| Research Abstract |
First, after scrutinizing various studies and historical materials relating to the Egyptian City of the Dead, we copied some of them in the form of microfilm, especially those materials from the Egyptian National Library. Next, the databasing of buried individuals in the vast Egyptian City of the Dead was carried out. Data from descriptions of Ziyara Books (guidebooks for people visiting cemeteries). were databased in information sheets. The items recorded for each buried person included: name (including nisba, agnomen and nickname), sex, dates of birth and death, general information concerning his/her family, family lineage, physical features, occupation, places inhabited, intellectual background (lineage of the Hadith, law school, theological school, teachers and disciples, education, writings, sufism, tariqa, etc.), karama (miracle/virtue) stories of the dead, and information concerning the tomb (location, shape, material, history, customs, and the content of prayers). In spite of the difficulties involved, we were able to decipher the content of Ziyara texts, and determine the total number of persons whose burials were documented there in. We accumulate a considerable amount of data, and although the database is not complete, the foundation for future research has been laid. Third, from this material, we extracted the information exclusive to sufism, and analyzed as a case study. Through this, we elucidated the development of sufism and reilgious institutions in the Medieval Egyptian society. Fourth, tombs and their visiting circuit were field-surveyed. During this fieldwork, we gathered information from the current residents. In addition, through mapping the topography of cemeteries and analyzing the process of its transformation over the centuries, treatises were composed which present correlations between historical materials and the spatial composition of the cemeteries.
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