Qaitbay
Qaitbay | |
---|---|
Sultan of Egypt and Syria | |
Reign | 31 January 1468 – 7 August 1496 |
Predecessor | Timurbugha |
Successor | an-Nasir Muhammad |
Born | c. 1416/1418 Circassia |
Died | 7 August 1496 (aged 77–80) |
Spouse |
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Issue |
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Religion | Sunni Islam |
Sultan Abu Al-Nasr Sayf ad-Din Al-Ashraf Qaitbay (
Biography
Early life
Qaitbay was born between 1416 and 1418 in
Accession
The reign of Timurbugha lasted less than two months, as he was dethroned in a palace coup on 30 January 1468.
Early reign
Qaitbay's first major challenge was the insurrection of Shah Suwar, leader of a small
Qaitbay's reign was 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 unearthed, among other things, coins identified as having been derived from Qaitbay.[8] Most of these finds are associated with the medieval Sultanate of Adal,[9] and were sent to the British Museum in London for preservation shortly after their discovery.[8]
Consolidation of power
Following the defeat of Suwar, Qaitbay set about purging his court of the remaining factions and installing his own purchased Mamluks in all positions of power. He frequently went on excursions, ostentatiously leaving the Citadel with limited guards to display his trust of his subordinates and of the populace. He traveled throughout his reign, visiting Alexandria, Damascus, and Aleppo, among other cities, and personally inspecting his many building projects. In 1472 he performed the Hajj to Mecca. He was struck by the poverty of the citizens of Medina and devoted a substantial portion of his private fortune to the alleviation of their plight. Through such measures Qaitbay gained a reputation for piety, charity, and royal self-confidence.[10]
Ottoman-Mamluk war
In 1480 Yashbak led an army against the
In 1491 a final truce was signed that would last through the remaining reigns of Qaitbay and the Ottoman Sultan Bayezid II. Qaitbay's ability to enforce a peace with the greatest military power in the Muslim world further enhanced his prestige at home and abroad.[13]
Final years
The end of Qaitbay's reign was marred by increasing unrest among his troops and a decline in his personal health, including a riding accident that left him comatose for days. Many of his most trusted officials died, and were replaced by far less scrupulous upstarts; a long period of palace intrigue ensued. In 1492 the plague returned to Cairo, and was reported to have claimed 200,000 lives. Qaitbay's health became markedly poor in 1494, and his court, now lacking a figure of central authority, was wracked by infighting, factionalism, and purges.
He died on 8 August 1496 and was interred in the spectacular mausoleum attached to his mosque in Cairo's Northern Cemetery which he had built during his lifetime. He was succeeded by his son, an-Nasir Muhammad (not to be confused with the famed 14th-century sultan of the same name.)[14]
Family
One of his wives was the daughter of Sultan
Legacy
Qaitbay's reign has traditionally been seen as the "happy culmination" of the Burji Mamluk dynasty.
Architectural patronage
Today Qaitbay is perhaps best known for his wide-ranging architectural patronage, which was second only to
One of Qaytbay's largest building projects in Cairo was
Notes
- ^ Other transliterations of his name include Qaytbay, Kait Bey, and Qayt Bay.
References
- ^ Carboni, Venice, 306.
- ^ Petry, Twilight, 24–29.
- ^ Petry, Twilight, 33.
- ^ Petry, Twilight, 22.
- ^ Petry, Twilight, 36–43.
- ^ Petry, Twilight, 43–50.
- ^ Petry, Twilight, 57–72.
- ^ a b Royal Geographical Society (Great Britain), The Geographical Journal, Volume 87, (Royal Geographical Society: 1936), p.301.
- ^ Bernard Samuel Myers, ed., Encyclopedia of World Art, Volume 13, (McGraw-Hill: 1959), p.xcii.
- ^ Petry, Twilight, 73–82.
- ^ Petry, Twilight, 82–88.
- ISBN 9780520068889. Retrieved 16 August 2014.
- ^ Petry, Twilight, 88-103.
- ^ Petry, Twilight, 103–118.
- ^ a b c D'hulster, Kristof; Steenbergen, Jo Van. "Family Matters: The Family-In-Law Impulse in Mamluk Marriage Policy". Annales Islamologiques. 47: 61–82. Retrieved 1 December 2021.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-300-15746-8.
- ^ "The Khasbakiyya Family". Exploring Historic Cairo. Retrieved 5 December 2023.
- ^ Yiğit, Fatma Akkuş (1 January 2018). "Mmelûk Devleti'nde Hareme Dair Bazı Tespitler, XVII. Türk Tarih Kongresi, 15-17 Eylül 2014, Ankara (III. Cilt)". Academia.edu (in Turkish). p. 102. Retrieved 5 December 2021.
- ISBN 978-90-04-13286-3.
- ^ Karam, Amina (22 May 2019). "Women, Architecture and Representation in Mamluk Cairo". AUC DAR Home. p. 105. Archived from the original on 18 December 2021. Retrieved 18 December 2021.
- ^ Garcin, "Regime," 295.
- ^ Petry, Twilight, 233–34.
- ^ Garcin, "Regime," 297.
- ^ a b Williams, Caroline (2018). Islamic Monuments in Cairo: The Practical Guide (7th ed.). Cairo: The American University in Cairo Press. pp. 286–289.
- ^ Meinecke, Mamlukische Architektur, II.396-442.
Sources
- Stefano Carboni, Venice and the Islamic World, 828–1797 (New Haven, 2007).
- J.-C. Garcin, "The regime of the Circassian Mamluks," in C.F. Petry, ed., The Cambridge History of Egypt I: Islamic Egypt, 640–1517 (Cambridge, 1998), 290–317.
- ISBN 387030071X.)
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link - A. W. Newhall, The patronage of the Mamluk Sultan Qā’it Bay, 872–901/1468–1496 (Diss. Harvard, 1987).
- C.F. Petry, Twilight of majesty: the reigns of the Mamlūk Sultans al-Ashrāf Qāytbāy and Qānṣūh al-Ghawrī in Egypt (Seattle, 1993).
- ISBN 0674003160.