Kariery dragomanów pochodzenia żydowskiego w Egipcie na tle sytuacji Żydów w Sułtanacie Mameluków (XV – początek XVI wieku)

Łukasz Burkiewicz

doi:10.56583/sz.2307

Published : 2023-12-31

Vol. 13 (2023)

The Careers of Dragomans of Jewish Origin in Egypt against the Background of the Situation of the Jews in the Mamluk Sultanate (15th – Early 16th Century)

Łukasz Burkiewicz

https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9115-0837

DOI: https://doi.org/10.56583/sz.2307

Abstract

The article is devoted to two dragomans of Jewish origin — Sajf al-Dīn Shāhīn al-Tarjumān and Taghrī Birdī — who managed to make remarkable careers in the environment of the Mamluk sultans in the 15th and early 16th centuries. At that time, the situation of the Jews was not easy, as they were subjected to numerous restrictions imposed on them by the ruling dynasty, and this period is widely considered harsher for the Jews than the period when Egypt was ruled by the Fatimids (909–1171) and Ayyubids (1171–1250). Moreover, in the 14th century, the Mamluk Sultanate suffered a deep social and economic crisis, which also affected the Jews who lived there and led to a decline in crafts, forcing those of them who worked as craftsmen to turn to trade. Despite the general deterioration of the situation of the Jews in Egypt, some of them performed important functions in the administration of the Mamluk state, including the position of dragomans, i.e. translators of European languages at the sultan’s court. This practice was later adopted and widely used by the Ottomans.

Keywords:

Egypt, Mamluks, interpreter, dragoman

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Burkiewicz, Łukasz. (2023). The Careers of Dragomans of Jewish Origin in Egypt against the Background of the Situation of the Jews in the Mamluk Sultanate (15th – Early 16th Century). Jewish Studies. Almanac, 13, 25–40. https://doi.org/10.56583/sz.2307

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Łukasz Burkiewicz

lukasz.burkiewicz@ignatianum.edu.pl
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9115-0837

Affiliation:

Uniwersytet Ignatianum w Krakowie Poland

Bio Statement (e.g., department and rank)

Doktor nauk humanistycznych (UJ, historia); absolwent kulturoznawstwa śródziemnomorskiego i zarządzania jakością (UJ), marketingu (AGH) oraz studiów Executive MBA (Politechnika Krakowska i Central Connecticut State University, New Britain, US). Specjalizuje się w dziejach średniowiecznych oraz wczesnonowożytnych wschodniej części basenu Morza Śródziemnego. Jego zainteresowania obejmują również wczesne eksploracje Azji Środkowej przez przedstawicieli Europy Zachodniej, w szczególności Kastylijczyków. Dyrektor czasopism naukowych w AIK (od 2019), redaktor naczelny „Perspektyw Kultury” (140 pkt).