Tarek Sabraa

Tarek Sabraa is a historian specializing in Islamicate history with primary focus on the Mamluk Sultanate (1250–1517) and early modern Middle Eastern societies. He currently holds a part-time research position at the University of Münster within the Collaborative Research Center 1385 "Law and Literature" (SFB 1385). Previously, he held research appointments at Ghent University, the Leibniz Institute for the History and Culture of Eastern Europe (GWZO) in Leipzig, and Bonn University.

His academic credentials include a PhD from Sapienza Università di Roma and a PhD fellowship at Bonn University's Center for Advanced Studies "History and Society during the Mamluk Era (1250–1517)". Earlier research positions included work with Prof. Bethany Walker at Bonn University (2014–2016) analyzing agricultural manuscripts, and collaboration with Prof. Stuart Borsch at Assumption University on Mamluk water law and environmental disaster studies.

Sabraa's research integrates multiple historical subfields through rigorous manuscript analysis:

• Core expertise in Mamluk-era governance, society, and cross-cultural interactions
• Environmental history focusing on agricultural systems, soil management, and climate resilience
• Intellectual history through unstudied manuscripts and biographical studies
• Social history of the Shām region (Greater Syria) with emphasis on practical knowledge transmission

His recent project leadership includes "Agriculture in the Mamluk Period" (2021–2023) and contributions to "Soil & Agricultural Knowledge" and "Farming Manuals" (2020–2024), demonstrating methodological innovation in combining paleographic analysis with environmental science. Current work at SFB 1385 explores intersections between legal frameworks and literary production in historical contexts.

Professional collaborations span international institutions including MPIWG (where his profile appears), Assumption University, and German research centers, with fieldwork emphasizing primary source analysis of non-edited manuscripts related to agricultural practices and environmental management.