A Comparative Re-examination of the Political and Economic Functions of the Munya in Egypt and al-Andalus

Articles in Press

Document Type : Research Paper

Author

Assistant Professor, Department of West of the Islamic World Studies, Encyclopedia Islamica Foundation, Tehran, Iran

10.22108/jhr.2026.148306.2908

Abstract

Muniyah in the Islamic world was referred to as spaces that were usually built outside cities and next to water sources and were a combination of residence, garden and agricultural land. This research deals with the analytical rereading of scattered data in geographical, historical and financial texts about the Muniyah in the two contexts of Egypt and Andalusia. The issue of this research is what role the Muniyah played in the structure of power, economy and culture in these two lands. The findings show that in Egypt, especially from the Abbasid period to the Mamluk period, the Muniyahs were more closely linked to the administrative, financial and agricultural systems and played an important role in land management, production and government income. In contrast, in Andalusia, in addition to economic and agricultural functions, they became spaces for the display of political power, government ceremonies, diplomatic reception and cultural activities. This difference reflects the difference in the structure of the states in Egypt and Andalusia, as in bureaucratic Egypt, the munyah served more of the bureaucratic-agricultural structure, while in caliphate-centered Andalusia, in addition to its agricultural and economic function, it became more of a tool for displaying the authority and political identity of the caliphs.

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Historical Researches

Articles in Press, Accepted Manuscript
Available Online from 27 June 2026

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