Sirat al-Zahir Baibars
Encyclopedia
Sirat al-Zahir Baibars سيرة الظاهر بيبرس (Life of al-zahir Baibars), also known as "al-Sirah al-Zahiriya", is a long Egyptian folkloric
Folklore
Folklore consists of legends, music, oral history, proverbs, jokes, popular beliefs, fairy tales and customs that are the traditions of a culture, subculture, or group. It is also the set of practices through which those expressive genres are shared. The study of folklore is sometimes called...

 epic poem
Epic poetry
An epic is a lengthy narrative poem, ordinarily concerning a serious subject containing details of heroic deeds and events significant to a culture or nation. Oral poetry may qualify as an epic, and Albert Lord and Milman Parry have argued that classical epics were fundamentally an oral poetic form...

 that narrates the life and heroic achievements of the Mamluk Sultan al-Zahir Baibars al-Bunduqdari
Baibars
Baibars or Baybars , nicknamed Abu l-Futuh , was a Mamluk Sultan of Egypt. He was one of the commanders of the forces which inflicted a devastating defeat on the Seventh Crusade of King Louis IX of France and he led the vanguard of the Egyptian army at the Battle of Ain Jalut in 1260, which marked...

.

Literary features

The poem features romantic images of gallant cavaliers, soldiers and explorers. For example, in telling the tale of the Syrian Ismailis of the Mamluk
Mamluk
A Mamluk was a soldier of slave origin, who were predominantly Cumans/Kipchaks The "mamluk phenomenon", as David Ayalon dubbed the creation of the specific warrior...

 period the Banu Isma’il, descendants of ‘Ali, are depicted as the archetype of honor and justice. Female members of the community such as Shamsa also feature in the Mamluk tale. Here, the Banu Isma’il is charged with special tasks such as saving Baybars from captivity by Genoese pirates.

Further reading

  • Sirat al-Zahir Baibars, Printed by Mustafa al-Saba, Cairo 1923.
  • Idem Repulished in 5 volumes by Alhay'ah Almisriyah, Editor Gamal El-Ghitani, Cairo 1996. ISBN 977-01-4642-0
  • Alzahir Baibars, Dar Almaref, Cairo 1986.
  • Gamal El-Ghitani, Sirat Alzahir Baibars 1996.
  • Al-Maqrizi, Al Selouk Leme'refatt Dewall al-Melouk, Dar al-kotob, 1997.
  • Idem in English: Bohn, Henry G., The Road to Knowledge of the Return of Kings, Chronicles of the Crusades, AMS Press, 1969.
  • Sadawi. H, Al-Mamalik, Maruf Ikhwan, Alexandria.
  • The New Encyclopædia Britannica, Macropædia, H.H. Berton Publisher,1973-1974.
  • Culture Encyclopedia, Kitab alshab, Cairo 1972.
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