History of Ottoman Egypt in the Seventeenth Century: some unpublished sources

Abstract

In an attempt to present some unpublished historical sources of Ottoman Egypt in the seventeenth century) the discussion has been arranged in two major parts. The first part gives some historical background as well as introducing the manuscripts that are to be examined. The introduction discusses various aspects related to Ottoman Egypt such as the historical background before the seventeenth century) the work of some Arabic and Turkish chroniclers on the subject and a historical overview of the period covered by the two anonymous chronicles) entitled Zubda ikhtisar tarikh Misr al-Mahrusa and the Paris Fragment. The first chapter concentrates on a description of the manuscripts. It includes the general condition and contents of the manuscripts. Although the manuscripts do not present a comprehensive picture of events in seventeenth century Egypt) they are valuable) especially in view of the dearth of other contemporary documents. The second chapter summarises the information contained in the two manuscripts. The second part of the thesis consists of the critical edition of the two manuscripts. Some notes are provided at the bottom of the text to demonstrate some linguistic characteristics of the Arabic usage of that particular period.