The Reform and Development of the Futuwwa System during the Caliphate of Al-Nasir li-Din Allah, from the Perspective of the Orientalist Wolfram

Abstract

The German Orientalist Wolfram Drews examined the Futuwwa system as part of his study, "Reflections on a Comparative History of Institutions in the Middle Ages." This work includes several research papers, one of which focuses on the reform of Futuwwa by the Abbasid Caliph Al-Nasir li-Din Allah. The goal of this study was to compare a Christian example with an Islamic one, specifically the Futuwwa system and European chivalry. It also aimed to understand the institutional mechanisms available to rulers in the late Middle Ages to consolidate their position within the fabric of different social groups.

This study included an analysis of Caliph Al-Nasir li-Din Allah's project (575-622 AH / 1179-1225 AD) to use the Futuwwa system as a tool to re-establish the authority of the Abbasid Caliphate in a turbulent political and social context. It focuses on how Futuwwa transformed from a popular social organization into an administrative institution serving political ends at a time when the caliphs' authority was limited to the symbolic dimension.

Wolfram Drews' study defined the Futuwwa system and the meaning of the word fata linguistically and technically. It also provided a historical overview of the development of Futuwwa during Al-Nasir li-Din Allah's caliphate, its transformation into a centralized tool of power in a general decree in 604 AH / 1207 AD, and the formation of the organizational structure of Futuwwa. This structure included its hierarchy and the stages of an individual's acceptance into Futuwwa: probation, a special dress, and drinking from a cup. The study also highlighted the religious and Sufi dimensions of Futuwwa and the similarities between the Futuwwa system and European chivalry.