Diplomatic correspondence between Byzantium and the Mamluk Sultanate in the fourteenth century
Title:
Diplomatic correspondence between Byzantium and the Mamluk Sultanate in the fourteenth century
Author:
Korobeinikov, Dimitri A.
Appeared in:
Al-Masaq
Paging:
Volume 16 (2004) nr. 1 pages 53-74
Year:
2004-03
Contents:
The present paper studies the titles of the Byzantine emperors used by the Mamluk chancery. The surviving Mamluk chancery textbooks of the fourteenth century provide us with new, rich data on the modes of address customarily employed by the Mamluk sultans in writing to the Byzantine emperors. What determined the choice of a particular title? Were these titles translated into Arabic from the Byzantine originals or were these formulas the inventions of the Mamluk secretaries? Was the attitude demonstrated by the Mamluks towards the Byzantine emperor an innovation in chancery practice, or was it a part of a traditional view, shared by other great powers, the Ilkhans, of the role of the emperor as head of Christendom? The investigation of the Mamluk formula of the address of the Byzantine emperor clearly demonstrates that almost all the titles of the emperor were composed by the Mamluk secretaries. The titles help us restore the traditional perception of the Byzantium in the Muslim countries in the fourteenth century. Despite the decline of Byzantium, the emperor was still considered as head of Christendom, the successor of Alexander the Great of Macedonia and the chief protector of the Christian faith. Such perception was demonstrated not only by the Mamluk, but also the Ilkhanid chancery. However, the Mamluks brought about an innovation: they recognised the concept of the so-called Byzantine Commonwealth, an association of the Orthodox states with the Byzantine emperor as its head. It seems that the Orthodox Church that participated in the relations between Byzantium and the Muslim East, was a channel of communication which brought the idea of the Commonwealth into Mamluk diplomatic practice.
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