Tribute to Reem Bassiouney’s Historical Fiction
From the first time we worked together (on the translation of her novel Ashiyaʾ raʾiʿa / Wonderful Things, published in English as Mortal Designs, AUC Press 2016), Reem Bassiouney and I have maintained a shared understanding of the role of literature in society; the role of creativity in an individual’s life; and the role of imagination in the mind of the readers and all those of us who are re-envisioning our lives and the world around us. The power of art can enable us to express our emotions and ideals and to rethink our perspectives and our selves. Following this contemporary novel, Bassiouney’s work took an exciting shift into historical fiction. With four novels now in this genre, and three of them substantial trilogies, Bassiouney provides a unique contribution to world literature. So far, her historical fiction encompasses:
1. The Tulunid Dynasty (868-905) in القطائع: ثلاثية ابن طولون / Al-Qata’i: Ibn Tulun’s Trilogy, issued by Nahdet Misr Publishing in 2022. English translation, by Roger Allen, forthcoming from Georgetown University Press in 2023. Recently longlisted for the Sheikh Zayed Book Award. See below for summary.
2. The Fatimids (10th-12th c.) in الحلواني: ثلاثية الفاطميين / The Halva Maker: The Fatimid Trilogy, issued by Nahdet Misr Publishing in 2022. Translation in process, by Roger Allen.
This trilogy explores the Fatimid dynasty through three key figures: the Sicilian Shiite Fatimid leader Gawhar, who conquered Egypt in 969; the Armenian, Badr al-Jamali, who saved Egypt from famine a century later; and the young Salah Eddin (Saladin), as he started out on his famous battles in the Crusades wars. Like all Bassiouney’s work, this trilogy highlights the diversity that is intrinsic to the historical record, as well as how women had a fundamental role in these significant events.
3. The Mamluks (mid-13th to mid-16th c.) in أولاد الناس: ثلاثية المماليك / Sons of the People, issued by Nahdet Misr Publishing in 2018. English translation, by Roger Allen, Syracuse University Press 2022.
Bassiouney’s Awlad al-Nas / Sons of the People won the Naguib Mahfouz award. English translation, by Roger Allen, available from Syracuse University Press. For my public review of that work, see my blog post, “Mamluk Cairo Comes Alive in Bassiouney’s Trilogy.” This multi-generation trilogy is focused around several historic buildings of Mamluk Cairo. There are also brief scenes from 2005-2017.
4. Transformations of Egyptian society during the 19th to 20th centuries in سبيل الغارق: الطريق والبحر / Fountain of the Drowning: The Path of Land and Sea, issued by Nahdet Misr Publishing in 2020. Available in English translation by Roger Allen from Diwan. For details, see here.
Her trilogies are also tied to specific historical architecture that still stands today, and they are further distinguished by extensive research and a strong commitment to retaining the diversity shown in the historical record as much as possible in the literary work. Of the works mentioned above by other authors, Salwa Bakr’s was groundbreaking in its focus on pre-Islamic Coptic society, but neither it nor the other works manage to incorporate diversity as much as Bassiouney’s works. She takes care to portray multiple religious identities, social classes, women characters, and other marginalized groups, drawing on the evidence of diversity that is present in the historical record. Egypt’s long history provides an excellent opportunity for historical fiction that stretches across historical periods. It is wonderful to see Bassiouney’s work rising to this challenge.
It is doubtful whether any other country in the world offers as long a history as Egypt, in terms of its extensive documentation and numerous shifting dynasties and models of governance. No other author has risen to this opportunity to draw on multiple swaths of history for the purpose of educating and entertaining, as well as exploring the complicated relationship Bassiouney observes among contemporary Egyptians with the history of Egypt. Other authors have of course written of Egyptian history: Salwa Bakr’s The Man from Bashmour treats 9th century Egypt, Gamal al-Ghitani’s Zayni Barakat treats the early 16th century, Bahaa Taher’s Sunset Oasis treats the late 19th century, and Naguib Mahfouz writes of the 20th century. All of these are significant, and their audiences overlap with Bassiouney’s work. However, none of these authors explore such long periods as Bassiouney, incorporating multiple phases of Egyptian history (Pharaonic elements, alongside pre-Islamic Coptic elements, alongside Islamic elements from multiple dynasties in a single work).
Al-Qata’i Summary
Al-Qata’i: The Ibn Tulun Trilogy is a masterful, multi-generation epic centered around the historic precursors to Cairo in the 9th-10th centuries (Fustat, Qata’i, and Giza). The action moves out of the Cairo area at times, to Alexandria, Baghdad, or the nearby desert, but it is focused around the Cairo area. There are also scenes from 1918-1919, particularly at the beginning and end of the book. These scenes represent the modern discovery of the historic Tulunid mosque and adjoining houses. They function as a bridge between the 9th-10th c. events and the time of readers today.
The book is structured into three parts: “Maisoon,” “Ahmad’s Dream,” and “The Pledge.” The first part, as mentioned in the synopsis, “gives a glimpse of life in Egypt before Ahmad Ibn Tulun arrives” – it is a very bleak picture (a despotic regime, complete with intimidation and public torture). Tragedy in the opening of Part One sets the scene for Ahmed Ibn Tulun’s rise to power. Part One also relates the love story of Anis and Maisoon, and represents the suffering of Egyptians under the rule of Ahmed Ibn Tulun’s predecessor, as well as the investment of people of various ethnic and cultural origins in the building of Qata’i. Among these is Saeed, the Coptic Christian engineer who designed the Nilometer and the mosque of Ibn Tulun. He appears at the surface of the historical record (in the Wikipedia article for the mosque of Ibn Tulun, for example), and yet he is not widely known for his role in Egypt at this time. This is one example of how Bassiouney manages to make manifest the diversity, which was present in the historical record all along, present to a wide audience in the clear and compelling manner of a master storyteller.
Part Two relates three different perspectives on Ahmed Ibn Tulun. For Bassiouney, Ibn Tulun was a visionary, uniting Greek, Roman, Coptic, and Arab elements of Egyptian society into his army and the city of Qata’i. Using the valuable treasure of gold that he discovered at the pyramids, he funds the building of his famous mosque, as well as an early hospital, schools, fountains, homes for the poor, and other charitable projects. He has a loving marriage with an Egyptian woman named Asma’.
Part Three recounts the story of Aisha, daughter of Ibn Tulun, after his death. Following the advice of Saeed the engineer, she chooses to protect herself by marrying a rough but successful man. His tribe houses her and keeps her safe from the destruction of her father’s rival, but her relationship with her husband and his tribe is not without hardship. Similar to Part One of Sons of the People, Aisha’s marriage is rocky in the beginning, with the two spouses later becoming inseparable. Aisha’s husband manages to ensure protection of Ibn Tulun’s mosque, enabling it to remain to this day as the sole remnant of Ibn Tulun’s city.
Review: Key Themes
As in Sons of the People, this work highlights women characters, including both historically documented women and women who are believable given the sociohistorical context. Bassiouney takes care not to invent anachronistic characters. Her women characters are one of the most valuable contributions for bringing the past to life for readers today. Maisoon and Aisha are both shown considering a range of marriage options, thus clarifying their own priorities to themselves, their families, and their people.
One of the most intriguing characters in Qata’i is Bahnas, the sorceress of the great pyramid. She appears in brief scenes, throughout all three parts of the trilogy, consulted by other characters in times of crisis. She offers them advice and insights, although it is sometimes convoluted. She speaks Coptic, although by the end she has become accomplished in Arabic as well. The theme of Egypt’s mysterious past runs throughout Bassiouney’s fiction, from the architect in Ashiya’ ra’i‘a / Wonderful Things who is descended from a secret society of ancient Egyptian knowledge to Bahnas in Qata’i. These representations of Egypt’s earliest recorded historical periods provide a sense of potential guidance for Egyptians in all later historical periods, including the present. Bassiouney’s work points to the possibility of learning from all parts of the past, from the earliest to the latest, without denigrating or forgetting any period or social group.
During difficult times in Part Three, characters remind one another of the tale of Anis and Maisoon (from Part One), which they ostensibly heard from parents and older family members. This creates a sense of continuity throughout the generations rendered in this volume. When the tale is referenced by characters, they are seeking to encourage one another with stories of love, hope, and people of the past fulfilling their destinies: finding love, working toward shared goals, losing loved ones along the path, and in the midst of heartbreak somehow finding meaning and the will to go on. Also on history and the role of the past, Maisoon makes a comment after her husband’s death: “And what remains for us but the past? We live in and for it, and it no longer remains the past—it is us—me, you, and Anas.” Maisoon continues the projects that inspired her husband after his death, calling others to carry on the work and ideals from the past that continue to speak to current conditions. Bassiouney might be making a similar call for readers to recognize all the parts of their Egyptian past, drawing on whatever stories and inspiration that continue to speak to them today. She recounts tales of people in the past fulfilling their destinies to help Egyptians (and all of us) think through issues of hybrid identities, what matters most, and what endures over time.
Another perennial theme in this book, and throughout Bassiouney’s work, is power and authority. This book raises questions such as: What do leaders owe their people? How is authority constructed? What roles do women and men play in the construction of authority? How does authority change, and how does it stay the same across historical periods?
This novel will be essential for students and readers generally with interests in History, Women’s Studies, Middle East Studies, and especially architecture in Cairo, as well as those who enjoy tales of adventure, romance, and social drama.
2024 addition | See interview with Bassiouney after winning the Sheikh Zayned Book Award, by Syeda Erum Noor of The Daily Star, Books