The Story of Moses in Mamluk Cairo

The present article deals with qiṣaṣ al-anbiyāʾ, or legends/stories/histories of biblical prophets that were performed in the sultan's court in the Citadel of Cairo, particularly the story of Moses found in two unpublished Arabic texts from Qānṣūh al-Ghawrī's "library." My working hypothesis is that reception and transmission of these texts befitted the political discourse of the time and served to strengthen the sultan's prestige. The performance of qiṣaṣ al-anbiyāʾ and other literary productions in the royal court was part of the sultan's efforts to reinforce his image and reaffirm his legitimacy. Following a condensed account of qiṣaṣ al-anbiyāʾ, I will depict the outlines of two unique manuscripts. In the third part of this article, I will speculate on the role of these texts in evolving the sultan's image.