State of the Circassians | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1382–1517 | |||||||||
| Status | Sultanate, nominally under theAbbasid Caliphate | ||||||||
| Capital | Cairo | ||||||||
| Spoken languages | Arabic Kipchak Turkish Circassian | ||||||||
| Religion | Sunni Islam | ||||||||
| History | |||||||||
• Established | 1382 | ||||||||
• Disestablished | 1517 | ||||||||
| |||||||||
TheBurji Mamluks (Arabic:المماليك البرجية,romanized: al-Mamalik al-Burjiya) orCircassian Mamluks (Arabic:المماليك الشركس,romanized: al-Mamalik al-Sharkas), sometimes referred to as theBurji dynasty,[1][2] were the rulers of theMamluk Sultanate ofEgypt from 1382 until 1517. As with the precedingBahri Mamluks, the members of the Burji Mamluk ruling class were purchased as slaves (mamluks) andmanumitted, with the most powerful among them taking the role of sultan inCairo. During this period, the ruling Mamluks were generally ofCircassian origin, drawn from the Christian population of thenorthern Caucasus.[3][4][5][6] The nameBurji, meaning 'of the tower', refers to the traditional residence of these Mamluks in the barracks of theCitadel of Cairo.[3][7][8]
Although sultans typically designated their sons to succeed them after death, the latter rarely lasted more than a few years before being usurped by one of the powerful Mamluk commanders, usually from among the Mamluks purchased by previous sultans.[3] Political power-plays often became important in designating a new sultan.[9]
During this period, the Mamluks foughtTimur and conqueredCyprus. Over the course of the 15th century, the sultanate was weakened by infighting and economic decline brought about by multiple factors. Although militarily powerful, they were eventually unable to compete with the more modern army of theOttoman Empire, leading to their eventualconquest in 1517 by the Ottomans.[9]
From 1250, Egypt had been ruled by the first Mamluk dynasty, the mostlyCuman-KipchakTurkicBahri dynasty.[4] In 1377 a revolt broke out in Syria which spread to Egypt, and the government was taken over by theCircassians Barakah andBarquq; Barquq was proclaimedsultan in 1382, ending the Bahri dynasty. He was expelled in 1389 but recaptured Cairo in 1390. Early on, theZahiri Revolt threatened to overthrow Barquq though the conspiracy was discovered before agitators could mobilize. Permanently in power, he founded the Burji dynasty.
Faced with a common enemy,Timur, Barquq joined withBayezid I andToktamish in a combined resistance and executed Timur's peace envoys[when?].[11] In the following months Timur was engaged inGeorgia and unable to respond to Barquq's actions, while Barquq had died by 1399.[11] In 1401, Timur invadedSyria and sackedAleppo[12] andDamascus. Syria was regained by Barquq's son, sultanNasir-ad-Din Faraj, after Timur died in 1405, but Faraj continually faced rebellions from the emirs there and he was forced to abdicate in 1412.
After Faraj, theAbbasid caliphal-Musta'in was permitted to rule the sultanate in Cairo for several months, but the role of sultan was soon taken by another Mamluk,Al-Mu'ayyad Shaykh.[13]
Under the reign of SultanBarsbay, the Mamluk Sultanate grew to its widest territorial extent. In 1426, he invaded theKingdom of Cyprus and forced its kings to become Mamlukvassals. However, Barsbay also introduced a number of economic policies that were damaging in the long term, such as astate monopoly on thespice trade.[14] During Barsbay's reign Egypt's population was greatly reduced from what it had been a few centuries before, with only one fifth of the number of towns.[citation needed] He frequently raidedAsia Minor, but died in 1438.
During the reign ofSayf ad-Din Jaqmaq an attempt to conquerRhodes in 1444 from theKnights of St. John was repelled.
Sayf ad-Din Inal came to power in 1453 and had friendly relations with theOttoman sultanMehmed II, whocaptured Constantinople later that year, causing great celebration in Egypt. The relationship between the Ottomans and the Mamluks became more adversarial after this time. Both states constantly vied for control of thespice trade, and the Ottomans aspired to eventually take control of theHoly Cities ofIslam.[15] Under the reign ofKhusqadam, of Greek origin,[16] tensions increased. Both Khusqadam andMehmed II supported different candidates to the principality ofKaraman.[citation needed]
After the death of Mehmed II in 1481, SultanQaitbay offended the Ottoman sultanBayezid II by harboring his rebellious brother,Cem. Bayezid II later seizedAdana,Tarsus and other places within Mamluk territory, but was unable to defeat the Mamluks during aprolonged war that ended in 1491.[18] Qaitbay also tried to help the Muslims inSpain by threatening the Christians in Syria, but without effect.[citation needed] He died in 1496, leaving several hundred thousand ducats in debts to the greatVenetian trading families.[citation needed]
Following another several years of political instability and succession disputes, the last major Mamluk sultan wasQansuh al-Ghuri, who came to power in 1501. While he attempted some reforms, including the introduction of the first military regiment with gunpowder weapons, he was unable to fully integrate them into the Mamluk army and he could not fix the country's economic problems.[19]
By 1516, the Ottomans were free from other concerns — SultanSelim I had just vanquished theSafavid Persians at theBattle of Chaldiran in 1514[20] —and turned their full might against the Mamluks, who still ruled in Syria and Egypt, to complete the Ottoman conquest of theMiddle East.[20] Al-Ghuri led his army to confront Selim I's invasion of Syria in 1516, but he died in theBattle of Marj Dabiq and the Mamluk army was routed.[19]
In 1517, the Ottomans completed their conquest with the capture of Cairo on January 22.[19] The centre of power transferred from Cairo toConstantinople. However, the mamluks continued to exist as a political and military class inOttoman Egypt. While the governors were appointed by the Ottoman sultan, the mamluks vied for influence within the country and held many high political positions. They were finally destroyed and exterminated byMuhammad Ali Pasha during his rise to power in Egypt in the early 19th century.[21]
Some of the Circassian Mamluks who composed the ruling elite in this period could speak the Circassian language of their origins,[22] but they generally learned Turkish while in Egypt, specificallyKipchak Turkish,[23] as it was the main spoken language among the mamluks during the wider Mamluk Sultanate period.[24][25][23] The main language for writing wasClassical Arabic, while the common language of the general population was a form ofcolloquial Arabic.[24][26] Kipchak Turkish was also used in writing, but to a lesser extent and mainly for a mamluk audience. Over time, it was replaced in this role byOghuz Turkish due to influence from TurkishAnatolia.[25][26]
| Titular Name(s) | Personal Name | Reign | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Al-Zahir الظاہر | Sayf-ad-Din Barquq سیف الدین برقوق | 1382–1389 first reign | |
| Sultan As-Saleh Al-Muzaffar Al-Mansur سلطان الصالح المظفر المنصور | Salah-ad-Din Hajji II صلاح الدین حاجی ثانی | 1389 | |
| Al-Zahir الظاہر | Sayf-ad-Din Barquq سیف الدین برقوق | 1390–1399 second reign | |
| Al-Nasir الناصر | Nasir-ad-Din Faraj ناصر الدین فرج | 1399–1405 first reign | |
| Al-Mansur المنصور | Izz ad-Din Abd al-Aziz عز الدین عبدالعزیز | 1405 | |
| Al-Nasir الناصر | Nasir-ad-Din Faraj ناصر الدین فرج | 1405–1412 second reign | |
| Al-Adil العادل | Al-Musta'in Billah المستعین باللہ | 1412 | |
| Al-Mu'ayyad المؤید | Shaykh al-Mahmudi شيخ المحمودى | 1412–1421 | |
| Al-Muzaffar المظفر | Ahmad أحمد | 1421 | |
| Al-Zahir الظاہر | Sayf ad-Din Tatar سیف الدین تتر | 1421 | |
| As-Saleh الصالح | An-Nasir ad-Din Muhammad ناصر الدین محمد | 1421–1422 | |
| Al-Ashraf الأشرف | Sayf-ad-Din Barsbay سیف الدین برسبای | 1422–1437 | |
| Al-Aziz العزیز | Jamal-ad-Din Yusuf جمال الدین یوسف | 1437–1438 | |
| Al-Zahir الظاہر | Sayf ad-Din Jaqmaq سیف الدین جقمق | 1438–1453 | |
| Al-Mansur المنصور | Fakhr-ad-Din Uthman فخرالدین عثمان | 1453 | |
| Al-Ashraf الأشرف | Sayf-ad-Din Inal سیف الدین إینال | 1453–1461 | |
| Al-Mu'ayyad المؤید | Shihab-ad-Din Ahmad شھاب الدین أحمد | 1461 | |
| Al-Zahir الظاہر | Sayf ad-Din Khushqadam سیف الدین خوش قدم | 1461–1467 | |
| Al-Zahir الظاہر | Sayf ad-Din Bilbay سیف الدین بلبأی | 1467 | |
| Al-Zahir الظاہر | Taimur Bugha تیمور بغا | 1467–1468 | |
| Al-Ashraf الأشرف | Sayf-ad-Din Qait Bay سیف الدین قایتبای | 1468–1496 | |
| Al-Nasir الناصر | Muhammad bin Qait Bay الناصر محمد بن قایتبای | 1496–1497 first reign | |
| Al-Zahir الظاہر | Qansuh Khumsama'ah [arz] قانصوه خمسمائة | 1497 | |
| Al-Nasir الناصر | Muhammad bin Qait Bay الناصر محمد بن قایتبای | 1497–1498 second reign | |
| Al-Zahir الظاہر | Qansuh Al-Ashrafi قانصوہ الأشرفی | 1498–1500 | |
| Al-Ashraf الأشرف | Al-Ashraf Janbalat جنبلاط | 1500–1501 | |
| Al-Adil العادل | Sayf-ad-Din Tuman Bay I سیف الدین طومان بای | 1501 | |
| Al-Ashraf الأشرف | Qansuh Al-Ghawri قانصوہ الغوری | 1501–1516 | |
| Al-Ashraf الأشرف | Tuman Bay II طومان بای | 1516–1517 | |
| Burji dynasty of theMamluk Sultanate (Cairo) falls toOttoman Empire under SultanSelim I in 1517 C.E. | |||
By the late fourteenth century Circassians from the north Caucasus region had become the majority in the Mamluk ranks.
—Royal house — Burji dynasty | ||
| Preceded by | Ruling house ofEgypt 1382 – 1517 | Succeeded by |
