M. (Mohamad) El-Merheb, PhD

Mohamad El-Merheb is Assistant Professor of Medieval History at the University of Groningen. He holds a PhD in History from the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London. Before joining Groningen, Mohamad was Assistant Professor Faculty Fellow of History at New York University (NYU) -Shanghai (2020). He has been a Senior Teaching Fellow at SOAS (2019-2020) and Research Fellow at the Institute of Historical Research (IHR) in London.

Mohamad’s research interests include the history of political thought, professional mobility in pre-modern Islam, and cross-cultural contacts in the Eastern Mediterranean during the crusades of kings Louis IX and Frederick II. He recently completed his monograph "Political Thought in the Mamluk Period: The Unnecessary Caliphate" that will be published in the Edinburgh Studies in Classical Islamic History and Culture (EUP). His book covers the political thought produced by authors who flourished in the Syro-Egyptian lands in the period between 1250 and 1350 and proposes a taxonomy of their main themes and concerns under the three ideals of the rule of law, limited government, and legitimate delegation of power. Mohamad is editor of "Professional Mobility in Islamic Societies (700-1750), New Concepts and Approaches" (Brill, 2021) and has several peer-reviewed publications.