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Qaitbay
Sultan Abu Al-Nasr Sayf ad-Din Al-Ashraf Qaitbay (Arabic: السلطان أبو النصر سيف الدين الأشرف قايتباي; c. 1416/1418 – 7 August 1496) ruled the Mamluk Sultanate from 1468 to 1496 (872 – 901 AH in the Islamic calendar).
As the eighteenth Sultan of Egypt of the Burji dynasty, Qaitbay stabilized the Mamluk state and economy. He consolidated the northern boundaries of the Sultanate with the Ottoman Empire and engaged in trade with other contemporaneous polities.
Qaitbay was Circassian by birth, and was purchased by sultan Barsbay (1422 – 1438) before being freed by Barsbay's successor Jaqmaq (1438 – 1453).
A veteran of sixteen campaigns, Qaitbay was also a great patron of architecture. He commissioned building projects in Mecca, Medina, Jerusalem, Damascus, Aleppo, Alexandria, and in every quarter of Cairo and endowed the religious works with waqfs. He was also known for his piety.
Qaitbay was born between 1416 and 1418 in Circassia in the Caucasus. Skilled in archery and horsemanship, he was enslaved (see Black Sea slave trade) and taken to Cairo around 1440. He was quickly purchased by the reigning sultan Barsbay and assigned to the palace guard.
Barsbay's successor Jaqmaq emancipated Qaitbay after learning that he was a descendant of the Ayyubid Emir of Damascus Al-Ashraf Musa (d. 1237). Jaqmaq then appointed the freed Qaitmat third executive secretary.
Under the sultans Sayf ad-Din Inal, Khushqadam and Yilbay, Qaitbay was further promoted through the Mamluk military hierarchy. He eventually achieved the rank taqaddimat alf, commander of 1,000 Mamluks. Under the Sultan Timurbugha, finally, Qaitbay was appointed atabak, or field marshal, of the entire Mamluk army. Qaitbay amassed a considerable personal fortune with which as sultan he would use for charitable endowments.
The reign of Timurbugha lasted less than two months; he was deposed in a palace coup on 30 January 1468. Qaitbay was proposed as a compromise candidate to replace Timurbugha who would acceptable to the various court factions. He was made Sultan on 31 January.
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Qaitbay
Sultan Abu Al-Nasr Sayf ad-Din Al-Ashraf Qaitbay (Arabic: السلطان أبو النصر سيف الدين الأشرف قايتباي; c. 1416/1418 – 7 August 1496) ruled the Mamluk Sultanate from 1468 to 1496 (872 – 901 AH in the Islamic calendar).
As the eighteenth Sultan of Egypt of the Burji dynasty, Qaitbay stabilized the Mamluk state and economy. He consolidated the northern boundaries of the Sultanate with the Ottoman Empire and engaged in trade with other contemporaneous polities.
Qaitbay was Circassian by birth, and was purchased by sultan Barsbay (1422 – 1438) before being freed by Barsbay's successor Jaqmaq (1438 – 1453).
A veteran of sixteen campaigns, Qaitbay was also a great patron of architecture. He commissioned building projects in Mecca, Medina, Jerusalem, Damascus, Aleppo, Alexandria, and in every quarter of Cairo and endowed the religious works with waqfs. He was also known for his piety.
Qaitbay was born between 1416 and 1418 in Circassia in the Caucasus. Skilled in archery and horsemanship, he was enslaved (see Black Sea slave trade) and taken to Cairo around 1440. He was quickly purchased by the reigning sultan Barsbay and assigned to the palace guard.
Barsbay's successor Jaqmaq emancipated Qaitbay after learning that he was a descendant of the Ayyubid Emir of Damascus Al-Ashraf Musa (d. 1237). Jaqmaq then appointed the freed Qaitmat third executive secretary.
Under the sultans Sayf ad-Din Inal, Khushqadam and Yilbay, Qaitbay was further promoted through the Mamluk military hierarchy. He eventually achieved the rank taqaddimat alf, commander of 1,000 Mamluks. Under the Sultan Timurbugha, finally, Qaitbay was appointed atabak, or field marshal, of the entire Mamluk army. Qaitbay amassed a considerable personal fortune with which as sultan he would use for charitable endowments.
The reign of Timurbugha lasted less than two months; he was deposed in a palace coup on 30 January 1468. Qaitbay was proposed as a compromise candidate to replace Timurbugha who would acceptable to the various court factions. He was made Sultan on 31 January.