Research Catalog

Title

Tree of pearls, queen of Egypt / Jurji Zaydan ; translated from the Arabic by Samah Selim ; with an afterword by Roger Allen.

Author

Zaydān, Jirjī, 1861-1914.

Publication

Syracuse : Syracuse University Press, 2012.

Items in the Library & Off-site

Holdings

Details

Additional Authors

Selim, Samah.

Description

224 p.; 23 cm.

Summary

Shajar al-Durr, known as Tree of Pearls, was one of the most famous Arab queens and the only woman in the medieval Arab world to rule in her own name. Her narrative is one element of a much larger story of the unsettled political climate of thirteenth-century Egypt. In this eponymous novel, Zaydan charts the fall of the Ayyubid Dynasty and the rise of the Mamluke Dynasty through the adventures of Tree of Pearls and Rukn al-Din Baybars, a young Mamluke commander who eventually triumphs as the ruler of Egypt. War, political intrigue, murder, and a female ruler who was born a slave combine for an irresistible story, while Zaydan's keen observations on royal politics and subverted gender roles offer readers a richly detailed glimpse of the cultural milieu of the time. Tree of Pearls, originally published in 1914, is the last in a famous series of historical novels written by Zaydan, an accomplished historian whose books continue to be read widely in the Arab world today. Selim s fluid translation introduces an English audience to one of the Arab world s influential writers.

Series Statement

Middle East literature in translation

Uniform Title

• Shajarat al-Durr. English
• Project Muse UPCC books

Alternative Title

Shajarat al-Durr.

Subject

• Shajarat al-Durr, Sultana of Egypt, -1257 > Fiction
• Zaydān, Jirjī, 1861-1914 > Translations into English

Genre/Form

• Historical fiction
• Fiction
• Translations

Processing Action (note)

• committed to retain

Contents

The Ayyubid Dynasty: A Historical Summary 1 -- The Garden Isle 3 -- Rukn al-Din Baybars 10 -- An Amorous Interlude 14 -- 'Izz al-Din Aybak 17 -- Good Tidings 20 -- Sallafa and Sahban 25 -- The Coronation 32 -- The Engagement 37 -- An Important Visitor 46 -- The Caliph's Messenger 51 -- The Caliph's Decree 54 -- An Unexpected Demand 59 -- Rukn al-Din and Tree of Pearls 64 -- A Secret Conversation 70 -- Shwaykar 76 -- Revenge 80 -- Another Messenger 85 -- Rukn al-Din and Sallafa 87 -- The Departure 92 -- Baghdad 94 -- The Palaces of Baghdad 96 -- Mu'ayyid al-Din Ibn al-Alqami 99 -- Uproar 105 -- Al-Musta'sim 110 -- Ahmad, Son of Al-Musta'sim 116 -- Shwaykar 119 -- The Dervish 125 -- A New Guest 131 -- The Message 135 -- Arrogance 138 -- The Accusation 141 -- A Father's Love 147 -- Shwaykar in the Women's Quarters 153 -- The Subterfuge 160 -- A Newcomer 164 -- The Tatars 170 -- Abid 174 -- Rukn al-Din and Sahban 177 -- An Important Message 180 -- The Meeting 182 -- At the Palace of the Crown 186 -- The Truth 191 -- Tree of Pearls and 'Izz al-Din 197 -- The Imam Ahmad's Palace 201 -- Discovery 209 -- Pandemonium 212.

ISBN

9780815609995 (pbk. : alk. paper)

LCCN

^^2012034829

OCLC

• 795164621
• SCSB-12815638

Owning Institutions

Harvard Library