تدمري، عمر عبد السلام. تاريخ طرابلس السياسي و الحضاري عبر العصور: عصر دولة المماليك. بيروت: المؤسسة العربية للدراسات و النشر،١٩۷٨، المجلد الثاني، ٦٧٥ص
Tadmuri, ʻUmar ‘Abd al-Salam. Tarikh Tarabulus al-Siyasi wa-al-Hadari ʻAbra al-ʻUsur: ʻAsr Dawlat al-Mamalik. Beirut: Al-Mu’assasah al-‘Arabiyyah lil-Dirasat wa-al-Nashr, 1978, 2nd Vol. Only, 675pp.
ABSTRACT
Tripoli’s Political History and Civilisation Throughout the Ages: The Mamluk Era
تاريخ طرابلس السياسي و الحضاري عبر العصور: عصر المماليك
This volume (vol. 2) deals with the history of the city of Tripoli during the Mamluk era. It consists of two parts: political and cultural.
The first part discusses the administrative and political organisation of the city, illustrated with a number of tables of the names of its Princes and senior employees such as ministers and judges. Thereafter, it presents the demographic composition of the city, with reference to some minorities such as the Christians and the Ismailis. Moreover, it highlights the role of Tripoli in fighting the Armenians and the Tatars. It exposes also Tripoli’s history of struggles against Europe, emphasising its role in expelling the remains of the crusaders from the Mamluk territory, and in withstanding the raids of the Cypriots and the Italians. Finally, it gives some examples of the political unrest witnessed by Tripoli during the Mamluk era. It also describes some natural disasters which hit the city during that period, as well as some funny and rare incidents. The part ends with Tripoli becoming an Ottoman province after the collapse of the Mamluk dynasty.
The second part begins by depicting the medieval city of Tripoli with its religious, civil, and military architecture. Together with the detailed descriptions of each monument, this section contains a large number of images and maps, which make the book an important source for researchers interested in the study of Islamic architecture and arts of the Mamluks. It covers the economic aspect, not only in the Mamluk era, but since the city’s Phoenician foundation, focusing on the importance of its strategic location and the major agricultural, industrial and commercial activities of its population. Finally, it deals with the scientific life in Tripoli and introduces some of its prominent poets and jurists.
These chapters are followed by a special section of annexes, some of which are typed, while others are still manuscripts which have been published for the first time. This section occupies a considerable space in the book but its importance is obvious for researchers interested in studying this era.
Generally, the book is comprehensive, covering various aspects of the history of Tripoli during the Mamluk era. However, the author could have included a short summary of the first volume to help the reader understand some of the details which have not been explained in this volume. Similarly, it would have been helpful if he had provided a brief background about the Mamluks to enable the reader to put the book in its historical and cultural context.
Meriam Ben Amor