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Lot Essay
This document was drawn up in the treasury of the Mamluk Sultan Abu Sa‘id Sayf al-Din Khush Qadam. It records the sale of treasury lands during his short reign (1461-1467 AD). The transaction was effected through the agency of a certain Abu ‘Imran Musa al-Ansari, the agent (wakil) of the Public Treasury (bayt al-mal) and involved the sale of crown lands to a certain ‘Abdullah bin Qutlabak and his son Muhammad in the Aleppo region; these included properties in the village of al-Nayrab in the Jabal Sim’an (Mount Simeon) district and in the village of Minagh, as well as a single property in the Antakya region. A certain Abu Muhammad Iskandar acted as the agent of the buyers. The price of the lands is listed as 1,800 dinars. The secretary of the Royal Treasury, a certain Badr al-Din Muhammad, certified that the money was received in the treasury (in Cairo).
The selling of treasury lands, which had been formerly inalienable, became common practice in the Mamluk territories in the 15th century as the state attempted to raise cash. In this document justification is given for the sale of state lands on the basis that the money was needed to pay for Holy Warriors (ghuzat wa mujahidin). Purchased land would then typically be turned into pious endowments (waqf) to make it inalienable after the owner’s death. For a discussion of this practice in the Syrian context, see Bethany J. Walker, 'Popular responses to Mamluk fiscal reforms in Syria', in Bulletin d’études orientales, Tome LVIII, Septembre 2009 (Online since 01 September 2010), pp.51-68. For a discussion of this practice more generally, see Ulrich Haarman, 'The Sons of Mamluks as Fief-holders in Late Medieval Egypt' in Khalidi, 1984, pp.141-168.
The document is dated and signed by various witnesses below and in the right margin. In the top right corner is a seal impression, perhaps belonging to the Ottoman period. On the other side are various legal rulings (hukm) by various members of the judiciary to the effect that the transaction is legal and compliant with the shari‘a. The first and longest of these in on the authority of Shaykh Shams al-Din Abu ‘Abdullah Muhammad, and is dated 8 Rajab AH 870/24 February 1466 AD.
The selling of treasury lands, which had been formerly inalienable, became common practice in the Mamluk territories in the 15th century as the state attempted to raise cash. In this document justification is given for the sale of state lands on the basis that the money was needed to pay for Holy Warriors (ghuzat wa mujahidin). Purchased land would then typically be turned into pious endowments (waqf) to make it inalienable after the owner’s death. For a discussion of this practice in the Syrian context, see Bethany J. Walker, 'Popular responses to Mamluk fiscal reforms in Syria', in Bulletin d’études orientales, Tome LVIII, Septembre 2009 (Online since 01 September 2010), pp.51-68. For a discussion of this practice more generally, see Ulrich Haarman, 'The Sons of Mamluks as Fief-holders in Late Medieval Egypt' in Khalidi, 1984, pp.141-168.
The document is dated and signed by various witnesses below and in the right margin. In the top right corner is a seal impression, perhaps belonging to the Ottoman period. On the other side are various legal rulings (hukm) by various members of the judiciary to the effect that the transaction is legal and compliant with the shari‘a. The first and longest of these in on the authority of Shaykh Shams al-Din Abu ‘Abdullah Muhammad, and is dated 8 Rajab AH 870/24 February 1466 AD.