A Window to the Past?

Tracing Ibn Iyās’s Narrative Ways of Worldmaking

By (author) Anna Kollatz

Book cover: A Window to the Past?

Extent: 314 pages

Publisher: V&R unipress

Subjects: Islamic & Middle Eastern Studies, Medieval Studies

Language: English

Hardback (Published)

(July 2022)

ISBN: 9783847114482

6.3 x 9.33 inches

Price: $82.00

In stock

The only Arabic voice to have witnessed the Ottoman conquest of Cairo, Ibn Iyas is an eminent historical source for the late Mamluk period. This book is the first to take stock of the author’s complete works, approaching him through an examination of his narrative voice and writing strategies.


The only Arabic voice to have witnessed the Ottoman conquest of Cairo, Ibn Iyas is an eminent historical source for the late Mamluk period. This book is the first to take stock of the author’s complete works, approaching him through an examination of his narrative voice and writing strategies. Tracing Ibn Iyas’s working process by compilation analysis, it shows how the author adapted his representations of Egyptian history to his writing projects and audience. Ibn Iyas’s ways of worldmaking are shaped deeply by beliefs, biases and intellectual trends as well as the impact of the social and historical context the author wrote in. Knowing these conditioning factors allows to understand his presentation of history as an individual voice from his time.

  • By (author) Anna Kollatz