Waqfs and Urban Structures
Subtitle: The Case of Ottoman Damascus (Studies in Islamic Law and Society)
Publisher: Brill Academic Publishers
Published: October 1999
Language: eng
Format: Hardcover
Number of pages: 232
ISBN-13: 9789004112995
Subjects: Asian / Middle Eastern history: c 1500 to c 1900; Islam; Islamic studies; c 1700 to c 1800; Public Policy - Regional Planning; Turkey - History; Urban Planning; Waqf; Turkey; Sociology; ASIA; Ottoman Empire; Interior Design - General; Middle East - General; Sociology of Religion; History; City planning; Damascus; Ottoman Empire, 1288-1918; Syria
Description: "In this study the author proposes a new, integrative approach to the phenomenon of Muslim pious foundations, or waqfs. The evolution of the institution is analysed from the perspective of the formation of power systems, which shaped both the elaboration of the textual framework of the institution and the practices connected with the founding and administration of waqf-objects. The growing interference of the state in the field of waqfs and in the hierarchy of the ulama is seen as essential for the development of the institution in the Ayyubid. Mamluk and Ottoman periods. The waqf institution is presented as a determining factor in the growth and structure of Muslim cities, both on the level of political and economic control and on the level of social cohesion.

To illustrate these views, the example of Damascus is discussed, by using archival and printed, legal and historical sources from different periods, focusing on the 18th century."--Jacket.