In this Book
- Tree of Pearls, Queen of Egypt
- Book
- 2012
- Published by: Syracuse University Press
- Series: Middle Eastern Literature in Translation
Shajar al-Durr, known as Tree of Pearls, was one of the most famous Arab queens and the only woman in the medieval Arab world to rule in her own name. Her narrative is one element of a much larger story of the unsettled political climate of thirteenth-century Egypt. In this eponymous novel, Zaydan charts the fall of the Ayyubid Dynasty and the rise of the Mamluke Dynasty through the adventures of Tree of Pearls and Rukn al- Din Baybars, a young Mamluke commander who eventually triumphs as the ruler of Egypt. War, political intrigue, murder, and a female ruler who was born a slave combine for an irresistible story, while Zaydan’s keen observations on royal politics and subverted gender roles offer readers a richly detailed glimpse of the cultural milieu of the time.
Tree of Pearls, originally published in 1914, is the last in a famous series of historical novels written by Zaydan, an accomplished historian whose books continue to be read widely in the Arab world today. Selim’s fluid translation introduces an English audience to one of the Arab world’s influential writers.
Table of Contents
- Title Page, Copyright
- pp. 2-7
- Translator’s Note
- pp. ix-xii
- The Garden Isle
- pp. 3-9
- Rukn al-Din Baybars
- pp. 10-13
- An Amorous Interlude
- pp. 14-16
- ‘Izz al-Din Aybak
- pp. 17-19
- Good Tidings
- pp. 20-24
- Sallafa and Sahban
- pp. 25-31
- The Coronation
- pp. 32-36
- The Engagement
- pp. 37-45
- An Important Visitor
- pp. 46-50
- The Caliph’s Messenger
- pp. 51-53
- The Caliph’s Decree
- pp. 54-58
- An Unexpected Demand
- pp. 59-63
- Rukn al-Din and Tree of Pearls
- pp. 64-69
- A Secret Conversation
- pp. 70-75
- Another Messenger
- pp. 85-86
- Rukn al-Din and Sallafa
- pp. 87-91
- The Departure
- pp. 92-93
- The Palaces of Baghdad
- pp. 96-98
- Mu’ayyid al-Din Ibn al-Alqami
- pp. 99-104
- Al-Musta‘sim
- pp. 110-115
- Ahmad, Son of Al-Musta‘sim
- pp. 116-118
- The Dervish
- pp. 125-130
- A New Guest
- pp. 131-134
- The Message
- pp. 135-137
- The Accusation
- pp. 141-146
- A Father’s Love
- pp. 147-152
- Shwaykar in the Women’s Quarters
- pp. 153-159
- The Subterfuge
- pp. 160-163
- A Newcomer
- pp. 164-169
- The Tatars
- pp. 170-173
- Rukn al-Din and Sahban
- pp. 177-179
- An Important Message
- pp. 180-181
- The Meeting
- pp. 182-185
- At the Palace of the Crown
- pp. 186-190
- Tree of Pearls and ‘Izz al-Din
- pp. 197-200
- The Imam Ahmad’s Palace
- pp. 201-208
- Pandemonium
- pp. 212-216
- Tree of Pearls: An Afterword
- pp. 218-224