{"product_id":"the-sword-of-ambition-bureaucratic-rivalry-in-medieval-egypt-9781479824786","title":"The Sword of Ambition: Bureaucratic Rivalry in Medieval Egypt","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003ePatronage, power, and competition in the Sultan's court\u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Sword of Ambition\u003c\/i\u003e opens a new window onto interreligious rivalry among elites in medieval Egypt. Written by the unemployed bureaucrat 'Uthman ibn Ibrahim al-Nabulusi, it contains a wealth of little-known historical anecdotes, unusual religious opinions, obscure and witty poetry, and humorous cultural satire. Leaving no rhetorical stone unturned, al-Nabulusi pours his deep knowledge of history, law, and literature into the work--addressed to the Ayyubid sultan--as he argues against the employment of Coptic and Jewish officials. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eWritten at a time when much of the inter-communal animosity of the era was conditioned by fierce competition for scarce resources that were increasingly controlled by an ideologically committed Sunni Muslim state, \u003ci\u003eThe Sword of Ambition \u003c\/i\u003ereminds us that \"religious\" conflict must always be considered in its broader historical perspective. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eAn English-only edition.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eʿUthmān ibn Ibrāhīm al-Nābulusī (Author) \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003eʿUthmān ibn Ibrāhīm al-Nābulusī \u003c\/b\u003e(d. 660\/1262), of Palestinian origin, was a leading Egyptian bureaucrat in the court of the Ayyubid sultans. In addition to his pivotal work, \u003ci\u003eThe Sword of Ambition\u003c\/i\u003e, he wrote several works on Egyptian administration and government, including \u003ci\u003eA Presentation of the Living, Eternal God's Work in Regulating the Fayyum\u003c\/i\u003e, the most extensive tax record that survives from the medieval Middle East. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003eSherman 'Abd al-Hakim Jackson (Foreword by) \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003eSherman Jackson\u003c\/b\u003e is King Faisal Chair in Islamic Thought and Culture and Professor of Religion and American Studies and Ethnicity at the University of Southern California. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003eLuke Yarbrough (Translator) \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003eLuke Yarbrough\u003c\/b\u003e is Assistant Professor in the Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations at UCLA. His research is concerned with the history of the pre-modern Middle East and North Africa, including inter-communal relations, law and prescriptive discourses, Arabic historiography, the oral transmission of knowledge, and comparative history. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"New York University Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50338190852370,"sku":"9781479824786","price":13.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_bd2821d0-6c87-485e-b694-0ef597fde28a.jpg?v=1727977982","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/the-sword-of-ambition-bureaucratic-rivalry-in-medieval-egypt-9781479824786","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}