Power and Patronage in Medieval Syria: The Architecture and Urban Works of Tankiz al-Nayiri.

• Author: Watenpaugh, Heghnar
• Position: Book review

Power and Patronage in Medieval Syria: The Architecture and Urban Works of Tankiz al-Nayiri. By ELLEN V. KENNFY. Chicago Studies on the Middle East, vol. 5. Chicago: MIDDLE EAST DOCUMENTATION CENTER, 2009. Pp. xiv + 257 illus. $79.95.

This remarkable study explores the architectural and urban patronage of Tankiz al-Nairi (d. 740/1340), the long-reigning governor of Syria and a protege of the equally long-reigning Mamluk sultan al-Nasir Muhammad (d. 741/1341). These two individuals dominated the political life of the Mamluk empire in the first half of the fourteenth century. Mamluk society expected the sultan and politically ambitious amirs to sponsor the visual arts, as well as extensive architectural and urban projects. Because of their exceptionally long reigns and careful accumulation of power, wealth, and access, Tankiz and his master were able to support particularly complex schemes and to transform the most important cities and monuments of their day. During his thirty uninterrupted years of power, Tankiz involved himself personally in patronage, imitating his sultan who was active in reshaping Cairo. As the book shows, the patronage of these two men was entwined in complex ways. Tankiz's almost yearly visits to Cairo from Damascus facilitated communication and exchanges of ideas, but also the circulation of funds, building materials, and expert craftsmen.

Many of Tankiz's buildings are well known; this book explores new ground, however, in following a single patron's activity in detail over time and over space, and in considering the implications of this cumulative activity in terms of urbanism, regional development, architectural formal aspects, and patronage. What results is, first of all, a thoughtful and thorough reconstruction of what Tankiz actually built. It is based on the analysis of architectural remains and fragments, epigraphy, medieval literary sources, and some archival material. We learn for the first time the full extent of Tankiz's urban works in his provincial capital of Damascus, but also in important pilgrimage centers such as Jerusalem and Hebron, commercial and administrative hubs like Gaza, and strategic outposts like Qa[l.sup.c]at J[a.sup.c]bar, as well as small interventions on the rural landscape.

Rarely has the full activity of a single patron been examined with this degree of systematic care, allowing the reader to ponder the relationship between the patron's biography and his works. Furthermore, the book...