Sugar in the Social Life of Medieval Islam: (1 Islamic Area Studies)

In Sugar in the Social Life of Medieval Islam Tsugitaka Sato explores the actual day-to-day life in medieval Muslim societies through different aspects of sugar. Drawing from a wealth of historical sources - chronicles, geographies, travel accounts, biographies, medical and pharmacological texts, and more - he describes sugarcane cultivation, sugar production, the sugar trade, and sugar’s use as a sweetener, a medicine, and a symbol of power. He gives us a new perspective on the history of the Middle East, as well as the history of sugar across the world. This book is a posthumous work by a leading scholar of Middle Eastern and Islamic studies in Japan who made many contributions to this field.

Table of Contents:
CONTENTS Series Editor’s Acknowledgements Preface List of Abbreviations Transliteration of Arabic and Persian List of Figures and Map Prologue Islamic Social History through Sugar Sugar in Arabic Literature: Favorite Sweets Historical Overview and Perspectives Primary Sources in Arabic and Persian Chapter 1. The Origin and Expansion of Sugar Production in the Islamic World 1. The Origin of Sugar Production and its Expansion to West Asia The Origin of Sugarcane Cultivation The Origin of Sugar Production The Eastward Route: Expansion from India to China and Okinawa The Westward Route: Expansion from India to Iran 2. The Expansion of Sugarcane Cultivation from Iran to Egypt The Expansion from Iran to Iraq Expansion to Syria (Bilād al-Shām) Expansion to Lower Egypt 3. The Expansion of Sugar Production to Upper Egypt, Maghrib, and Andalusia Expansion from Lower Egypt to Upper Egypt Expansion to the Mediterranean Islands, Maghrib, and Andalusia Chapter 2. From Red Sugar to White Sugar: Sugar Production Technology 1. Sugarcane Cultivation as Described by al-Nuwayrī Al-Nuwayrī, an Encyclopaedist from Upper Egypt Sugarcane Cultivation as Seen in Nihāyat al-Arab Sugarcane Growers and Sugar Factory Workers 2. Sugar Production as Described by al-Nuwayrī 3. The Spread of Sugar Production Technology from Egypt to China The Travels of Marco Polo Technology Transfer between East and West Chapter 3. On Camels and Ships: Sugar as Commodity 1. The Prosperity of al-Karkh in Baghdad The Establishment of Baghdad Al-Karkh as Commerce and Industry Center From Dibs to Sugar: A Change in the Production of Sweeteners Sugar Distribution in the Eastern Islamic World 2. The Growth of Sugar Production in Egypt From Baghdad to Cairo: A Historical Change The Beginning of Prosperous Sugar Production in Fatimid Egypt Sugar in the Age of Ṣalāḥ al-Dīn The Managers of Sugar Production in al-Fusṭāṭ Trade with Italian Merchants in Alexandria 3. The Tricks of the Sugar Merchants in Mamluk Cairo A Guidebook (al-Madkhal) by Ibn al-Ḥājj Unsanitary Conditions in Sugar Refineries The Tricks of the Sugar Merchants 4. Reading the Books on Ḥisba What is “Ḥisba”? The Inspection of Sugar Trade Chapter 4. The Ups and Downs of the Sugar Merchants 1. The Jewish Sugar Merchants as Described in the Geniza Documents The Discovery of the Cairo Geniza The Jewish Sugar Merchants 2. The Kārimī Merchants Versed in Sugar The Appearance of the Kārimī Merchants The Organization and Activities of the Kārimī Merchants “Merchants of Spices and Perfumes” or “Merchants of Spices and Sugar” 3. The Vicissitudes of the Kharrūbī Family in Mamluk Egypt From Retailers to Kārimī Merchants The Sugar Refinery Merchant The Position of Chief Merchant (Ra’īs al-Tujjār) Religious and Cultural Activities The Beginning of the Downfall Chapter 5. Sugar as Medicine 1. A Comprehensive Book of Simple Drugs by Ibn al-Bayṭār Ibn al-Bayṭār, Pharmacologist Sugar in the Comprehensive Book of Simple Drugs 2. Ibn al-Nafīs, the Personal Physician of Sultan Baybars I The Second Ibn Sīnā The Principles of Sugar as Described by Ibn al-Nafīs Sugar as Medicine 3. ‘Aṭṭārs: Merchants who Profited from Sugar Who were the ‘Aṭṭārs? Al-Maqrīzī’s View of the Troubles in Egypt The Prosperous ‘Aṭṭārs Chapter 6. Sugar and Power: Festivals and Gifts from Royalty 1. The Storehouse for Raw Sugar (Dār al-Qand) The Repeal of Miscellaneous Taxes by Sultan Ṣalāḥ al-Dīn Al-Nashw Enacts Attachment on Raw Sugar 2. Sugar in the Month of Ramaḍān Fasting and Sweets The Royal Custom of Giving Sugar 3. Sweets for Banquets and Charities Sugar Candies for Banquets (Simāṭ) Sweets for Charities 4. Sugar Candies in Sultans’ Pilgrimages to Mecca Amīr al-Ḥājj –The Official Guard of Pilgrims to Mecca– The Maḥmil and Kiswa The Mamluk Sultans’ Pilgrimages to Mecca Chapter 7. Cooking Innovations in Medieval Islam 1. Cooking in the ‘Abbasid Caliph Courts The ‘Abbasid Caliph Courts Ibn Sayyār’s Kitāb al-Ṭabīkh Al-Baghdādī’s Kitāb al-Ṭabīkh 2. Sugar in The Thousand and One Nights The World of The Thousand and One Nights Foods Palatable and Nutritious 3. Sugar in Arabic Pharmacology Taqwīm al-Ṣiḥḥa by Ibn Buṭlān Kitāb Daf‘ Maḍār al-Abdān by Ibn Riḍwān Jāmi‘ al-Gharaḍ fī Ḥifẓ al-Ṣiḥḥa wa-Daf‘ al-Maraḍ by Ibn al-Quff 4. Hanging Candies for Children Hanging Candies in the Month of Rajab The Generalities of Sugar Consumption Epilogue The Revival of Sugar Production in Egypt The Expansion of Sugar Production to the Caribbean Islands and South America Sugar Meets Coffee and Tea Coffee, Tea, and Sugar in Contemporary Muslim Societies Glossary Bibliography Index

About the Author :
Tsugitaka Sato (1942-2011), Litt.D. in History, the University of Tokyo, was Professor of History at the University of Tokyo and Waseda University, General Director of the NIHU Program for Islamic Area Studies and Director of the Research Department at the Toyo Bunko (The Oriental Library). He published extensively on social and economic history in medieval Islam including Islamic Urbanism in Human History: Political Power and Social Networks (Kegan Paul International Ltd., 1996) and State and Rural Society in Medieval Islam. Sultans, Muqta‘s and Fallahun (Brill, 1997)

Review :
"Tsugitaka Sato's book is a valuable resource on the history of food in the Muslim world." - Samer Traboulsi, University of North Carolina at Asheville, in: Al-Abhath 62-63 (2014-2015)