Sirghitmish

Sayf ad-Din Sirghitmish ibn Abdullah an-Nasiri, better known as Sirghitmish (also spelled Sarghitmish) (died 1358) was a prominent Mamluk emir during the reign of Sultan an-Nasir Hasan (r. 1347–1351, 1354–1361). By 1357, Sirgitmish was the most powerful emir in an-Nasir Hasan's court. That year, he had the Madrasa of Sirghitmish built in Cairo. In 1358, the sultan's suspicions of a coup plot by Sirghitmish led to his imprisonment and subsequent death.

Biography Political career Sirghitmish was a mamluk purchased by Sultan an-Nasir Muhammad (r. 1310–1341). He began his career under Sultan al-Muzaffar Hajji (r. 1346–1347), a son of an-Nasir Muhammad. In March/April 1352, in a spiritual bid to recover from an illness, which had lasted for a few days, Sirghitmish donated large alms to the impoverished and freed a certain number of prisoners. He rose to prominence during the second reign of an-Nasir Muhammad's son, an-Nasir Hasan, which began in 1355. Sirghitmish and Emir Shaykhu had led the coup against Sultan as-Salih Salih and the strongman Taz an-Nasiri and restored an-Nasir Hasan to the throne. Sirghitmish and Shaykhu were the major figures in an-Nasir Hasan's court and held the reins of power.

While Sirghitmish was the most powerful figure in the royal court, an-Nasir Hasan sought to assert his authority and oust Sirghitmish. was suppressed in the royal court and replaced by an-Nasir Hasan's own mamluks and supporters.

Cultural patronage

Sirghitmish studied the Arabic language and was well-versed in the Qur'an and calligraphy. He also studied Islamic jurisprudence, and favored the Hanafi madhab (school of thought) of Sunni Islam. Nonetheless, he valued the work of non-Hanafi scholars as well, and showed particular favoritism to the Persian members of the ulama (Muslim scholarly establishment). Persian culture influenced his architectural and cultural patronage.

In 1356 Sirghitmish commissioned the construction of the Madrasa of Sirghitmish (also known as the "Sarghitmishiya Madrasa") in Cairo. The madrasa (Islamic college) consists of four large iwans, ostensibly for the four madhabs of Sunni Islam, although the madrasa was only used by the Hanafi madhab. A feature of Sirghitmish's madrasa unique to similar institutions in Cairo was that a dome was built atop the central portion of the qibla iwan. Another feature not typically seen in Cairene mosques or madrasas is the minaret's bi-colored inlaid masonry. Sirghitmish's son Ibrahim died in 1368/69 and was buried in the madrasa.