Badai al-Zuhur fi Waqai al-Duhur
- Author died
- 930 AH
- Editions
- t Muhammad Mustafa
Badai al-Zuhur fi Waqai al-Duhur (The Novel Flowers Concerning the Events of the Ages) is a comprehensive chronicle of Egyptian history authored by the Egyptian Hanafi historian Ibn Iyas (d. ca. 930 AH / 1524 CE), recording events from antiquity down to the year 928 AH (1522 CE) .
Scope and Structure
The work opens with an introductory survey of Egypt, citing its virtues mentioned in the Quran and hadith, its wonders, its geographical organization, and its ancient rulers, Copts, and Pharaohs . It proceeds through the successive Islamic regimes that governed the country—the Rightly Guided, Umayyad, and Abbasid governors, followed by the Tulunid, Ikhshidid, Fatimid, and Ayyubid dynasties—before detailing the history of the Mamluk Sultanate and the early Ottoman era .
In its modern critical division, the chronicle spans five parts published across six volumes:
- Part One, Section One: Extends from early Egyptian history and creation narratives up to 14 Sha'ban 764 AH (29 May 1363 CE), concluding with the deposition of the Bahri Mamluk sultan al-Mansur Muhammad ibn Hajji .
- Part One, Section Two: Covers the transition from the Bahri to the Burji (Circassian) Mamluks, running from 15 Sha'ban 764 AH (30 May 1363 CE) through the accession of Sultan al-Ashraf Sha'ban to the abdication of Caliph al-Musta'in bi-Llah in Sha'ban 815 AH (November 1412 CE) .
- Part Two: Covers the years 815 to 872 AH (1412–1468 CE) .
- Part Three: Encompasses the period from 872 to 906 AH (1468–1501 CE), commencing with the reign of Sultan al-Ashraf Qaytbay .
- Part Four: Covers the reign of Sultan Qansuh al-Ghawri from 906 to 921 AH (1501–1515 CE) .
- Part Five: Chronicles the events from 922 to 928 AH (1516–1522 CE), detailing the Ottoman conquest of Syria and Egypt, the fall of the Mamluk Sultanate, and the initial transformations of Egyptian administration, coinage, judiciary, and dress under Ottoman rule .
Ibn Iyas concluded the fifth part in 928 AH (1522 CE) with a note stating that a subsequent part would follow, though it did not appear, indicating that he died before completing it .
Methodology and Content
Ibn Iyas adopted an annalistic structure, organizing earlier centuries by year and month, and shifting to a detailed day-by-day diary for the contemporary era . Beyond high politics, warfare, royal successions, and diplomatic delegations from places such as Europe, India, Turkey, North Africa, and Abyssinia, he documented everyday Egyptian life . The text records commodity prices, currency fluctuations, Nile flood measurements, weather phenomena (such as eclipses, hail, and storms), epidemics with mortality counts, public festivals, civic architecture, and administrative titles . He also included obituaries of scholars, administrators, and poets, recording over ten thousand individual personal names throughout the chronicle .
For pre-Mamluk history, Ibn Iyas drew upon approximately thirty-seven earlier written sources, including works by al-Tabari, al-Mas'udi, Ibn Abd al-Hakam, al-Dhahabi, Ibn Khallikan, Ibn Asakir, Ibn al-Athir, and Ibn Kathir . For contemporary events, he functioned as an eyewitness with access to official circles; his brother al-Jamali Yusuf served as the royal armorer (zardkash) at the Citadel of Cairo, granting him access to state affairs and confidential reports .
The prose of Badai al-Zuhur reflects the late Mamluk Egyptian linguistic environment, interweaving Classical Arabic with Middle Arabic idioms and contemporary Cairene vernacular expressions, such as the use of the prefix b- for present continuous verbs .
Historical Standing and Reception
Badai al-Zuhur is regarded as the concluding work of the late medieval Egyptian historical tradition that includes al-Maqrizi, Ibn Taghribirdi, and al-Sakhawi . It constitutes the principal surviving Arabic eyewitness source for the final years of the Circassian Mamluk state and the Ottoman conquest led by Sultan Selim I, providing detailed descriptions of the fall of Cairo and the destruction of the Mamluk political order .
Editions and Abridgments
An early lithographed and printed edition was issued at Bulaq in three volumes (1312 AH), alongside an earlier single-volume Cairo printing at al-Matba'a al-Maymaniyya (1309 AH); however, the Bulaq edition omitted substantial portions of the text and was entirely missing the years 906–921 AH .
A full critical edition based on authorial manuscripts was published in Cairo and Wiesbaden as part of the Bibliotheca Islamica series by the German Oriental Society (DMG) . Begun under Paul Kahle and Mohamed Mostafa between 1928 and 1936, the project was later completed by Mostafa across six volumes, accompanied by extensive indices for personal names and linguistic terminology .
Ibn Iyas prepared epitomes related to the work, notably Uqud al-Juman fi Waqa'i al-Azman and Jawahir al-Suluk fi Amr al-Khulafa wa-l-Muluk (also referred to as Aja'ib al-Suluk) .
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