The volume contains twenty three contributions to the political, institutional, religious and cultural history of Egypt and Greater Syria in the Fatimid, Ayyubid and Mamluk eras (10th-15th centuries). These are the revised and sometimes enlarged versions of papers read at three colloquia organized by the section of Arabic and Islamic Studies of the KULeuven in 1992, 1993 and 1994. The authors, all distinguished European scholars, meet each year in Leuven to discuss current research in their field.