Chapter XVII: Part 17

His son _Abu'l-Mansur Isma'il_, who was seventeen years old at the time of Hafiz's death, succeeded him with the title _al-Zafir lia'da allah_. From this reign to the end of the Fatimite period we have the journals of two eminent men, Usamah b. Muniqdh and Umarah of Yemen, which throw light on the leading characters. The civil dissensions of Egypt were notorious at the time. The new reign began by an armed struggle between two commanders for the post of vizier, which in January 1150 was decided in favour of the Amir Ibn Sallar. This vizier was presently assassinated by the direction of his stepson 'Abbas, who was raised to the vizierate in his place. This event was shortly followed by the loss to the Fatimites of Ascalon, the last place in Syria which they held; its loss was attributed to dissensions between the parties of which the garrison consisted. Four years later (April 1154) the caliph was murdered by his vizier 'Abbas, according to Usamah, because the caliph had suggested to his favourite, the vizier's son, to murder his father; and this was followed by a massacre of the brothers of Zafir, followed by the raising of his infant son _Abu'l-Qasim 'Isa_ to the throne.

The new caliph, who was not five years old, received the title _al-Fa'iz binasr allah_, and was at first in the power of 'Abbas. The women of the palace, however, summoned to their aid Tala'i' b. Ruzzik, prefect of Ushmunain, at whose arrival in Cairo the troops deserted 'Abbas, who was compelled to flee into Syria, taking his son and Usamah with him. 'Abbas was killed by the Franks near Ascalon, his son sent in a cage to Cairo where he was executed, while Usamah escaped to Damascus.

Frankish invasion.

Saladin.

The infant Fa'iz, who had been permanently incapacitated by the scenes of violence which accompanied his accession, died in 1160. Tala'i' chose to succeed him a grandson of Zafir, who was nine years of age, and received the title _al-'Adid lidin allah_. Tala'i', who had complete control of affairs, introduced the practice of farming the taxes for periods of six months instead of a year, which led to great misery, as the taxes were demanded twice. His death was brought on by the rigour with which he treated the princesses, one of whom, with or without the connivance of the caliph, organized a plot for his assassination, and he died in September 1160. His son Ruzzik inherited his post and maintained himself in it for more than a year, when another prefect of Upper Egypt, Shawar b. Mujir, brought a force to Cairo, before which Ruzzik fled, to be shortly afterwards captured and beheaded. Shawar's entry into Cairo was at the beginning of 1163; after nine months he was compelled to flee before another adventurer, an officer in the army named Dirgham. Shawar's flight was directed to Damascus, where he was favourably received by the prince Nureddin, who sent with him to Cairo a force of Kurds under Asad al-din Shirguh. At the same time Egypt was invaded by the Franks, who raided and did much damage on the coast. Dirgham was defeated and killed, but a dispute then arose between Shawar and his Syrian allies for the possession of Egypt. Shawar, being unable to cope with the Syrians, demanded help of the Frankish king of Jerusalem Amalric (Amauri) I., who hastened to his aid with a large force, which united with Shawar's and besieged Shirguh in Bilbeis for three months; at the end of this time, owing to the successes of Nureddin in Syria, the Franks granted Shirguh a free passage with his troops back to Syria, on condition of Egypt being evacuated (October 1164). Rather more than two years later Shirguh persuaded Nureddin to put him at the head of another expedition to Egypt, which left Syria in January 1167, and, entering Egypt by the land route, crossed the Nile at Itfih (Atfih), and encamped at Giza; a Frankish army hastened to Shawar's aid. At the battle of Babain (April 11th, 1167) the allies were defeated by the forces commanded by Shirguh and his nephew Saladin, who was presently made prefect of Alexandria, which surrendered to Shirguh without a struggle. Saladin was soon besieged by the allies in Alexandria; but after seventy-five days the siege was raised, Shirguh having made a threatening movement on Cairo, where a Frankish garrison had been admitted by Shawar. Terms were then made by which both Syrians and Franks were to quit Egypt, though the garrison of Cairo remained; the hostile attitude of the Moslem population to this garrison led to another invasion at the beginning of 1168 by King Amalric, who after taking Bilbeis advanced to Cairo. The caliph, who up to this time appears to have left the administration to the viziers, now sent for Shirguh, whose speedy arrival in Egypt caused the Franks to withdraw. Reaching Cairo on the 6th of January 1169, he was soon able to get possession of Shawar's person, and after the prefect's execution, which happened some ten days later, he was appointed vizier by the caliph. After two months Shirguh died of indigestion (23rd of March 1169), and the caliph appointed Saladin as successor to Shirguh; the new vizier professed to hold office as a deputy of Nureddin, whose name was mentioned in public worship after that of the caliph. By appropriating the fiefs of the Egyptian officers and giving them to his Kurdish followers he stirred up much ill-feeling, which resulted in a conspiracy, of which the object was to recall the Franks with the view of overthrowing the new regime; but this conspiracy was revealed by a traitor and crushed. Nureddin loyally aided his deputy in dealing with Frankish invasions of Egypt, but the anomaly by which he, being a Sunnite, was made in Egypt to recognize a Fatimite caliph could not long continue, and he ordered Saladin to weaken the Fatimite by every available means, and then substitute the name of the Abbasid for his in public worship. Saladin and his ministers were at first afraid lest this step might give rise to disturbances among the people; but a stranger undertook to risk it on the 17th of September 1171, and the following Friday it was repeated by official order; the caliph himself died during the interval, and it is uncertain whether he ever heard of his deposition. The last of the Fatimite caliphs was not quite twenty-one years old at the time of his death.

(5) _Ayyubite Period._--Saladin by the advice of his chief Nureddin cashiered the Fatimite judges and took steps to encourage the study of orthodox theology and jurisprudence in Egypt by the foundation of colleges and chairs. On the death of the ex-caliph he was confirmed in the prefecture of Egypt as deputy of Nureddin; and on the decease of the latter in 1174 (12th of April) he took the title sultan, so that with this year the Ayyubite period of Egyptian history properly begins. During the whole of it Damascus rather more than Cairo counted as the metropolis of the empire. The Egyptian army, which was motley in character, was disbanded by the new sultan, whose troops were Kurds. Though he did not build a new metropolis he fortified Cairo with the addition of a citadel, and had plans made for a new wall to enclose both it and the double city; this latter plan was never completed, but the former was executed after his death, and from this time till the French occupation of Egypt the citadel of Cairo was the political centre of the country. It was in 1183 that Saladin's rule over Egypt and North Syria was consolidated. Much of Saladin's time was spent in Syria, and his famous wars with the Franks belong to the history of the Crusades and to his personal biography. Egypt was largely governed by his favourite Karakush, who lives in popular legend as the "unjust judge," though he does not appear to have deserved that title.

Saladin at his death divided his dominions between his sons, of whom 'Othman succeeded to Egypt with the title _Malik al-Aziz 'Imal al-ain_. The division was not satisfactory to the heirs, and after three years (beginning of 1196) the Egyptian sultan conspired with his uncle Malik al-'Adil to deprive Saladin's son al-Afdal of Damascus, which had fallen to his lot. The war between the brothers was continued with intervals of peace, during which al-'Adil repeatedly changed sides: eventually he with al-'Aziz besieged and took Damascus, and sent al-Afdal to Sarkhad, while al-'Adil remained in possession of Damascus. On the death of al-'Aziz on the 29th of November 1198 in consequence of a hunting accident, his infant son Mahommed was raised to the throne with the title _Malik al-Mansur Nasir al-din_, and his uncle al-Afdal sent for from Sarkhad to take the post of regent or Atabeg. So soon as al-Afdal had got possession of his nephew's person, he started on an expedition for the recovery of Damascus: al-'Adil not only frustrated this, but drove him back to Egypt, where on the 25th of January 1200 a battle was fought between the armies of the two at Bilbeis, resulting in the defeat of al-Afdal, who was sent back to Sarkhad, while al-'Adil assumed the regency, for which after a few months he substituted the sovereignty, causing his nephew to be deposed. He reigned under the title _Malik al-'Adil Saif al-din_. His name was Abu Bakr.

Though the early years of his reign were marked by numerous disasters, famine, pestilence and earthquake, of which the second seems to have been exceedingly serious, he reunited under his sway the whole of the empire which had belonged to his brother, and his generals conquered for him parts of Mesopotamia and Armenia, and in 1215 he got possession of Yemen. He followed the plan of dividing his empire between his sons, the eldest Mahommed, called _Malik al-Kamil_, being his viceroy in Egypt, while al-Mu'azzam 'Isa governed Syria, al-Ashraf Musa his eastern and al-Malik al-Auhad Ayyub his northern possessions. His attitude towards the Franks was at the first peaceful, but later in his reign he was compelled to adopt more strenuous measures. His death occurred at Alikin (1218), a village near Damascus, while the Franks were besieging Damietta--the first operation of the Fifth Crusade--which was defended by al-Kamil, to whom his father kept sending reinforcements. The efforts of al-Kamil after his accession to the independent sovereignty were seriously hindered by the endeavour of an amir named Ahmed b. Mashtub to depose him and appoint in his place a brother called al-Fa'iz Sabiq al-din Ibrahim: this attempt was frustrated by the timely interposition of al-Mu'azzam 'Isa, who came to Egypt to aid his brother in February 1219, and compelled al-Fa'iz to depart for Mosul. After a siege of sixteen and a half months Damietta was taken by the Franks on Tuesday the 6th of November 1219; al-Kamil thereupon proclaimed the Jihad, and was joined at his fortified camp, afterwards the site of Mansura, by troops from various parts of Egypt, Syria and Mesopotamia, including the forces of his brothers 'Isa and Musa. With these allies, and availing himself of the advantages offered by the inundation of the Nile, al-Kamil was able to cut off both the advance and the retreat of the invaders, and on the 31st of August 1221 a peace was concluded, by which the Franks evacuated Egypt.

For some years the dominions of al-'Adil remained divided between his sons: when the affairs of Egypt were settled, al-Kamil determined to reunite them as before, and to that end brought on the Sixth Crusade. Various cities in Palestine and Syria were yielded to Frederick II. as the price of his help against the son of Mu'azzam 'Isa, who reigned at Damascus with the title of Malik al-Nasir. About 1231-32 Kamil led a confederacy of Ayyubite princes against the Seljuk Kaikobad into Asia Minor, but his allies mistrusted him and victory rested with Kaikobad (see SELJUKS). Before Kamil's death he was mentioned in public prayer at Mecca as lord of Mecca (Hejaz), Yemen, Zabid, Upper and Lower Egypt, Syria and Mesopotamia.

At his death (May 8th, 1238) at Damascus, his son Abu Bakr was appointed to succeed with the title _Malik al-'Adil Saif al-din_; but his elder brother Malik al-Salih Najm al-din Ayyub, having got possession of Damascus, immediately started for Egypt, with the view of adding that country to his dominions: meanwhile his uncle Isma'il, prince of Hamath, with the prince of Homs, seized Damascus, upon hearing which the troops of Najm al-din deserted him at Nablus, when he fell into the hands of Malik al-Nasir, prince of Kerak, who carried him off to that city and kept him a prisoner there for a time; after which he was released and allowed to return to Nablus. On the 31st of May 1240 the new sultan was arrested at Bilbeis by his own amirs, who sent for Najm al-din to succeed him; and on the 19th of June of the same year Najm al-din entered Cairo as sultan, and imprisoned his brother in the citadel, where he died in 1248. Meanwhile in 1244 Jerusalem had been finally wrested from the Franks. The administration of Najm al-din is highly praised by Ibn Khallikan, who lived under it. He made large purchases of slaves (Mamelukes) for his army, and when the inhabitants of Cairo complained of their lawlessness, he built barracks for them on the island of Roda (Rauda), whence they were called Bahri or Nile Mamelukes, which became the name of the first dynasty that originated from them. Much of his time was spent in campaigns in Syria, where the other Ayyubites allied themselves against him with the Crusaders, whereas he accepted the services of the Khwarizmians: eventually he succeeded in recovering most of the Syrian cities. His name is commemorated by the town of Salihia, which he built in the year 1246 as a resting-place for his armies on their marches through the desert from Egypt to Palestine. In 1249 he was recalled from the siege of Homs by the news of the invasion of Egypt by Louis IX. (the Seventh Crusade), and in spite of illness he hastened to Ushmum Tanna, in the neighbourhood of Damietta, which he provisioned for a siege. Damietta was taken on the 6th of June 1249, owing to the desertion of his post by the commander Fakhr ud-din, and the Banu Kinanah, to whom the defence of the place had been entrusted: fifty-four of their chieftains were afterwards executed by the sultan for this proceeding. On the 22nd of November the sultan died of disease at Mansura, but his death was carefully concealed by the amirs Lajin and Aktai, acting in concert with the Queen Shajar al-durr, till the arrival from Syria of the heir to the throne, _Turanshah_, who was proclaimed some four months later. At the battle of Fariskur, 6th of April 1250, the invaders were utterly routed and the French king fell into the hands of the Egyptian sultan. The Egyptian authorities now resolved to raze Damietta, which, however, was rebuilt shortly after. The sultan, who himself had had no share in the victory, advanced after it from Mansura to Fariskur, where his conduct became menacing to the amirs who had raised him to the throne, and to Shajar al-durr; she in revenge organized an attack upon him which was successful, fire, water, and steel contributing to his end.

(6) _Period of Bahri Mamelukes._--The dynasties that succeeded the Ayyubites till the conquest of Egypt by the Ottomans bore the title Dynasties of the Turks, but are more often called Mameluke dynasties, because the sultans were drawn from the enfranchised slaves who constituted the court, and officered the army. The family of the fourth of these sovereigns, Ka'a'un (Qala'un), reigned for 110 years, but otherwise no sultan was able to found a durable dynasty: after the death of a sultan he was usually succeeded by an infant son, who after a short time was dethroned by a new usurper.

After the death of the Sultan Turanshah, his step-mother at first was raised to the vacant throne, when she committed the administration of affairs to the captain of the retainers, Aibek; but the rule of a queen caused scandal to the Moslem world, and Shajar al-durr gave way to this sentiment by marrying Aibek and allowing the title sultan to be conferred on him instead of herself. For policy's sake, however, Aibek nominally associated with himself on the throne a scion of the Ayyubite house, Malik al-Ashraf Musa, who died in prison (1252 or 1254). Aibek meanwhile immediately became involved in war with the Ayyubite Malik al-Nasir, who was in possession of Syria, with whom the caliph induced him after some indecisive actions to make peace: he then successfully quelled a mutiny of Mamelukes, whom he compelled to take refuge with the last Abbasid caliph Mostasim in Bagdad and elsewhere. On the 10th of April 1257 Aibek was murdered by his wife Shajar al-durr, who was indignant at his asking for the hand of another queen: but Aibek's followers immediately avenged his death, placing on the throne his infant son _Malik al-Mansur_, who, however, was almost immediately displaced by his guardian _Kotuz_, on the plea that the Mongol danger necessitated the presence of a grown man at the head of affairs. In 1260 the Syrian kingdom of al-Nasir was destroyed by Hulaku (Hulagu), the great Mongol chief, founder of the Ilkhan Dynasty (see MONGOLS), who, having finally overthrown the caliph of Bagdad (see CALIPHATE, sect. c. S 37), also despatched a threatening letter to Kotuz; but later in the same year Syria was invaded by Kotuz, who defeated Hulagu's lieutenant at the battle of 'Ain Jalut (3rd of September 1260), in consequence of which event the Syrian cities all rose against the Mongols, and the Egyptian sultan became master of the country with the exception of such places as were still held by the Crusaders.

Rule of Bibars.

Abbasid caliphate revived.

Before Kotuz had reigned a year he was murdered at Salihia by his lieutenant Bibars (October 23rd, 1260), who was piqued, it is said, at the governorship of Aleppo being withheld from him. The sovereignty was seized by this person with the title of _Malik al-Qahir_, presently altered to _al-Zahir_. He had originally been a slave of Malik al-Salih, had distinguished himself at the battle after which Louis IX. was captured, and had helped to murder Turanshah. Sultan Bibars, who proved to be one of the most competent of the Bahri Mamelukes, made Egypt the centre of the Moslem world by re-establishing in theory the Abbasid caliphate, which had lapsed through the taking of Bagdad by Hulagu, followed by the execution of the caliph. Bibars recognized the claim of a certain Abu'l-Qasim Ahmed to be the son of Zahir, the 35th Abbasid caliph, and installed him as Commander of the Faithful at Cairo with the title _al-Mostansir billah_. Mostansir then proceeded to confer on Bibars the title sultan, and to address to him a homily, explaining his duties. This document is preserved in the MS. life of Bibars, and translated by G. Weil. The sultan appears to have contemplated restoring the new caliph to the throne of Bagdad: the force, however, which he sent with him for the purpose of reconquering Irak was quite insufficient for the purpose, and Mostansir was defeated and slain. This did not prevent Bibars from maintaining his policy of appointing an Abbasid for the purpose of conferring legitimacy on himself; but he encouraged no further attempts at re-establishing the Abbasids at Bagdad, and his principle, adopted by successive sultans, was that the caliph should not leave Cairo except when accompanying the sultan on an expedition.

The reign of Bibars was spent largely in successful wars against the Crusaders, from whom he took many cities, notably Safad, Caesarea and Antioch; the Armenians, whose territory he repeatedly invaded, burning their capital Sis; and the Seljukids of Asia Minor. He further reduced the Isma'ilians or Assassins, whose existence as a community lasted on in Syria after it had nearly come to an end in Persia. He made Nubia tributary, therein extending Moslem arms farther south than they had been extended by any previous sultan. His authority was before his death recognized all over Syria (with the exception of the few cities still in the power of the Franks), over Arabia, with the exception of Yemen, on the Euphrates from Birah to Kerkesia (Circesium) on the Chaboras (Khabur), whilst the amirs of north-western Africa were tributary to him. His successes were won not only by military and political ability, but also by the most absolute unscrupulousness, neither flagrant perjury nor the basest treachery being disdained. He was the first sultan who acknowledged the equal authority of the four schools of law, and appointed judges belonging to each in Egypt and Syria; he was thus able to get his measures approved by one school when condemned by another.

Kala'un.

On the 1st of July 1277 Bibars died, and the events that followed set an example repeatedly followed during the period of the Mamelukes. The sultan's son _Malik al-Sa'id_ ascended the throne; but within little more than two years he was compelled to abdicate in favour of his father-in-law _Kala'un_, a Mameluke who had risen high in the former sovereign's service. The accession of Kala'un was also marked by an attempt on the part of the governor of Damascus to form Syria into an independent kingdom, an attempt frequently imitated on similar occasions. The Syrian forces were defeated at the battle of Jazurah (April 26th, 1280) and Kala'un resumed possession of the country; but the disaffected Syrians entered into relations with the Mongols, who proceeded to invade Syria, but were finally defeated by Kala'un on the 30th of October 1281 under the walls of Homs (Emesa).

The conversion to Islam of Nikudar Ahmad, the third of the Ilkhan rulers of Persia, and the consequent troubles in the western Mongol empire, let to a suspension of hostilities between Egypt and the Ilkhans (see PERSIA: _History_, S B), though the latter did not cease to agitate in Europe for a renewal of the Crusades, with little result. Kala'un, without pursuing any career of active conquest, did much to consolidate his dominions, and especially to extend Egyptian commerce, for which purpose he started passports enabling merchants to travel with safety through Egypt and Syria as far as India. After the danger from the Mongols had ceased, however, Kala'un directed his energies towards capturing the last places that remained in the hands of the Franks, and proceeded to take Markab, Latakia, and Tripoli (April 26th, 1289). In 1290 he planned an attack on Acre, but died (November 10th) in the middle of all his preparations. Under Kala'un we first hear of the Burjite Mamelukes, who owe their name to the citadel (Burj) of Cairo, where 3700 of the whole number of 12,000 Mamelukes maintained by this sovereign were quartered. He also set an example, frequently followed, of the practice of dismissing all non-Moslems from government posts: this was often done by his successors with the view of conciliating the Moslems, but it was speedily found that the services of the Jewish and Christian clerks were again required. He further founded a hospital for clinical research on a scale formerly unknown.

Malik al-Nasir.

Mongol Wars.

Decline of the Bahri power.

Kala'un was followed by his son _Khalil_ (_Malik al-Ashraf Salah al-din_), who carried out his father's policy of driving the Franks out of Syria and Palestine, and proceeded with the siege of Acre, which he took (May 18th, 1291) after a siege of forty-three days. The capture and destruction of this important place were followed by the capture of Tyre, Sidon, Haifa, Athlit and Beirut, and thus Syria was cleared of the Crusaders. He also planned an expedition against the prince of Lesser Armenia, which was averted by the surrender of Behesna, Marash and Tell Hamdun. The disputes between his favourite, the vizier Ibn al-Sa'lus, and his viceroy Baidara, led to his being murdered by the latter (December 12th, 1293), who was proclaimed sultan, but almost immediately fell a victim to the vengeance of the deceased sultan's party, who placed a younger son of Kala'un, _Mahommed Malik al-Nasir_, on the throne. This prince had the singular fortune of reigning three times, being twice dethroned: he was first installed on the 14th of December 1293, when he was nine years old, and the affairs of the kingdom were undertaken by a cabinet, consisting of a vizier ('Alam al-din Sinjar), a viceroy (Kitboga), a war minister (Husam al-din Lajin al-Rumi), a prefect of the palace (Rokneddin Bibars Jashengir) and a secretary of state (Rokneddin Bibars Mansuri). This cabinet naturally split into rival camps, in consequence of which Kitboga, himself a Mongol, with the aid of other Mongols who had come into Egypt after the battle of Homs, succeeded in ousting his rivals, and presently, with the aid of the surviving assassins of the former sultan, compelling Malik al-Nasir to abdicate in his favour (December 1st, 1294). The usurper was, however, able to maintain himself for two years only, famine and pestilence which prevailed in Egypt and Syria during his reign rendering him unpopular, while his arbitrary treatment of the amirs also gave offence. He was dethroned in 1296, and one of the murderers of Khalil, Husam al-din _Lajin_, son-in-law of the sultan Bibars and formerly governor of Damascus, installed in his palace (November 26th, 1296). It had become the practice of the Egyptian sultans to bestow all offices of importance on their own freedmen (Mamelukes) to the exclusion of the older amirs, whom they could not trust so well, but who in turn became still more disaffected. Husam al-din fell a victim to the jealousy of the older amirs whom he had incensed by bestowing arbitrary power on his own Mameluke Mengutimur, and was murdered on the 16th of January 1299. His short reign was marked by some fairly successful incursions into Armenia, and the recovery of the fortresses Marash and Tell Hamdun, which had been retaken by the Armenians. He also instituted a fresh survey and division of land in Egypt and Syria, which occasioned much discontent. After his murder the deposed sultan Malik al-Nasir, who had been living in retirement at Kerak, was recalled by the army and reinstated as sultan in Cairo (February 7th, 1299), though still only fourteen years of age, so that public affairs were administered not by him, but by Salar the viceroy, and Bibars Jashengir, prefect of the palace. The 7th Ilkhan, Ghazan Mahmud, took advantage of the disorder in the Mameluke empire to invade Syria in the latter half of 1299, when his forces inflicted a severe defeat on those of the new sultan, and seized several cities, including the capital Damascus, of which, however, they were unable to storm the citadel; in 1300, when a fresh army was collected in Egypt, the Mongols evacuated Damascus and made no attempt to secure their other conquests. The fear of further Mongolian invasion led to the imposition of fresh taxes in both Egypt and Syria, including one of 33% on rents, which occasioned many complaints. The invasion did not take place till 1303, when at the battle of Marj al-Saffar (April 20th) the Mongols were defeated. This was the last time that the Ilkhans gave the Egyptian sultans serious trouble; and in the letter written in the sultan's name to the Ilkhan announcing the victory, the former suggested that the caliphate of Bagdad should be restored to the titular Abbasid caliph who had accompanied the Egyptian expedition, a suggestion which does not appear to have led to any actual steps being taken. The fact that the Mongols were in ostensible alliance with Christian princes led to a renewal by the sultan of the ordinances against Jews and Christians which had often been abrogated, as often renewed and again fallen into abeyance; and their renewal led to missions from various Christian princes requesting milder terms for their co-religionists. The amirs Salar and Bibars having usurped the whole of the sultan's authority, he, after some futile attempts to free himself of them, under the pretext of pilgrimage to Mecca, retired in March 1309 to Kerak, whence he sent his abdication to Cairo; in consequence of which, on the 5th of April 1309, _Bibars Jashengir_ was proclaimed sultan, with the title _Malik al-Mozaffar_. This prince was originally a freedman of Kala'un, and was the first Circassian who ascended the throne of Egypt. Before the year was out the new sultan had been rendered unpopular by the occurrence of a famine, and Malik al-Nasir was easily able to induce the Syrian amirs to return to his allegiance, in consequence of which Bibars in his turn abdicated, and Malik al-Nasir re-entered Cairo as sovereign on the 5th of March 1310. He soon found the means to execute both Bibars and Salar, while other amirs who had been eminent under the former regime fled to the Mongols. The relations between their Ilkhan and the Egyptian sultan continued strained, and the 8th Ilkhan Oeljeitu (1304-1316) addressed letters to Philip the Fair and the English king Edward I. (answered by Edward II. in 1307), desiring aid against Malik al-Nasir; and for many years the courts of the sultan and the Ilkhan continued to be the refuge of malcontents from the other kingdom. Finally in 1322 terms of peace and alliance were agreed on between the sultan and Abu Sa'id the 9th Ilkhan. The sultan also entered into relations with the Mongols of the Golden Horde and in 1319 married a daughter of the reigning prince Uzbeg Khan (see MONGOLS: _Golden Horde_). Much of Malik al-Nasir's third administration was spent in raids into Nubia, where he endeavoured to set up a creature of his own as sovereign, in attempts at bringing the Bedouins of south-eastern Egypt into subordination, and in persecuting the Nosairis, whose heresy became formidable about this time. Like other Egyptian sultans he made considerable use of the Assassins, 124 of whom were sent by him into Persia to execute Kara Sonkor, at one time governor of Damascus, and one of the murderers of Malik al-Ashraf; but they were all outwitted by the exile, who was finally poisoned by the Ilkhan in recompense for a similar service rendered by the Egyptian sultan. For a time Malik al-Nasir was recognized as suzerain in north Africa, the Arabian Irak, and Asia Minor, but he was unable to make any permanent conquests in any of these countries. He brought Medina, which had previously been governed by independent sherifs, to acknowledge his authority. His diplomatic relations were more extensive than those of any previous sultan, and included Bulgarian, Indian, and Abyssinian potentates, as well as the pope, the king of Aragon and the king of France. He appears to have done his utmost to protect his Christian subjects, incurring thereby the reproaches of the more fanatical Moslems, especially in the year 1320 when owing to incendiarism in Cairo there was danger of a general massacre of the Christian population. His internal administration was marked by gross extravagance, which led to his viziers being forced to practise violent extortion for which they afterwards suffered. He paid considerable attention to sheep-breeding and agriculture, and by a canal which he had dug from Fuah to Alexandria not only assisted commerce but brought 100,000 feddans under cultivation. His taste for building and street improvement led to the beautifying of Cairo, and his example was followed by the governors of other great cities in the empire, notably Aleppo and Damascus. He paid exceptionally high prices for Mamelukes, many of whom were sold by their Mongol parents to his agents, and accustomed them to greater luxury than was usual under his predecessors. In 1315 he instituted a survey of Egypt, and of the twenty-four parts into which it was divided ten were assigned to the sultan and fourteen to the amirs and the army. He took occasion to abolish a variety of vexatious imposts, and the new budget fell less heavily on the Christians than the old. Among the literary ornaments of his reign was the historian and geographer Isma'il Abulfeda (q.v.), to whom Malik al-Nasir restored the government of Hamath, which had belonged to his ancestors, and even gave the title sultan. He died on the 7th of June 1341. The son, _Abu Bakr_, to whom he had left the throne, was able to maintain himself only a few months on it, being compelled to abdicate on the 4th of August 1341 in favour of his infant brother _Kuchuk_; the revolution was brought about by Kausun, a powerful Mameluke of the preceding monarch. This person's authority was, however, soon overthrown by a party formed by the Syrian prefects, and on the 11th of January _Malik al-Nasir Ahmad_, an elder son of the former sultan of the same title, was installed in his place, though he did not actually arrive in Cairo till the 6th of November, being unwilling to leave Kerak, where he had been living in retirement. After a brief sojourn in Cairo he speedily returned thither, thereby forfeiting his throne, which was conferred by the amirs on his brother _Isma'il al-Malik al-Salih_ (June 27th, 1342). This sultan was mainly occupied during his short reign with besieging and taking Kerak, whither Ahmad had taken refuge, and himself died on the 3rd of August 1345, when another son of Malik al-Nasir, named _Sha'ban_, was placed on the throne. The constant changes of sultan led to great disorder in the provinces, and many of the subject principalities endeavoured to shake off the Egyptian yoke. Sha'ban proved no more competent than his predecessors, being given to open debauchery and profligacy, an example followed by his amirs; and fresh discontent led to his being deposed by the Syrian amirs, when his brother _Hajji_ was proclaimed sultan in his place (September 18th, 1346). Hajji was deposed and killed on the 10th of December 1347, and another infant son of Malik al-Nasir, _Hasan_, who took his father's title, was proclaimed, the real power being shared by three amirs, Sheikhun, Menjek and Yelbogha Arus. During this reign (1348-1349) Egypt was visited by the "Black Death," which is said to have carried off 900,000 of the inhabitants of Cairo and to have raged as far south as Assuan. Towards the beginning of 1351 the sultan got rid of his guardians and attempted to rule by himself; but though successful in war, his arbitrary measures led to his being dethroned on the 21st of August 1351 by the amirs, who proclaimed his brother Salih with the title of _Malik al-Salih_. He too was only fourteen years of age. The power was contested for by various groups of amirs, whose struggles ended with the deposition of the sultan Salih on the 20th of October 1354, and the reinstatement of his brother _Hasan_, who was again dethroned on the 16th of March 1361 by an amir Yelbogha, whom he had offended, and who, having got possession of the sultan's person, murdered him. The next day a son of the dethroned sultan Hajji was proclaimed sultan with the title _Malik al-Mansur_. On the 29th of May 1363 this sultan was also dethroned on the ground of incompetence, and his place was given to another grandson of Malik al-Nasir, _Sha'ban_, son of Hosain, then ten years old. The amir Yelbogha at first held all real power and is said to have acquired a degree of authority which no other subject ever held. During this reign, on the 8th of October 1365, a landing was effected at Alexandria by a Frankish fleet under Peter I. of Cyprus, which presently took possession of the city; the Franks were speedily compelled to embark again after plundering the city, for which compensation was afterwards demanded by Yelbogha from the Christian population of Egypt and Syria. Alexandria was further made the seat of a viceroy, having previously only had a prefect. On the 11th of December 1366 Yelbogha was himself attacked by the sultan, captured and slain. His successor in the office of first minister was a mere tool in the hands of his Mamelukes, who compelled him to institute and depose governors, &c., at their pleasure. In 1374 the Egyptians raided Cilicia and captured Leo VI., prince of Lesser Armenia, which now became an Egyptian province with a Moslem governor. On the 15th of March 1377 the sultan was murdered by the Mamelukes, owing to his refusing a largess of money which they demanded. The infant son of the late sultan _'Ali_, a lad of eight years, was proclaimed with the title _Malik al-Mansur_; the power was in the hands of the ministers Kartai and Ibek, the latter of whom overthrew the former with the aid of his own Mamelukes, Berekeh and Barkuk. An insurrection in Syria which spread to Egypt presently caused the fall of Ibek, and led to the occupation of the highest posts by the Circassian freedmen Berekeh and Barkuk, of whom the latter ere long succeeded in ousting the former and usurping the sultan's place; on the 19th of May 1381, when the sultan 'Ali died, his place was given to an infant brother Hajji, but on the 26th of November 1382, _Barkuk_ set this child aside and had himself proclaimed sultan (with the title _Malik al-Zahir_), thereby ending the Bahri dynasty and commencing that of the Circassians. For a short period, however, Hajji was restored, when on the 1st of June 1389 Cairo was taken by Yelbogha, governor of Damascus, and Barkuk expelled; Hajji reigned at first under the guardianship of Yelbogha, who was then overthrown by Mintash; Barkuk, who had been relegated to Kerak, succeeded in again forming a party, and in a battle fought at Shakhab, January 1390, succeeded in gaining possession of the person of the sultan Hajji, and on the 21st of January he was again proclaimed sultan in Cairo.

Timur in Syria.

Wars with European Powers.

(7) _Period of Burji Mamelukes._--Barkuk presently entered into relations with the Ottoman sultan Bayezid I., and by slaying an envoy of Timur incurred the displeasure of the world-conqueror; and in 1394 led an army into Syria with the view of restoring the Jelairid Ilkhan Ahmad to Bagdad (as Barkuk's vassal), and meeting the Mongol invasion. Barkuk, however, died (June 20th, 1399) before Timur had time to invade Syria. According to the custom that had so often proved disastrous, a young son of Barkuk, _Faraj_, then aged thirteen, was appointed sultan under the guardianship of two amirs. Incursions were immediately made by the Ottoman sultan into the territory of Egyptian vassals at Derendeh and Albistan (Ablestin), and Malatia was besieged by his forces. Timur, who was at this time beginning his campaign against Bayezid, turned his attention first to Syria, and on the 30th of October 1400 defeated the Syrian amirs near Aleppo, and soon got possession of the city and the citadel. He proceeded to take Hamah, Homs (Emesa) and other towns, and on the 20th of December started for Damascus. An endeavour was made by the Egyptian sultan to relieve Damascus, but the news of an insurrection in Cairo caused him to retire and leave the place to its fate. In the first three months of 1401 the whole of Northern Syria suffered from Timur's marauders. In the following year (September 29th, 1402) Timur who had in the interval inflicted a crushing defeat on the Ottoman sultan, sent to demand homage from Faraj, and his demand was readily granted, together with the delivery of the princes who had sought refuge from Timur in Egyptian territory. The death of Timur in February 1405 restored Egyptian authority in Syria, which, however, became a rendezvous for all who were discontented with the rule of Faraj and his amirs, and two months after Timur's death was in open rebellion against Faraj. Although Faraj succeeded in defeating the rebels, he was compelled by insubordination on the part of his Circassian Mamelukes to abdicate (September 20th, 1405), when his brother _Abd al-al-'aziz_ was proclaimed with the title _Malik al-Mansur_; after two months this prince was deposed, and Faraj, who had been in hiding, recalled. Most of his reign was, however, occupied with revolts on the part of the Syrian amirs, to quell whom he repeatedly visited Syria; the leaders of the rebels were the amirs Newruz and Sheik Mahmudi, afterwards sultan. Owing to disturbances and misgovernment the population of Egypt and Syria is said to have shrunk to a third in his time, and he offended public sentiment not only by debauchery, but by having his image stamped on his coins. On the 23rd of May 1412, after being defeated and shut up in Damascus, he was compelled by Sheik Mahmudi to abdicate, and an Abbasid caliph, Mosta'in, was proclaimed sultan, only to be forced to abdicate on the 6th of November of the same year in _Sheik's_ favour, who took the title _Malik al-Mu'ayyad_, his colleague Newruz having been previously sent to Syria, where he was to be autocrat by the terms of their agreement. In the struggle which naturally followed between the two, Newruz was shut up in Damascus, defeated and slain. Sheik himself invaded Asia Minor and forced the Turkoman states to acknowledge his suzerainty. After the sultan's return they soon rebelled, but were again brought into subjection by Sheik's son Ibrahim; his victories excited the envy of his father, who is said to have poisoned him. Sheik himself died a few months after the decease of his son (January 13th, 1421), and another infant son, _Ahmad_, was proclaimed with the title _Malik al-Mozaffar_, the proclamation being followed by the usual dissensions between the amirs, ending with the assumption of supreme power by the amir _Tatar_, who, after defeating his rivals, on the 29th of August 1421 had himself proclaimed sultan with the title _Malik al-Zahir_. This usurper, however, died on the 30th of November of the same year, leaving the throne to an infant son _Mohammed_, who was given the title _Malik al-Salih_; the regular intrigues between the amirs followed, leading to his being dethroned on the following 1st of April 1422, when the amir appointed to be his tutor, _Barsbai_, was proclaimed sultan with the title _Malik al-Ashraf_. This sultan avenged the attacks on Alexandria repeatedly made by Cyprian ships, for he sent a fleet which burned Limasol, and another which took Famagusta (August 4th, 1425), but failed in the endeavour to annex the island permanently. An expedition sent in the following year (1426) succeeded in taking captive the king of Cyprus, who was brought to Cairo and presently released for a ransom of 200,000 dinars, on condition of acknowledging the suzerainty of the Egyptian sultan and paying him an annual tribute. Barsbai appears to have excelled his predecessors in the invention of devices for exacting money from merchants and pilgrims, and in juggling with the exchange. This led to a naval demonstration on the part of the Venetians, who secured better terms for their trade, and to the seizure of Egyptian vessels by the king of Aragon and the prince of Catalonia. In a census made during Barsbai's reign, it was found that the total number of towns and villages in Egypt had sunk to 2170, whereas in the 4th century A.H. it had stood at 10,000. Much of Barsbai's attention was occupied with raids into Asia Minor, where the Dhu 'l-Kadiri Turkomans frequently rebelled, and with wars against Kara Yelek, prince of Amid, and Shah Rokh, son of Timur. Barsbai died on the 7th of June 1438. In accordance with the custom of his predecessors he left the throne to a son still in his minority, _Abu'l-Mahasin Yusuf_, who took the title _Malik al-'Aziz_, but as usual after a few months he was displaced by the regent _Jakmak_, who on the 9th of September 1438 was proclaimed sultan with the title _Malik al-Zahir_. In the years 1442-1444 this sultan sent three fleets against Rhodes, where the third effected a landing, but was unable to make any permanent conquest. In consequence of a lengthy illness Jakmak abdicated on the 1st of February 1453, when his son _'Othman_ was proclaimed sultan with the title _Malik al-Mansur_. Though not a minor, he had no greater success than the sons of the usurpers who preceded him, being dethroned after six weeks (March 15th, 1453) in favour of the amir _Inal al-'Ala'i_, who took the title _Malik al-Ashraf_. His reign was marked by friendly relations with the Ottoman sultan Mahommed II., whose capture of Constantinople (1453) was the cause of great rejoicings in Egypt, but also by violent excesses on the part of the Mamelukes, who dictated the sultan's policy. On his death on the 26th of February 1461 his son _Ahmad_ was proclaimed sultan with the title _Malik al-Mu'ayyad_; he had the usual fate of sultans' sons, earned in his case by an attempt to bring the Mamelukes under discipline; he was compelled to abdicate on the 28th of June 1461, when the amir _Khoshkadam_, who had served as a general, was proclaimed sultan. Unlike the other Mameluke sovereigns, who were Turks or Circassians, this man had originally been a Greek slave.

Early relations with Turkey.

In his reign (1463) there began the struggle between the Egyptian and the Ottoman sultanates which finally led to the incorporation of Egypt in the Ottoman empire. The dispute began with a struggle over the succession in the principality of Karaman, where the two sultans favoured rival candidates, and the Ottoman sultan Mahommed II. supported the claim of his candidate with force of arms, obtaining as the price of his assistance several towns in which the suzerainty of the Egyptian sultan had been acknowledged. Open war did not, however, break out between the two states in Khoshkadam's time. This sultan is said to have taken money to permit innocent persons to be ill-treated or executed. He died on the 9th of October 1467, when the Atabeg _Yelbai_ was selected by the Mamelukes to succeed him, and was proclaimed sultan with the title of _Malik al-Zahir_. This person, proving incompetent, was deposed by a revolution of the Mamelukes on the 4th of December 1467, when the Atabeg _Timurbogha_ was proclaimed with the title _Malik al-Zahir_. In a month's time, however, there was another palace revolution, and the new Atabeg _Kait Bey_ or _Kaietbai_ (January 31st, 1468) was proclaimed sultan, the dethroned Timurbogha being, however, permitted to go free whither he pleased. Much of Kait Bey's reign was spent in struggles with Uzun Hasan, prince of Diarbekr, and Shah Siwar, chief of the Dhu'l-Kadiri Turkomans. He also offended the Ottoman sultan Bayezid II. by entertaining his brother Jem, who was afterwards poisoned in Europe. Owing to this, and also to the fact that an Indian embassy to the Ottoman sultan was intercepted by the agents of Kait Bey, Bayezid II. declared war against Egypt, and seized Adana, Tarsus and other places within Egyptian territory; extraordinary efforts were made by Kait Bey, whose generals inflicted a severe defeat on the Ottoman invaders. In 1491, however, after the Egyptians had repeatedly defeated the Ottoman troops, Kait Bey made proposals of peace which were accepted, the keys of the towns which the Ottomans had seized being restored to the Egyptian sultan. Kait Bey endeavoured to assist his co-religionists in Spain who were threatened by King Ferdinand, by threatening the pope with reprisals on Syrian Christians, but without effect. As the consequence of a palace intrigue, which Kait Bey was too old to quell, on the 7th of August 1496, a day before his death, his son _Mahommed_ was proclaimed sultan with the title _Malik al-Nasir_; this was in order to put the supreme power into the hands of the Atabeg Kansuh, since the new sultan was only fourteen years old. An attempt of the Atabeg to oust the new sultan, however, failed. After a reign of little more than two years, filled mainly with struggles between rival amirs, _Malik al-Nasir_ was murdered (October 31st, 1498), and his uncle and vizier _Kansuh_ proclaimed sultan with the title _Malik al-Zahir_. His reign only lasted about twenty months; on the 30th of June 1500 he was dethroned by Tumanbey, who caused _Jan Belat_, the Atabeg, to be proclaimed sultan. A few months later _Tumanbey_, at the suggestion of Kasrawah, governor of Damascus, whom he had been sent to reduce to subjection, ousted Jan Belat, and was himself proclaimed sultan with the title _Malik al-'Adil_ (January 25th, 1501). His reign lasted only one hundred days, when he was displaced by _Kansuh al-Ghuri_ (April 20th, 1501). His reign was remarkable for a naval conflict between the Egyptians and the Portuguese, whose fleet interfered with the pilgrim route from India to Mecca, and also with the trade between India and Egypt; Kansuh caused a fleet to be built which fought naval battles with the Portuguese with varying results.

The Turkish conquest.

In 1515 there began the war with the Ottoman sultan Selim I. which led to the close of the Mameluke period, and the incorporation of Egypt and its dependencies in the Ottoman empire (see TURKEY: _History_). Kansuh was charged by Selim with giving the envoys of the Safawid Isma'il passage through Syria on their way to Venice to form a confederacy against the Turks, and with harbouring various refugees. The actual declaration of war was not made by Selim till May 1515, when the Ottoman sultan had made all his preparations; and at the battle of Merj Dabik, on the 24th of August 1515, Kansuh was defeated by the Ottoman forces and fell fighting. Syria passed quickly into the possession of the Turks, whose advent was in many places welcome as meaning deliverance from the Mamelukes. In Cairo, when the news of the defeat and death of the Egyptian sultan arrived, the governor who had been left by Kansuh, _Tumanbey_, was proclaimed sultan (October 17th, 1516). On the 20th of January 1517 Cairo was taken by the Ottomans, and Selim shortly after declared sultan of Egypt. Tumanbey continued the struggle for some months, but was finally defeated, and after being captured and kept in prison seventeen days was executed on the 15th of April 1517.

(8) _The Turkish Period._--The sultan Selim left with his viceroy Khair Bey a guard of 5000 janissaries, but otherwise made few changes in the administration of the country. The register by which a great portion of the land was a fief of the Mamelukes was left unchanged, and it is said that a proposal made by the sultan's vizier to appropriate these estates was punished with death. The Mameluke amirs were to be retained in office as heads of twelve sanjaks into which Egypt was divided; and under the next sultan, Suleiman I., two chambers were created, called respectively the Greater and the Lesser Divan, in which both the army and the ecclesiastical authorities were represented, to aid the pasha by their deliberations. Six regiments altogether were constituted by the conqueror Selim for the protection of Egypt; to these Suleiman added a seventh, of Circassians. As will be seen from the tables, it was the practice of the Porte to change the governor of Egypt at very short intervals--after a year or even some months. The third governor, Ahmad Pasha, hearing that orders for this execution had come from Constantinople, endeavoured to make himself an independent ruler and had coins struck in his own name. His schemes were frustrated by two of the amirs whom he had imprisoned and who, escaping from their confinement, attacked him in his bath and killed him. In 1527 the first survey of Egypt under the Ottomans was made, in consequence of the official copy of the former registers having perished by fire; yet this new survey did not come into use until 1605. Egyptian lands were divided in it into four classes--the sultan's domain, fiefs, land for the maintenance of the army, and lands settled on religious foundations.

Troubles with the army.