Qawsun

Sayf ad-Din Qawsun ibn Abdullah an-Nasiri as-Saqi (1302 – April 1342), commonly known as Qawsun (also spelled Qausun or Qusun) was a prominent Mamluk emir during the reigns of sultans an-Nasir Muhammad (r. 1310–41), al-Mansur Abu Bakr (r. 1341) and al-Ashraf Kujuk (r. 1341–42).

Origin An ethnic Mongol, Qawsun was born in 1302, in the Kipchak steppe north of the Black Sea during the region's rule by the Golden Horde, a Mongol empire. In his early career he was a merchant. The caravan arrived by sea to Alexandria on 5 May 1320. Qawsun had joined Tulunbay's retinue as a traveling merchant, and once he arrived in Egypt, he moved to the Mamluk Sultanate's capital, Cairo, to sell his leather wares.

Senior emir of an-Nasir Muhammad The monumental entrance portal of the Palace of Qawsun, built in the 1330s near Cairo's Citadel, and semi-ruined today. In the course of his leather goods trade, Qawsun encountered one of an-Nasir Muhammad's imperial horse groomers, which ultimately led to an unplanned encounter with an-Nasir Muhammad.

Qawsun's adulthood, his bypassing of the rigorous mamluk training and education process and his lack of military service were an exception to the standard practice of mamluk promotion set by earlier Mamluk sultans. Responsibility for Qawsun's military training was handed to an-Nasir Muhammad's favorite emir at the time, Baktamur as-Saqi. an-Nasir Muhammad also gave Qawsun his daughter's hand in marriage, The establishment of a counterbalance between the Nasiri mamluks and outsiders was a means by the sultan to avoid being toppled by powerful mamluk factions as he had been twice before. However, despite his resentment of Baktamur, Qawsun did not likely play a role in the 1332 assassination by poison of Baktamur and his son Ahmad. They were probably killed in a conspiracy by an-Nasir Muhammad, who had become wary of Baktamur's growing strength and ambition, and Emir Bashtak, a senior emir who was trained by Qawsun, and like the latter, was also an ethnic Mongol. and in picking another of his sons he consulted with Qawsun and Bashtak for advice. Qawsun and Bashtak had been on the brink of war as they jockeyed for supremacy when it became clear that their master's illness was poised to be fatal.

Abu Bakr became sultan after an-Nasir Muhammad's death in June 1341, but actual power was held by Qawsun and the leading emirs (umara al-akabir) of an-Nasir Muhammad. Qawsun and the senior emirs frustrated Abu Bakr's attempts to assert his authority. To avoid his potential arrest by Abu Bakr, Qawsun had him arrested in August on concocted charges of frivolous behavior. Qawsun also had 700 of his own mamluks. With his formal position, a mamluk power base, apparent army support, and personal sources of wealth independent of the government-related iqta system, Qawsun became the effective leader of the sultanate.

Double-page from the Qur'an manuscript endowed by Qawsun upon mosque in his mausoleum complex. Khalili Collection of Islamic Art However, Qawsun's elimination of Abu Bakr, and his imprisonment of Bashtak and several of an-Nasir Muhammad's sons raised the ire of some mamluk factions. The staunchest early opponent of Qawsun to emerge was Tashtamur as-Saqi (known as Hummus Ahdar), the Mamluk na'ib (governor, pl. nuwwab) of Aleppo. Meanwhile, Qawsun attempted to place an-Nasir Muhammad's son Ahmad, who was based in the Syrian desert fortress of al-Karak, in custody like his other brothers. Ahmad refused Qawsun's invitations to Cairo to ostensibly assume the sultanate, viewing the entreaty as a ruse. In the aftermath of Qutlubugha's mutiny, Altunbugha, Aslam, the na'ib of Safad, the na'ib of Homs and Aruqtay, the na'ib of Tripoli rallied to Qawsun's defense, while Qutlubugha, Tashtamur and a number of Damascene emirs formed the core of the opposition. Qutlubugha had bribed Altunbugha's mamluks before the battle. This was followed by a mass defection of his officers, including the Bedouin chief of the Al Fadl tribe, Sulayman ibn Muhanna, to Qutlubugha. They conspired to topple him, defecting from his camp in Cairo with large numbers of Royal Mamluks. the emirs launched an uprising against Qawsun. In April, Qawsun and Altunbugha were killed in prison, although it is not clear if their deaths were ordered by Ahmad. Qawsun's body was returned to Cairo for burial in his funerary complex.