Doris Behrens-Abouseif is the Nasser D. Khalili Professor of Islamic Art and Archaeology at SOAS, University of London. She previously taught at the American University in Cairo and the University of Munich. She is widely acknowledged as the pre-eminent scholar on the architecture of Cairo, and a leading specialist in the art and cultural history of the Middle East. She has written a number of books on Islamic art and architecture, including Cairo of the Mamluks: A History of Architecture and its Culture (I.B.Tauris), The Minarets of Cairo: Islamic Architecture from the Arab Conquest to the end of the Ottoman Period (I.B.Tauris), and Beauty in Arabic Culture and Egypt's Adjustment to Ottoman Rule .

• List of Illustrations (with copyright credit)AcknowledgementNote to the ReaderIntroductionPART ONE: THE CULTURE OF GIFTSI. The World of the MamluksII. Protocol and Codes of Gift Exchange Diplomatic Hospitality and SafetyThe Meaning of Diplomatic Gifts Monetary Value of GiftsRecycled, Used and Requested giftsPART TWO: GIFTS IN GEO-POLITICAL CONTEXTSIII. The Red Sea and Indian Ocean ConnectionYemenIndiaIV. AfricaEthiopiaNubia The Maghrib West Africa (Mali and Borno)V) The Black Sea, Anatolia, Iran, Central AsiaThe Golden Horde at the Black SeaThe Ilkhanids and the Jalayirids in Iran and IraqThe Timurids in Central AsiaThe Turkmens Qara QoyunluAq QoyunluDhul QadirThe SafavidsThe OttomansVI Europe Castile and AragonThe Cyprus Connection Venice Florence PART THREE: THE GIFTSVII Tradition and LegacyTraditional Diplomatic Gifts in the Middle-East and the Muslim WorldThe Fatimid and Ayyubid LegaciesVIII From and for the MamluksGifts for the MamluksThe Mamluk Assortment of Diplomatic GiftsSpices and porcelainMamluks and CraftsmenGiraffes, Elephants and other AnimalsBalsam, Theriac and other Local ProductsReligious Gifts Textiles Material Witnesses of Mamluk Diplomatic TextilesThe Knight’s OutfitMaterial Witnesses of Mamluk Military and Equestrian GiftsIX Gifts and Mamluk IdentityExport Iconography of Mamluk GiftsConclusionIndex

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