: The Case of al-Sakhāwī’s Irshād (1428/831 AH - 1497/902 AH) Shawki, Maha This thesis research aims to contribute to the study of medieval Arabic autobiographies by examining the autobiography of one of fifteenth-century Mamluk scholars, Muḥammad Ibn ʿabd al-Raḥmān al-Sakhāwī (1428/831 AH - 1497/902 AH). The objective of this research is to understand more about the art of writing an autobiography during the late Mamluk period and how it relates to broader Islamic tradition. This will be done by considering al-Sakhāwī’s autobiography in the context of other similar concurrent texts written during the late Mamluk period to detect possible links and investigate how a medieval autobiography can be shaped by the character and ideology of its author. Then, the thesis tries to analyze the context that led to the emergence of many autobiographies during the time of al-Sakhāwī to understand why this genre became prevalent. The research suggests several intellectual and social changes that might have fostered a flourishing environment for this type of writing. The final objective of this thesis is to show how an autobiography such as al-Sakhāwī can reveal some aspects related to family conditions and dynamics. This will be done by examining the portrayal of al-Sakhāwī’s family as presented in the autobiography in terms of socio-economic background as well as marriage and divorce conditions. 2022-02-15T08:00:00Z thesis application/pdf https://fount.aucegypt.edu/etds/1866 https://fount.aucegypt.edu/context/etds/article/2885/viewcontent/Thesis___Maha_Shawki___Medieval_Autobiography___Final.pdf Theses and Dissertations AUC Knowledge Fountain Medieval Islamic Autobiography Ulama Family Marriage and Divorce Arabic Studies Islamic World and Near East History Medieval History
spellingShingle Medieval Islamic Autobiography
Ulama Family
Marriage and Divorce
Arabic Studies
Islamic World and Near East History
Medieval History
Shawki, Maha
Reinterpreting Medieval Islamic Autobiography: The Case of al-Sakhāwī’s Irshād (1428/831 AH - 1497/902 AH)
title Reinterpreting Medieval Islamic Autobiography: The Case of al-Sakhāwī’s Irshād (1428/831 AH - 1497/902 AH)
title_full Reinterpreting Medieval Islamic Autobiography: The Case of al-Sakhāwī’s Irshād (1428/831 AH - 1497/902 AH)
title_fullStr Reinterpreting Medieval Islamic Autobiography: The Case of al-Sakhāwī’s Irshād (1428/831 AH - 1497/902 AH)
title_full_unstemmed Reinterpreting Medieval Islamic Autobiography: The Case of al-Sakhāwī’s Irshād (1428/831 AH - 1497/902 AH)
title_short Reinterpreting Medieval Islamic Autobiography: The Case of al-Sakhāwī’s Irshād (1428/831 AH - 1497/902 AH)
title_sort reinterpreting medieval islamic autobiography the case of al sakhawi s irshad 1428 831 ah 1497 902 ah
topic Medieval Islamic Autobiography
Ulama Family
Marriage and Divorce
Arabic Studies
Islamic World and Near East History
Medieval History
url https://fount.aucegypt.edu/etds/1866
https://fount.aucegypt.edu/context/etds/article/2885/viewcontent/Thesis___Maha_Shawki___Medieval_Autobiography___Final.pdf
work_keys_str_mv AT shawkimaha reinterpretingmedievalislamicautobiographythecaseofalsakhawisirshad1428831ah1497902ah