Political Thought in the Mamluk Period covers the political thought produced by legal theorists, jurists, judges and administrators of the late Ayyubid and early Mamluk period as they tackled a central question: how best to govern their communities. It proposes a taxonomy of the main themes and concerns of this political thought under the three ideals of the rule of law, limited government and legitimate delegation of power. Further, it recommends a contextualist approach for interpreting Islamic political texts based on their narrow social, intellectual and political contexts.