Chapter I: The Saracens of Egypt (2)

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Beybars was exceptionally active in the discharge of his royal functions, and was indefatigable in making personal inspections of the forts and defences of his empire. Once he left his camp secretly, and made a minute inspection of his kingdom in disguise, returning before his absence had been found out by his troops. He maintained 12,000 soldiers under arms, of whom a third were stationed in Egypt, a third at Damascus, and the remaining third at Aleppo. On his expeditions he was escorted by 4000 horsemen. His history is a good example of the adventurous career of the Mamlūk. He was a native of Kipchak, between the Caspian and the Ural Mountains,—a tall, ruddy fellow, with blue eyes, one of which had a cataract on it, and this defect nearly lost him a purchaser in the slave-market: indeed, he only fetched 800 francs, a sum hardly equal to £20. He was afterwards bought by the Amīr ‘Alā-ed- dīn Aydekīn, El-Bundukdār, “the Arblasteer,” from whom Beybars took his title El-Bundukdāry, or “Bendocquedar,” as Marco Polo writes it. Subsequently he passed into the possession of Es-Sālih Ayyūb, and his strong, determined nature, his promptitude and resource in action, high mettle, and resonant voice, soon gained him the admiration and fear of his contemporaries. His charge at Mansūra won the day and annihilated the crusade of St. Louis, and in due course he made his way to the throne, through, we are sorry to add, the usual road of assassination. His was not a scrupulous nature, and his own death was caused by poison which he had prepared for another; but he was the first great Mamlūk Sultan, and the right man to lay the foundations of the empire. “Bondogar,” says William of Tripoli, “as a soldier was not inferior to Julius Caesar, nor in malignity to Nero;” but he allows that the Sultan was “sober, chaste, just to his own people, and even kind to his Christian subjects.”[7] So well did he organize his wide-stretching provinces that no incapacity or disunion among his successors could pull down the fabric he had raised, until the wave of Ottoman conquest swept at last upon Egypt and Syria. To him is due the constitution of the Mamlūk army, the rebuilding of a navy of 40 war-galleys, the allotment of feofs to the lords and soldiers, the building of causeways and bridges, and digging of canals in various parts of Egypt. He strengthened the fortresses of Syria and garrisoned them with Mamlūks; he connected Damascus and Cairo by a postal service of four days, and used to play polo in both cities within the same week. His mosque still stands without the north gates, and his college till lately formed an important feature among the splendid monuments in the street known as “Betwixt the Palaces;” he founded an endowment for the burial of poor Muslims; in short, he was the best ruler Egypt had seen since the death of Saladin, whom he resembled in many respects, but not in chivalrous clemency. Some idea of the luxury and refinement of his court may be gathered from the list of his presents to the Persian Ilkhān Baraka, which included a Korān, said to have been transcribed by the Khalif ‘Othmān, enclosed in a case of red silk embroidered with gold, over which was a leather cover lined with striped silk; a throne encrusted with carved ivory and ebony; a silver chest; prayer-carpets of all colours and sorts; curtains, cushions, and tables; superb swords with silver hilts; instruments of music of painted wood; silver lamps and chandeliers; saddles from Khwārizm, bows from Damascus, with silk strings; pikes of Kana wood, with points tempered by the Arabs; exquisitely fashioned arrows in boxes plated with copper; large lamps of enamel with silver-gilt chains; black eunuchs, ingenious cook-girls, beautiful parrots; numbers of Arab horses, dromedaries, mules, wild asses, giraffes, and apes, with all kinds of saddles and trappings. Only remarkable qualities could have raised Beybars from the condition of a one-eyed slave to the founder of an empire that endured for nearly three centuries.

In addition to necessary business, state ceremonies occupied no inconsiderable part of the Sultan’s time. The Mamlūk court was a minutely organized system, and the choice of officers to fill the numerous posts of the household, and the tact demanded in satisfying their jealousies and disagreements, to say nothing of the constant presentation of ceremonial dresses of honour, writing of diplomas, and granting of titles and appanages, must have been a tax upon their master. The posts about the royal person were no sinecures, and it needed no doubt some diplomacy to arrange the cabinet and household appointments to the satisfaction of everybody. The chief officers of the court, which of course included the administration, were these:—

1. The _Nāib-es-Saltana_, or Viceroy, chief officer of the empire, corresponding to the Vizīr of other periods, who controlled alike the army, finances, posts, and appointments; rode at the head of the troops in state progresses, and was escorted by nobles to and from the Sultan’s presence. He was styled _Melik el-Umara_, or “King of Nobles,” and had a special palace (_Dār-en-Niāba_) in the Citadel, where all the functionaries of the state came to him for instructions.

2. The _Atābek_, or _Atābek-el-asākir_, Commander-in-Chief, also styled (after the middle of the fourteenth century) _El-Amīr-el-Kebīr_, or “the Great Lord.”

3. The _Ustaddar_, Majordomo, superintendent of the household, the kitchen, pages (_ujākīs_), and servants and officers generally; he had entire authority to obtain the supplies, money, and clothing for the royal household. By the time of Barkūk, A.D. 1400, this official had so waxed in importance, that he had become practically Grand Vizīr, and enjoyed the management of the finances and the royal domains. His military rank—for all Mamlūks, though their posts might be purely civil, had military grades—was that of Bicenturion, or Major over 200. Under him were servants supplied from among the Lords of the Drums and Captains over Ten, and he had a legal assessor and _mubāshirs_, or superintendents, to assist him.

4. The _Rās Nauba_, or Chief of the Guard, commanded the Sultan’s Mamlūks, and settled their differences. Another and superior _Rās Nauba_ commanded the Lords and adjusted their quarrels, and the latter was not only addressed as “His Excellency the Generous the Exalted,” الجناب العالى الكريم, but the Sultan called him “Brother.”[8]

5, 6. The _Silāhdār_, Armour-bearer, carried the Sultan’s armour. There were several, and their chief was called _Amīr Silāh_, “Lord of the Arms,” who inspected the Armoury, was a centurion or Captain over 100, and was addressed by the Sultan as “Brother,” with the same style as the _Rās Naubat el-Umara_. The Lord of the Arms was one of the highest officers in the realm after the _Atābek Amīr el-Kebīr_.

7. The _Amīr Akhōr_, Master of the Horse, presided over the royal stables, assisted by the _Selākhōry_, who saw to the horses’ food, and sometimes by a second _Amīr Akhōr_, who was a Captain over Ten; minor equerries superintended the colts, oxen, water-wheels, &c., separately, but all were under the supreme control of the great Master of the Horse.

8, 9. The _Sāky_, Cup-bearer, and the _Gāshenkīr_, Taster, whose duty it was to taste the Sultan’s food before it was served, to ward against poison, were officers of trust, and enjoyed frequent intercourse with the sovereign, and thus often carried great influence in the management of the empire. The _Gāshenkīr_ was a Bicenturion.

10. The _Hāgib_, Chamberlain, was the officer who guarded the access to the royal presence.

11. _Amīr Gandār_, Equerry-in-waiting, introduced nobles to the presence, and commanded the _gandārs_ or equerries, and _berd-dars_, grooms of the bedchamber; superintended the executions and tortures by order of the Sultan, and had charge of the _zardkhānāh_, or royal prison. He was chosen from the ranks of the Colonels (_mukaddam_) or Lords of the Drums.

12. The _Dawādār_, or Secretary, took charge of the imperial correspondence, received and addressed despatches, was a Lord of the Drums, or a Captain over Ten, and enjoyed great influence and consideration.

13. The _Kātim es-Sirr_, or Private Secretary, was the depository of the Sultan’s secret affairs, shared the correspondence with the _Dawādār_, was the first to go in to the sovereign and the last to come out, and was his chief adviser in all matters.

Besides these great officers, there were many smaller posts, which often commanded great power and influence. The _Amīr Meglis_, Lord of the Seat, so called because he enjoyed the privilege of sitting in the Sultan’s presence, was the superintendent of the court physicians and surgeons; the _Gamdār_, or Master of the Wardrobe, was a high official; the _Amīr Shikār_, or Grand Huntsman, assisted the king in the chase; the _Amīr Tabar_, or Drum-Major, held almost the rank of the Chief of the Guard, and commanded the _Tabardārs_ or Halbardiers of the Sultan, ten in number; the _Bashmakdār_ carried the sovereign’s slippers; the _Gūkandār_ bore the Sultan’s polo-stick, a staff of painted wood about four cubits long, with a curved head; the _Zimamdārs_ were eunuch guards. The various household departments had also their officers, who were often great nobles, and men of influence in the realm. The _Ustaddār-es-Suhba_ presided over the cookery; the _Tabl-khānāh_, or Drummery, was the department where the royal band was kept, and it was presided over by an officer called the _Amīr ‘Alam_, or adjutant- general. The Sultan’s band is stated at one time to have comprised four drums, forty kettle-drums (كوسات), four hautbois (زمور), and twenty trumpets (نعير). The permission to have a band was among the most coveted distinctions of Mamlūk times, and those Lords who were allowed to have a band playing before their gates were styled _Amīr Tabl- khānāh_, or Lord of the Drums; they were about thirty in number, and each had command of a body of forty horsemen, with a band of ten drums, two hautbois, and four trumpets, and an appanage of about the value of 30,000 dīnārs. The practice of employing these ceremonial bands went out with the Turkish conquest.

Then there was the _Tisht-khānāh_, or Vestiary, where the royal robes, jewels, seals, swords, &c., were kept, and where his clothes were washed. The servants of the _Tisht-khānāh_ were called _tishtdārs_, or grooms of the wardrobe, and _rakhtwānīs_, or grooms of the chamber, under the command of two _mihtārs_, or superintendents. The _Sharāb- khānāh_, or Buttery, where were stored the liquors, sweetmeats, fruits, cordials, perfumes, and water for the sovereign, was also managed by two _mihtārs_, aided by a number of _sharāb-dārs_, or buttery-men; the _Hawāig-khānāh_, or Larder, where the food and vegetables required for the day were prepared, was under the superintendence of the _Hawāig- kāsh_. At the time of Ketbugha the daily amount of food prepared here was 20,000 pounds, and under En-Nāsīr the daily cost of the larder was from 21,000 to 30,000 francs. The _Rikāb-khānāh_, or Harness-room, and _Firāsh-khānāh_, or Lumber-room, had also their staff of officials. And besides the household and military officers, there were the various judicial officers, _Kādis_ and the like, and the police authorities, to be appointed by the Sultan; such were the _Wāly_, or chief magistrate of Cairo, who kept order in the city, commanded the patrols, inspected the prisons, opened and shut the city gates, and was obliged always to sleep in Cairo; the _shādds_ and _mushidds_, inspectors in their various departments, and the _muhtesib_, the important officer who corrected the weights and measures in the markets, and guarded public morals.

It will be seen that court life was complicated even in the fourteenth century, and the state ceremonies of a Mamlūk Sultan must have involved as much etiquette as any modern levée, and presented a much more splendid spectacle. When the Sultan rode abroad in state, to hold a review or to make a progress through his dominions, the composition of his escort was elaborately ordered. The Sultan Beybars, for example, rode in the centre, dressed in a black silk _gubba_, or vest with large sleeves, but without embroidery or gold; on his head was a turban of fine silk, with a pendant hanging between his shoulders; and a Bedawy sword swung by his side, and a Dawūdy cuirass was concealed beneath his vest. In front, a great lord carried the _Ghāshia_, or royal saddle- cloth, emblem of sovereignty, covered with gold and precious stones; and over his head, a Prince of the Blood, or the Commander-in-chief, bore the state parasol, made of yellow silk, embroidered with gold, and crowned with a golden bird perched upon a golden cupola. The housing of his horse’s neck was yellow silk embroidered with gold, and a _zunnāry_ or cloth of red atlas satin covered the crupper. The royal standard of silk and gold thread was borne aloft, and the troops had their regimental colours of yellow Cairene silk, embroidered with the escutcheons of their leaders. Just before the Sultan rode two pages on white horses, with rich trappings; their robes were of yellow silk with borders of gold brocade, and a kuffīya of the same: it was their duty to see that the road was sound. A flute-player went before, and a singer followed after, chanting the heroic deeds of former kings, to the accompaniment of a hand-drum; poets sang verses antiphonally, accompanying themselves with the kemenga and mōsil. Tabardārs carried halberts before and behind the Sultan, and the state poniards were supported by the polo-master (_gūkandār_) in a scabbard on the left, while another dagger with a buckler was carried on the monarch’s right. Close beside him rode the _Gamakdār_, or Mace-bearer, a tall, handsome man, who carried the gold-headed mace aloft, and never withdrew his eyes from the countenance of his master. The great officers of the court followed with little less pomp. When a halt was called for the night, on long journeys, torches were borne before the Sultan, and as he approached the tent, which had gone on in front and been pitched before his arrival, his servants came to meet him with wax candles in stands inlaid with gold; pages and halbardiers surrounded him, the soldiers sang a chorus, and all dismounted except the Sultan, who rode into the vestibule of the tent, where he left his horse, and then entered the great round pavilion behind it. Out of this opened a little wooden bed- room, warmer than the tent, and a bath with heating materials was at hand. The whole was surrounded by a wall, and the Mamlūks mounted guard in regular watches, inspected periodically by visiting rounds, with grand rounds twice in the night. The _Amīr Bābdār_, or Grand Door- keeper, commanded the grand rounds. Servants and eunuchs slept at the door.[9]

The historian of the Mamlūks is fond of telling how the Sultan made his progresses, held reviews of his troops, led a charge in battle, or joined in the games at home. The Mamlūks were ardent votaries of sport and athletic exercises. En-Nāsir was devoted to the chase, and imported numbers of sunkurs, sakrs, falcons, hawks, and other birds of prey, and would present valuable feofs to his falconers, who rode beside him hawk on wrist. Beybars was a keen archer, and a skilful hand at making arrows. He erected an archery-ground outside the Gate of Victory at Cairo, and here he would stay from noon till sunset, encouraging the Amīrs in their practice. The pursuit of archery became the chief occupation of the lords of his court. But Beybars, like most of the Mamlūks, was catholic in his tastes; he was fond of racing horses; spent two days in the week at polo; was famous for his management of the lance in the tournaments which formed one of the amusements of the day; and was so good a swimmer, that he once swam across the Nile in his cuirass, dragging after him several great nobles seated on carpets. Such outward details of the life of the Mamlūks may be gathered from the pages of El- Makrīzy and other historians. But if we seek to know something of the domestic life of the period, we must go elsewhere than to these sources. We find indeed occasionally in El-Makrīzy an account of the revels of the court on great festivals, and he tells us how during some festivities in Beybars’ reign there was a concert every night in the Citadel, where a torch was gently waved to and fro to keep the time. But to understand the home-life of the Mamlūks, we must turn to the _Thousand and One Nights_, where, whatever the origin and scene of the stories, the manners and customs are drawn from the society which the narrators saw about them in Cairo in the days of the Mamlūks. From the doings of the characters in that immortal story-book, we may form a nearly accurate idea of how the Mamlūks amused themselves; and the various articles of luxury that have come down to us, the goblets, incense-burners, bowls, and dishes of fine inlaid silver and gold, go to confirm the fidelity of the picture. The wonderful thing about this old Mohammadan society is that it was what it was in spite of Islām. With all their prayers and fasts and irritating ritual, the Muslims of the Middle Ages contrived to amuse themselves. Even in their religion they found opportunities for enjoyment. They made the most of the festivals of the Faith, and put on their best clothes; they made up parties—to visit the tombs, indeed, but to visit them right merrily on the backs of their asses;[10] they let their servants go out and amuse themselves too in the gaily illuminated streets, hung with silk and satin, and filled with dancers, jugglers, and revellers, fantastic figures, the Oriental Punch, and the Chinese Shadows; or they went to witness the thrilling and horrifying performances of the dervishes. There was excitement to be derived from the very creed; for did they not believe in those wonderful creatures the Ginn, who dwelt in the Mountains of Kāf, near the mysterious Sea of Darkness, where Khidr drank of the Fountain of Life? And who could tell when he might come across one of these awful beings, incarnate in the form of a jackal or a serpent; or meet, in his own hideous shape, the appalling Nesnās, who is a man split in two, with half a head, half a body, one arm and one leg, and yet hops along with astonishing agility, and is said, when caught, to have been found very sweet eating by the people of Hadramaut? To live among such fancies must have given a relish to life, even when one knew that one’s destiny was inscribed in the sutures of the skull, and in spite of those ascetic souls who found consolation in staring at a blank wall until they saw the name of Allah blazing on it.

What society was like at the time of the first Mamlūks may be gathered very clearly from the poems[11] of Behā-ed-dīn Zuheyr, the secretary of Es-Sālih Ayyūb, who survived his master and died in 1258. The Egyptians of his acquaintance, as reflected in his graceful verse, seem to have resembled our own latter-day friends in their pleasures and passions. Love is the great theme of Zuheyr as well as Swinburne; the poet waxes eloquent over a long succession of mistresses, blonde and brown, constant and fickle, kind and coy,—

“Like the line of beauty her waving curl,

Her stature like the lance.”

We read of stolen interviews, in despite of parents and guardians, maidens “waiting at the tryst alone,” and various other breaches of Mohammadan morals. If Zuheyr fairly represented his time, life at Cairo in the thirteenth century was not without its savour:—

Well! the night of youth is over, and grey-headed morn is near;

Fare ye well, ye tender meetings with the friends I held so dear!

O’er my life these silvery locks are shedding an unwonted light,

And revealing many follies youth had hidden out of sight.

Yet though age is stealing o’er me, still I love the festive throng,

Still I love a pleasant fellow, and a pleasant merry song;

Still I love the ancient tryst, though the trysting time is o’er,

And the tender maid that ne’er may yield to my caresses more;

Still I love the sparkling wine-cup, which the saucy maidens fill, &c.

The wine-cup plays a prominent part in Zuheyr’s catalogue of the joys of life, and he is full of contempt for the prudent mentor who reproved him:—

Let us, friends, carouse and revel,

And send the mentor to the devil!

The great indoor amusement of the mediaeval Muslim was feasting. The Arabs indeed never understood scientific gastronomy; they coarsely drank to get drunk, and ate to get full. We read of a public banquet (under the Fātimīs, but probably equalled many a time in the Mamlūk period), where the table was covered with 21 enormous dishes, each containing 21 baked sheep, three years old and fat, and 350 pigeons and fowls, all piled up together to the height of a man, and covered in with dried sweetmeats. Between these dishes were 500 smaller ones, each holding seven fowls and the usual complement of confectionery. The table was strewn with flowers and cakes of bread, and two grand edifices of sweetmeats each weighing 17 cwt., were brought in on shoulder-poles. On such occasions a man might eat a sheep or two without being remarkable. But if he ate somewhat heartily, he did not omit to wash it down afterwards with plenty of wine, despite all the ordinances of the Prophet. If the bowls that have descended to us were drinking-cups, the Mamlūk thought very little of a pint stoup. Like our own Norse and Saxon ancestors, he loved his wassail, and took it right jovially, until he found himself under the table, or would have done so had there been any tables of the right sort. Zuheyr sings:—

Here, take it, ’tis empty! and fill it again

With wine that’s grown old in the wood;

That in its proprietor’s cellars has lain

So long that at least it goes back to the reign

Of the famous Nushirwan the Good—

With wine which the jovial friars of old

Have carefully laid up in store,

In readiness there for their feast-days to hold—

With liquor, of which if a man were but _told_,

He’d roll away drunk from the door!

Many of the Mamlūk Sultans are described as being addicted to wine, and the great Lord Beysary was at one time stated to be incapable of taking part in affairs, because he was entirely given over to drink and hazard. Yet there are redeeming points in this sottishness. The Muslims of the days of good Harūn, and not less of the other “golden prime” of Beybars and Barkūk, did not take their wine moodily or in solitude. They loved to have a jovial company round them, and plenty of flowers and sweet scents on the board; they scented their beards with civet, and sprinkled their beautiful robes with rose-water, while ambergris and frankincense, burned in the censers we still possess, diffused a delicious perfume through the room. Nor was the feast complete without music and the voices of singing women. A ravishing slave-girl, with a form like the waving willow, and a face as resplendent as the moon, sang soft, sad Arabian melodies to the accompaniment of the lute, till the guests rolled over in ecstasy. Other and less refined performances, the alluring gestures of the dancing-girls, the coarse feats of Punch or the hired buffoon, also enlivened the evening; and the ladies of the Harīm would share the pleasures of the men, separated by a lattice screen, or hidden behind gorgeously embroidered curtains. We shall see presently what palaces the Mamlūks built for themselves, how they hung them with rich stuffs, and strewed them with costly carpets; what wealth of carving and ivory-work embellished their doors and ceilings; how gloriously inlaid were their drinking and washing vessels, how softly rich the colouring of their stained windows. The Mamlūks offer the most singular contrasts of any series of princes in the world. A band of lawless adventurers, slaves in origin, butchers by choice, turbulent, bloodthirsty, and too often treacherous, these slave kings had a keen appreciation for the arts which would have done credit to the most civilized ruler that ever sat on a constitutional throne. Their morals were indifferent, their conduct was violent and unscrupulous, yet they show in their buildings, their decoration, their dress, and their furniture, a taste which it would be hard to parallel in Western countries even in the present age of enlightenment. It is one of the most singular facts in Eastern history, that wherever these rude Tartars penetrated, there they inspired a fresh and vivid enthusiasm for art. It was the Tartar Ibn-Tūlūn who built the first example of the true Saracenic mosque at Cairo; it was the line of Mamlūk Sultans, all Turkish or Circassian slaves, who filled Cairo with the most beautiful and abundant monuments that any city can show. The arts were in Egypt long before the Tartars became her rulers, but they stirred them into new life, and made the Saracenic work of Egypt the centre and head-piece of Mohammadan art.

The following tables will supply the necessary chronological details and the chief events and monuments of each reign. It should be noticed that a certain stability and duration of authority was necessary even among the Mamlūks to allow opportunity for artistic effort. The great monuments now standing of the Mamlūk Sultans are grouped about 9 Sultans: 4 of the Bahrīs, and 5 of the Burgīs. But the reigns of these 9 Sultans amounted together to two-thirds of the whole period occupied by the 49 Mamlūk rulers. The reigns of Beybars I. (18 years), Kalaūn (11), En-Nāsir (42), and Sultan Hasan (11); of Barkūk (16), El-Muayyad (9), El-Ashraf Bars Bey (17), Kaït Bey (28), and El-Ghūry (16), make a total of 168 years, out of 266, leaving but 98 years for the remaining 40 Sultans. The great Mamlūk builders had thus an average reign of nearly 19 years, while those who have left no signal monuments average only 2½ years. Beybars Jāshenkīr, however, is perhaps an exception; for he has left a beautiful mosque and many restorations, yet he ruled as Sultan for but a single year.

* * * * *

THE SARACEN RULERS OF EGYPT.

* * * * *

A.H. 21-926 = A.D. 641-1517.

* * * * *

I.—GOVERNORS APPOINTED BY THE KHALIFS.

II.—HOUSE OF ṬŪLŪN.

254| 868|Aḥmad ibn Ṭūlūn |Suburb of
| | |El-Ḳaṭāi‘, 256.
| | |
| | |_Mosque of
| | |Ibn-Ṭūlūn_, 263-5.
| | |
| | |Annexation of Syria
| | |as far as Aleppo,
| | |264.
| | |
270| 883|Khumāraweyh (son of Aḥmad) |
| | |
282| 895|Geysh Abu-l-Asākir } (sons |
| | } of |
283| 896|Hārūn } Khumāraweyh) |
| | |
292| 904|Sheybān (son of Aḥmad) |

III.—SECOND LINE OF GOVERNORS.

| | { |Partial burning of
292| 905| { |El-Ḳaṭāi‘, 292.
to| to|Thirteen Governors. { |
323| 934| { |Invasion of Egypt
| | { |by El-Mahdy the
| | { |Fātimy, 307.

IV.—HOUSE OF IKHSHĪD.

323| 934|Moḥammad El-Ikhshīd ibn Ṭukǵ |Syria again
| | |annexed. The kings
334| 946|Abu-l-Ḳāsim Ūngūr (son of El-Ikhshīd) |of this dynasty
| | |were buried at
349| 960|Abu-l-Ḥasan ‘Aly (son of El-Ikhshīd) |Damascus, and have
| | |therefore left no
355| 966|Abu-l-Misk Kāfūr, a Eunuch |tomb-mosques in
| | |Egypt.
357| 968|Abu-l-Fawāris Aḥmad (son of ‘Aly) |
to| to| |
358| 969| |

V.—FĀṬIMY KHALIFS.

A.—IN TUNIS.

297| 909|El-Mahdy ‘Obeyd-Allah |Invades Egypt, 307.
| | |
322| 934|El-Ḳāïm Moḥammad |
| | |
334| 945|El-Manṣūr Ismā‘īl |
| | |
341| 952|El-Mu‘izz Ma‘add |

B.—IN EGYPT.

VI.—HOUSE OF AYYŪB.

(EGYPTIAN BRANCH.)

VII.—THE MAMLŪK SULTĀNS.

A. —BAḤRY OR TURKISH LINE.

648|1250|Queen Sheger-ed-durr |Syria separated.
| | |
648|1250|El-Mu‘izz ‘Izz-ed dīn Aybek |
| | |
655|1257|El-Manṣūr Nūr-ed-dīn ‘Aly |
| | |
657|1259|El-Muḍhaffar Seyf-ed-dīn Ḳuṭuz |War with Hūlāgū the
| | |Mongol.
| | |
| | |Syria annexed.
| | |Antioch taken.
| | |
658|1260|Eḍh Ḍhāhir Rukn-ed-dīn Beybars I. |Campaigns against
| | |the Mongols and
| | |Christians.
| | |
| | |_Mosque of
| | |Eḍh-Ḍhāhir_, 665-7.
| | |
| | |_Collegiate Mosque
| | |Eḍh-Ḍhāhirīya_, 660.
| | |
676|1277|Es-Sa‘īd Nāṣir-ed dīn Baraka Khān |
| | |
678|1279|El-‘Ādil Bedr-ed-dīn Selāmish |
| | |
678|1279|El-Manṣūr Seyf-ed-dīn Ḳalāūn |_Mosque of Ḳalāūn,
| | |Māristān or
| | |Hospital_, 683.
| | |
| | |Campaign in Syria;
| | |sack of Tripoli.
| | |
689|1290|El-Ashraf Ṣalāḥ-ed-dīn Khalīl |Capture of Acre,
| | |690.
| | |
693|1293|En-Nāṣir Nāṣir-ed dīn Moḥammad. _1st |
| |reign_ |
| | |
694|1294|El-‘Ādil Zeyn-ed-dīn Ketbughā |
| | |
696|1296|El-Manṣūr Ḥusām-ed-dīn Lāgīn |_Restoration
| | |of Mosque of
| | |Ibn-Ṭūlūn._
| | |
698|1299|En-Nāṣir Moḥammad. _2nd reign_ |Defeat of Mongols
| | |in Syria.
| | |
| | |_Collegiate Mosque
| | |En-Nāṣiriya_,
| | |698-703.
| | |
708|1309|El-Muḍhaffar Rukn-ed-dīn Beybars II. |_Monastic Mosque of
| | |Beybars_, 706.
| | |
709|1310|En-Nāṣir Moḥammad. _3rd reign_ |_Mosque of En-Nāṣir
| | |in citadel_, 718.
| | |
| | |Persecutions of
| | |Christians and
| | |destruction of
| | |churches.
| | |
| | |_Mosques of the
| | |Amīrs Kūṣūn_, 730;
| | |_El-Māridāny_,
| | |738-40; _Singar
| | |El-Gāwaly and
| | |Salār_, 723 ff.
| | |
741|1341|El-Manṣūr Seyf-ed-dīn Abū-Bekr |
| | |
742|1341|El-Ashraf ‘Alā-ed-dīn Ḳūgūḳ |
| | |
742|1342|En-Nāṣir Shihāb-ed-dīn Aḥmad |
| | |
743|1342|Eṣ-Ṣāliḥ ‘Imād-ed-dīn Ismā‘īl |
| | |
746|1345|El-Kāmil Seyf-ed-dīn Sha‘bān |
| | |
747|1346|El-Muḍhaffar Seyf-ed-dīn Ḥāggy |_Mosque of the Amīr
| | |Aḳsunḳur_, 747-8.
| | |
748|1347|En-Nāṣir Nāṣir-ed-dīn Ḥasan. _1st reign_|
| | |
752|1351|Eṣ-Ṣāliḥ Ṣalāḥ ed-dīn Ṣāliḥ |
| | |
755|1354|En-Nāṣir Ḥasan. _2nd reign_ |_Mosque of Sulṭān
| | |Ḥasan_, 757-60.
| | |
| | |_Mosques of the
| | |Amīrs Sheykhū_,
| | |756, and
| | |_Suyurghatmish_,
| | |757.
| | |
762|1361|El-Manṣūr Ṣalāḥ-ed-dīn Moḥammad |
| | |
764|1363|El-Ashraf Nāṣir-ed-dīn Sha‘bān |_Mosque of
| | |Umm-Sha‘bān._
| | |
778|1377|El-Manṣūr ‘Alā-ed-dīn ‘Aly |
| | |
783|1381|Eṣ-Ṣāliḥ Ṣalāḥ-ed-dīn Ḥāggy deposed by |
to| to|Barḳūḳ 784/1382, but restored, 791, |
792|1390|with new title of El-Manṣūr Ḥāggy, and |
| |finally deposed by Barḳūḳ, 792. |

B.—BURGY OR CIRCASSIAN LINE.

| | |_Collegiate Mosque
| | |Barḳūḳīya_, 786.
| | |
| | |War with Tīmūr
| | |(Tamerlane).
| | |
801|1399|En-Nāṣir Nāṣir-ed-dīn Farag. _1st reign_|Peace concluded
| | |with Tīmūr.
| | |
808|1405|El-Manṣūr ‘Izz-ed-dīn ‘Abd-el-‘Azīz |
| | |
809|1406|En-Nāṣir Farag. _2nd reign_ |
| | |
815|1412|El-‘Ādīl El-Musta‘īn (the Khalif) |
| | |
815|1412|El-Mu‘ayyad Sheykh |_Mosque of
| | |El-Mu‘ayyad_,
| | |818-23.
| | |
| | |Campaigns in Syria.
| | |
824|1421|El-Muḍhaffar Aḥmad |
| | |
824|1421|Eḍh-Ḍhāhir Seyf-ed-dīn Ṭaṭār |
| | |
824|1421|Eṣ-Ṣāliḥ Nāṣir-ed-dīn Moḥammad |
| | |
825|1422|El-Ashraf Seyf-ed-dīn Bars Bey |_Collegiate Mosque
| | |El-Ashrafīya_, 827.
| | |
| | |_Tomb Mosque of
| | |Bars Bey._
| | |
| | |Expedition against
| | |John, King of
| | |Cyprus, 827.
| | |
842|1438|El-‘Azīz Jemāl-ed-dīn Yūsuf |
| | |
842|1438|Eḍh-Ḍhāhir Seyf-ed-dīn Gaḳmaḳ |
| | |
857|1453|El-Manṣūr Fakhr-ed-dīn ‘Othmān |
| | |
857|1453|El-Ashraf Seyf-ed-dīn Īnāl |
| | |
865|1461|El-Mu‘ayyad Shihāb-ed-dīn Aḥmad |
| | |
865|1461|Eḍh-Ḍhāhir Seyf-ed-dīn Khōshḳadam |
| | |
872|1467|Eḍh-Ḍhāhir Seyf-ed-dīn Bilbāy |
| | |
872|1467|Eḍh-Ḍhāhir Temerbughā |
| | |
873|1468|El-Ashraf Seyf-ed-dīn Ḳāït Bey |_Mosque of Ḳāït Bey
| | |(intra muros)._
| | |
| | |_Tomb Mosque of
| | |Ḳāït Bey._
| | |
| | |_Wekāla of Ḳāït
| | |Bey._
| | |
| | |War with the
| | |Ottoman Turks, who
| | |were repeatedly
| | |defeated.
| | |
901|1496|En-Nāṣir Moḥammad |
| | |
904|1498|Eḍh-Ḍhāhir Ḳānṣūh |
| | |
905|1500|El-Ashraf Gānbalāṭ |_Mosque of the Amīr
| | |Ezbek_, 905.
| | |
906|1501|El-Ādil Tūmān Bey |
| | |
906|1501|El-Ashraf Ḳānṣūh El-Ghòry |_Mosque and Tomb
| | |Mosque Ghōrīya_,
| | |909.
| | |
| | |Battle of
| | |Marg-Dābik, and
| | |defeat of Mamlūks
| | |by Selīm I.
| | |
| | |Invasion of Egypt.
| | |
922|1516|El-Ashraf Tūmān Bey |
| | |
922|1516|Egypt annexed by the Ottoman Sultān Selīm.

GENEALOGICAL TREES OF THE FAMILIES REIGNING IN EGYPT.

* * * * *

HOUSE OF ṬŪLŪN.

* * * * *

HOUSE OF IKHSHĪD.

1. Moḥammad El-Ikhshīd
|
+-------------+----------------+
| |
2. Abu-l-Ḳāsim 3. ‘Aly
|
5. Aḥmad

* * * * *

FĀṬIMY KHALIFS.

HOUSE OF AYYŪB.

BAḤRY MAMLŪKS.

(A _dotted_ line denotes the relation of master and slave.)

Eṣ-Ṣāliḥ Ayyūb. (See above.)
|
+------------+----------------+-----------+---------------+
· · · · ·
· · · · ·
1. 2. · · ·
Shejer-ed-durr = Eybek = _x_. 4. Ḳuṭuz. 5. Beybars. ·
(Queen). | | ·
| +--------+-------+---+ ·
| | | | ·
3. 6. 7. | ·
‘Aly. Baraka. Selāmish. Daughter = 8. Ḳalāūn.
|
+------------+----------------+-----------+--------+------+
| | · · ·
| | · · ·
9. Khalīl. 10. En-Nāṣir. 11. Ketbughā. 12. Lāgīn. 13. Beybars II.
|
+------------+------------+-----------+-------------+---------(2)
| | | | |
14. Abū-Bekr. 15. Ḳūgūḳ. 16. Aḥmad. 17. Ismā‘īl. 18. Sha‘bān.

The Burgy Mamlūks present some instances of a son succeeding his father, but as a rule the Sultans of this second line bore no blood relation to one another.

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The art of the Saracens in EgyptChapter I: The Saracens of Egypt (2)

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