Maqrizi, Egypt’s most famous historian

Hello again and welcome to our fourth episode of Muslim Footprints Season 2! It’s on Al Maqrizi, the most influential historian of Egypt before modern times. That’s all the way from the Pharaohs, through to the 15th century! Telling us his story is Professor Nasser Rabbat, head of the Aga Khan Program for Islamic Art and Architecture at MIT. 

So, why should we care about a medieval Egyptian historian? Well, he left a rich legacy of writings that offer a window into the social, economic, and cultural life of the medieval Islamic world. His meticulous documentation of Cairo's history was used centuries later by the Ottomans to understand the land they had inherited. It was also appropriated by Napoleon’s teams for their monumental Description de l’Égypte, so his work became the go-to source for anyone studying the country. 

Maqrizi’s writing continues to influence the nation to this day. Egyptian nationalists in the 20th century considered him as the voice of the true Egyptian, while novelists and poets referred to him as the embodiment of resistance to corruption and oppression. Professor Rabbat calls him a rebel: Maqrizi’s commentaries remind us of the importance of looking critically at our own societies and learning from history’s successes and failures - a theme that resonates across time and cultures.

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