The Mamluks rule in Egypt, the Sinai,…
1468 CE to 1479 CE
The Mamluks rule in Egypt, the Sinai, the Hejaz, Palestine and Syria.
The current sultan of the ruling Burji dynasty, Qaitbay, was born between 1416 and 1418 in the Circassian region of the Caucasus.
His skill in archery and horsemanship had attracted the attention of a slave merchant who purchased him and brought him to Cairo when he was already over twenty years of age.
He was quickly purchased by the reigning sultan Barsbay and became a member of the palace guard.
He was freed by Barsbay's successor, Jaqmaq, and appointed third executive secretary; under the reigns of Sayf ad-Din Inal, Khushqadam, and Yilbay he had been further promoted through the Mamluk military hierarchy, eventually becoming taqaddimat alf, commander of a thousand Mamluks.
Under the Sultan Timurbugha, finally, Qaitbay had been appointed atabak, or field marshal of the entire Mamluk army.
During this period Qaitbay had amassed a considerable personal fortune, which will enable him to exercise substantial acts of beneficence as sultan without draining the royal treasury.
The reign of Timubugha lasts less than two months, as he is dethroned on January 30, 1468, in a palace coup.
Qaitbay is proposed as a compromise candidate acceptable to the various court factions.
Despite some apparent reluctance, he is enthroned on January 31.
Qaitbay insists that Timurburgha be granted an honorable retirement, instead of the enforced exile usually imposed on dethroned sovereigns.
He does, however, exile the leaders of the coup, and creates a new ruling council composed of his own followers and more veteran courtiers who had fallen into disgrace under his predecessors.
Yashbak min Mahdi is appointed dawadar, or executive secretary, and Azbak min Tutkh is named atabak; the two men will remain Qaitbay's closest advisors until the ends of their careers, despite their profound dislike for each other.
Qaitbay in general seems to have pursued a policy of appointing rivals to posts of equal authority, thus preventing any single subordinate from acquiring too much power and maintaining the ability to settle all disputes via his own autocratic authority.
Qaitbay's first major challenge is the insurrection of Shah Suwar, leader of a small Turkmen dynasty, the Dhu'l-Qadrids, in eastern Anatolia.
A first expedition against the upstart is soundly defeated, and Suwar threatens to invade Syria.
A second Mamluk army is sent in 1469 under the leadership of Azbak, but is likewise defeated.
Not until 1471 does a third expedition, this time commanded by Yashbak, succeed in routing Suwar's army.
Suwar is captured in 1473 and led back to Cairo, together with his brothers; the prisoners are drawn and quartered and their remains are hung from Bab Zuwayla, the southern gate of the city.
Qaitbay's reign is also marked by trade with other contemporaneous polities.
Excavations in the late 1800s and early 1900s at over fourteen sites in the vicinity of Borama in modern-day northwestern Somalia will unearth, among other things, coins identified as having been derived from Qaitbay.
Most of these finds are associated with the medieval Sultanate of Adal, and will be sent to the British Museum in London for preservation shortly after their discovery.
Following the defeat of Suwar, Qaitbay sets about purging his court of the remaining factions and installing his own purchased Mamluks in all positions of power.
He frequently goes on excursions, ostentatiously leaving the Citadel with limited guards to display his trust of his subordinates and of the populace.
He travels throughout his reign, visiting Alexandria, Damascus, and Aleppo, among other cities, and personally inspecting his many building projects.
Performing the Hajj to Mecca in 1472, he is struck by the poverty of the citizens of Medina and devotes a substantial portion of his private fortune to the alleviation of their plight.
Through such measures Qaitbay gains a reputation for piety, charity, and royal self-confidence.
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