Early Mamluk Diplomacy: Treaties of Baybars and Qalawun With Christian Rulers

Early Mamluk Diplomacy is based on treaties between the Mamluk sultans of Egypt, Baybars (1260-77) and Qalawun (1279-90), and Christian rulers. The General Introduction describes the Arabic literary sources in which these treaties have been transmitted. Their status under Islamic law is examined, followed by a description of negotiation procedures, and an account of diplomatic relations with the Christian powers. Three treaties are with the military orders, four with Beirut, Tripoli, the Latin kingdom and Tyre, and four others with Lesser Armenia, Aragon, the Byzantine Empire and Genoa. Each section has an introduction giving its historical background. The work offers Islamic historians and European medievalists documentary evidence of a kind rare in pre-modern Middle Eastern history, casting light on commercial and social as well as diplomatic relations.