Domestic Slavery in Syria and Egypt, 1200-1500

Slavery touched many aspects of Mamluk society. This volume focuses on the role of slaves within the family, from birth to purchase, liberation, and death. It investigates domestic slavery in Syrian and Egyptian society from the thirteenth to the fifteenth century. Jan Hagedorn focuses on the agency of slaves in the context of master-slave relationships within households and in wider society. He argues that the ability of slaves to shape the world around them was underpinned by a constant process of negotiation within the master-slave relationship and that intermediaries such as the court system channelled the agency of slaves. The principal sources for this study are purchase contracts, listening certificates, marriage contracts, and estate inventories in combination with scribal, market inspection, and slave purchase manuals as well as chronicles.

About the author

Dr Jan Hagedorn completed his Ph.D. at the University of St Andrews, Scotland. He holds a position as Islamic Studies specialist at the Bremen State Bureau of Investigation.

Product details

• Authors: Jan Hinrich Hagedorn
• Publisher: V & R Unipress GmbH
• Languages: English
• Product format: Hardback
• Released: 31.12.2019
• No. of pages: 245
• Dimensions: 158 mm x 236 mm x 20 mm
• Weight: 482 g
• Illustrations: with 12 figures
• Series: Mamluk Studies
• Subjects: Humanities, art, music > History > Middle Ages; Mittelalter, Menschenhandel, Ägypten, Syrien, Sozial- und Kulturgeschichte, Geschichte des Nahen und Mittleren Ostens, Afrikanische Geschichte, 1000 bis 1500 nach Christus, Geschichte allgemein und Weltgeschichte, Nahost, Sklaverei, Europäische Geschichte: Mittelalter, Europa / Geschichte, Kulturgeschichte, Afrika / Geschichte, Politik, Recht, Naher Osten - Nahost, Sklaverei; Syrien; Ägypten; History; Islamic Studies; Social History; Middle Ages; Middle East; Agency; Household; Geschichte; Mamluk; Haushalt; Handlungsmacht; Sozialgeschichte; Mamluken; Naher Osten; Islamwissenschaft; Mittelalter; Mediävistik