Al-Mansur Muhammad, Sultan of Egypt

Al-Mansur Salah ad-Din Muhammad ibn Hajji ibn Muhammad ibn Qalawun (1347/48–1398), better known as al-Mansur Muhammad, was the Mamluk sultan in 1361–1363. He ruled in name only, with power held by the Mamluk magnates, particularly Yalbugha al-Umari, al-Mansur Muhammad's regent. The latter had al-Manur Muhammad's predecessor and uncle an-Nasir Hasan killed and al-Mansur Muhammad installed to replace him.

Muhammad
Al-Malik al-Mansur
Gold dinar, minted in Egypt, 1361-1363
Sultan of Egypt
Reign17 March 1361 – 29 May 1363
PredecessorAn-Nasir Hasan
Successoral-Ashraf Sha'ban
Born1347/48
Died1398 (age 50–51)
Burial
Names
Al-Malik al-Mansur Salah ad-Din Muhammad ibn Hajji ibn Muhammad ibn Qalawun
HouseQalawuni
DynastyBahri
FatherAl-Muzaffar Hajji
ReligionIslam

Biography

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Al-Mansur Muhammad was the son of Sultan al-Muzaffar Hajji (r. 1346–1347).[1] Following the murder of his uncle, Sultan an-Nasir Hasan (r. 1354–1361), by Emir Yalbugha al-Umari in 1361, the latter and the other senior emirs or magnates selected al-Mansur Muhammad,[2] then an adolescent,[3] as an-Nasir Hasan's successor.[2] His kingmakers consisted of eight emirs, chief among whom were emirs Yalbugha and Taybugha al-Tawil.[2] Their decision to appoint al-Mansur Muhammad, a grandson Sultan an-Nasir Muhammad (r. 1310–1341), ended the tradition of installing sons of an-Nasir Muhammad as sultans.[2] They chose al-Mansur Muhammad instead of an-Nasir Muhammad's last surviving son, al-Amjad Husayn, because they believed al-Mansur Muhammad would be easier to control.[2] In the new order, Yalbugha was the most powerful of the senior emirs, although he ruled mostly in concert with Taybugha.[2]

In early 1363, Yalbugha and Taybugha had al-Mansur Muhammad deposed based on allegations of the sultan's illicit behavior.[3] They chose his cousin, al-Ashraf Sha'ban, the ten-year-old son of al-Amjad Husayn, as al-Mansur Muhammad's successor, in the belief that he would be easier to dominate.[3] Al-Mansur Muhammad died in 1398 and was buried in the mausoleum of his paternal grandmother (wife of al-Muzaffar Hajji) in Rawda Island.[4] He had ten children.[4]

References

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  1. ^ Steenbergen, Jo Van (2006). Order Out of Chaos: Patronage, Conflict and Mamluk Socio-political Culture, 1341–1382. Brill. ISBN 9789004152618.
  2. ^ a b c d e f Steenbergen 2011, p. 434.
  3. ^ a b c Steenbergen 2011, p. 437.
  4. ^ a b Bauden, Frédéric. "The Qalawunids: A Pedigree" (PDF). University of Chicago. Retrieved 2016-02-25.

Bibliography

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  • Steenbergen, Jo Van (September 2011). "The Amir Yalbughā al-Khāṣṣakī, the Qalāwūnid Sultanate, and the Cultural Matrix of Mamlūk Society: A Reassessment of Mamlūk Politics in the 1360s". Journal of the American Oriental Society. 131 (3). American Oriental Society: 423–443. JSTOR 41380710.
Regnal titles
Preceded by Mamluk Sultan
March 1361 – May 1363
Succeeded by