Sayf ad-Din Jaqmaq
Gold dinar of Mamluk sultan Jaqmaq minted in Cairo between 1438 and 1440
Sultan of Egypt and Syria
Reign10 September 1438 – 1 February 1453
PredecessorAl-Aziz Jamal ad-Din Yusuf
SuccessorAl-Mansur Fakhr-ad-Din Uthman
Born1373 (1373)
Died13 February 1453(1453-02-13) (aged 79–80)
Spouse
  • Khawand Mughal
  • Khawand Shahzada
  • Khawand Zaynab
  • Khawand Nafisa
  • Khawand Jansuwar
  • Surbay
  • Jawhar al-Handar
  • Khawand Jolban
  • Dolaybay
  • Khawand Zahra
Issue

Sayf ad-Din Jaqmaq (Arabic: الظاهر سيف الدين جقمق; 1373 – 13 February 1453) was the Mamluk sultan of Egypt from 9 September 1438 to 1 February 1453.[1][2]

Early life and career

Jaqmaq was of Circassian descent. He was brought to Egypt by his older brother and sold to atabeg Inal Al-Yusufi during the reign of Sultan Barquq. He later trained in the Cairo Citadel to join the Khasikiya (Sultan's Guards). He then worked as a cupbearer for Sultan An-Nasir Faraj,[3] until he was imprisoned with his brother during a period of instability, to be later freed by emir Taghribirdi, grandfather of Ibn Taghribirdi.

Later on, he became the Mamluk na'ib of Damascus during the reign of Al-Mu'ayyad Shaykh in 1418–1420, in which he built Khan Jaqmaq. Then he became na'ib of the Cairo Citadel under Sultan Sayf ad-Din Tatar. Afterwards, he became atabeg under Sultan Barsbay, in which he led a campaign to repress the revolt of Beylik of Dulkadir in Anatolia. He earned Barsbay's trust to become the guardian of his son Al-Aziz Jamal ad-Din Yusuf. In 1438, Sultan Barsbay died and left the throne to his son Yusuf who was only fifteen years old. Jaqmaq organized a plot by which he ousted Yusuf to become the new sultan at age sixty five.[4]

Reign

A frieze with the coat of arms of Sultan Jaqmaq at Louvre.

Upon becoming the new sultan, a revolt erupted led by emir Korkmaz Al-Sha'abani. However, Jaqmaq distributed gold to both his supporters and those of Korkmaz, the latter found himself abandoned by all. Jaqmaq had him arrested and executed in Alexandria.[5]

Jaqmaq had later to face the uprising of the emirs of Syria. The governors of Damascus, Inal Al-Jakmi, and Aleppo, Tagri Barmash, rallied to Yusuf who managed to escape from Cairo. Yusuf was recaptured and Jaqmaq exiled him to Alexandria. Jaqmaq sent an army led by Akabgha Al-Tamrazi to fight the rebellious emirs who were eventually defeated and captured.[5]

Afterwards, Jaqmaq also had to deal with piracy from the Christian Kingdom of Cyprus and Hospitaller Rhodes. In 1439, Jaqmaq launched a campaign against these two islands but without much success. A second failure in 1442, encouraged him to build a fleet capable of leading a real assault against Rhodes. In July 1444, his fleet left from Egypt to attack Rhodes whose villages were destroyed but the fortress resisted until the fleet commander finally abandoned the siege.[6] After that failure, Jaqmaq remained in peace with his neighbors.

Shahrukh Mirza, son and successor of Timur, sent an embassy to Cairo. He asked Jaqmaq for permission to provide the Kiswah for Kaaba. Jaqmaq initially refused and then accepted the offer despite public opposition. When Shah Rukh's ambassador arrived in Cairo with the Kiswah, she was received by throwing stones.[7] Jaqmaq repressed the revolt and allowed the ambassador to go to Mecca. However, the Kiswah she brought only covered the Kaaba for one day.[8]

During that period, the real danger for the Mamluks was the Ottoman Empire. On November 10, 1444, the Ottoman Sultan Murad II defeated the Crusaders at the Battle of Varna. That victory gave Murad II great prestige in the Muslim world.[9]

In 1453, Jaqmaq, aged eighty years, died after appointing his son Fakhr ad-Din Uthman, who was named after the Ottomans, as successor.[10]

Family

Jaqmaq's first wife was Khawand Mughul. She was born in 1403.[11] She was the daughter of judge and confidencial secretary Nasir al-Din ibn al-Birizi,[12] and had been previously married thrice,[11] one of them being a judge.[12] Her second marriage had been arranged by Sultan Al-Mu'ayyad Shaykh despite her father's objections.[13] She had a brother named Kamal al-Din Muhammad,[14] and a sister named Zaynab (died 10 July 1470).[15] Together they had a daughter, Khadijah (1433–34[16] – 30 January 1463[17]), who married Atabag Azbak on 13 March 1450.[18] Jaqmaq divorced her in September–October 1438,[18] acting on rumors that she had cursed his favorite slave girl Surbay and thus caused her death a month before.[19] She then moved from al-Qa'a al-Kubra to Qa'at al-Barbariyya before she left the citadel for her brother's house.[20] She died on 14 May 1472,[21] and was buried in the courtyard of the mausoleum of Imam al-Shafi'i.[12]

In December 1438, he married Khawand Zaynab, the daughter of Amir Jarbash al-Karimi.[18] Her mother was Fatima Umm Khawand[22] (died 26 April 1487[23]), the daughter of Qani Bay,[24] son of Sultan Barquq's sister.[25] She died in 1459,[18] and was buried in Sultan Barquq's madrasa in Bayn al-Qasrayn.[25] Another wife was Khawand Nafisa, also known as, Khawand at-Turkmaniya.[18] She was the daughter of Dulkadirid ruler, Nasireddin Mehmed Bey,[7] and had been previously married to Janibek as-Sufi.[18] They married in 1440.[7] She had a daughter. She died of plague on 15 April 1449.[18]

Another wife was Khawand Jansuwar, the daughter of Giritbay, a Circassian amir. They married in December 1449–January 1450.[18] Another wife was Khawand Shahzada.[18] She was the daughter of Ottoman Prince Orhan Çelebi, son of Süleyman Çelebi, who was himself the son of Sultan Bayezid I. She had a younger brother named Süleyman Çelebi.[26] She had been previously married to Sultan Barsbay.[27] The two together had four sons. All of them died of plague at Cairo on 26 March 1449. The eldest one named Ahmed being seven years old. Jaqmaq divorced her on 25 December 1450.[26] Another wife was the daughter of Naziru'l-Jaysh Kadi Abdulbasit. They married in April 1451.[18] Another wife was the daughter of Süleyman Bey, ruler of the Dulkadirid. After Jaqmaq's death, she married Sultan Al-Mu'ayyad Shihab al-Din Ahmad. She died on 27 April 1460.[28]

One of his concubines was Surbay. She was a Circassian, and was his favourite concubine. She died in 1438,[18] and was buried at the mausoleum of Qanibay al-Jarkasi.[29] Some other concubines were Jawhar al-Handar and Khawand Jolban. With one of these concubines, he had a son Muhammad and with the other, he had a daughter Fatima.[30] Another concubine was Dolaybay. Jaqmaq married her to the deputy of Damascus, Barquq. With him, she had one child, Alaybay.[30] His son Sultan Al-Mansur Fakhr-ad-Din Uthman was born of a Greek concubine[30] named Khawand Zahra. She was buried in a madrasa built by her son at Bab al-Bahr.[29] He had another daughter, born of a Circassian concubine.[30] His son, Muhammad was married to Khadija, daughter of Aqtuwah, a Circassian, and a relative of Sultan Barsbay.[28] Another daughter was Sitti Sara.[31]

See also

References

  1. ^ Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Egypt/3 History" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 09 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 80–130, see page 102. (7) Period of Burjī Mamelukes
  2. ^ Eduard von Zambaur (1980). معجم الأنساب والأسرات الحاكمة في التاريخ الإسلامي للمستشرق زامباور (in Arabic). Beirut: IslamKotob. p. 164.
  3. ^ Natho 2009, p. 211.
  4. ^ Clot 2009, p. 201.
  5. ^ a b Clot 2009, p. 202.
  6. ^ Clot 2009, p. 203.
  7. ^ a b c Natho 2009, p. 212.
  8. ^ Clot 2009, p. 204.
  9. ^ Clot 2009, pp. 204–205.
  10. ^ Clot 2009, pp. 207–208.
  11. ^ a b Morgenstern, M.; Tietz, C.; Boudignon, C.; Anteby-Yemini, L.; Balog, P.Y.; Chaumont, É.; Frenkel, Y.; Frenkel, M.; Giorda, M.C.C.; Großhans, H.P. (2011). männlich und weiblich schuf Er sie: Studien zur Genderkonstruktion und zum Eherecht in den Mittelmeerreligionen. Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht. p. 244. ISBN 978-3-647-54009-2.
  12. ^ a b c Keddie, N.R.; Baron, B. (2008). Women in Middle Eastern History: Shifting Boundaries in Sex and Gender. Yale University Press. p. 133. ISBN 978-0-300-15746-8.
  13. ^ Karam 2019, p. 90–91.
  14. ^ Kennedy, H.N. (2001). The Historiography of Islamic Egypt: (c. 950 - 1800). Sinica Leidensia. Brill. p. 142. ISBN 978-90-04-11794-5.
  15. ^ Karam 2019, p. 92.
  16. ^ Brunschvig, R. (1999). Studia islamica. G.-P. Maisonneuve-Larose. p. 112. ISSN 0585-5292.
  17. ^ University of California, Berkeley (1960). University of California Publications in Semitic Philology. History of Egypt, 1382-1469 A.D. University of California Press. p. 92.
  18. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Akkuş Yiğit, Fatma (2016-04-20). "Memlûk Sarayında Tek Eşlilik ve Çok Eşlilik Üzerine Bir İnceleme" (PDF). Journal of International Social Research. The Journal of International Social Research. 9 (43): 560–61. doi:10.17719/jisr.20164317631. ISSN 1307-9581.
  19. ^ Karam 2019, p. 79.
  20. ^ Karam 2019, p. 80.
  21. ^ Karam 2019, p. 91.
  22. ^ Sonbol, A.E.A. (2005). Beyond the Exotic: Women's Histories in Islamic Societies. Gender, Culture, and Politics in the Middle East. Syracuse University Press. p. 329. ISBN 978-0-8156-3055-5.
  23. ^ Karam 2019, p. 96.
  24. ^ Taghrībirdī, A.M.Y.I.; Popper, W. (1976). History of Egypt, 1382-1469 A.D.: 1399-1411 A.D. AMS Press. p. 178. ISBN 978-0-404-58814-4.
  25. ^ a b Berkey, J.P. (2014). The Transmission of Knowledge in Medieval Cairo: A Social History of Islamic Education. Princeton Studies on the Near East. Princeton University Press. p. 144. ISBN 978-1-4008-6258-0.
  26. ^ a b Belleten, Volume 17, Issues 65-68. Türk Tarih Kurumu Basımevi. 1953. pp. 524–25, 527.
  27. ^ Shai Har-El (1995). Struggle for Domination in the Middle East: The Ottoman-Mamluk War, 1485-91. BRILL. pp. 73–74. ISBN 978-9-004-10180-7.
  28. ^ a b D'hulster, Kristof; Steenbergen, Jo Van. "Family Matters: The Family-In-Law Impulse in Mamluk Marriage Policy". Annales Islamologiques. 47: 61–82. Retrieved 2021-11-30.
  29. ^ a b Karam 2019, p. 86.
  30. ^ a b c d Ekinci, Abdullah; Yavuz, Esra (2021-06-29). "Burcî Memlükleri Döneminde Cariyeler ve Aile Hayatında Etkileri". Atatürk Üniversitesi Kadın Araştırmaları Dergisi (in Turkish). 3 (1): 33–45. doi:10.51621/atakad.807533. S2CID 234429319. Retrieved 2021-11-30.
  31. ^ Yiğit, Fatma Akkuş (2018-01-01). "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 2021-12-05.

Sources

Regnal titles Preceded byAl-Aziz Jamal ad-Din Yusuf Mamluk Sultan of Egypt 9 September 1438–1 February 1453 Succeeded byAl-Mansur Fakhr-ad-Din Uthman
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