Formation of the Ideal Bureaucrat Image and Patronage in the Late Mamlūk Period

Zayn al-Dīn Ibn Muzhir and ʻUlamāʼ

Abstract

Zayn al-Dīn Abū Bakr ibn Muzhir was one of the most prominent bureaucrats of the late Mamlūk period. It is worth noting that during the financial crisis of the fifteenth century, Zayn al-Dīn maintained the highest authority as an administrator for a considerably long time. In this paper, we focus on the relationship between Zayn al-Dīn and his contemporary scholars, who were an important part of his horizontal networks. Most of them described Zayn al-Dīn as a virtuous, ideal bureaucrat; however, historical facts reconstructed by al-Biqāʻī’s chronicle are in great discord with the image of Zayn al-Dīn narrated by many historians. Zayn al-Dīn’s charitable projects for scholars not only extended his influence by gaining the scholars’ support and controlling them at the same time but also functioned as an investment from a long-term perspective, to pass down his positions, wealth, and human networks to the next generation. Al-Biqāʻī’s letter to Zayn al-Dīn, written after the controversy of Ibn al-Fāriḍ, reflects his wide authority over personnel affairs. His acquisition of an exceptionally long period of service could be attributed to his vertical and horizontal networks, based on the exceptional scale of his patronage as a civilian bureaucrat of his time.