Cairo, Jerusalem, and Damascus: . hem, among the most curions relies of EgyptianSufism. The historians record the festivities withwhich the inauguration of the monastery was accom-panied; and the dedicatory inscription, without nam-ing, makes an allusion to Jamal al-din Yusuf, direc-tor of public works at this time, who oversaw thebuilding of this monument, and indeed is said to hâvesupplied the necessary funds. We hâve already metwith this personage, suggesting tampering with thecoinage as a fînancial expédient. At a later periodhe suggested, and with some difficulty carriedthrough, an expédi
Cairo, Jerusalem, and Damascus: . hem, among the most curions relies of EgyptianSufism. The historians record the festivities withwhich the inauguration of the monastery was accom-panied; and the dedicatory inscription, without nam-ing, makes an allusion to Jamal al-din Yusuf, direc-tor of public works at this time, who oversaw thebuilding of this monument, and indeed is said to hâvesupplied the necessary funds. We hâve already metwith this personage, suggesting tampering with thecoinage as a fînancial expédient. At a later periodhe suggested, and with some difficulty carriedthrough, an expédient of the contrary sort, therestoration of pure métal; a proceeding which costmany persons the third of their fortunes, though itsbénéficiai results were speedily felt. How many persons took advantage of the numer-ous hospices for religions retirement we cannot say;besides those which hâve met us as connected oridentical with mosques, there was a humbler sortcalled Takiyyeh or Ribat, and a building of this sort, [ 200 ]. THE EARLY CIRCASSIAN MAMELUKES founded by Inal, still exists in Cairo, though onlythree of those mentioned by Makrizi hâve left anytraces. Some of thèse institutions were for femaleascetics, the greater number for maies. The Moslemnotion of asceticism or sainthood by no means ex-cludes marriage; yet it is likely that most of thosewho passed their lives in thèse retreats were, whenthey entered, near the end of their worldly careers. The account given of the Sultan Inal personally ismore than usually favourable. He shed no blood,except in judicial exécutions, and he lived with onewife. On the other hand, he was so ignorant that hehad to sign public documents with his mark, beingunable to read or write. An event occurred in this reign which illustrâtesthe relations between Sultan and Caliph. The soli-tary duty of the latter was, as we hâve often seen, togive legitimacy to the title of the former; and in theuncertainty as to the resuit, when there w
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1910, bookpublishernewyo, bookyear1912
