Page 177 - Arabian Studies (I)

1

The Pilgrimage to Mecca in Mamluk Times 161

drought.8 ' Such incidents as those quoted above were frequent and
the office of al-Ndzir was, therefore, indispensable to the caravan.
(iv) The Dawdddr. The Dawdddr or secretary of the Amir al-jfajj was
usually an officer chosen from among the personal Mamluk followers
of the Amir al-TIdjj. He was the actual superintendent of the caravan.
He administered the police and patrols of the caravan, organized its
march and ran the secretarial office of the Amir al-Hdjj. 8 8
(v) Nazir al-Sabil. Although the ability to provide oneself with a
mount and sufficient provisions is prescribed as one of the conditions
that make the pilgrimage obligatory, numbers of pilgrims set out
with the caravans with no such travelling facilities. To help such
pilgrims the Mamluk sultans supplied, out of charity, the caravans of
the Egyptian and Syrian pilgrimages with special mounts and
provisions, which were given the name of Al-Sabil.89 To head the
section of the caravan responsible for this an official bearing the title
oFNazir al-Sabil was annually appointed.
As in the case of the Qadi al-Rakb, the Nazir al-Sabil, who was
usually chosen from among the Qddls of Cairo and Damascus,
received a formal decree for his appointment.90 According to the
contents of one of these decrees, the functions of his office were to
supervise the Sabil, provide mounts for stragglers and maintain the
poor in the caravan with food, water and medicines. 9 1
(vi) The Medical Officials. These consisted of a doctor {hakim), a
surgeon (jara’ilii) and an oculist (kahhal).92 This medical team was
equipped with various kinds of medicines, drugs and ointments
which were to be used in the treatment of sick pilgrims free of
charge. According to Al-JazTrl, the expenses of the medical equip­
ment were paid by the Amir al-llajj.9 3
Together with these the Amir al-Hdjj employed a veterinary
surgeon and corpse washers.94
(vii) The Guides (Adilla). At the head of the Egyptian and Syrian
pilgrim caravans there travelled each year a group of guides or adilla
who possessed an intimate knowledge of the desert roads.9 s Their
duty was to lead the caravans from Cairo and Damascus along their
usual course to the Holy Cities and back. According to Al-Jazlrl,
certain properties were allotted in the district of al-Sharqlyah in
Egypt as fiefs for the guides of the Egyptian pilgrim caravans.96 This
fact suggests their office was hereditary. Ibn Battutah states that
when he departed from Damascus with the Syrian pilgrimage he
travelled in the company of a group of Arabs known by the name of
al-‘Ajarimah,9 7 while Ibn Fadl Allah refers to one Muhammad ibn
‘Abd al-BaqT al-‘AjramT as one of the guides {adilla') who conducted
the king Mansa Musa in his pilgrimage from Cairo.98