al-Tarif bil-Mustalah al-Sharif

al-Tarif bil-Mustalah al-Sharif (al-Taʿrīf bi-l-Muṣṭalaḥ al-Sharīf, "Instruction in the Noble Chancellery Terminology") is a fourteenth-century manual on state protocol, royal correspondence, and chancery practice by the Mamluk administrator and historian Ibn Fadl Allah al-Umari (700–749 AH / 1301–1349 CE; also reported born in 697 AH) al-Alam lil-Zirikli+1.

Scope and Content

The phrase al-muṣṭalaḥ al-sharīf refers to the established conventions, diplomatic formulas, and administrative regulations governing documents produced by the imperial chancery (dīwān al-inshāʾ) Majallat al-Risala+1. Having served as the head of the chancery under the Mamluk Sultanate, al-Umari compiled official templates and protocols covering domestic administration, foreign relations, territorial boundaries, and state communications Tarikh al-Adab al-Arabi l…+1.

The work is organized into seven major divisions (aqsām) Tarikh al-Adab al-Arabi l…+1:

1. Ranks of Correspondence (Rutab al-mukatabat): Formulas for letters addressed to the Abbasid caliph in Cairo, diplomatic dispatches sent to foreign rulers from India to al-Andalus, and communications directed to provincial governors and deputies across Egypt and the Levant Tarikh al-Adab al-Arabi l…+1.
2. Covenants and Decrees: Templates for caliphal and sultanic covenants (ʿuhūd), appointment diplomas for senior officials (taqālīd), administrative delegations (tafāwīḍ), decrees for lower functionaries (tawāqīʿ), routine royal rescripts (marāsīm), and military grant charters (manāshīr) Tarikh al-Adab al-Arabi l…+1.
3. Formulas of Oaths (Nusakh al-ayman): Oaths of fealty and allegiance formulated for state governors, high-ranking dignitaries, commoners, and non-Muslim subjects (Ahl al-Kitāb) Tarikh al-Adab al-Arabi l…+1.
4. Treaties and Safe-Conducts: Legal and diplomatic documents granting safe-conduct (amānāt), armistices (hudan), and terms for entering into or dissolving peace accords (mafāsikhāt) Tarikh al-Adab al-Arabi l…+1.
5. Territorial Limits of Realms: Geographic surveys defining the jurisdiction and boundaries of various kingdoms, including their associated cities, fortresses, and rural districts Tarikh al-Adab al-Arabi l…+1.
6. Communication and Logistics: Postal networks (marākiz al-barīd), carrier pigeon stations, overland camel lines and marine transport for snow, watchtowers (manāẓir), and fire beacons (muḥraqāt) Tarikh al-Adab al-Arabi l…+1.
7. Descriptive Models (Awsaf): Divided into seven chapters, presenting ornate rhetorical descriptions useful to scribes, including military engines, weapons, travel and hunting apparatus, musical instruments, wild and domestic animals, birds, fortifications, and seasonal weather patterns Tarikh al-Adab al-Arabi l…+1.

Reception and Editions

The biographer Salah al-Din al-Safadi highlighted al-Umari's epistolary mastery, describing him as "the authoritative reference of chancellors and one of the eminent figures of his era in composition and epistolography" Iktifa al-Qanu bima huwa …+1.

The book was first printed in Cairo by Matbaʿat al-ʿAsimah in 1312 AH (1894 CE) Iktifa al-Qanu bima huwa …+1. A later edition edited by Muhammad Husayn Shams al-Din was published in Beirut by Dar al-Kutub al-ʿIlmiyyah in 1408 AH (1988 CE) al-Dalil ila al-Mutun al-…+1.