Koby (Yakov) Yosef

Fields of Interest:  Society and Thought in the Mamluk Sultanate, Islamic Law, Political Thought

Research Categories:

Mamluk Historiography
This field focuses on the textual sources at the disposal of the researcher of the ancient Islamic period and the formation of the Islamic world (between the seventh and tenth centuries) and deals mainly with the time of the Prophet Muhammad and literary (narrative) Islamic sources of the time, emphasizing the biases and problems of using these literary sources as historical ones. The primary relevant sources are the Koran, the Sirah (the prophetic biography), Koran’s interpretation, and the historical literature.

The Formative Period and the Study of Ancient Islam
This field focuses on the textual sources at the disposal of the researcher of the ancient Islamic period and the formation of the Islamic world (between the seventh and tenth centuries) and deals mainly with the time of the Prophet Muhammad and literary (narrative) Islamic sources of the time, emphasizing the biases and problems of using these literary sources as historical ones. The primary relevant sources are the Koran, the Sirah (the prophetic biography), Koran’s interpretation, and the historical literature.

Mamluk Historiography
The period of the Mamluk Sultanate (1250–1517) is endowed with an extraordinary wealth of historiographical sources. During this period, hundreds of biographical chronicles and dictionaries were written. The studies in the department in this field deal with the language, style and content of Mamluk historiography, and in particular show how the socio-cultural background of the historians affected their style, including their language.

The formative period and the study of early Islam
This field of research focuses on the sources available to the researcher of the early Islamic period and the formation of the Islamic world (beginning in the seventh century to the tenth century), and deals mainly with the time of the Prophet Muhammad, with Muslim literary (narrative) sources, and with an emphasis on the biases and problems that exist in these literary sources as historical sources. The relevant primary sources are the Qur'an, the Seerah (biography of the Prophet), Qur'anic commentary and historical literature.

Society and Politics in the Mamluk Sultanate Period
The Mamluk Sultanate, headed by emancipated slave soldiers, ruled Egypt and Syria (including the Land of Israel) between 1250–1517. This research field focuses on the identity, social connections, and affiliated patterns of ruling transferal of the Mamluks. Among other topics, the studies deal with Mamluk identities, particularly their ethnic affiliation; the military slavery and the slave-soldiers status; the Mamluk political method; master-slave relations; the relationships amongst the slaves of a single household; slaves’ family and marital status and the importance of these connections in transferal of status, rights, and property, as well as in the transfer of power (that is, the status of dynasties in this period).