Kitb Dustr al-gharib wa-madan al-raghib and Related Texts

This is the first publication of the official correspondence of the leading religious scholar and literary figure, Shaykh Muhammad ibn Abi al-Hasan al-Bakri al-Siddiqi al-Shafi'i Sibt Al al-Hasan. It provides a window into the world of an influential religious scholar in sixteenth century Cairo and his network of contacts in the Ottoman Empire and beyond. Muhammad al-Bakri corresponded with Sultan Murad III, the grand vizier Sokollu Mehmed Pasha, and with various officials in Mecca, including the sharifian ruler of Mecca, al-Hasan ibn Abi Numayy. The collection also contains two letters addressed to Sa'di rulers of Morocco and one to the Mughal Emperor Akbar, as well as letters to a variety of lesser Ottoman officials. It is an important source for the history of Ottoman Egypt and the Hijaz.