This bibliography represents an on-going project to compile all research and discussion, scholarly and popular, germane to the Mamluk sultanate of Egypt and Syria. It is hoped that the comprehensive nature of this bibliography will make more readily apparent the field's advances and its deficiencies. The chronological and geographical limits traditionally used to demarcate the sultanate are not necessarily adhered to if the discussion at hand has some bearing on conditions during the period. Because no attempt has been made to evaluate the scholarly value of the material included here, the bibiliography should provide some insight into popular perceptions of the subject as well.

Although a bibliography may attempt to present the current state of a field, the structure of its organization necessarily restricts that presentation to a particular, fixed view. With this in mind, the structure of this bibliography is intended to order the data while providing a certain amount of flexibility. The nineteen categories of the bibliography are conceived to organize, without imposing an overly rigid view of the field, all secondary literature germane to Mamluk studies. Accordingly, the categories consist of general topics within Mamluk studies and general categories of sources (users should note that a compilation of edited sources is currently underway). This approach has thus built into the list a certain element of intentional redundancy, as particular entries frequently have bearing on more than one subject category. Furthermore, the sub-fields are construed rather broadly, in part to avoid categories that are overly brief, but also to enhance the relationships between aspects of Mamluk studies.

Two aspects of this project have become clear as the list has grown longer. First, there remain many more bibliographic trails to track; "comprehensive" necessarily refers to intended scope rather than actual content, and clearly much work remains to be done here. The project's database includes an additional 250 or so references that we have not been able to verify. Nonetheless, it is hoped that the list as it stands will be of some use to scholars.

Second, the overall size of the bibliography has some bearing on the usefulness of its organization. These categories should not be considered permanent. In the future, as the literature of sub-specialties grows, the general categories may warrant sub-division. As this is an on-going project, these two aspects will receive as much consideration as the collection of new literature, and users' contributions, comments, and criticisms are encouraged. The project has already benefited from the contributions of: Jonthan Berkey, Ulrich Haarmann, David King, Donald Little, David Reisman, and Warren Schultz.

MEDOC has also created the Mamluk Listserv as a discussion forum for scholars interested in the history and culture of the Mamluk Sultanate of Egypt and Syria. To subscribe send a message to majordomo@listhost.uchicago.edu. The body of the text should read:
subscribe mamluk your-address.
For example if your e-mail address is johnsmith@online.com, your message should read:
subscribe mamluk johnsmith@online.com

Return To:Mamluk Bibliography Homepage