Local and Transregional Networks of Women in Late Medieval Mecca and the Mamluk Empire

Author

Mona HafizFollow

Abstract

This thesis examines the local and transregional networks of women in Mecca during the ninth/fifteenth century, as represented in the biographical dictionaries of al-Sakhāwī (d. 902/1497), Ibn Fahd (d. 885/1480), and al-Fāsī (d. 832/1429). It combines qualitative and quantitative methods in order to analyze the family, knowledge, and travels networks of women in late medieval Mecca and the Mamluk empire. It argues that Meccan women’s social and intellectual roles extended beyond their families, to other families, scholars, and regions. Simultaneously, the thesis focuses on Mecca as a central node in the networks that tied together different regions of the Mamluk empire, and it examines the city’s position within these networks from the perspective of women. It argues that ḥadīth transmission and travel demonstrate that Meccan and non-Meccan women played important social, intellectual, and economic roles that helped keep Mecca connected to the other regions of the Mamluk empire.

School

School of Humanities and Social Sciences

Department

Arab & Islamic Civilizations Department

Degree Name

MA in Arabic Studies

Graduation Date

Winter 1-31-2025

Submission Date

9-10-2024

First Advisor

Nelly Hanna

Committee Member 1

Amina Elbendary

Committee Member 2

Tamer El-Leithy

Extent

88 p.

Document Type

Master's Thesis

Institutional Review Board (IRB) Approval

Not necessary for this item

Recommended Citation

APA Citation

Hafiz, M. (2025).Local and Transregional Networks of Women in Late Medieval Mecca and the Mamluk Empire [Master's Thesis, the American University in Cairo]. AUC Knowledge Fountain.
https://fount.aucegypt.edu/etds/2397

MLA Citation

Hafiz, Mona. Local and Transregional Networks of Women in Late Medieval Mecca and the Mamluk Empire. 2025. American University in Cairo, Master's Thesis. AUC Knowledge Fountain.
https://fount.aucegypt.edu/etds/2397