Wilkins|147brought about by the conquest of the Mamluk Sultanate. Although we have no
autobiographical material, the range of sources used in this study presents dif-
ferent perspectives that no doubt helped shape the self-conception and outlook
of merchants as an occupational group. Even while offering important inci-
dental historical details, the biographer Ibn al-Hanbali describes al-Qaramani
through a series of moralizing stories that remind us of the unease that the
general population felt about those who accumulate great wealth, especially
through close association with political elites. And great wealth might also
lead to hubris that assumes immunity from public censure and rationalizes
the gross mistreatment of one’s own slaves. In this context, the building of a
mosque and school was a way not only to glorify one’s legacy but also assuage
one’s conscience in a society in which values of social moderation, if not egali-
tarianism, were embedded.
If one adopts a more charitable attitude toward al-Qaramani, the construc-
tion of the mosque and school may be seen as an act of gratitude by a person who
had risen from the lowly occupation of muleteer to the heights of long-distance
merchant. Certainly one of the most remarkable aspects of al-Qaramani’s ca-
reer was his rags-to-riches story. Even if we allow that al-Qaramani may have
pursued shady practices (such as in his interactions with the political elite) to
obtain commercial advantage, the court records indicate a complex and exten-
sive business operation that required considerable skill and management exper-
tise. The widespread marketing networks, manufacturing orders, and foreign
investment ventures together constituted an operation in which professional
confidence and personal trust among many parties was an essential compo-
nent. But perhaps just as important to al-Qaramani’s career breakthrough was
the specific historic conjuncture of political conquest and population policy.
The unification of the eastern Mediterranean lands under a single power and the
Ottoman policy of forced resettlement of established Aleppan merchants in
the 1520s provided an opening for young migrant entrepreneurs such as al-
Qaramani to build extraordinarily profitable businesses serving Ottoman mar-
kets and working in the transit trade between South Asia and Europe. If any-
thing, al-Qaramani appears as an exceptionally adaptable and agile trader in a
dynamic political and economic environment. At the same time, Qaramani’s
career illustrates the transience of merchant families, especially those that relied
primarily on high-risk long-distance trade. The untimely death of Qaramani’s
adult son and his likely successor disrupted the operational continuity of the
family business and ultimately forced a division of the estate among multiple
family members, preventing further accumulation of capital. One might specu-
late that al-Qaramani’s career represented a meteoric rise and fall because of
special circumstances.