List of Mamluk sultans

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Sultans of the Mamluk Sultanate
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The Cairo Citadel, the seat of power of the Mamluk sultans
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Last monarch Tuman bay II
Formation1250
Abolition 1517
Residence Cairo

The following is a list of Mamluk sultans. The Mamluk Sultanate was founded in 1250 by mamluks of the Ayyubid sultan as-Salih Ayyub and it succeeded the Ayyubid state. It was based in Cairo and for much of its history, the territory of the sultanate spanned Egypt, Syria and parts of Anatolia, Upper Mesopotamia and the Hejaz. The sultanate ended with the advent of the Ottoman Empire in 1517.

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There were a total of 47 sultans, although Sultan an-Nasir Muhammad reigned three times and sultans an-Nasir Hasan, Salah ad-Din Hajji, Barquq and an-Nasir Faraj each reigned twice. The Mamluk period is generally divided into two periods, the Bahri and Burji periods. The Bahri sultans were predominantly of Turkic origins, while the Burji sultans were predominantly ethnic Circassians. While the first three Mamluk sultans, Aybak, his son al-Mansur Ali, and Qutuz, are generally considered part of the Bahri dynasty, they were not part of the Bahriyya mamluk regiment and opposed the political interests of the Bahriyya. [1] The first sultan to come from the Bahriyya's ranks was Baybars. [1] The Burji mamluks usurped the throne in 1382 with the accession of Sultan Barquq. The 34th sultan, al-Musta'in Billah, was also the Mamluk Abbasid caliph and was installed in power by the Burji emirs as a figurehead. [2]

List of sultans

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Qalawun</span> Mamluk Sultan of Egypt and Syria (r.1279–1290)

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Al-Nasir Muhammad</span> Sultan of Egypt

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barquq</span> Sultan of Egypt and Syria (r. 1382–1389) (1390–1399)

Al-Malik Az-Zahir Sayf ad-Din Barquq was the first Sultan of the Circassian Mamluk Burji dynasty of Egypt. He deposed sultan al-Salih Hajji to claim the throne for himself. Once in power, he placed many of his family members in positions of power. Rebelling governors in 1389 restored Hajji to the throne but Barquq was able to reclaim the throne shortly after and ruled until his death in 1399 and was succeeded by his son. The name Barquq is of Circassian origin and is his birth name.

Al-Malik al-Mansur Sayf ad-Din Abu Bakr, better known as al-Mansur Abu Bakr, was a Bahri Mamluk Sultan of Egypt in 1341. From an early age, Abu Bakr received military training in the desert town of al-Karak. His father, Sultan an-Nasir Muhammad, groomed him as a potential successor to the throne and made him an emir in 1335. He was consistently promoted in the following years, becoming the na'ib (governor) of al-Karak in 1339. In June 1341, he became sultan, the first of several sons of an-Nasir Muhammad to accede the throne. However, his reign was short-lived; in August, Abu Bakr was deposed and arrested by his father's senior emir, Qawsun. Abu Bakr was imprisoned in the Upper Egyptian city of Qus, along with several of his brothers, and executed on Qawsun's orders two months later. He was formally succeeded by his younger half-brother, al-Ashraf Kujuk, but Qawsun was left as the strongman of the sultanate.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barsbay</span> Sultan of Egypt and Syria (r. 1422–1438)

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Al-Ashraf Sha'ban</span> Sultan of Mamluk Egypt

Al-Ashraf Zayn ad-Din Abu al-Ma'ali Sha'ban ibn Husayn ibn Muhammad ibn Qalawun (Arabic: الأشرف زين الدين شعبان, lit. 'The Most Noble, Grace of the Faith, Father of Excellence, Sha'ban son of Husayn, son of Muhammad, son of Qalawun', better known as al-Ashraf Sha'ban (السلطان شعبان or Sha'ban II, was a Mamluk sultan of the Bahri dynasty in 1363–1377. He was a grandson of Sultan an-Nasir Muhammad. He had two sons who succeeded him: al-Mansur Ali and as-Salih Hajji.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">An-Nasir Faraj</span> Sultan of Egypt and Syria

Al-Nasir Faraj or Nasir-ad-Din Faraj also Faraj ibn Barquq was born in 1386 and succeeded his father Sayf-ad-Din Barquq as the second Sultan of the Burji dynasty of the Mamluk Sultanate of Egypt in July 1399 with the title Al-Nasir. He was only thirteen years old when he became Sultan on the sudden death of his father. His reign was marked by anarchy, pandemonium and chaos with invasions of Tamerlane, including the sack of Damascus in 1400, incessant rebellions in Cairo, endless conflicts with the Emirs of Syria, along with plague and famine which reduced the population of the kingdom to one-third.

An-Nasir Shihab ad-Din Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Qalawun, better known as an-Nasir Ahmad, was the Bahri Mamluk sultan of Egypt, ruling from January to June 1342. A son of Sultan an-Nasir Muhammad, he became embroiled in the volatile succession process following his father's death in 1341. An-Nasir Ahmad lived much of his life in the desert fortress of al-Karak in Transjordan and was reluctant to assume the sultanate in Cairo, preferring al-Karak, where he was closely allied with the inhabitants of the city and the Bedouin tribes in its vicinity. His Syrian partisans, emirs Tashtamur and Qutlubugha al-Fakhri, successfully maneuvered to bring Syria under an-Nasir Ahmad's official control, while sympathetic emirs in Egypt were able to oust the Mamluk strongman Emir Qawsun and his puppet sultan, the five-year-old half-brother of an-Nasir Ahmad, al-Ashraf Kujuk. An-Nasir Ahmad eventually assumed the sultanate after frequently delaying his departure to Egypt.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Al-Muzaffar Hajji</span> Bahri Mamluk sultan of Egypt

Al-Muzaffar Sayf ad-Din Hajji ibn Muhammad ibn Qalawun, better known as al-Muzaffar Hajji, was the Bahri Mamluk sultan of Egypt. He was also the sixth son of an-Nasir Muhammad to hold office, ruling from September 1346 and December 1347. He was known for his love of sports and pigeon racing, acts which led to frustration among the senior Mamluk emirs who believed he neglected the duties of office and spent extravagant sums on gambling. His reign ended when he was killed in a confrontation with Mamluk conspirators outside of Cairo.

An-Nasir Badr ad-Din Hasan ibn Muhammad ibn Qalawun, better known as an-Nasir Hasan, was the Mamluk sultan of Egypt, and the seventh son of an-Nasir Muhammad to hold office, reigning twice in 1347–1351 and 1354–1361. During his first reign, which he began at age 12, senior Mamluk emirs formerly belonging to an-Nasir Muhammad, dominated his administration, while an-Nasir Hasan played a ceremonial role. He was toppled in 1351 when he attempted to assert executive authority to the chagrin of the senior emirs. He was reinstated three years later during a coup against his brother Sultan as-Salih Salih by emirs Shaykhu and Sirghitmish.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Qawsun</span>

Sayf ad-Din Qawsun ibn Abdullah an-Nasiri as-Saqi, commonly known as Qawsun was a prominent Mamluk emir during the reigns of sultans an-Nasir Muhammad, al-Mansur Abu Bakr and al-Ashraf Kujuk.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">As-Salih Salih</span> Al-Malik as-Salih

As-Salih Salah ad-Din Salih ibn Muhammad ibn Qalawun (28 September 1337–1360/61, better known as as-Salih Salih, was the Mamluk sultan in 1351–1354. He was the eighth son of Sultan an-Nasir Muhammad to accede to the sultanate. He was largely a figurehead, with real power held by the senior Mamluk emirs, most prominently Emir Taz an-Nasiri.

Qutlubugha al-Fakhri was a Mamluk emir during the reigns of sultans an-Nasir Muhammad, al-Mansur Abu Bakr, al-Ashraf Kujuk and an-Nasir Ahmad. Qutlubugha had been purchased by an-Nasir Muhammad, who promoted him to the highest Mamluk military rank. He was demoted and exiled to Syria under the protection of Emir Tankiz in 1327 after an-Nasir Muhammad held him responsible for an incident which could have potentially caused a mutiny of Qutlubugha's mamluks against the sultan.

Shams al-Din Sunqur al-Ashqar al-Salihi was the Mamluk viceroy of Damascus in 1279–1280, who attempted to rule Syria independently, in a rebellion against the Egypt-based sultan Qalawun. While the rebellion in Damascus was quashed in 1280, Sunqur ensconced himself in the Sahyun Castle in the coastal mountains of northern Syria. He joined Qalawun in the successful defense of Syria against the Ilkhanid Mongols at the Battle of Homs in 1281. He remained in a state of peaceful relations with the sultan, despite ruling his coastal principality independently.

References

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Bibliography