Qawsun
Sayf ad-Din Qawsun | |
---|---|
سيف الدين قوصون | |
al-Ashraf Kujuk | |
Personal details | |
Born | 1302 |
Died | April 1342 Mongol, then Mamluk | (aged 39–40)
Sayf ad-Din Qawsun ibn Abdullah an-Nasiri as-Saqi (1302 – April 1342), commonly known as Qawsun (also spelled Qausun or Qusun) was a prominent
Origin
An ethnic
Senior emir of an-Nasir Muhammad
In the course of his leather goods trade, Qawsun encountered one of an-Nasir Muhammad's imperial horse groomers, which ultimately led to an unplanned encounter with an-Nasir Muhammad.[6] The latter was impressed by Qawsun's physical appearance (Qawsun was described as tall, handsome and youthful by Mamluk-era sources) and inquired about him.[6] After Qawsun informed an-Nasir Muhammad that he was only in Egypt for travel,[5] an-Nasir Muhammad insisted that he remain and enter his service, offering to invite Qawsun's family to immigrate to Egypt.[5][6] Qawsun agreed and sold himself to an-Nasir Muhammad, thus becoming a mamluk.[5] The latter act was key to entry into the Mamluk hierarchy and to develop good standing with the Mamluk elite.[5] Qawsun was made part of the sultan's saqut (royal cup-bearers) and his 40-strong khassakiya (personal retinue), whose members held prominent positions in the sultanate.[7] By 1323, he had grown powerful enough to have the naqib al-jaysh, Emir Sunqur al-Sa'di, exiled to Tripoli because he angered Qawsun.[8]
Qawsun's adulthood, his bypassing of the rigorous mamluk training and education process and his lack of military service were an exception to the standard practice of mamluk promotion set by earlier Mamluk sultans. Responsibility for Qawsun's military training was handed to an-Nasir Muhammad's favorite emir at the time, Baktamur as-Saqi. I was bought by the sultan and became one of those closest to him; he made me amir, awarded me commander of one thousand and gave me the hand of his daughter, while others went from the traders directly to the military schools.[6]
Qawsun's status among the emirs was unique at the time because he was allowed to publicly demonstrate his status; he would often ride in Cairo backed by two columns of 300 horsemen and was accompanied by up to one-third of the Mamluk army on his hunting expeditions.[10] While an-Nasir Muhammad favored Qawsun for his company and physical attributes, his principal motivation in elevating Qawsun was to establish an outsider power base to balance the ambitions and power of his own Nasiri mamluks.[10] The establishment of a counterbalance between the Nasiri mamluks and outsiders was a means by the sultan to avoid being toppled by powerful mamluk factions as he had been twice before.[10]
According to the Mamluk historian
Strongman of Egypt
In 1341, an-Nasir Muhammad became ill and sought to arrange for a successor from among his sons. His favored son Anuk died the year prior,
Abu Bakr became sultan after an-Nasir Muhammad's death in June 1341, but actual power was held by Qawsun and the leading emirs (umara al-akabir) of an-Nasir Muhammad.
However, Qawsun's elimination of Abu Bakr, and his imprisonment of Bashtak and several of an-Nasir Muhammad's sons raised the ire of some mamluk factions.[19] The staunchest early opponent of Qawsun to emerge was Tashtamur as-Saqi (known as Hummus Ahdar), the Mamluk na'ib (governor, pl. nuwwab) of Aleppo.[14] He proceeded to rally opposition against Qawsun from among the Mamluk emirs of Syria.[14] Tashtamur and other Mamluk opponents of Qawsun primarily used Qawsun's maltreatment of an-Nasir Muhammad's sons as the justification for their opposition.[20] Meanwhile, Qawsun attempted to place an-Nasir Muhammad's son Ahmad, who was based in the Syrian desert fortress of al-Karak, in custody like his other brothers.[21] Ahmad refused Qawsun's invitations to Cairo to ostensibly assume the sultanate, viewing the entreaty as a ruse.[21] Instead, he turned to the Mamluk emirs of Syria for support, many of whom were sympathetic of Ahmad's predicament.[21]
In response to Ahmad's refusal to come to Cairo, Qawsun took the advice of the Mamluk governor of Damascus, Altunbugha as-Salihi, and ordered a siege of al-Karak to force Ahmad's departure.
Altunbugha began his return to Damascus after plundering Tashtamur's resources in Aleppo, but upon confronting Qutlubugha's troops at Khan Lajin north of Damascus, his far larger army stood down;[23] Qutlubugha had bribed Altunbugha's mamluks before the battle.[24] This was followed by a mass defection of his officers, including the Bedouin chief of the Al Fadl tribe, Sulayman ibn Muhanna, to Qutlubugha.[23] In the following days, Ahmad gained recognition from the nuwwab of Gaza, Safad, Hama and Baalbek.[23] Altunbugha managed to escape to Cairo via Gaza, but his inability to crush the mutiny in Syria significantly contributed to Qawsun's eventual downfall.[23] Nonetheless, Altunbugha's arrival in Egypt with his remaining troops strengthened Qawsun's position in the capital.[24] Qawsun granted them high-income iqta'at (pl. of iqta).[24]
Downfall and death
Despite the wealth Qawsun distributed among his supporters, Emir Aydughmish, his chief associate in managing the state, and the emirs al-Malik and Barsbugha, feared the potential heavy-handedness they would encounter should Qawsun assume the sultanate, which he seemed poised to do.[25] They conspired to topple him, defecting from his camp in Cairo with large numbers of Royal Mamluks.[25] They also conspired with Qawsun's chief personal assistant to hide his horses to prevent their use in battle.[25] In late December 1341,[26] the emirs launched an uprising against Qawsun.[25] Cairene mobs formed demanding Qawsun's ouster and Qawsun's personal mamluks were attacked.[26] Besieged in his citadel with little support, Qawsun and his last major loyalist, Altunbugha, submitted to the rebels.[26] They were imprisoned in Alexandria.[26] On 21 January 1342, Ahmad was proclaimed sultan in Cairo.[26] The new sultan arrived in Cairo in March, and a few weeks thereafter he ordered the properties of Qawsun confiscated by the state.[27] In April, Qawsun and Altunbugha were killed in prison, although it is not clear if their deaths were ordered by Ahmad.[27]
References
- ^ a b c d Steenbergen 2001, p. 462.
- ^ a b c d Steenbergen 2001, p. 450.
- ^ a b Karim, ed. Edwards, p. 29.
- ^ Levanoni 1995, p. 34.
- ^ a b c d e Steenbergen 2001, p. 451.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Levanoni 1995, p. 35.
- ^ a b c d Steenbergen 2001, p. 452.
- ^ Levanoni 1995, pp. 35–36.
- ^ Levanoni 1995, p. 36.
- ^ a b c Steenbergen 2001, p. 454.
- ^ Steenbergen 2001, p. 456.
- ^ a b c Steenbergen 2001, p. 457.
- ^ Bauden 2009, p. 67.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Drory 2006, p. 20.
- ^ Steenbergen 2001, p. 463.
- ^ Holt 1986, p. 121.
- ^ Levanoni 1995, p. 81.
- ^ Levanoni 1995, p. 82.
- ^ Holt 1986, p. 122.
- ^ Drory 2006, pp. 20–21.
- ^ a b c d e f Drory 2006, p. 21.
- ^ a b c d e f Drory 2006, p. 22.
- ^ a b c d Drory 2006, p. 23.
- ^ a b c Levanoni 1995, p. 84.
- ^ a b c d Levanoni 1995, p. 85.
- ^ a b c d e Drory 2006, p. 24.
- ^ a b Drory 2006, p. 25.
Bibliography
- Bauden, Frédéric (2009). "The Sons of al-Nāṣir Muḥammad and the Politics of Puppets: Where Did It All Start?" (PDF). Mamluk Studies Review. 13 (1). Middle East Documentation Center, The University of Chicago.
- Berchem, van, M. (1922). MIFAO 43 Matériaux pour un Corpus Inscriptionum Arabicarum Part 2 Syrie du Sud T.1 Jérusalem "Ville" (in French and Arabic). Cairo: Impr. de l'Institut français d'archéologie orientale. (p. 289, note 4)
- Drory, Joseph (2006). "The Prince who Favored the Desert: Fragmentary Biography of al-Nasir Ahmad (d. 745/1344)". In Wasserstein, David J.; Ayalon, Ami (eds.). Mamluks and Ottomans: Studies in Honour of Michael Winter. Routledge. ISBN 9781136579172.
- Holt, Peter Malcolm (1986). The Age of the Crusades: The Near East from the Eleventh Century to 151. Addison Wesley Longman Limited. ISBN 9781317871521.
- Levanoni, Amalia (1995). A Turning Point in Mamluk History: The Third Reign of Al-Nāṣir Muḥammad Ibn Qalāwūn (1310–1341). Brill. ISBN 9789004101821.
- Mayer, L.A. (1933). Saracenic Heraldry: A Survey. Oxford: Oxford University Press. (pp. 186 -188)
- Steenbergen, Jo Van (2001). "The Amir Qawsun: Statesman or Courtier? (720–741 AH/1320–1341 AD)". In Vermeulen, Urbain; Steenbergen, Jo Van (eds.). Egypt and Syria in the Fatimid, Ayyubid, and Mamluk Eras III. Peeters Publishers. ISBN 9789042909700.