Al-Sakhāwī, a biographer from Mamlūk Cairo and his Dictionary of women: studies by Renate Jacobi

The volume presents Renate Jacobi’s studies on the historian ʿAbd al-Raḥmān al-Sakhāwī (d. 902/1497) and his biographical dictionary al-Ḍawʾ al-lāmiʿ li-ahl al-qarn al-tāsiʿ with the special focus on the biographies of women. Al-Sakhāwī’s dictionary is exceptional in the history of classical Arabic biographical literature. Its twelfth and final volume featuring 1075 numbered biographical entries is devoted exclusively to women many of whom were known by the author in person. Renate Jacobi examines the life of al-Sakhāwī and analyzes his dictionary as a unique source for studying the social role of women in the Mamlūk period, their chances of taking up public space, and making a career of their own. The texts of the chapters in this volume have been adopted from previous publications by Renate Jacobi in different journals and edited volumes with some editorial modifications, additions and bibliographical updates. Two studies, “The Scholar and the Poetess: A Friendship of the Heart in Mamlūk Egypt” and “Women in the Endowment System of the Mamlūk Period,” are being published in English for the first time. The volume is a window onto the intriguing, fascinating, and very informative world of classical Arabic biographical literature.