Waqfs and Urban Structures: The Case of Ottoman Damascus

Erscheinungsjahr 1999
ISBN: 978-90-04-11299-5
Verlag: Brill

Buch, Englisch, Band 11, 232 Seiten, Format (B × H): 164 mm x 240 mm, Gewicht: 562 g

Reihe: Studies in Islamic Law and Society

The author proposes in this study a new, integrative approach to the phenomenon of Muslim pious foundations, or waqfs. The evolution of the institution is analysed from the perspective of the formation of power systems, which shaped both the elaboraton of the textual framework of the institution and the practices connected with the founding and administration of waqf-objects. The growing interference of the state in the field of waqfs and in the hierarchy of the ulama is seen as essential for the development of the institution in the Ayyubid, Mamluk and Ottoman periods. The waqf institution is presented as a determining factor in the growth and structure of Muslim cities, both on the level of political and economic control and on the level of social cohesion. To illustrate these views, the example of Damascus is discussed, by using archival and printed, legal and historical sources from different periods, focusing on the 18th century.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Leeuwen, Richard van

Fachgebiete

• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Weltgeschichte & Geschichte einzelner Länder und Gebietsräume Geschichte einzelner Länder Asiatische Geschichte
• Geisteswissenschaften Islam & Islamische Studien Islam & Islamische Studien

Über Autor(innen)

Richard van Leeuwen, Ph.D. (1992) in Arabic and Islamic Studies, has published extensively on the history of the Middle East in the Ottoman period, and Arabic literature. His publications include Notables and Clergy in Mount Lebanon: the Khazin sheikhs and the Maronite Church (1736-1840) ( Brill, 1994). He is currently working as a translator of Arabic literature in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.