By focusing on Mamluk Cairo, Adam Sabra explores the attitude of medieval Muslims to poverty and the experience of being poor in an Islamic society. He also considers the role of pious endowments (waqfs) in sustaining the poor. In this way the book affords fascinating insights into a world far removed from elite society, hitherto the focus of Mamluk studies. This trend, in conjunction with comparisons offered between the Islamic world, Europe and China, will entice a broad range of scholars from within the field and beyond.

Reviews & endorsements

"This is an important work which makes valuable contributions in two fields...He provides a wide range of data and constructs an important series of tables...the work defly blends synthesis of existing scholarship with the author's own findings and should spur future research in both the social and economic history of the Mamluk sultanate." Religious Studies Review

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Product details

• Date Published: December 2006
• format: Paperback
• isbn: 9780521034746
• length: 208 pages

• dimensions: 227 x 153 x 13 mm
• weight: 0.325kg
• contains: 16 tables
• availability: Available