Institutionalization of Muslim Scholarship and Professionalization of the 'Ulamā' in

Medieval Damascus
Author(s): Joan E. Gilbert
Source: Studia Islamica , 1980, No. 52 (1980), pp. 105-134
Published by: Brill

Stable URL: http://www.jstor.com/stable/1595364

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 INSTITUTIONALIZATION
OF MUSLIM SCHOLARSHIP
AND PROFESSIONALIZATION
OF THE 'ULAMA'
IN MEDIEVAL DAMASCUS

Introduction

Following the Islamic conquests, companions of Muhammad

(sahadba) left Mecca and Medina. As Muslims spread across
the world from Spain to Central Asia, scholars eager to keep
alive Muhammad's teachings traveled back and forth through
Islamic lands to discuss religious questions, to exchange inform-
ation, and to teach. The first generation of scholars of Islam
after the companions of Muhammad are designated followers
(tabi'iin), subsequent generations are called 'ulama'. Scholars
is the essential meaning of the word 'ulama'. As generations
of Muslims sought to order society on the basis of the principles
of Islam, the term 'ulamd' came to connote scholars of religion
and religious law; and 'ulamd' became a collective word referring
to all manner of scholars of religion, including the judges who
administered the law of Islam, professors of Islamic law, hadith

transmitters, imams,
individuals with some preachers,
proficiencylegal advisers,matters.
in religious .sCfts, and
In private
each episode of Islamic history, 'ulamd' have been a general

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 106 J. E. GILBERT

body of scholars of religion

going specific religious role
Yet, when scholars of reli
of the whole of Islamic soc
in precision, for the broa
varied over the centuries. During the course of Islamic
history 'ulama' have been both proponents of social change and
preventers of it. In diverse times and places 'ulama' have
either shunned or accepted state appointments. In the early
centuries of Islam private, independent scholars representing
all levels of society informally associated with one another.
In the later Islamic centuries 'ulama' served as salaried bureau-
crats and permitted the incorporation of their scholarly orga
zation into the state. The present article concentrates on t
'ulama' of medieval Damascus between the years 468/1076 and
658/1260. Throughout this period interaction between th
'ulama' and the ruling families of Damascus increasingly
promoted the endowment of religious establishments, the
institutionalization of Muslim scholarship, and the professional-
ization of the 'ulama'-developments which mark a significant
change in Islamic social structure and Muslim community life.
During two separate epochs of Islamic history Damascus
served as a capital city and as the source of political, social,
cultural, and intellectual trends that influenced the entire
Islamic world. The first such era lasted approximately one
hundred years, from the mid-seventh to the mid-eighth century.
The second period of special importance for Damascus extended
through the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. In this period
Turkish and Kurdish rulers replaced local militias with imperial
troops for external defence and with a police force for internal
control. The city enjoyed growing agricultural and manu-
facturing activity and increased trade.
Expansion of the religious establishment was part of the
renaissance of twelfth and thirteenth-century Damascus.
Although 'ulama' were active in Damascus throughout previous
centuries, during the twelfth and thirteenth centuries they
enjoyed unprecedented opportunities. Scores of new religious
institutions were established, large numbers of salaried posts

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 INSTITUTIONALIZATION OF MUSLIM SCHOLARSHIP 107

for teachers and stipends for students became available, a

increasing numbers of religious scholars from around t
Islamic world came to study, many to settle, in Damascus

The International Syslem of Scholarship

Before the crystallization of Muslim scholarship in twelft

and thirteenth-century Damascus, and from earliest Mus
times, companions of Muhammad, ltbi'i2n, and subseque
generations of "ulamd' journeyed throughout the Islami
territories to pursue and disseminate religious knowledg
This tradition of travel in search of learning continued
dominate the educational and career patterns of later 'ulamd
As conquest and conversion brought diverse ethnic and linguis
groups into the original Arabo-Islamic empire, Muslim schol
from areas as distant as Spain, North Africa, and Central As
sought personal communication with one another. A networ
of scholarly contacts began to extend across the Islamic wor
Muslim scholars traveled as participants in a host of professio
and social as well as religious practices that grew up arou
the exchange of religious information. These organized pu
suits constituted an international system of Muslim learnin
Scholars of religion in the eleventh, twelfth, and thirteen
centuries typically studied first in their native city and beg
to travel, usually to several places, in order to continue thei
education. When they had accumulated enough knowledge
and the documents certifying proficiency, they looked f
positions either at home or abroad. Wherever they lived the
both taught and carried forward their education, profitt
from both resident and traveling 'ulama'. Scholars sough
to gain students and to increase their reputation, for fut
employment might depend upon popularity and fame.
Contemporaries and biographers did not hesitate to compare
one scholar with another, and the numbers of students and sizes
of crowds in attendance were significant ingredients in a
scholarly reputation. In every generation two or three
scholars were acknowledged as outstanding, and others went

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 108 J. E. GILBERT

to meet and study with these men. The biographies of

contemporary 'ulamd' show that they traveled to the same
towns and that they nearly always studied with the same
famous individuals.
Religion was the basis of the system of international schola
ship and the overriding motivation for itinerant scholars. Fo
example, persons became muthaddiths for the sake of the religiou
experience of being part of a continuous chain of transmitte
extending back to Muhammad. Scholars directed their travel
to study with the most noted men of their generation in ord
to insure their place in chains of authorities stretching into t
past and, through their own students, into the future. Th
were in their own estimation living links between generation
of scholars. (1) Pilgrimage and traveling to gain religiou
knowledge were frequently combined.
Essential to the functioning of the international scholar
system were personal contacts. Social connections integrating
the system included acquaintance with influential scholars
home and around the Islamic world, contact with other studen
engaged in similar careers, and the establishment of marriag
alliances. Some students studied with many professors; other
stayed with a single professor for years, holding a job or tw
under him and acting as his companion or junior colleagu
In some cases a student studied with only one individual,
followed his professor from place to place, and settled himse
in the new locale to which his teacher had migrated. A schol
might wed the daughter of a native-born or immigrant profes
in his home town or in the course of his travels, and a new
professor in town might marry into an established scholarly
family. Thus, inter-city marriage alliances began to exist,
further reinforcing the international association of scholars. (2)

(1) Ibn Khallikin, Ibn Khallikan's Biographical Dictionary, trans. by

Mac Guckin de Slane, 4 vols. (Paris, 1843-1871; reprinted Beirut: Librairie du
Liban, 1970), II, pp. 387-388.

(2) Ibn
Himid Rajab,
al-FiqI, Kitdb
2 vols. al-Dhayl
(Cairo: "ald al-Muhammadiyya,
Al-Sunna Tabaqdt al-H.andbila, ed. by Muhammad
1952-1953), II, pp. 294,
296, developed a formula for describing the scholar that studied, married, and
had children abroad: sami'a bihd, tafaqqaha bihd, tazawwaja bihd, wa waulida lahu.

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 INSTITUTIONALIZATION OF MUSLIM SCHOLARSHIP 109

The strength of scholarly relationships explains how per

could arrive alone or with a single companion (often father
son or two brothers) and be accepted, cared for, and emplo
in towns around the Islamic world.
SUlama' corresponded about political events as well as about
religious matters and kept their colleagues in other parts
the Islamic world informed about important military and
political events occurring in their region. When a famous
scholar died, people throughout the Islamic world mourned him
Aspiring students who came from scholarly families might ca
upon colleagues of their relatives for assistance in the cour
of their travels; others struck out on their own. Travelin
in order to spread a particular religious doctrine or viewpoin
was additional motivation for participation in the internation
scholarly system. New generations of scholars continually
restarted the process of traveling for education, increased
reputation, job opportunities, and social, professional, an
family ties. In addition to religious fulfillment, the inte
national system of scholarship resulted in strong social bonds
and a coherent, satisfying life of travel, adventure, and learnin
The international scholarly system provided the mechanism
for standardization of portions of Islamic education, societ
and culture. In an environment where scholars in Khurasan
and Spain read books by muhaddiths of Iraq, Damascenes fi
law professorships in Baghdad, and scholars from all over t
Islamic world were journeying to meet and study with
another, the result was the creation of a strong, cosmopoli
influential elite. The international system of scholarship
contributed to the homogeneity of medieval Islamic secu
literature and poetry, for almost without exception the 'ul
were poets and belletrists; sometimes they were historians;
they exchanged literary information as well as religious knowled
when they met.
Three of the most famous muhaddith-historians of medieval
Islam, al-Khatib al-Baghdddi, Ibn 'Asikir, and al-Sama'ni, were
the compilers of the great biographical dictionaries of the
eleventh and twelfth centuries, and their careers and writings
illustrate the far-reaching connections among 'ulamd' and the

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 110 J. E. GILBERT

workings of the internat

Khatib al-Baghdidi (392/1
muhaddith from Baghdad,
a distinguished legal scholar
prominent Damascene fami
1112-562/1167) was a note
scholars resided in or trav
and Ibn 'Asikir journeyed
Al-Khatib al-Baghdfid vis
teaching his works, from 4
Mecca and for eight years b
Al-KhatIb al-Baghdlidi's ma
a combination city descrip
dictionary. The form in wh
his original contribution
Although al-Baghdlidi died
born, the teachers of Ibn 'A
al-Baghdlidi while he was in Damascus. They also had
traveled to Baghdad and studied al-Baghdlidi's work with
al-Baghdlidi's colleagues and students, for Ta'rTkh Baghddd
enjoyed immediate renown. Ibn 'Asikir composed Ta'rTkh
Madinat Dimashq in the same format. In 535/1140 al-Sam ani
came to Damascus. He renewed his acquaintance with
Ibn 'Aslkir, whom he had met when Ibn 'Asikir was traveling
in Khurasan. After leaving Damascus, al-Sam'ZinI sent Ibn
'Aslkir a book of his fond memories of Damascus. Ibn 'Asikir
replied in poetry. (3) Al-Sam'ini wrote Ta'rTkh Marw, as well
as a continuation of al-Khatib al-Baghdfidi's Ta'rikh Baghddd. (4)

(1) Ibn 'Asdkir, Tahdhib al-Ta'rikh al-Kabir (Ta'rikh Madinat Dimashq), ed.
by 'Abd al-Q5dir b. Badr5n and Ahmad 'Ubayd, 7 vols. (Damascus: Raw<dat
al-Shim, 1911-1932), I, pp. 398-401; Ibn Khallikin, I, pp. 75-76; al-Subki, Tabaqdt

al-Shdfi'iyya
8 vols. (Cairo: al-Kubrd, ed.al-Halabi,
'Is5 al-B5bi by Muhammad al-Tannhil
1964-1971?), and
IV, pp. 'Abd al-Dhahabi,
29-39; al-Fatt.h al-Halfi,
Al- 'Ibar fi khabar man ghabar, ed. by Sal.h al-Din al-Munajjid and Fu'5d Sayyid,
5 vols. (Kuwait: Printing and Publishing Department, Government of Kuwait,
1960-1966), III, p. 253.
(2) Jacob Lassner, The Topography of Baghdad in the Early Middle Ages:
Texts and Studies (Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 1970), pp. 34-36.
(3) Al-Subki, VII, p. 222.
(4) Nikita Eliss6eff feels that al-Sam'5ni, who knew and admired the Ta'rikh

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 INSTITUTIONALIZATION OF MUSLIM SCHOLARSHIP 111

Thus, scholars around the eleventh and twelfth-centu

Islamic world journeyed great distances to meet one anothe
drew on the same scholarly sources, and wrote in similar format
The biographical histories of Baghdad, Damascus, and Ma
as well as other works written by al-Khatib al-Baghddd
Ibn 'Aslkir, al-Sam'"ini, and others, are not merely express
of local pride but demonstrations of the involvement of ea
of these cities, and many others, in worldwide scholarly deve
ments. Damascus was one of the important way-stations
an interchange of scholars and ideas traveling east and w
and during the late eleventh, twelfth, and thirteenth centur
a variety of establishments appeared in the city that institut
alized the international system of scholarship.

The ' Ulamd' of Medieval Damascus

The 'ulamd' residing in or passing through medieval

Damascus participated in the international system of Muslim
scholarship. Collection and analysis of all references to
'ulamd' in works by thirteen medieval Muslim authors yields
data on over one thousand scholars present in late eleventh,
twelfth, and thirteenth-century Damascus. (1) Between 468/

Baghddd, might have encouraged Ibn 'Ashkir to write a similar work. Ibn 'As&kir,
La Description de Damas d'Ibn 'Asdkir (historien mort d Damas en 571/1176),
trans. by Nikita Eliss6eff (Damascus : Institut Frangais de Damas, 1959), p. xxxvui.
(1) Ibn al-Qalinisi, Damas de 1075 4 1154: Traduction annotde d'un fragment
de l'Histoire de Damas d'Ibn al-Qaldnisf, trans. by Roger Le Tourneau (Damascus:
Institut Frangais de Damas, 1952) and History of Damascus, 363-555 A. H. by
Ibn al-Qaldnist from the Bodleian MS Hunt. 125, ed. by H. F. Amedroz (Leyden:
E. J. Brill, 1908). Ibn 'Ashkir, La Description de Damas d'Ibn 'Asdkir, Tahdhib
al-Ta'rikh al-Kabir (Ta'rikh Madinat Dimashq), and Ta'rikh Madinat Dimashq,
ed. by Salih al-Din al-Munajjid, 2 vols. (Damascus: The Arab Academy of
Damascus, 1951-1954). Sibt b. al-Jawzi, Mir'dt al-Zamdn ff Ta'rikh al-A'ydn,
2 parts (Hyderabad: Osmania Oriental Publications Bureau, 1951). Abfi Shima,
Kildb al-Rawdatayn fi Akhbdr al-Dawlatayn al-Nfiriyya wa al-Saldhiyya, ed. by
Muhammad Hilmi Muhammad Ahmad and Muhammad Mugtafa Ziydda, 2 parts
(Cairo: Ministry of Culture, 1956-1962) and Tardjim Rijdl al-Qarnayn al-Sddis wa
al-Sdbi' al-Ma'rWf bi al-Dhayl 'ald al-Rawdatayn, ed. by Mu1hammad al-Kawtharl
(Cairo: Dir al-Kutub al-Malikiyya, 1947). Ibn Khallikin, Ibn Khallikan's Biogra-
phical Dictionary. Al-Subki, Tabaqdt al-Shdfi'iyya al-Kubrd. Ibn Abi al- Wafd',
Al-Jawdhir al-Mudiyya f! Tabaqdt al-Hjanafiyya, 2 vols. (Hyderabad: Nizamia

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 112 J. E. GILBERT

1076 and 658/1260 scholars

hundred different cities, t
all parts of the Islamic wor
oxiana and Central Asia. (') Syrians formed the greatest
number of immigrant and transient scholars, and Iraq, primarily
Baghdad, sent the next largest group. But Spain, North
Africa, Egypt, the Jazira, western Iran, and eastern Iran
supplied large numbers of scholars. 'Ulamd' from Sicily,
Arabia, Turkey, and Central Asia were less numerous. In the
second half of the thirteenth century, however, scholars in-
creasingly confined their educational and professional pursuits
to a Damascus-Cairo axis.
The 'ulamd' of medieval Damascus may be divided into
four categories: 1) native-born scholars, 2) immigrant scholars,
3) transient scholars, and 4) emigrant scholars. Native-born
scholars frequently left Damascus in order to secure credentials,
teaching experience, and reputation abroad, even if their
ultimate goal was to find a position at home. Slightly less
than half of the 1047 scholars surveyed were native-born 'ulama'.
A second category of 'ulama' were those who immigrated to
Damascus, took jobs, and adopted the city as their permanent
home. (2) Nearly one-half of the resident 'ulamd' of twelfth

Oriental Publications Bureau, 1914). Ibn Rajab, Kitdb al-Dhayl 'ald Tabaqdt
al-Handbila. Al-Dhahabi, Al-'Ibar fi Khabar Man Ghabar and Kitdb Tadhkirat
al-Huffd@, 4 vols. (Hyderabad: Osmania Oriental Publications Bureau, 1955-1958).
Ibn Kathir, Al-Biddya wa al-Nihdya, 14 vols. (Beirut: Maktabat al-Ma'drif, 1966).
Ibn al-'Imid, Shadhardt al-Dhahab f! Akhbdr Man Dhahab, 8 vols. (Cairo: Maktabat
al-Qudsi, 1931-1932). Ibn Shaddr&d, Al-A'l1q al-Kha.tra fi Dhikr Umard' al-Shdm
wa al-Jazira: Ta'rikh Madinat Dimashq, ed. by Sdmi al-Dahhin (Damascus:
Institut Frangais de Damas, 1956). Al-Nu'aymi, Al-Ddris fi Ta'rikh al-Maddris,
ed. by Ja'far al-Hasani, 2 vols. (Damascus: Arab Academy of Damascus, 1948-
1951). Only scholars for whom some biographical information was obtained
beyond statement of name were analyzed. The tables presented in this article
are based on these sources.
(1) Compare tables 1, 2, 3, and 4, Joan E. Gilbert, "The Ulama of Medieval
Damascus and the International World of Islamic Scholarship," Ph. D. dissertation
(Ann Arbor: University Microfilms, 1977). These tables also support further
statements in this article on the geographical mobility of the 'ulamd' of late
eleventh, twelfth, and thirteenth-century Damascus and the relative proportions
of native-born to foreign-born scholars.
(2) "He adopted Damascus as his home," istawtana Dimashq, a formula that
appears frequently in the biographies surveyed, describes this circumstance.

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 INSTITUTIONALIZATION OF MUSLIM SCHOLARSHIP 113

and thirteenth-century Damascus were immigrants. Th

immigrants included aspiring students and full-fledged scho
who had established their reputations elsewhere. A thir
category of scholars were those passing through town, seek
to study with a particular individual while participating in
system of professional advancement. (1) Approximately
fifth of all scholars present in Damascus during the late elevent
twelfth, and thirteenth centuries were transients. A handf
of native-born Damascenes left Damascus permanently, usu
simply moving on to better opportunities elsewhere. Dur
the twelfth century many scholars leaving Damascus emigra
to Iraq; during the thirteenth century most emigrants w
to Egypt.
While visiting Damascus for brief or lengthy periods of time,
scholars learned hadiths and studied law or siifism and paused
long enough to write books and to make their own contri-
butions to the intellectual life of the city. Many of the fore-
most scholars of medieval Islam included Damascus in their
itineraries. Immigrant scholars and passersby were gener
not the product of temporary social and economic malad
ments, such as wars, invasion, earthquakes, and drought
although certain individual scholars were refugees from adv
conditions at home. The far more important reason for tra
was to be a part of the international scholarly world, an
itinerant and native-born scholars made Damascus an influential
learning center in the medieval Middle East.

Institutionalization of International Scholarship

and Professionalization of the 'Ulama'

During the first five centuries of Islam 'ulamd' developed

their own practices and organizations independently of the
state. The Umayyad and 'Abbisid caliphs relied on scholars
as advisers and ambassadors and employed "ulamd' as judges,

(1) "He stopped over in Damascus," nazala Dimashq, and "he resided in
Damascus for a while," sakana Dimashq mudda, are repeated phrases describing
individuals living in Damascus for a period of time.

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 114 J. E. GILBERT

but they established no endu

to the study of the religion
basis benefactors patronize
scholarly projects and instit
of independent 'ulamd' and
enjoyed personal or state pa
organizational, and social p
into regularized practices a
scholarship during the ear
older order of scholarly act
tionalization of the intern
professionalization of the '
permanent provision of spec
and employment for a majo
ments to pay the salaries of
Professionalization required
standards and procedures o
of pay for the practice of
of the establishment of law
centers demonstrates the p
international scholarship in
Damascus; a survey of the
stipends documents the pr
At the end of the eleventh
a variety of patrons, inspir
international reputation, b
schools of law, in Damascus (table 1). The rate of their
construction gradually increased during the next two centuries.
The first madrasa in Damascus was located in the Great Mosque
in the heart of the city, and most madrasas of the early twelfth
century were situated inside the city walls immediately around
the Great Mosque. The densest madrasa construction occurred
between the citadel and the Great Mosque in the northwest
section of the city. While madrasas continued to be built
within the city during the thirteenth century, they were also
constructed in the suburbs. The madrasas of the Silihiyya
suburb, northwest of Damascus, were established primarily in
the thirteenth century. Although the HIanbalis founded the

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 INSTITUTIONALIZATION OF MUSLIM SCHOLARSHIP 115

TABLE 1

Madrasas ESTABLISHED IN DAMASCUS, 468/1076-658/1260

Inside
City Suburbs
Walls

C) I?

. o $ 'C _

Ccrul
CI" Q CI
C 4-) I
~ cI
$c O CI
o F cb
C~ O m e? c? 0
1.4J

A.D. A. H.

1076 468-479
480-489
1100 490-499
500-509

510-519 1
520-529 3 1
530-539 1
1150 540-549 3

550-559 3
560-569 1 4 1
570-579 1 4 1
580-589 4

1200 590-599 6 1
600-609 1 1 2
610-619 3 1
620-629 3 2 8 1

630-639 5 3 2
640-649 1 4 1
1260 650-658 1 5 2

S1lihiyya suburb,
a IHanbali sectio
IHanafi law scho

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116 J. E. GILBERT

madrasas. Within the city

the major law schools, Shd
There was no Miliki madr
During the second half of th
academies for the study and
in the city (table 2). Eight
were founded in the thirtee

TABLE 2

Ddr al-j.adiths ESTABLISHED IN DAMASCUS, 468/1076-658/

Inside City Suburbs

Walls

Sharaf S.ilihiyya
A.D. A. H.

1076 468-479
480-489
1100 490-499
500-509

510-519
520-529
530-539
1150 540-549

550-559
560-569 1
570-579
580-589

1200 590-599 1
600-609
610-619
620-629 2 (1) (1)

630-639 1
640-649 1
1260 650-658 1 (1)

NOTE: Figure in parenthesi

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 INSTITUTIONALIZATION OF MUSLIM SCHOLARSHIP 117

inside the city walls. By the late eleventh century v

benefactors had slowly founded places of siifT educati
devotions, khanaqdhs, ribags, and zawiyas, and these buil
increased in number in the period between 468/1076 and
1260 (table 3). Construction of saft institutions took
mainly in the last half of the twelfth and during the thir

TABLE 3

Khdnaqdhs, ribadts, AND Zawigas ESTABLISHED IN DAMASCUS, 468/

Inside

City Suburbs
Walls

Sharaf 'Uqayba Sdlihiyya East of

S5.lihiyya

A.D. A. H.

1076 468-479
480-489 R
1100 490-499 K
500-509

510-519
520-529 K
530-539
1150 540-549

550-559 R
560-569 KR K
570-579
580-589 K K

1200 590-599 R
600-609
610-619
620-629 K KZZ ZZ

630-639 RZ RZ
640-649 Z
1260 650-658 KZ Z

NOTE: Symbol K repres

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 118 J. E. GILBERT

centuries, with an accelerat

and 630's/1230's. There we
the city walls, but over hal
The madrasas, dar al-hadft
housed local and visiting st
them through special financ
for professors and shayk
religious institutions of twelf
provided regular means of
of law, 4adith, and siifism.
with the earlier situation in which 'ulamd' sustained their
teaching and scholarly efforts through secular occupation
occasional patronage and in which students depended up
family income or odd jobs. By degrees specialized build
replaced common teaching sites such as mosques, librar
shops, private homes, and gardens, and served not only
places of instruction, devotion, and employment, but a
residences for professors and students. Both native-born a
immigrant scholars utilized these new facilities; newcomer
longer had to seek accomodations in khans, mosques, or pr
homes. A few of the most prominent teachers did not
jobs in institutions but received the patronage of a ki
wazir, or an amir. Others combined both institutional and
personal patronage. Hence regularized salary provisions
emerged alongside continuing practices whereby an individual
patron directly subsidized a scholar. Patrons, in addition to
employing individuals directly, now endowed permanent insti-
tutions that sustained groups of scholars.
Between the years 468/1076 and 658/1260 one hundred and
twenty-one new religious institutions were established, and
there were over four hundred new job openings and turnovers
in professorships and shaykhships at these institutions (table 4).
Biographies report the specific types and locations of the
hundreds of professional posts now occupied by legal scholars,
muhaddiths, and s~ifts in Damascus. Madrasas and ddr
al-haddths possessed sufficient endowments, except in two or
three instances, to fill at least one professorship or shaykhship
throughout the period and in most cases for several centuries
beyond.

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 INSTITUTIONALIZATION OF MUSLIM SCHOLARSHIP 119

TABLE 4

NEW RELIGIOUS ESTABLISHMENTS IN DAMASCUS AND TURNOVERS

IN PROFESSORSHIPS AND SHAYKHSHIPS, 468/1076-658/1260

No. No.
Type of Building Buildings Job
Turnovers

Shdfi'i madrasa ............................... 34 145

Hanafi madrasa. .............................. 35 165
combined Shdfl'i-Hanaft madrasa............... 4 25
HIanbali madrasa ............................... 9 40
Miliki madrasa ................ ... ...... 3 7

ddr al-h.adith...................
ddr al-hadfths
1 IHanafi within
madrasa 2 .Hanball3 madrasas
........................... 3 an
khdnaqdh.............. ....... ....... ......... 11 8
ribdt.................................. 7 2
zawiya ...................... ............. 8 13

TOTAL.................. ............ ... 121 1 422

Special legal arrangements funded these buildings and their

staffs, and these provisions, as well as the legal document
describing them, are known as waqf. After a new building
was constructed, or an existing building set aside, it was possible
to dedicate that building to a religious or charitable purpose
and to provide for the maintenance of the building and a
salaried staff, theoretically, in perpetuity. The funds to
support the building and its personnel came from the rents and
proceeds of private properties also set aside, in theory, forever.
Available, published waqf documents are scant and generally
do not provide full details of the endowments. In some
instances there are descriptions and locations of the houses,
shops, baths, khans, gardens, orchards, farms, villages, and
parcels of real estate whose rents and revenues were set aside
to sustain the institution. Rarely is there enumeration of
everyone employed in any given institution, the number of
students provided for, or exact salaries paid. However, the
founder of the Iqbaliyya Madrasa, established in 628/1230

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 120 J. E. GILBERT

inside the Faraj and Faradis

there would be twenty-five
with an ample monthly allow
meats on holidays, fruit in s
professors, their assistants,
dedication day of the madr
al-'Adiliyya al-Sughrd, insi
to the citadel, sustained a p
a muezzin, doorkeepers, a g
waqf paid for the upkeep of
of its residents. The building
of which was to be used as a
and a tomb complex for th
The waqf of the 'Asrtiniyya
1174 east of the citadel in th
cus, stipulated that there wou
Shffi'is, and others, and that
in the family of the founder
were capable of filling it. (
al-Muhammadiyya Madrasa

.Slihiyya
youths to wished to arrange
hear haddths. H
muhaddiths and visiting scho
of resources. (4) The founder
in Sharaf, a suburb west of th
for twenty ?sfts. (5) An in
twenty to twenty-five schola
One of the few published w
under discussion is a portion
al-Ashrafiyya, dated 633/1235. The building was located
inside the city walls, just east of the citadel. The endowment
provided for a professor of hadith (90 dirhams per month), an

(1) al-Nu'ayml, I, pp. 159-160.

(2) al-Nu'aymi, I, p. 368.
(3) al-Nu'aymi, I, p. 399.
(4) al-Nu'aymi, II, p. 94; H. Sauvaire, "La Description de Damas", Journal
Asiatique IV (November-December, 1894), p. 471.
(5) al-Nu'aymi, II, p. 169.

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 INSTITUTIONALIZATION OF MUSLIM SCHOLARSHIP 121

imdm who in addition to leading prayers was to offer K

instruction (60 dirhams per month), another instructor (60
hams per month), a caretaker of the mihra-b (40 dirhams
month), a hadith reader (24 dirhams per month), a mue
(20 dirhams per month), a librarian (18 dirhams per mon
two guards (30 dirhams per month between them), a gateke
(15 dirhams per month), ten Koran reciters (10 dirhams
month per individual), regular students (8 dirhams per mo
each), and beginning students (3 to 4 dirhams each per mon
Additional clauses stipulated that if a renowned scholar arr
in Damascus he could stay at the Ddr al-IjHadith al-Ashrafi
and receive two dirhams per day. When he left he was g
30 dinars. Scholars who came from other towns in Syri
received slightly smaller allowances. During the month
Ramadan the waqf supplied the entire establishment with ei
food or a sum of 1,000 dirhams, apparently to be divided am
the staff, students, and guests. If the waqf could not main
these payments, allocations to beginning students coul
lowered, but not those of the professor, the imam, the Ko
reciters, the muezzin, or the regular students. (1)
The madrasa, the ddr al-hadith, and the three types of s
establishment, khanaqdh, ribdt, and zawiya, are physical
dence of the institutionalization of the practices and spe
izations of international scholarship that had been developi
for centuries. Whereas the functions of dar al-had~ths and
sifi establishments are obvious and agreed upon, modern
scholars continue to debate the educational, political, and
social functions of the madrasa. (2) Did madrasas exist to
train bureaucrats, to form cadres of partisans against Shi'ite

(1) E. Ashtor, "Salaires dans 1'Orient m6di6val 4 la Basse-RIpoque", Revue

des 1?tudes Islamiques, XXXIX (1971), pp. 104-105, citing verbatim Muhammad
b. Tfilan, Al-Lum'dt al-Barqiyya ft al-Nukat al-Ta'rikhiyya (Damascus, 1348/1929),
pp. 20 ff.
(2) See George Makdisi, "Muslim Institutions of Learning in Eleventh-Century
Baghdad," Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, XXIV (1961),
pp. 1-56; A. L. Tibawi, "Origin and Character of al-Madrasah," Bulletin of the
School of Oriental and African Studies, XXV (1962), pp. 225-238; and Richard
Bulliet, The Patricians of Nishapur: A Study in Medieval Islamic Social History
(Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 1972), pp. 48-60.

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 122 J. E. GILBERT

political aspirations and th

control religious scholars? In
of the madrasa system, in
institutions of the day, wa
scholars that would influence all of Muslim society. The
madrasa employed and trained scholars of religion and law and
was a positive outgrowth of the existing system of scholarship
rather than a reaction to ShI'ite movements or the pressures
of the Crusades. Nor was the education of state bureaucrats,
except for qddas and deputy qddTs, who occupied a special
position between religious scholarship and state service, a
principal function of madrasas in twelfth and thirteenth-
century Damascus. Bureaucrats were a by-product, few in
number, and become noticeable only later in the period
surveyed (table 5). Madrasas produced the professional
scholars who brought Islamic law to the Muslim community of
Damascus on a one-to-one basis. Mdlik b. Anas, Abfi Hanifa,
al-Shffi'I, and Ahmad b. Hanbal, the originators of the major
law schools of Islam, worked and wrote during the eighth and
ninth centuries. During the tenth and eleventh centuries
subsequent generations of scholars elaborated and systematized
the thought of the founders of the Mgliki, I.anafi, Shffi'l, and
.Hanbali of
doctrines law
theschools. Yetnecessitated
law schools wholesalesignificant
application of the
numbers
of professional scholars devoted primarily to legal studies and
dissemination of religious and legal information. The madrasas
of the late eleventh, twelfth, and thirteenth centuries produced
these large numbers of scholars who in turn popularized Islamic
law and promoted communal organization on the basis of law
school affiliation.
The endowment of scores of religious buildings and the
availability of salaried positions and stipends for students
made Damascus increasingly attractive to scholars during the
twelfth and thirteenth centuries. Throughout these two
centuries the international element in Damascus continued
to be important, and the roughly equal proportion of nati
born to immigrant scholars remained constant. Slightly
than half of all Shlfi'i scholars surveyed, 468/1076-658/126

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 INSTITUTIONALIZATION OF MUSLIM SCHOLARSHIP 123

TABLE 5

DEATHDATES OF 'ULAMA- HOLDING POSTS IN THE STATE BUREAUCRACY

EXCLUDING THE POST OF QAXi, 468/1076-658/1260

Legal Scholars, Muhaddiths, and $Sifis

IZ
AA

A.D. A.H.

1076 468-479
480-489
1100 490-499
500-509

510-519
520-529
530-539
1150 540-549

550-559
560-569 1 1
570-579 2
580-589 1

1200 590-599 1 1
600-609
610-619 1 1
620-629 1 1

630-639 1 1 2 1
1250 640-649 1 1 3 1
650-659 1 2 1 6 1
660-669 1 1 1

670-679 1 1
680-689 4 5
1299 690-699 8

were native-b
was to an app
Damascenes af
the school in

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 124 J. E. GILBERT

under discussion almost tw

immigrants as were native
IHanbalis, members of the B
the Banti Munajji, families w
Damascus, controlled the IH
With one or two exception
teaching in Damascus were
number of muhaddiths studi
one-quarter were immigra
There were twice as many im

Damascenein
appointed siifts
this or transi
period w
other half were immigrants
A wave of scholars from S
Damascus in the late elevent
later scholars were more in
scholars living in Damascus
at least double the number p
and the greater number of
ation for teachers and stud
in this expansion of the pop
Professionalization of the
with the institutionalizatio
Damascus. During the twelfth and thirteenth centuries
Culamd' in Damascus evolved from part-time, private scholars
into full-time, paid professionals. Several studies have conclud-
ed that the 'ulamd' of the centuries prior to the twelfth and
thirteenth were primarily volunteer scholars of religion who
engaged in other occupations, mostly trade. (1) Biographical

(1) Munir-ud-Din Ahmed, Muslim Education and the Scholars' Social Status up
to the 5th Century Muslim Era (11th Century Christian Era) in the Light of Ta'rikh
Baghdad (Zurich: Verlag "Der Islam," 1968), pp. 252-254; S. D. Goitein, Studies
in Islamic History and Institutions (Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1968), pp. 8 and 219;
Hayyim J. Cohen, "The Economic Background and the Secular Occupations of
Muslim Jurisprudents and Traditionists in the Classical Period of Islam (until the
middle of the eleventh century)," Journal of the Economic and Social History of
the Orient, XIII (January, 1970), pp. 16-61, studies the religous scholars of the
first 470 years of Islamic history. (The present study begins in 468/1076.)
Cohen finds that during the first two centuries of Islam, that is, during the seventh

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 INSTITUTIONALIZATION OF MUSLIM SCHOLARSHIP 125

information for the twelfth and thirteenth centuries indicates

a new trend in Damascus. Whereas a small, fairly constant
number of 'ulama' held various secular jobs, there was a dramatic
increase in the number of scholars holding paid, professional

positions.
this study (1) Of held
none the 156 .Hanafi
outside jobs.legal
Onlyscholars
5 of theexamined in
195 Shdfi'I
legal scholars engaged in secular pursuits. Two were mer-
chants, one was a fruit and vegetable dealer, one a lumber dealer
and one a foundry worker. (2) Merely 3 of 91 HIanbali legal
scholars were also merchants. (3) But one of 19 Miliki legal
experts was a merchant, and one an herbalist. (4) Of 102 siiffs
just 6 were in trade: one was a tailor, one an arrow maker, a
third was involved in silk craft, a fourth was an iron worker,

and eighth centuries, most scholars of religion found secular employment in

government service. Cohen concludes that during the ninth and tenth centuries
over 75 percent of the 'ulamd' or their families engaged in commerce or handicrafts,
p. 39.
(1) Little information is available to determine whether professional 'ulamd'
of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries stemmed directly from earlier scholar-
merchant families, whether they represented all levels of society, and whether
there was any significant displacement of persons from business activities to
scholarly pursuits.
(2) AbOi al-Nazzir al-Hasan b. Safiyy al-Baghdidi, Shifi'i faqih and merchant:
Ibn 'Ashkir, IV, pp. 166-170. AbOi al-Faraj Jibir b. Muhammad al-Hamawi
thumma al-Dimashqi, Shifi'I faqfh and merchant: al-Dhahabi, 'Ibar, IV, p. 312;
Ibn al-'Imid, IV, p. 345. Abfi 'Abd Allah MuIhammad b. Isma'il al-Baghdidi,
Shafi'I faqfh and fruit and vegetable dealer: al-Subki, VI, pp. 94-95. 'Ali b.
'Ashkir al-Maqdisi thumma al-Dimashqi, Shfi'i faqfh and lumber dealer: al-Dhahabi,
'Ibar, IV, pp. 152-153; Ibn al-'Imid, IV, pp. 167-168. Abfi Tihir Ibrihim b.
al-Mutahhar al-Jurjini, Shffi'i faqfh and foundry worker: Ibn 'Ashkir, II, p. 297.
These five Shifi'i legal scholars who were also involved in secular professions were
all immigrants to Damascus or passersby. Ail five died in the twelfth century,
and by the thirteenth century it was unlikely that a Shf'if faqfh would also be a
merchant, businessman, or artisan.
(3) Sharaf al-Din Muhammad b. 'Abd al-Wahhib al-Shirizi al-Dimashqi,
Hanball faqih and merchant: al-Nu'aymi, II, p. 69, Safiyy al-Din Abi Zakariyya
Yahyi b. al-Muzaffar al-Baghdidi, IIanbali faqfh and merchant: Ibn al-'Imid, V,
p. 31. 'Izz al-Din Abfi Amr 'Uthmin b. As'ad b. al-Munajji al-Dimashqi,
HIanbalI faqih and merchant: Ibn Rajab, II, p. 226; Ibn al-'Imid, V, pp. 211-212.

(4) Rashid al-Din Abi al-HI.usayn Yalhyy b. 'All al-NAbulusi thumma al-Misri,
Maliki imdm and perfume seller: al-Dhahabi, .uffda, IV, pp. 1442-1443. Abi
al-.Hasan
b. 'AliI,b.p.Ahmad,
al-Jawzi, 159. known as Ibn Qays, Miliki muftf and herbalist: Sibt

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 126 J. E. GILBERT

a fifth sold perfume, and a s

However, the ordinary muh
Muhaddiths comprise slightl
studied, and they more com
ations. Yet even in the case
teaching of hadTth tended to
for increasing numbers of
twelfth and during the thirt
New occupational opportu
livelihoods for a middle inco
Biographies rarely designate
in this period, and the evi
graphical dictionaries sugges
of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries received moderate
incomes. There is no evidence to suggest that eulama' w
large property owners, and many of the most prominent 'u
in this period were immigrants to the city. Only towar
end of the AyyTibid period during the mid-thirteenth centur
continuing into the Mamlik era did increasing numbe
religious scholars enter state service, receive multiple prof
ships and political appointments, and acquire the wealth
noted 'ulamd' and renowned scholarly dynasties of all eras
often presumed to possess.
The new religious establishments of medieval Damasc
institutionalized the international system of scholarship.
the foundation of dozens of religious institutions that emp
hundreds of scholars, the 'ulamd' of twelfth and thirteen
century Damascus exchanged nonprofessional status for ful
scholarly employment.

II, (1)
pp.Ahmad b. Saldimat
122-123; al-Dimashqi,
Ibn al-'Imid, .Sufl(2)and
V, p. 360. blacksmith-iron
Taqiyy al-Din Abfworker: al-Nu'aymi,
'Abd Allih
Muhammad b. Ahmad al-YninIni al-Ba'albakki, Sif and arrow maker: Ibn Rajab,

II, pp. 269-273; al-Dhahabi, H.uff@d, IV, pp. 1439-1442 and 'Ibar V, p. 248.
(3) AbQiDhayl,
Shima, Mulhammad 'All b. 'All 'lbar,
p. 180; al-Dhahabi, al-Dimashqi, .i /Ibn
V, p. 186; and engaged
Kathir, in pp.
XIII, silkcraft:
173-174;AbOi
al-Nu'aymi, II, pp. 197-199; Ibn al-'Imid, V, pp. 231-232. (4) Abai al-Faraj
Yahy5i b. 'Ibar,
Dhahabi, Mahmfid al-Isbahini,
p. 254. blacksmith-iron
(5) AbO al-Ijasan worker
'All b. Abri Bakrinal-Baghdidi,
youth and .sfi:
siOfal-
and perfume merchant: Ibn al-'Imdid, V, p. 160. (6) Arslin b. Y5qfit b. 'Abd
al-Rahmin, S2fl and engaged in the sawmill business: Henri Sauvaire, "La Descrip-
tion de Damas," Journal Asiatique, V (May-June, 1895), p. 404, note 9.

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 INSTITUTIONALIZATION OF MUSLIM SCHOLARSHIP 127

The 'Ulama' and the Political Rulers of Damascus

The basic relationship between the 'ulamd' and the politi

rulers of medieval Damascus was one of cooperation in th
pursuit of stable community life. (1) Nevertheless, conte
for dominance of this two-party alliance occurred, and o
overriding political issue divided the rulers and the 'ulam
Would the rulers or the 'ulamd' direct the newly-institutionali
madrasa system? Would the 'ulamd' take charge of their o
organization or would the state? The answer to these questio
may be seen in an evaluation of the two stages in which
professionalization of the 'ulamd' occurred in late eleventh,
twelfth, and thirteenth-century Damascus. During the first
stage, which corresponds with the period of Saljiq and Btirid
control of Damascus (468/1076-549/1154), members of the
rulers' household and entourage, but not the rulers, established
madrasas. In the second phase, the Zengid and Ayyibid era
(549/1154-658/1260), the rulers themselves became directly
involved in patronizing the madrasa system. Political pa-
tronage did not deprive the 'ulamd' of their autonomy in the
first period. Increasing absorption of the 'ulama' and their
organization into the state system characterized the second
period.
During the eighty years of Saljfq and Btirid rule Damascus
was an autonomous city-state, and its political and social
institutions reflected that status. Change of ruler under the
Saljiqs and Birids involved family and court politics within
the city; the Crusader states were the major entities in the
foreign relations of Damascus at this time. In Saljiiq and
Biirid Damascus members of the rulers' households and court
officials were the principal builders of public monuments.
Between 468/1076 and 549/1154 women from the ruling family,

(1) Ira M. Lapidus, Muslim Cities in the Later Middle Ages (Cambridge, Massa-
chusetts: Harvard University Press, 1967), discusses the cooperative alliance of
the Mamlfik rulers and the 'ulamd' of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries,
pp. 107-115.

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128 J. E. GILBERT

amirs, and other officials of

ruler established waqfs for f
madrasas, and one khanaqdh. The members of the royal
family and the officials who endowed these eleven buildings
were part of the ruling elite. These eleven endowments
represent the great majority of the new types of religious insti-
tutions established in the Saljtiq and BMirid periods in Damascus.
Saljfiq and Btirid rulers did not themselves create religious
foundations, although in 529/1134 Shams al-Mulk Ismil b.
Binri did build a khanaqdh. Wealthy IjanbalI merchants, not

Turkish
madrasasamirs or royalty,
established in thebuilt and endowed
Saljiiq-Btirid the two .Hanball
period.
The household of the ruler and the court patronized religious
institutions (though the rulers might be considered indirect
patrons) during the decades of Saljtiq and Bfirid rule, and
'ulanmd' in scholarly posts were not involved in government
service. In Saljfiq and Btirid Damascus law schools employed
and produced scholars, not bureaucrats. The most famous
teachers, who were also most often the leaders, ra'Tses, of the
law schools, did not belong to the entourages of the rulers in the
sense of being clients, and they did not hold political or admi-
nistrative offices. They directed the law schools and sought
independence from the political system. One family, the

Banfl Qurashi,
Damascus in thewas strong
Bfirid enough
period andtotodominate the q.iIship
share control of theof
qdiship, traditionally a political appointment, with the Biirid
rulers. Thus, the scholars of the period 468/1076-549/1154
represent a first phase of the professionalization of the "ulama'
in Damascus in which indirect political patronage, devotion to
scholarship, and 'ulama' control of their own organization
prevailed.
With the arrival of N&ir al-Din and the Zengids in 549/1154,
Damascus became the capital of a Syrian-Jaziran empire.
Under the Ayytibids, who followed the Zengids, Damascus was
either the imperial capital or second city of a Syrian-Jaziran-
Egyptian empire. Change of ruler under the Ayytibids meant
at least one blockade or siege of Damascus as an outside family
member tried to battle his way to control of the town. Rela-

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 INSTITUTIONALIZATION OF MUSLIM SCHOLARSHIP 129

tions with the Crusader states continued to dominate forei

policy. The Khwarizmians, sometime allies, and the Mon
were special threats to the later Ayyubids. The approximat
110 years of Zengid and Ayyfibid rule that followed the Sal
Bfirid era inaugurated new political relationships between t
rulers and the 'ulamd'. When Niir al-Din arrived in Damascu
he personally established religious foundations, systematica
giving state support for religious buildings, and began a se
phase of the professionalization of the 'ulamd'. Of the Zeng
and Ayyfibid rulers Nfir al-Din endowed the largest num
and the most diverse religious institutions. He provided
buildings, staffs, and salaries for the first two M5liki madrasas in
the city, two Shafi'I madrasas, one Hanafi madrasa, the first
dar al-hadith in the city, and one khdnaqdh. Noir al-Din also
sought to make use of and influence the 'ulamd' in two other
ways: first, through careful personal selection and recruitment
of appointees to established religious offices and, second, through
creation of new government offices that employed religious
scholars. The struggle for domination of the 'ulamd' began in
earnest. Nflr al-Din preferred to appoint established scholars
to political and religious positions and to set up government
departments to supervise areas that had previously been in the
hands of the 'ulamd'. For instance, Nflr al-Din created the
post of inspector of the siiff establishments of Syria and
appointed a prominent saff from Khurasan to the position. (1)
When Saladin, founder of the Ayyfibid dynasty, became ruler
of Damascus in 571/1174, he also sought to make political use
of the "ulamd'. For example, Saladin appointed Ibn Abi 'Asriin,
ra'Ts of the Shifi'I law school, to the post of qaddb of Damascus. (2)

Ibn(1) Abfi al-Fath.

Hammuwayh, 'Umar b. 'Ali
immigrated withb.his
Muhammad al-Juwayni
son from Khurasan al-S.ifi, known
to Damascus and as
filled this new position that Nfir al-Din established. Sibt b. al-Jawzi, I, p. 272;
al-Nu'aymi, II, pp. 153-154; Ibn al-'Imid, IV, p. 259; H. L. Gottschalk, "Awlid
al-Shaykh," EI2, I, pp. 765-766.
(2) Ibn Abi 'Asrfn was the only ra'is of the Shffi'i law school who also served
as qddi of Damascus in the period under discussion. Sharaf al-Din Abf Sa'd
'Abd Allfh b. Muhammad al-Hadithi thumma al-Mawsili, known as Ibn AbI
'Asrfin: Sibt b. al-Jawzi, I, p. 394; Ibn Khallikan, II, pp. 32-36; al-Subki, VII,
pp. 132-137; al-Dhahabi, Huffd;, IV, pp. 1357-1358 and 'Ibar, IV, p. 256; Ibn

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 130 J. E. GILBERT

Through this appointment Sa

Shifi'I organization of the ci
ment appointee. Several late
influential scholars as qddT
ruler al-'Adil invited Fakhr

Sh5fi' law
refused. (1) school, to acce
His refusal was
conscience. It was the stand
law school, who wished to ins
by the 'ulamd'. The Zengid

a single
terms. family to hold the q5.diship for more than two successive
Unlike Nir al-Din, Saladin did not complete any religious
monuments in Damascus, although he founded many religious
establishments in Cairo and Jerusalem. Ayyilbid rulers after
Saladin, on the other hand, imitated Niir al-Din's example in
Damascus, took the lead in the patronage of the madrasa
system, and substantially increased the number of religious
buildings. Lesser members of the royal family, court officials,
and amirs continued to found the bulk of the madrasas and
other religious institutions. For the first time, several bure
crats and 'ulamd' holding important government posts establis
Shafi'I madrasas and ddr al-hadi~hs. The most import
Ayytibid rulers of Damascus usually built one significa
building. This royal endowment was normally large and
prestigious and often housed the tombs of the family. T
IIHanbalis, except in two cases, continued to finance their o
buildings. Because they were not in the direct pay of t
ruler, even sensitive scholars did not hesitate to accept po
in madrasas founded by rulers or appointments to professorsh
made by rulers, but in fact they became more dependent
the state for their posts and salaries. In addition, Saladin an
the Ayyfibid rulers who followed him in Damascus did man
to attract a minority of scholars into government servic

Kathir, XII, pp. 333-334; al-Nu'aymi, I, pp. 399-403; Ibn al-'Imid, IV, pp. 2
284; Ibn Tfilfin, Quddt Dimashq, ed. by $aldi.h al-Din al-Munajjid (Damasc
Arab Academy of Damascus, 1956), pp. 49-51.
(1) Abfi Shma, Dhayl, pp. 137-138; Ibn Kathir, XIII, p. 101.

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 INSTITUTIONALIZATION OF MUSLIM SCHOLARSHIP 131

Biographies of the late Ayytibid period describe house arres

confiscations, and even executions of 'ulamd' who became
involved in politics and accepted high government positions.
Previous generations of scholars in Saljfiq, Birid, Zengid, and
early Ayyiibid Damascus almost without exception lived long,
nonviolent lives.

Thus, in contrast to the rulers of Damascus during the

previous eighty years, the Zengid and Ayyiibid rulers directly
patronized religious institutions. Later Ayytibid rulers conti-
nued to follow the examples of Ntir al-Din and Saladin. They
created new state offices to supervise tasks that the 'ulama' had
previously carried out or appointed 'ulama' to duties that
bureaucrats would normally perform. The later Ayytibids
also extended their power of appointment to the hiring and
dismissal of professors of various madrasas and continued the
effort to make the 'ulama' and their organization subservient
to the ruler of Damascus and positions of the 'ulama' conditiona
upon the action of the state.

Conclusion

The rulers of late eleventh, twelfth, and thirteenth-century

Damascus, who generally failed to achieve political or admi-
nistrative continuity, took advantage of the opportunity to
help shape social institutions. These rulers and their house-
holds institutionalized international scholarship and professional-
ized the 'ulama' in Damascus and then sought to bureaucratize,
hierarchize, and further dominate the 'ulamd' by making areas
once in the hands of scholars dependent on government.
During the Saljfiq and Btirid decades, the 'ulamd' were involved
in their own organization, not with the state bureaucracy, and
were supported only by indirect political patronage. In the
Zengid and Ayyaibid periods rulers became concerned with
direct patronage of religious institutions, in controlling appoint-

ments to the
fostering professorships, shaykhships,
bureaucratization and The
of the 'ulama'. q.diiships, and in
law schools
lost ground in their confrontation with political rulers. Toward

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132 J. E. GILBERT

the end of the Ayyaibid peri

of scholarly families began
wealth that these offices mi
In the ninth century the 'A
to gain control over religio
Islamic law. Earlier scholar
century 'ulamd', had reject
acquiescing in state contro
rulers in the tenth and eleventh centuries had endeavoured to
impose a new religious doctrine as a basis of government b
did not succeed. In twelfth and thirteenth-century Damascus
however, the state did gain partial control of the 'ulamd'
There was no question of Nflr al-Din or the Ayyfibids seekin
to set doctrine, change the law, or prescribe a religious system
Rather, they recognized the dominant socioreligious force an
tried to dominate it through professionalization of the 'ulam
and bureaucratization of its members.
The rulers of twelfth and thirteenth-century Damascus
supported the establishment of law schools, ddr al-hadiThs, a
siift institutions, as well as mosques, because they understoo
the collective role of the 'ulamd' in society. Although th
Saljiq, Birid, Zengid, and Ayyfibid rulers in general fai
to develop strong, innovative, or permanent political, burea
cratic, and military institutions, they did perceive the influe
of the network of international scholarship and the social a
political benefits of its institutionalization. These Turkish
and Kurdish rulers appreciated a chance to strengthen a work
system, while partially controlling it, and, instead of merel
binding various individuals to the state, the rulers of Saljtiq
Bilrid, Zengid, and Ayyfibid Damascus managed to patron
a whole social-professional-educational system. They reali
that a strong bureaucracy combined with a standing army w
not the only avenues to stability. The madrasa system tha
the rulers supported and expanded produced the personn

(1) N. J. Coulson, "Doctrine and Practice in Islamic Law: One Aspect of the
Problem," Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, XVIII (1956),
pp. 211-226.

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 INSTITUTIONALIZATION OF MUSLIM SCHOLARSHIP 133

necessary to provide authoritative and expeditious gui

for the mass of the Muslim community. The increase
fessionalization of the 'ulama' perhaps balanced the dec
institutional complexity of the bureaucracy and army
political and social structure of twelfth and thirteenth-ce
Damascus. A second reason why the rulers of Damascus
supported institutionalization of the international system of
scholarship and professionalization of the 'ulamd' was that the
rulers could then enjoy the political benefit of closer association
with and influence over the only source of legitimation which
rivaled the authority of the caliph. (1)
Later Islamic states such as the Mamltik and Ottoman
empires built upon earlier traditions of Islamic religious
ship. In the Mamltik empire powerful and wealthy s
families with vested interests in Cairo and elsewhere controlled
vast numbers of appointments. In the late thirteenth century
and during the fourteenth century individuals might be appoint
ed at one time to seven or eight professorships, an accumulatio
of offices unheard of in Saljiiq, Btirid, Zengid, or Ayytibi
Damascus. In the Ottoman empire religion became a depart-
ment of state under the sultan and over which a hierarchized
bureaucracy of 'ulamd' presided. For example, in the seco
half of the fifteenth and the first half of the sixteenth cent
two major hierarchies led to the two top religious offices, t
of the chief qddU and the shaykh al-Islam. In order to advan
to either position a candidate had to pass through a grade
succession of lower jobs, and there was no interchange betw
the two hierarchies. (2) Offices that were general titles or ra
in twelfth and thirteenth-century Damascus, such as shay
al-Islam or muffl of Damascus, evolved into precise offices
the state bureaucracy during Mamlilk and Ottoman tim
The 'ulama' of twelfth and thirteenth-century Damascus we

(1) George Makdisi, Ibn 'Aql et la r6surgence de l'Islam Traditionaliste a

XIe sidcle (Ve sidcle de l'Hdgire) (Damascus: Institut Frangais de Damas, 19
p. 226.
(2) Richard Repp, "Some Observations on the Development of the Ottoman
Learned Hierarchy," Scholars, Saints, and Sufis, ed. by Nikki Keddie (Berkeley:
University of California Press, 1972), pp. 17-32.

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134 J. E. GILBERT

nonspecialized and freely

professional posts.
Twelfth and thirteenth-ce
the institutionalization of i
a turning point in the evolu
ity life. This period repre
development of the 'ulama'
a bureaucratized class of professionals. During the early
centuries of Islam the 'ulama' generated their own independent
scholarly procedures and usually combined scholarship with
secular professions. During the twelfth and thirteenth cent-
uries in Damascus, immigrant, transient, and native-born
scholars acquired salaried posts in the religious institutions
that were endowed at this time and presaged a fully professional-
ized and bureaucratized class of scholars which became greatly
specialized in later Islamic centuries.

Joan E. GILBERT
(Alaska)

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