Discourses on Marital Relationships in Mamlūk Society. Changing Contexts and Evolving Social Realities

Abstract

In this paper I intend to examine the fiqh rulings concerning women and the marital relations in the Mamlūk age (1250–1517 AD). However, fiqh manuals cannot adequately portray the reality of women and the marital relationship. They are complex, multifaceted and contextual; they were in a constant state of negotiation with social, political, and economic factors. To contest the authoritativeness of these legal texts, I will juxtapose the legal sources with non‑legal texts. I will consult historical and literary texts, biographical dictionaries, adab literature and poetry, assessing them in comparison to the legal manuals. Looking into the various genres and sources one will clearly realize that there were different pertinent discourses that were all standing side by side, and none of them may claim exclusive validity. It is not possible to resolve the contradiction and ambiguity in the sources regarding the perplexing marital relations. However, I hope that through a combination of historical‑critical research, literary and textual analysis as well as an understanding of the methods and goals of the producers of texts, one can reach a better understanding of the marital relations in the Mamlūk Age.