WOMEN IN THE CULTURAL SPACE OF THE GOLDEN HORDE AND THE MAMLUKS IN EGYPT

Abstract

This study explores the presence of women in the scientific and cultural life of the medieval Islamic periods as evidence of Islam’s justice and compassion, and as proof of women’s contribution to shaping civilizational and intellectual consciousness through their roles in education, patronage, transmission, and scholarly support – within dynamic intellectual environments stretching from the Eurasian steppes to the Nile Valley.

The research aims to uncover the mechanisms of women’s participation in the production and patronage of knowledge across the two focal contexts, and to analyze how religious, cultural, and social interactions contributed to shaping this female presence within the broader Islamic framework.

The study adopts an analytical-descriptive comparative methodology, by tracing women’s presence in both the Mamluk period and the Golden Horde environment, and analyzing its intellectual, social, and cultural dimensions. It also employs textual and content analysis to reveal symbolic patterns of women’s representation and to link these with the historical and institutional contexts that shaped their role as active agents in knowledge and culture during the two eras.

The research highlights the epistemological and social dimensions of this feminine presence through three main axes:

• The practical participation of women in the scientific and cultural structures.
• The social and religious positioning of women.
• The intellectual and textual representation of women in manuscripts and written sources.