A Mamluk Sultan in Genoa

How the Sīrat Baybars Shaped the Egyptian Mental Map towards Europe and the Mediterranean

Abstract

The Sīrat Baybars represents a very important Arab folktale pretending to describe the life of Mamluk Sultan Baybars (r. 1260-77). While the content varies between fact and fiction, it proved to be highly entertaining and popular among the Egyptian population until the nineteenth century, where we still hear of public recitals. As such it has shaped the image of Europeans and Christians as outer and inner foes of the Muslim realm and as a constant possible threat. The paper focusses especially on the so-called Genoa Episode of the Sīrat Baybars, when the sultan is taken as captive to Genoa but rescued by a Muslim alliance. The episode shows how real historical events like the Fatimid attack on Genoa in the tenth century and the Mamluk conquest of Cyprus in the fifteenth merge into later narratives. It will also show how the relationship between Europeans, Christian Dhimmis and Mamluks are interwoven in networks of alliances and deceit. In doing so the Sīrat Baybars underlines the existing mental map in Egypt and ensures its survival into modern times.