Zayni Barakat Essay

I forgot to post the essay to the blog....here it is...

The arab novel, Zayni Barakat was written by a famous arab author named Gamal al-Ghitani.  Although the novel Zayni Barakat is completely fictional, there are many instances in the book where it could be considered historical.  The depiction of Mamluk Egypt is fairly accurate in the novel.  Although many names and certain places are not real and made up, the book does a fairly good job paralleling everyday life as a Mamluk in Egypt.  The interesting part of the book is that it also historically parallels the time when Gamal Abdul Nasser was President of Egypt in the 1950’s and 60’s.  Both men rose up to power, implemented new policies and faced an invasion from an outside nation.  Both lost their power, but were still loved and respected by the people they served.   

Zayni Barakat was a modified character, who was essentially “fictionally” living through the Mamluk period in Egypt.  The author al-Ghitani, when he wrote this novel, was living through the period of Nasser in the 1950’s and 60’s.  Nasser led many political movements and also faced the invasion of Egypt by Israel during his time in power.  Even though the Mamluk period and the period of Nasser were in different centuries, the author was able to parallel both times into one book, which is fairly impressive.

The novel is set in the early sixteenth century, which is about the middle of the Mamluk reign in Egypt.  The Mamluk’s are about to face an invasion by the rival Ottoman Empire, and this is primarily when the book is taking place.  The word Mamluk is translated as “to be owned.”  Essentially, these Mamluk people are slaves.  They are trained in the military and were a very integral part of everyday life in Egypt back then.  They were even paid for what they did.  This is much different than slaves in say, America.  As we all know, slaves in America were not paid for their trouble and faced some of the harshest conditions ever.  Although the Mamluk’s were forced into slavery against their will, they had many benefits that would make life fairly comfortable for them. 

The creation and organization of Mamluk slaves can be traced back to around 1250-1300 in Egypt.  Once again, these people were trained in the military and were commanded by the generals of the Ayyubids.  The Ayyubids were the groups of people in charge in Egypt during this time.  They continued being the slave army of the Ayyubids until they revolted and took over the state.  During their time of rule, known as the “Great Age of Mamluks,” they created a system of historical writing, built new mosques and even put an emphasis on education by building new schools throughout the state.  They ruled until about the year 1516 and were eventually conquered by the Ottomans, who did let them rule as governors, but it wasn’t the same. 

Going back to the novel, it deals with Zayni Barakat, whose story is documented during a time of great hostility, as the Ottomans prepared to invade the Mamluks.  The story depicts Barakat’s rise to one of the most prestigious offices in Mamluk Egypt, which is as a market inspector.  He ends up being in charge during this time and there are many ups and downs and conspiracies that he faces during his time in this office.  This is where we can first see the parallel between Barakat and Abdel Nasser’s rule. 

Barakat was a leader of the people.  He was one of the first Egyptian bureaucrats that actually spoke to the people.  He had his own ideas, some ideas that many believed were too radical, and he tried his best to implement as many as possible.  He stated that he wanted to rule the entire state of Egypt and he speaks directly to the people, which allowed his messages to get across.  An example of one of the new policies he tried to institute was the creation of the agents, or spies.  He hired these agents to watch over the people and make sure they were doing the right thing.  This is an example of one of the earliest “police” type forces, which implemented a system where people would be held accountable for their actions.  That is just one example that shows that Barakat was an ambitious leader, who wanted to change Egypt for the greater good.      

Now back to Nasser.  Nasser was President of Egypt from 1956 to his death in 1970.  Nasser was considered a Nationalist and led an Egyptian revolution in the 1950’s.  He was able to overthrow the government at this time and during his stay in power, Egypt was able to advance politically, socially and industrially.  His policies were viewed as “radical” or “different,” much like Barakat.  This is one of the parallels seen in the book that was purposely done by the author. 

Nasser and Barakat were different than those who came before them.  They spoke directly to the people and tried new policies that many thought were too radical.  They didn’t care that people may not accept it; they believed that the policies would work and implemented them anyway.  That is a great similarity between the character of Barakat and that of Nasser.  

This is precisely what the author al-Ghitani was attempting to do in this book.  Zayni Barakat is much like Abdel Nasser in the story, in that he rose up to power and was a part of a great period in Egypt’s history.  It seems as though the author was able to intertwine his own beliefs of what was going on around him and connect them with Barakat and the time he was living in.

The next parallel that is seen is that during the time of Barakat and the time of Nasser, Egypt faced invasion by outside countries.  During the Mamluk time, which was also the time of Barakat, the Mamluk’s faced an invasion by the Ottoman Empire.  Between the years of 1516 and 1517, the Ottomans came charging in and kicked the Mamluk’s out of power, essentially stripping Barakat of some of his power.  Although Mamluk;s were able to remain in power as governors, it wasn’t the same. 

Nasser faced a similar struggle when he faced the Israeli invasion of Egypt.  After he lost, he lost his power.  Both Barakat and Nasser lost their power, but what is important, is that they never lost the respect of the people.  Even though they were essentially stripped of power, they both were still remembered and were respected by the people they served.

In summation, the story of Zayni Barakat is essentially a parallel of the times of Nasser’s rule in Egypt.  Both rose up to power, implemented new policies and were respected by the people they ruled over.  They also both were invaded and stripped of their power.  Even though they both essentially lost their power, they were still loved and respected by the people.  The author of this novel does a great job of telling the story of someone who lived in Mamluk Egypt, but essentially basing the character on a figure that was alive when he wrote it, which is Nasser.