Sayf al-Din Jaqmaq

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. 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 al-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 al-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. ==Reign==

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. 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. 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. 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, a widow of Timur, arrived in Cairo with the Kiswah, she was received by throwing stones. Jaqmaq repressed the revolt and allowed the ambassador to go to Mecca. However, the Kiswah she brought only covered the Kaaba for one day. In 1453, Jaqmaq, aged eighty years, died after appointing his son Fakhr al-Din Uthman, who was named after the Ottomans, as successor. ==Family==

Jaqmaq's first wife was Khawand Mughul. She was born in 1403. She was the daughter of judge and confidencial secretary Nasir al-Din ibn al-Birizi, and had been previously married thrice, and a sister named Zaynab (died 10 July 1470). Together they had a daughter, Khadijah (1433–34 – 30 January 1463), who married Atabag Azbak on 13 March 1450. Jaqmaq divorced her in September–October 1438, (died 26 April 1487), the daughter of Qani Bay, son of Sultan Barquq's sister. She died in 1459, She had been previously married to Sultan Barsbay. 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. One of his concubines was Surbay. She was a Circassian and was his favourite concubine. She died in 1438, Another concubine was Dolaybay. Jaqmaq married her to the deputy of Damascus, Barquq. With him, she had one child, Alaybay. ==See also==