“Knowledge of the Three Shone in One”: Contextualizing al-Sakhāwī’s Perceptions of Islamicate Trilingualism in the Ḍawʾ al-Lāmiʿ

Through biographies pulled from al-Sakhāwī’s Ḍawʾ al-lāmiʿ, this article analyzes the interaction of multilingual proficiency with social mobility, migration, and intellectual life in the fifteenth-century Cairo Sultanate. Focusing on al-Sakhāwī’s presentation of trilingual scholars fluent in Arabic, Persian, and Turkic, the article explores trilingualism as a noteworthy skillset indicative of adaptability. It also considers how linguistic versatility enabled access to patronage, teaching appointments, chancery work, and participation in transregional networks. By focusing on local Egyptian and immigrant scholars, the article demonstrates ways in which language influenced elite identity and contributed to the cosmopolitan milieu of late medieval Egypt and Syria.