Drawing on agriculture treatises, veterinary books and byzarah books and chronicles, the project examines how birds were bred during the Mamluk period. The sources differentiated between breeding domestic birds for daily consumption and breeding birds of prey for hunting and entertainment. The project, therefore, focuses on the practices related to breeding each type of bird and the scientific knowledge behind such practices. It aims to trace the practices of bird incubation and mass production of poultry. Moreover, it explores the practices of organizing logistics for royal sports and how specialized officials and skillful veterinary doctors were involved in breeding birds of prey.
Related Publications
Abdelnaby, Heba. Al-Ṭuyur fi al-cAṣr al-Mamlukī (Birds in Mamluk Period). Giza: Ein for Human and Social Studies, 2021.