3596294

Studies in al-Jabart I.
Notes on the Transformation of Mamluk Society in Egypt under

the Ottomans
Author(s): David Ayalon
Source: Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient, Vol. 3, No. 2 (Aug.,
1960), pp. 148-174
Published by: Brill
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STUDIES IN AL-JABARTI I')

Notes on the Transformation of Mamluk Society
in Egypt under the Ottomans
BY
DAVID AYALON
The Hebrew University, Jerusalem
TABLE OF CONTENTS
? i Preface.
? z Scope of the Study
5 3 The Transformation of Mamluk Names and its Consequ

? 4 The Early Career of the Mamluk
? 5 Education and Manumission
? 6 The Mamluk's Relations with his Comrades and his Patr

7 His Relations with his Comrades in Ser vitude and Manum
8 The Synonymity of Khushddsh and Akh
? 9 The Mamluk's Relations with his Patron
? io Clarification of the Term Tibi'
Si11 The Freedman's Attitude towards his Patron
? i z The Patron as the Mamluk's "Father"
? 13 The Interplay of Mamluk Ties and Natural Family
Ties in Mamluk Society and its Consequences
? 14 The Mamluk "House" (Bayt)

1 5 The "Open House" (al-Bayt al-Maftfh)
1? 6 The Synonymity of "House" (Bayt) and "Family" ('Ila)
I) This paper constitutes part of a study in progress on Egy
period and during Muh1ammad 'Ali's rule, carried out under a R
tion grant. Another part of the same study, called "The Hist
his Background" will appear in the June i96o number of B
"A Comparison between the Mamluk Societies of Egypt in th
and under the Ottomans" in Proceedings of the Twenty-Third Inte
Orientalists, Cambridge, I954, PP- 333-335. For the structure
Mamluk military society see my ,,L'Esclavage du Mamelouk", Je
System of Payment in Mamluk Military Society",JESHO, I95
works cited in note i, p. 152 of this paper.
STUDIES IN AL-JABARTI 149
? 17 The "Clan" ('Ashira) and the "Tribe" (Qabila) i
? 18 The Mamluk Factions' Determination to Extermin
? 19 Firearms and the Increase of Bloodshed

? 2o The Mounted Servants (Sarra4in) as Killers of
S2zi The Ultimate Aim: The Total Annihilation of
? 22 Mamluks Owned by Civilians and their Positi
? 23 The "Black Mamluk" (Mamlfk Aswad)

? 24 The Absence of Racial Antagonism among the
? 25 Appendix
? i Preface
The Mamluk military and slave institutio

one of the main instruments by means of
could successfully fight its external enemies
particularly important role in the struggles a
one hand, and against the steadily growing m
resulting from the latter's technical prep
One of the main reasons for the great milita
lukdom had been the total or almost total ab
in the camp of Islam's adversaries. But this v
worthy of note to Mamlukdom outside th
civilization, which had been a blessing to Isla
back to Islamic research, for it caused the ne
of that institution, thus preventing a tru

in Muslim history.
Now the obvious question arises: Is it p
the Mamluk institution in the various and wid
it took during the thousand years or so of

to this question is: Unfortunately not. In
knowledge there is but little hope that the s

of any Mamluk organization, up to the very
sultanate in the middle of the thirteenth cent
described. Thus there is little likelihood th
which enshrouds the first five hundred year

raised soon, and that we shall be able to tra
150
D.
AYALON
origins
If
we
and
the
exclude
process
the
militar
which is undoubtedly a
owing to special circum
lines
than
an
ordinary
Ma
the Muslim world two

two distinct stages-whic
with great detail and ac
tanate; the other is that
structed because of the
of the sources of the M
of
the
existence
of
the
greatest
of
the
ch
historians
the
greatest historian of
is extremely valuable fo
he dedicates very ample
pivotal theme is the hist
seventeenth to the begin
the study of al-Jabarti
available sources on Ott
as far as the phenomenon
through an intimate kn
sultanate and through a c
I)
'Aja'ib
chronicles
than
to
the
al-Athar
dealing
chronicle
which
fi
with
of
al-Jabarti
at-Ta
the
hi
al-Jabarti
alludes
on
Jabarti's and ad-Dimurddshi

Dimurddshi Kitkhudi 'AzabIn
al-Kindna, and which deals w
published. The manuscript o
sulted for this work. The material of the Ottoman Archives which has become
available in recent years to the historians may add, of course, very much to our
knowledge of Ottoman Egypt. Stanford J. Shaw, of the Center for Middle Eastern
Studies, Harvard University, has recently completed a comprehensive study on the
administration and finances of Ottoman Egypt, based mainly on archive material.
STUDIES IN AL-JABARTI15 I1
Mamluk society under the Ottomans can be correctly desc

rightly understood.
The reconstruction of Mamluk society under Ottoman rule
important for the understanding of the Mamluk institution as a w
this is by no means its only importance. Similarly significant
tribution to our knowledge of the period preceding the r

Muhammad 'Ali, which had been the earliest and-in their
most thorough reforms carried out in the whole east. It is

conviction of the present writer that a reliable and a detailed
Egyptian military society in the period covered by al-Jabarti'
will throw much light on the achievements and failures of M
'Ali's rule in particular and on the history of Egypt since Bo
occupation and up to the present day in general.
? 2 Scope of the Study
The present study does not claim to be exhaustive. It will d
with the comparison of a few typical aspects of the two

societies under discussion. In order to make it easier for the reader to
follow our line of argument, we shall state our main conclusions in

advance.
a) The enormously wide gulf separating the mamluks from the rest
of the people in the Mamluk sultanate had been greatly narrowed

in Ottoman Egypt, though it still remained very wide. This narrowing
of the gulf was caused by the example which the Ottoman masters
gave in this respect and by the ever-growing power of the beduins
(nomads and semi-nomads).
b) The hatred between the various Mamluk factions which had been
quite strong in the Mamluk sultanate had become incomparably more
intense under the Ottomans. This was caused by the abandonment of
one of the main principles of Mamlukdom, namely, that the status of a
mamluk cannot be inherited by his son; by the introduction of firearms
and by the intimate connections existing between the Mamluk and

nomad societies.
2 D. AYALON
? 3 The Transformation of Mamlu

One of the main differences between the two societies under dis-
cussion, which had far-reaching effects on their respective destinies

and structures, was that the earlier mamluks bore almost exclusively
Turkish or other non-Arab names, whereas the mamluks of Ottoman
Egypt bore, with quite a limited number of exceptions, only Arab

names. This transformation of Mamluk names had been inevitable
under the Ottomans, for the Ottoman ruling class, including the
whole Ottoman "slave" society, usually bore Muslim (i.e. mainly Arab)
names. It would, therefore, have been quite unnatural if, under Ottoman
rule, a military caste would continue to exist, whose members bear
names like Baybars, Qalinm, Barqiq, Aqsunqur, Baybughi, Tankiz,
Aydakin, Ayndl, Jaqmaq, Jdnim, Qinsfih, Tiimdnbdy, etc., which for

several centuries had served as almost watertight proof of their belong-
ing to the Mamluk ruling class and as a most distinctive mark of their
superiority over all outsiders. The following examples clearly
illustrate the supreme importance which the mamluks of the preOttoman period attached to the name-barrier separating them from
the local Muslim population, and the prestige which the non-Arab
names bestowed upon the mamluks even outside their realm.
Sultan az-Zihir Timurbugha, like his predecessor az-Zhir Yalbay,
paid the nafaqa to the mamluks but withheld it from the sons of the
mamluks (awldd an-nis). Some of these awldd an-nds expressed the wish
that Timurbughd's reign, like that of his predecessor, would come to
an end, because both of them withheld the pay from those who bore
the names of the prophets and of the companions of Muhammad and
gave it to those who bore the names of the mamluks, for "they hate
whoever is called by the name of a prophet or of a companion of

Muhammad" (wa-lahaja ba'dubum bi-zawdl mulkihi ka-mda dla mulk
alladhi qablahu li-kawnihimd mana'd man ismuhu ism nabi aw sa!hdbi wa-
a'.tayd man ismuhu ism al-mamdlik wa-annahumd yabghuddni man yusammd

bi-asmd' al-anbiyd' was-sahdba) 1)).
I) I-lawddith, p. 616, 11. i-8 and especially 11. 5-8. It should be noted that Yalbdy
and Timurbughi were no exception in treating the awldd an-nds as an inferior class
STUDIES IN AL-JABART 153
Sultan Jaqmaq (842/1438-857/1453) was a

person. During his sultanate he wanted-i
other mamluk-to call himself by the name
his original name. He later decided, howe
The reason for his change of mind had be
boring rulers would mistake him for a no
Arab name] and would therefore covet h
sal.tanatihi an yatasammd bi-Mu.hammad tash

thumma ra'd al-jam'a baynahumd lammd khu
li-.annihim
kawnahu
min mention
ghayr al-atrdk)
1). of non-mamluks
The contemporary
sources
several instances
who joined the Mamluk upper class by fraudulent means. The first step
that each of these persons took in his attempt to smuggle himself

into Mamluk society was to change his Arab name into a Turkish one 2).
Had the mamluks kept their foreign names under the Ottomans,
they would have inevitably become superior to the members of the
Ottoman army and administrative service stationed in Egypt, whose
names were similar to those of the local population. So the mamluks
had to discard their foreign names and adopt Arab ones instead.
This change into Arab names seems to have been quite rapid 3),
and in withholding or drastically curtailing their pay (see the writer's "Studies on
the Structure of the Mamluk Army", BSOAS, 1953, pp. 456-459; Gunpowder and
Firearms in the Mamluk Kingdom", London, 1956, pp. 64 f; "The System of Payment
in Mamluk Military Society", Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient,
ed. Brill, Leiden, I957, P. 5 8.

i) paw', III, pp. 71, 1. 27-72, 1. I.
2) For three typical cases, which are by no means the only ones, see: paw',
III, p. 74, 11. 24-26. Nujim (P), VII, pp. 609, 1. i6-6io, 1. 5. Daw', VI, p. 197,
11. 8-12. paw', III, pp. i6, 90; IV, p. 12, 11. 2-13.
3) Cf. the names of Mamluk amirs mentioned by J. J. Marcel and A. Ryme in
.6gypte, depuis la Conquite des Arabes Jusqu'h la Domination Franfaise, Paris, 1848,
pp. 191 ff. During the first fifty years or so of Ottoman rule names of sanjaqs
like Ibrahim, 'Isa, Hamza, Muhammad b. 'Umar, Jahm al-Hamzdwi, etc. are
mentioned (ibid. pp. 197; 198, n. 3; I99b, zooa). One finds also a Mamluk name:
MImAy (ibid., p. zoo-a-b). In the works of Muhammad b. Abi as-Surfir al-Bakri
and his son, which cover the early part of Ottoman rule in Egypt, Arab names of
Mamluk amirs are encountered most frequently. On these two chroniclers see S. J.
Shaw, art. al-Bakri, E12.
154
D.
and
AYALON
in
the
majority
Ism'il,
period
of
the
'Abd
Salim,
cover
mamluk
Allh,
'Abd
Sulaymin,
Mu
Ya~hy, IHasan, Husayn,

To illustrate the predom
study
two
brings
in
out
important
these
of
the
nume
beginnin
sanjaqs
only
one
of
(Qdns
historian mentions th
killed by Muhammad '
Only two of them (Sh
As may be seen, howe
Arab names have not
Shihin
5)
Duqmdq
and
8),
Qildn?)"l).
Turkish
Rustum
Bashtak
The
name
name,
is
of
on
i) Al-Jabarti, 'Ajd'ib al-Ath

of al-Jabarti will be cited by
repeating the name of the a
2)
3)
IV,
It
is
p.
amongst
4)
5)
6)
7)
131,
11.
worthy
the
of
local
12-24.
note
I, p. 39, 1. I6.
III, p. 351, 1. 31; IV,
I, p. 305, 11. 4, 5; P. 4
The
name
of
this
5,
1.
who bore an Arab

8) I, p. 48, 1. 2.
9)
that
populatio
III,
p.
sanjaq
name,
22;
IV,
10) I, p. 27, 11. 12-13; p. 5 1

P- 345, 1. 22; p. 346, 11. 6-7;
time of the Mamluk sultanate.
i1) These two persons appear always together. See, for example, I, p. 54, 1
p. ii6, 1. 22.
12) I, pp. 94, 1. 33-95, 1. 2. Ad-Dimurdishi writes 'Iwad throughout. See, for
example, fol. 100oo, 11. 3-5. Sometimes a Turkish addition or a "nickname" is appended
STUDIES IN AL-JABARTI 15 5
Whatever the reason for the survival under the Ottomans of few
Turkish names may be, they can serve only as an exception wh

proves the rule.
The transformation of Mamluk names under the Ottomans had far-
reaching consequences for the following reasons. It has been pointed

out in the preceding lines that in the Mamluk sultanate the sons of
the mamluks (awldd an-nds) bore, in contrast to their fathers, almost
exclusively Arab names. Thus an Arab name to a son of a mamluk
in that sultanate served as an automatic certificate of his discharge and
expulsion from the Mamluk upper class on the one hand, and as a long
step towards his assimilation in the local population on the other hand.
This was undoubtedly one of the most formidable arbitrary measures
by means of which the ruling society tried to preserve its Mamluk

purity, namely, that Mamlukdom is a nobility of foreigners converted
to Islam, a nobility limited to one generation only and, therefore,
cannot be hereditary. The greatest danger to the implementation of
this principle came, of course, from the sons of the mamluks, for it
is only human for a Mamluk father to do his utmost in order that his
son would become the heir to his rank, position and other material
gains and for the son to attempt as hard as he can to become his
father's heir. Had the Mamluk fathers and their sons succeeded in
obtaining their common aim, the result would have been quite
It is a well-known fact that the Ottomans, by allowing the son
the Janissaries-from a given moment onwards-to join the Jani
corps, have caused, by this single measure, the ultimate disintegr
of the whole Ottoman military "slave" system.
In Ottoman Egypt the name barrier separating the mamluks fro

their sons was removed by the abolishment of the non-Arab na
and this, together with an even more important factor, viz. the ge
to the Arab name of the mamluk and becomes an integral part of it: Ku
Muhammad (I, p. 90, 1. 24); Qard Ismd'il (I, p. 41, 1. zz22); .Srl (the 'yellow') 'All
(I, p. 16, 11. 9, z3; P. 135, 11. 17-18); Muhammad QatTmish (I, pp. 52, 1. 30-53, 1. 3;
p. I29, i. 22; p. 143, 1. 32). It has even happened that a Turkish name had been
attached to the name of a religious man: ash-Shaykh 'Ali Qdytbdy (I, p. 304, 1. I6;
p. 374, 11. 31-32; II, p. o00, 1. 3).
156
D.
AYALON
disintegration of the "slave"

empire, had a very strong e
Mamluk society. Whereas in
rarely that the son of a Mam
under the Ottomans one com
sons of mamluks who reache

highest rank to which a mam
are some clear indications th

procedure was to appoint his
When Darwish Bak died, his

in his stead "because the son
al-mutawaffd
'Ali
Sagh7r)
Kitkhudi
3).
When
al-Hindi
(md
walad)only
4).natural
Whenthat
Iw.ztheir
Baksons
andIsmd'il
Ibrdhim
Bak Abii
it
was labu
considered
and Muhammad
succee
Shanab died,
Abii Shanab would succeed them, whereas their most important

mamluks Yfisuf al-Jazzdr and Muhammad Jarkas, though they reached
i) D. Ayalon, "Studies on the Structure of the Mamluk Army", BSOAS, 1953,
pp. 456-457.
z) Here are a few instances: I, p. 47, 1. I3; p. 53, 11. 31-3z; pp. 53, 1. 3z-54, 1. 4;
p. 90, 11. lo-1i; p. 93, 11. 25-27; p. I09, 11. 7-9; P. 112, 11. 16, 32; p. II, 1. z; p. 116,
11. 9-10, 11. 11-12; p. 134,11. 5-6; p. I35, 11. 13-14; p. 136,11. 3-4; P. 150, 1. 30; P. 153,
11. 30-32; p. 169, 11. 18-20o; p. 170, 1. 22; p. 173, 11. 22-23; p. 178, 1. 27;
p. 85, 11. 12, 13-15 ; p. 204, 11. 4-5; P. 249, 1. 25; p. 376, 11. o1-Iz; II, p. 38, 11. 29'33;
p. 80, 11. 27-30; p. 92, 11. 3-4; III, p. 268, 11. io-26. Some of the above mentioned
references contain information about two and more sons of the same father who
reached the rank of a sanjaq. Few other references mention the transfer of t
ranjaq~ya to a near relative such as a brother or a brother-in-law. Because numerou

fanjaqs were killed in the prime of their lives (see below) their sons often rose to th
highest rank at a young age. Ismd'il b. Iwdz, for example, made his brilliant career
between the age of thirteen, when his father was murdered, and the age of twent
eight, when he himself was murdered (I, pp. 114, 1. 33-Izz, 1. 14). Yet even
Mamluk society under the Ottomans the case of Marziq Bak, the son of Ibrdh
Bak (the khusbddsh and rival of Murad Bak), is an exception. He became sanjaq
his father's lifetime when he was still a baby (tifl faghbr wa-ma'ahbu ad-ddda wal
mur4di'a) (II, 80, 11. 27-30). He was killed by Muhammad 'Ali during the gre
massacre of the mamluks in the citadel in 1811.
3) Dimurdashi, fol. 30, 11. 6-7.

4) Dimurddshi, fol. 228, 1. 9.
the rank of sanjaq as well, became officiall

of the sons of their patrons 1).
Such a practice would have been unim

sultanate.
If such was the state of affairs at the top of Mamluk hietarchy, the
chances are that in the lower ranks, about which al-Jabarti and other
contemporary historians supply much scantier information, the nonmamluk element had been represented even more strongly. One of the
greatest obstacles in the way of reconstructing the Mamluk institution
in Ottoman Egypt lies in the difficulty of drawing an exact line between
the mamluks and the non-mamluks. This difficulty stems to a great

extent from the fact that both bear the same Arab names.
The enlistment of sons of mamluks in great and growing numbers

in the upper class, which formerly had been composed almost exclu-
sively of pure mamluks, naturally brought about a profound change

in the Mamluk society of Ottoman Egypt, some features of which
will be discussed later. Yet, in spite of the fact that the main principle
of Mamlukdom, the absence of heredity, had been, if not entirely
broken, at least badly shattered, Mamluk society in Ottoman Egypt
managed to escape the fate which befell the Ottoman "slave" society
when it abandoned the same principle sometime during the sixteenth
century. The Janissaries merged as a result into the broad masses,
whereas the Circassians remained an aristocracy.
The reasons why the Mamluks under the Ottomans fared better than
the Janissaries after having discarded the strict adoption of the principle
of non-heredity deserve a separate and exhaustive study. Here we

shall only note that in Egypt there did not exist any local element
strong enough to push its way into the upper class through the breach
created by the Mamluks' allowing their offspring to join their ranks.
Another factor which might have greatly contributed to the preservation
of Mamluk society in Egypt was that-according to numerous European
travellers-Mamluk birthrate was extremely low. If this account is

I) I, pp. 94, 1. 33-98, 1. lo; pp. 195, 1. 7-1o6, 1. 17; p. 11o, 1. z2-I, 1. I3; pp. 114,
1. 33-122, 1. 14; pp. z126, 1. 13-131, 1. 7; p. 134, 11. 6-23.
I J 8 D. AYALON
true, it would mean that the ma

for submerging the society of
pointed out that the above evide
corroborated by any Arab sour

or under Ottoman rule.
But though the admission of the sons of the mamluks into the
Mamluk upper class did not bring about its disintegration, it had
greatly changed its structure and its character and made it very different
from its earlier prototype of the Mamluk sultanate; for Ottoman
Egypt witnessed the peculiar mixture and blending of Mamluk ties with
natural family ties. But in order to draw a reliable picture of this strang
phenomenon-which is perhaps unique in Muslim history-we have
to concentrate first on the study of the Mamluk ties of Mamluk society
under the Ottomans, and we have to do this in considerable detail.

5 4 The Early Career of the Mamluk
Our knowledge of the early stage of the mamluk's career since his
departure from his country of origin and up to his manumission is

quite scanty in the Mamluk sultanate 1). It is far scantier under th
Ottomans. Yet whatever we know of this part of the Mamluk's lif
is very important, for the Mamluk's period of slavery immensely

influenced his future relations and his career as a freedman, about
which we know a considerable deal both in the Mamluk sultanate
and in Ottoman Egypt.

r y Education and Manumission
The slave merchants were called jallibiin 2) or yasarjfya 3), and that
is practically all that is known about them. Their relations with the
authorities and with the mamluks bought by them are shrouded in

obscurity.
I) See "L'Esclavage da Mamelouk", p. I ff.
2) IV, p. 27, 1. I5; p. 34, 1. 25.
3) 1, p. 391, 1. 32; II, p. I, 11. 1y-I6; p. i8o, 11. 12-13; III, p. 178, 11. 6-7; IV,
p. I 6, 11. 30-3 .
The early career of the mamluk in the M
reconstructed mainly by the study of the bio
amirs in the contemporary historical sources
repeated for the Ottoman period because t

Ottoman Egypt do not include biographies
-whose chronicle contains an unusually ri
pays almost no attention to the activities of
preceding his enfranchisement. It is only
that al-Jabarti abandons his persistent sile
and passing glimpse into the life of the unm
'Ali b. 'Abdallih (died in I20o5/790-91), w

was the mamluk of Ahmad Kitkhudi Silih
when he still was a small child. He was br
studied the Koran and some elements of th
the military games and exercises (furisiy
arrows. He rose in his master's service until he became a treasurer
(khidinddr) ..... then he manumitted him ('Al~ b. 'Abdalldh ar-R
al-asl mawld al-amir A.mad Kitkhudd Sdli.h ishtardhu sayyiduhu sagh
fa-tarabbd
ft al-.har7m wa-aqra'ahu al-Qur'dn wa-ba'd mutin al-fiqh wata'allama al-furfisfya wa-ramy as-sihdm wa-taraqqd hattd 'amila khgZinddr
'indahu ...... thumma a'taqahu) 1).
Now the question which arises in connection with this biography is
whether it is typical of the normal career of the mamluk or not. The
absence of a similar biography or biographies in al-Jabarti's chronicle
prevents us from giving an authoritative answer forthwith. Each element
of 'Ali b. 'Abdillah's career must be examined separately and compared

with additional data furnished by al-Jabarti and others. But before
starting with this rather detailed and lengthy kind of study attention
should be called in advance to the fact that in most of its elements the
history of 'Ali b. 'Abddlldh is very similar to the history of the ordinary
Mamluk recruit in the Mamluk sultanate up to his manumission, viz.
being imported to Egypt as a child, being brought up (rabbd) by his

master, receiving religious education first and military training later on,
I) II, p. 214, 11. 19-22.
60o D. AYALON
being manumitted. It is rather u

cidence. In one important aspect,
tanate differed from the above me
grew up in the Harem of the sul
their period of education and train
racks. But to this aspect we shall

That a Mamluk recruit in Ottom
his patron and was manumitted by
The words rabbd and tarbiya in co
mamluk are quite frequent in al
frequent are the words a'taqa 3),
ma'atiq) 5). The evidence of al-Jaba
the most important amir in the cl
(al-am7r al-kabfr ash-shah7r bi-Ibr

umard' al-ulff al-misriyy7n) 6), is o
says about him: "He bought num
up and manumitted them" (ishtard
wa-a'taqahum) 7). Not less impor
I) See "L'Esclavage, etc.", pp. 22-24.

2) See, for example, I, p. iII, 1. 14; III,
1. 19. For a tarbiya given to a great secti

a whole see IV, p. 263, 1. 19 and especially
3) II, p. 20, 1. 4; III, p. 176, 1. 1; p. 290, 1

1. I9.
4) I, p. 91, 1. 18; p. 376, 1. 17; III, p.
5) I, p. II6, 11. 20-21; p. zo05, 1. 32; p. 20

Dimurddshi, fol. 99, 11. 6-7.
6) IV, p. 263, 11. 11-12.
7) IV, p. 263, 1. 19. The following passag
light it throws on various aspects of

period of slavery. It deserves a very p
Egypt. However, the fact that this is only

led me to mention it in a footnote for th
later in this study. On the sixth of Dhfi a
[unmanumitted] mamluks should not go
alone in town. The old usage in Mamluk
al-mamalik) was that they should never r

But this usage was abandoned together w
al-matrzkat), and the mamluks married a
own, and rode horses and came and went
STUDIES IN AL-JABARTi I6I
repeatedly speaks of the mamluks of his time as freedme
Thus the mamluks in Ottoman Egypt continued to be m
in the past and did not adopt the custom of their conqu
setting their military "slaves" (kullar) free. Had they fol
mans in this respect the whole history and structure of
in Modern Times would have been profoundly affect
factors which might have helped the mamluks in sticki
custom of manumitting themselves was that a few deca
their rides in the main streets, holding their pipes in their hands
this without being denounced, although they still were in the stat
unmanumitted) (wa-hum ft ar-riqq). It did not even occur to them
doing anything contradictory to good manners, because thei
disapprove of them and allowed them to do all sorts of things (wa
bdlihim khurujuhum 'an al-adab li-'adam inkdr asyddihim wa-tarakhkh
umfr). For example, when a notable person would die, one of t
hurry to his powerful patron, kiss his hand and ask him that he w
dead man's wife. The patron would usually grant him his request a
would ride forthwith to the house of the deceased even before th
there, live in the house, take possession of the dead man's pro
the men's apartment waiting for the termination of the widow's per
In the meantime he would give orders and demand lunch, dinner,
and drinks from the Harem, and he would behave as if he had bee
of the house. Often this would suit the purpose of the widowe
found that the mamluk was a young, strong and good looking
buried husband had been the opposite-she would show him the
and thus he would become an amir without being officially appoin

(fa-yusbihu am7ran min ghayri ta'ammur) and he would have many
and waiters and companions, and he would ride and come and go t
house of his patron and for his own private needs, and so on. One
of the mamluks' riding alone in the streets was raised in the
Bdsh! [the Ottoman governor of Egypt] in the presence of some o
who said: 'this is lack of manners and it is contradictory to th
we have witnessed and upon which we have been brought up' (fa-q
adab wa-khildf al-'dda al-qadima allati ra'ayndhd wa-tarabbaynd 'alayhd
'write a firman forbidding this'. They did so and denounced the p
and triviality (wa-nddfi bihi min qabil ash-shughl al-firigh) (II, p. 145,
Gibb and Bowen, Islamic Society and the West, Vol. I, part I, p. zz
example is useful for the clarification of the term fi ar-riqq

"Muhammad Bak Abrf Dhahab bought Murid Bak in the yea
remained in the state of slavery for a short while and then his p
him" (fa-aqdma ft ar-riqq ayydman qalila thumma a'taqahu) (III, p.
i) Volney, Voyage en Syrie et en 1Egypte pendant les annies 1783,
11dition, Paris, I795,I, pp. 98-99;p.I04; P. 131; P. I3z, note i; p. 1

study is based on Arab sources, and especially on al-Jabarti's chro
JESHO
III
II
16z
D.
the
AYALON
conquest
process
of
Egypt
from
the
which
disintegrated.
Additional and, in my
of the unmanumitted m
Jabarti in his remarks on

Bak, the khushdds/h of
and
Ibrthim,
the
maml
reference will be made at this

note from some of these sour
the native countries of the m
traffic see Volney, pp. 85, 96,
Egypt and Syria from the yea
Political Recollections relative
Gibb-Bowen, op. cit., p.

of Egypt on his Army's
208,
land
mamdlik al-majlifbin min bild

About their being brought to
op.
cit.,
and
the
pp.
So-5I.
About
the
Browne, p. 49. About the hous

mamluks and their habits of e
About
horse
the
which
chances
the
of
mam
the
sons
being estimated as the best

favorable view of Mamluk m
Frangois
in
his
memoirs.
Cap
paigns. His view is quoted by M

note to p. 238 in p. 382. As fo
important
Baldwin,
agent of
and
penetrating
who, after frequent v

the East India Compa
was appointed British Consul

years. In a report to the Bri
Slave Trade in Egypt" he wr
more than o0,00ooo mamluks
that number had dwindled to
a) by the fact that Russia had
Native
Provinces
(North
Geor
thus making the import of ma

and strife prevailing in Egypt
successful continuation of the
Bay, their numbers ascended t
rebellion he left behind him,
their
Replenishment
too
bein
STUDIES IN AL-JABARTI 16)
known, Ismd'il was the main ally of the Ottomans d

successful invasion of Egypt in 1786, and they cont
him after their evacuation of the country. His army,
forced by a contingent left behind by the Ottoman
too weak to resist the attacks of Murtd and Ibr~h

Egypt, so he resorted to the recruitment of soldie
Egypt. Besides recruiting many non-mamluks from
the Arnauts and the mountains of Riimilli", whose r
will extinguish them quite, and leave Egypt naked to any po
prepared to subdue it". He added, significantly enough, that at t
the annual import of Mamluks "does not surpass one hundr

David Kimche's unpublished M. A. Thesis, Ali Bey el-Kebir-A B
Some Aspects of Egyptian Society in his Times, p. x 8). Though Bal

mamluks and their personal qualities is harsh and unjust (Gibb an
p. zo8, note z), his information on their numerical decline in his
and his prediction of their approaching end is very illuminating
the mamluks by Muhammad 'Ali in I8 I1 has considerably bl

the days of the Mamluks in Egypt were numbered in any cas
evidence of an extremely reliable eyewitness of the dwindling imp

to Egypt caused by Russian victories over the Ottomans in the se
eighteenth century, which made the mamluks' native countries f
on the Ottoman Empire. If the independence of these countries h
effects on the supply of mamluks, how much more so their incl
empire. It should be remembered that early in the nineteenth ce
the year I829, the Russians have occupied the whole of Transc
it to Russia. It would have undoubtedly been against Russian inte

of the youth of the Christian populations which they have final
Muslim yoke would continue to flow out of their own realm
Muslims and form the backbone of a Muslim army. It is very signi
who wrote his report only a few years after the Ottoman in
1786-7, which aimed at curbing the power of the Mamluks, does

any attempt by the Ottomans to cut the life-line of this rebellio
which they could do with the greatest ease. Stanford J. Shaw inf
that he did not find in the documents of the Ottoman Archives
the Sublime Porte tried to interfere with the flow of the Mamlu
sole instance of Ottoman embargo on the importation of m
by al-Jabarti took place only after the expulsion of the French.
before the Sublime Porte appointed Muhammad 'Ali as th
(180o) the Ottomans decided, largely as a result of English pressu

policy towards the Mamluks, re-establish their rule and aband
According to Ottoman information the Mamluk leaders together w
numbered at that time 2,000 and more" (wa-hum wa-mamdlikuhum
wa-Ziydda) (IV, p. 34, 11. 12-i3). At that stage the Ottomans also
the import of mamluks to Egypt which they prohibited three y

164 D. AYALON
and military qualities were ra

brought him mamluks, of who
these were of bad character, w
familiar races. He gave them
training (furfisDya) and he did n

instruct them in the knowledge
and all this he did in his eagern
the army" (ma-jalaba lahu al-yds'rji
bay' al-mamilik wa-shard'ihim wa-jalb al
kinimana'# dhalika min nabwi thalibth s
the energetic, shrewd and far-seein

the import of the mamluks to Egyp
Al-Jabarti's figure of z,ooo mamluks

throughout his chronicle for the gene
because: a) it is the latest figure we
before their annihilation; b) it seems t

by Baldwin for the year 1789. During
easily halved by their struggle again
Ottomans and their representative Mu

them out; by their incessant internal s
least six years from their sources of r
and later by the Ottoman embargo) an
mamluks from their countries of orig
the growing independence of these cou
We shall now turn to other estimat

European contemporary travellers o
curate and contradictory, but they ar
assured that during the last eleven y

slaves, of both sexes, have been imp
thousand Mamluks, and other cause
thousand, so that there was a great de
estimate the number of Mamlfks at
According to Volney "D'Apres les s
nombre ne doit pas exceder huit mil
simples affranchis et Mamlouks enc
de jeunes gens qui n'ont pas attaint v
encore compter quelques Serradje
cavaliers" (p. 144). Of these only sever
whereas all the rest were concentra

source 'Ali Bak al-Kabir had 5,000 m
sent to Syria (p. io9). Baron de Tott sa
between io-i2,000 mamluks. De Chab
Customs of the People of Modern Egyp

at another part reduces the figure to
wdfira wa-aktharuhum 'uzuq wa-musbannabifn wa-ajnds ghayr
ista'malahum min awwal wahla ft al-furistia wa-lam yudarr
wa-ld ma'rifat din wa-ld kitdb kullu dhlika .hirsan 'ald muqdw
wa-takthir al-jaysh) 1). The motives of Ismi'll Bak, wh

his back to the wall, are understandable: he had to rai
at all costs at the quickest possible time. He could not, th
young Mamluk boys and wait until they grew up; he h

their period of training and he achieved this by dropp
program of their instruction anything which was not str
he was also forced to buy them from any available so
same time it is clear from al-Jabarti's wording, that wha
was contradictory to the normal usage, which was to

children and give them a Muslim education in addition to
instruction. We have also the evidence of Volney who sta
mamluks imported to Egypt were young boys, twelve
Mamluks and Odjaqlu-Io,400; Turks and Ottomans-io,ooo (D. Kim
p. 8).
forthe
thefollowing
numbers
of mamluks
possessed
by individual
(p.
I43)As
quotes
figures:
Ibrdhim-6oo;
Murad-40o;
each of the.anjaqs,
other Volney
fanjaqs, whose number was 18 to zo, possessed o50 to 200 mamluks. According to
Browne, Ibrihim possessed i,ooo mamluks; Murdd-700oo (!); Muhammad al-
Alfi-800; IbrShim al-Wdli-6oo to 700 (pp. 9 1-92). Al-Jabarti says that the number of
Muhammad al-Alfi's mamluks at the end of his career was about i,ooo (IV, p. 27,
11. I5-17).
i) II, p. 18o, 11. i2-i5. The furisbya exercises, not only with modern weapons,
but also with weapons of the period preceding the introduction of firearms, were
extremely popular with the mamluks. Mamluks excelling in "furfis~a and courage"
were mentioned for these accomplishments (I, p. 99, 1. 31; p. iz6, 11. 14-15); "the
arrow ranges" (marma an-nushshdb, madrib an-nushshdb, masdtib an-nushshdb) are
mentioned very frequently (for example: I, p. 30, 1. 9; II, p. 22, 11. ii ff.; p. 37, 1. 29;
IV, p. 74). Exercises with rumb andjarid were also part of Mamluk life (III, p. 260,
11. I-4; IV, p. 250. See also Volney, pp. 150-5 2). Even the awlid al-khazna (see
Appendix) were armed during ceremonies with bows, arrows and lances (I, p. 25 2,
11. I6-i8). The Faqiriya and Qdsimiya could be distinguished in parades and ceremonies by means of their different lances (I, p. 23, 11. 31-33). A group of exiled
Mamluk amirs in Istanbul aroused the admiration of the Ottomans by their furifsya
exercises (II, p. 246, 11. I2-18). 'Uthmdn Bak Dhfi al-Faqdr, who lived as an
exile in Istanbul, did not stop his furfsilya exercises in spite of his old age and
crippleness (I, p. I85, 11. 6-8). A mamluk who could bend a heavy bow which
nobody in the Ottoman capital could bend, had been transferred from Cairo to
Istanbul (I, p. 33, 11. 8-I5).
-166
D.
AYALON
years old ). That the mam

their childhood is also ma
between
the
landing
in
proof
that
religious
many
to
I)
the
mashayikh
Alexandria
the
individual
Volney,
and
pp.
in
mamluks
atmosphere.
cilm
and
It
amirs
the
Ioi-Ioz.
in
is
for
'ulam
Though
imported mamluks, he has no d

import adults instead of young
by dropping the religious and ed
great and was justly considered
tution.
such
It
is
steps.
very
For
likely
the
that
existence
Is
of
the contemporary historians'

"The Circassians in the Maml
Khita.t, II, pp. 213-214.

z) The following references con
by al-Jabarti on the subject u
deep religious feelings of numer
reverence to the learned, on
mashayikh in the councils of th
factions, on their extremely g
Mamluk amirs, on many occasio
war and peace(I, p. o108,11. 13-1
p. 213, 11. 18-19; p. 220, 1. 20; p
PP. 369, 1. 31-370, 1. ; P. 373, 11
1. I, 11. Io f., 1. 17; p. 419, 11. 3
11. 16-17; p. 24, 11. -8; p. z25, 11

p. 53, 11. zo-22; p. 6 , 11. 16-22z;
p. 91, 11. 2-3, 9-10, 12-z3, 20-29
al-Kabir,
the
mamluk
of
Muh
hatred of the fuqahd' (II, pp. 17

to reproach and scold him in th
(ibid., p. I8, 11. x 5-16, z7-28). T
who are sure of their power and
the
rule of the
Mamluks
thereforefrom
treatedIstanbul
the peoplehad
withbeen
justice
and leniency;
Ottoman
Q.dis
sent and
to Egypt
afraid
of the
but as soon as the Mamluks had been wiped out, they completely changed their
attitude to the local population, whose money and property they robbed by all
'ulama' during
possible means, not sparing the orphans and the widows (IV, p. 248, 1. 1z-250, 1. I.
See especially: p. 248, 11. I3-17 and 11. 28-31). For a similar view see Gibb-Bowen,
op. cit., p. 226 and the references in note 4.
nothing of Mamluk society as a whole) for laxity
attitude to religion. This is very significant for a ma
who was imbued with Muslim puritanism, who su

heartedly the Wahhabis and the religious extremists
and who never hesitated to criticize the mamluks for
vices as is amply demonstrated in his biographi
contingents stationed from time to time in Egypt ha
hand, been vehemently and repeatedly attacked b

irreligious acts 1).
The following episode serves as a good illustration

environment in which the mamluks grew up and
English landed in Alexandria in 1807 the ulema (al-ma

Muhammad 'Ali's request to mediate between him and
Upper Egypt. In their meetings with the mamluks-w

it was only Muhammad 'All's repeated treachery and
to annihilate them that pushed them into the arms o
ulema produced Koranic verses and Haditbs of th

forbid the believers to accept the aid of the infid
Muslim brethren. Then they added that "God has
the mamluks] in the right path in their childhood an
from the darkness [of heathendom] into the light [of
grew under the guardianship of their patrons and

in the bosoms of the theologians (fuqahai) and in t
ulema and they read the Koran and studied the Musli
the rest of their lives in the Muslim religion and in
Prayers and the Pilgrimage and the Holy War"
hada-hum fi .tufilDyatihim wa-akhrajahum min a-.Zulumd

nasha') ft kafdlat asyddihim wa-tarabbz fi .hujir al-fuqaha
1) II, p. I80, 1]. IO-I2; III, p. 257, 1. 29-33; p. 271, 11. 4-7;
p. 104, 11. 6-8; p. 140, 1i. 1-13; p. 213, 11. 16-32; P. 227, 11. 2-17
It is noteworthy that the irreligiousness of the Ottomans h

denounced during the very first days of their occupation of
p. 204, 11. -9), and it is clear from the whole of Ibn Iy~s's narr
mans are always compared with their predecessors the Mamluk
V, p. 159, 11. 7-i4; p. 194, 11. 1-2, 6-8, 9-1o; 195, 11. I, , 3-5, 7, 1
168
D.
AYALON
al-'ulamda
wa-qara'i
al-Qu
min a'mdrihim ft din al

Now they are going to sp
the
infidel
would
1).
depict
It
to
is
highl
the
mam
By doing so they would

mamluks' religious feel
and they had it because
by the ulema 2).
The
adherence
striking
mad
expression
'Ali
learnt
in
from
execution,
istighfdr
and
prayed
water
the
in
th
Cairo
person
that
and
yanahum
the
find
'a
of
they
some
two
who
rea
of
th
rak'as
performed
bil-bubifs
the
wa-ft
yantuqina bish-shahddatayn
da' a wa-salld rak 'atayn qa
tayammama)
Thus
religion
mamluks'
?
The
The
3).
and
religi
upbringing
Mamluk's
relations
in
Relations
between
and set him free as well as the relations between the mamluk and his
I) IV, p. 49, 11. I-zz. The claim of the 'ulamd' that the Mamluks participated in
the jibid is true. Besides fighting the French they sent regular contingents which
took part in the general wars of the Ottoman Empire.
z) From their study of the Koran and Muslim law it should not be concluded
that the Mamluks knew Arabic well. In the above mentioned meeting the Ottoman
Qidi al-'Askar, who was present, translated for the leaders of the Mamluks the
words of the mashdyikh into Turkish (ibid., 11. i 8-zo).
3) IV, p. 131, 11. 2z5-z7.
STUDIES IN AL-JABART I169
comrades in servitude and manumission develope
on very similar lines to those existing in the M

they were based on very strong feelings of mut
and respect to the common patron.
? 7 His Relations with his Comrades in Servitude and
For reasons of conveience we shall start with the
between the mamluk and his comrades in servitud
These were called, exactly like in the days of the
khushddshlya or khushddshbin (sing. khushddsh). Th
and as full of vigor as in the Mamluk sultana

on almost every page 3). It should, however,
not change its meaning in Ottoman Egypt. Th
the exact meaning of this term is of the highest
khushddsh has always constituted one of the mainsta
A somewhat detailed examination of the term is,

The amir 'Abd ar-Rahmdn Bak was stated to be
Bak al-Kabir and the khushddsh of Muhamma
.Hasan
Baktoal-Jadddwi,
Ayyab
Bak Bak
andal-Kabir.
Ridwin Hasan
Bak 4).Bak
Allal-these four
are
known
be the mamluks
of 'Ali
Jadddwi is mentioned, in addition, as the khushddsh of Muhammad
Abii Dhahab 5).
i) The main reason for starting our study with the comrades in servitude and
manumission is that the early clarification of their relations is essential to the understanding of the relations between the patron and his mamluks.
2) See "L'Esclavage, etc.," pp. 29-3I, "Studies on the Structure of the Mamluk
Army", BSOAS, 1953, PP. 20o6-zo207.
3) For some examples see: I, p. 65, 11. 3-4; P. 138, 1. 5; P. 141, 1. 6; p. 150, 1. z22z;
p. 167, 1. I8; p. i68, 1. 15; p. 170, 11. 1-6; p. i72, 11. 8-1o; p. 178, 1. 23; p. zo6, 1. 32;
p. 207,11. 7-8, I2-13; P. 208, 11. 3-4; P. 250, 11. 14-15, 1. 29; p. 252, 11. 3-, 7-9; P. 254,
11.32-33;p. 255,11. 1-3,1. 7; P. 258, 11. 7, 8; p. 304, 11. 23-25;P. 344, 11. 9-I4; p. 335,
11. I8-I9; p. 365, . 1. ; p. 366; p. 380, 11. 27-30; II, p. 8, 1. 19; p. 12, 1. 7; P. I9,1. 10o;
p. 37, 11. 5, 14-16; p. 58, 11. Io-12, 18-I9; p. 73, 11. 20-21; p. 73; P. 79, 11. 10-21; p.
8o, 11. 23-25; p. 81, 1. 13 f.; p. 82, 11. 23-26; III, p. 322; IV, pp. 29, 32, 41-434) 11, p. 37, 11. 14-16.
5) See for Muhammad Ab& Dhahab: I, p. 417, 11. 13-14; for Hasan Bak al-Jaddawi:
III, p. 171, 11. 5-6; for Ayynb Bak: III, p. 172, 1. 33; for Ridwin Bak: II, p. 220,
11. I7-I8.
170
D.
The
and
AYALON
amir
the
mamluk
'Ali
Bak
as-Sari
khushddsh
of
of
Ibrdhim
Muhammad
Bak
Qitdsand
Bak
stated toBakbeQatdmish
the mamluk
Faqdri
theal-A'war
khushddshwas
of Muhammad
5).
Ism
Kitk
Qatdmis
of Qit.s Bak al-
Speaking of Birkat al-Fil (the Pond of the Elephant) al-Jabarti says

that round it resided the noted amirs, most of whom were the kush-
ddsh~ya of each other and the mamluks of Ibrdhim Kitkhudi (waghdlibuhd saknu al-umard' al-a'ydn aktharuhum khushddsh7n ba'dihim al-ba'd
wa-mamdilk Ibrdhim Kitkhudd) 6).
'Ali Aghi al-Mi'mdr was the mamluk of Mustafd Bak, nicknamed

al-Qird, and the khushddsh of Slih Bak 7). Shlih Bak was the mamluk
of the same Mustafi Bak 8).

'Uthm~ n Bak al-Bardisi and Muhammad Bak al-Alfi were stated to
be khushddshiya 9). As is well known, they were both the mamluks of
the same patron, Murdlo).

The two mamluks of Ahmad Bdshd al-Jazzdr, Salim Bdsh! al-Kabir
and Sulaymin Bdshi as-Saghir, were stated to be khushddshlya11).
As for the relations between the khushddshiya the following instances
are instructive.
When Muhammad Jarkas of the Shanabite branch of the Qdsimiya
wanted
to faction,
dissuadefrom
'Alimaking
Bak al-Hindi,
Iw.zite branch
of
the same
common the
causehead
with of
thethe
Faqariya,
he sent him two emissaries with the purpose of coming to terms with
I) II, p. 58, 11. Io-I2.
2) II, p. 58, 11. I8-I9.
3) II, p. 219, 11. 9-I0.
4) I, p. 169, 11. 4-5-
5) I, p. I70, 11. I-3.

6) I, p. 252, 11. 4-5.
7) II, p. I9, 11. 9-I0.

8) I, p. I80, 11. 9-Io; p. 318, 11. 7-8.
9) IV, p. 32, 11. I -6.
Io) For al-Bardisi see: IV, p. 42, 11. 4-5; for al-Alfi: IV, p. 26, 11. I2-17.
I ) III, p. 322, 11. I0-12.
him. When these emissaries reached 'Ali B
crowded with people eating and drinking. O
is all this about? You are destitute and the g
money". 'All Bak retorted: "What shall I

said: "Drive them away". 'Ali Bak answere
away while they are either the sons of my p
or the sons of my khusbddshiya?" (kayfa a.tr
ibn ustadhd wa-khushddshi wa-ibn kbushddshi) 1)
Muhammad Abii Dhahab, before making
of evacuating Syria, consulted his khushddsh
When Ismd'il Bak broke finally with the
Abii Dhahab, 'All Bak as-Sariji joined h

khushddsh (indamma ild Ismd'7l Bak li-kawnihi
The fact that all the khushddshlya who wer
Kitkhudd lived in the same place around B
an indication of their desire to stick togeth
When 'Abd ar-Rahmdn Kitkhudd return

the Hijdz he told Ibrahim and Murdd, the
Abui Dhahab, and "the rest of their khush
ddsh7nihim) who came to visit him: "stick t
business correctly and do not let the enem
(kznfZ 4).
ma'a
wa-uadbu.tR
amrakumconstitute
wa-ld tudkhilf
nakum)
Theba'.dikum
moral is clear:
the khushjddshya
one bodyal-a'diya baywith a common interest and their strength lies in their unity.
The solidarity of the khushddshiya is demonstrated as well in their
attitude towards "foreigners" and "outsiders" and in the attitude of
these "foreigners" towards them, exactly as has been the case in the
Mamluk sultanate 5).
'All Bak al-Ghazzdwi had four brothers, all of whom were the
mamluks of Bashir Aghd al-Qizlir in Istanbul. After having been

i) I, p. 6 1, 11. 1-3.
2) I, p. 363, 1. I2.
3) II, p. 58, 11. 18-19.
4) II, p. 8, 1. 19.
5) See "L'Esclavage, etc.", p. 30.
17Z
D.
AYALON
manumitted
of
their
One,
held
of
relation
ayydman
'Ali
entered
short
Ibrahim
however,
in
Bashir
brother
IsmQ'il,
for
by
the
while
Kitkhuda.
against
to
him
them"
thumma
qdmat
It was only after Muhammad Abi Dhahab had killed his khushddsh
Ayyuib Bak that the "foreigners", including even a Qdsimite like 'All
Aghd al-Mi'mir, became convinced that there existed real enmity

between him and 'Ali Bak al-Kabir, and only then they flocked to his
camp (ild an istawhasha Muhammad Bak min sayyidihi 'Al- Bak wakharaja ild as-Sa'7d wa-qatala khushddshahu Ayyfb Bak wa-tahaqqaqa alajdnib bi-dhdlika si.h.hat al-'addwa fa-aqbali 'ald Mu.hammad Bak min kulli
idnib bi-rijdlihim wa-amwdlihim wa-minhum 'Ali Aghd al-madhkir) 2).
? / The Synonymity of Khushddsh and Akh
The strong links binding the khushddshlya to one another are brought
into special prominence by the fact that, like in the Mamluk sultanate 3),
the term khushddsh is used as synonymous with "brother" (akh).

Here are some examples.
When Ayyaib Bak violated his oath to his khushddsh, Muhammad
Abii Dhahab, to make common cause against their patron, 'All Bak
al-Kabir, Muhammad ordered 'Abd ar-Rahman, the AghM of the
Janissaries,to cut his hand and tongue. Before carrying out Abi Dhahab's
order 'Abd ar-Rahmin said to Ayyib Bak: "Oh, my Sultan! it is your

brother who ordered to do you so and so. So, please, do not blame
me!" (Yd sul.tinum akhika amara fika bi-kadhd wa-kadhd fa-lad

1) II, p. 2o, 11. 1-7.
2) II, p. 19, 11. 12-14.
3) "L'Esclavage, etc.", pp. 36, 37, 63.
4) II, p. 37, 11. 5-9. The word khushddsh appears in 1. 5 and akh in 1. 8.
th
an
(wa-'
minhum) 1).
tu'dkhidhn7) 4).
in
'a
The khushddshlya of JHusayn Bak as-Sd

poinment as Shaykh al-Balad, and killed h
of his close associates about their action.
is your brother, and please accept my condo
illi bi-qawlihi huwa akhifkum wa-ftkum al-khal
When the khushddshlya of 'All Bak al-Ka
prepare an expedition against him, Shaykh

for their incessant wars which destroy the
is all this about! .... After all, 'All Bak is you
(fi ayyi shay' hddhd al-hbd .... 'Al~ Bak hddh

shukum) 3).
Murdd Bak, the khushddsh of Ibrihim Bak, is said on several occasions
to be the brother (akh) of the above mentioned Ibr~him 4). The same
is the case with 'Uthman Bak al-Bardisi and Muhammad Bak al-Alfi 5),
both the mamluks of MurId Bak. On one occasion al-Alfi is called the
khushddsh and brother of al-Bardisi (al-Alft alladhi huwa khushddshuhu

wa-akhibhu) 6).
It should, however, be noted that the plural ikhwa (= blood

brothers) which is so common in the sources of the Mamluk sultanate
as synonymous withkhushddsh 7),never appears in al-Jabarti's chronicle.
Occasionally the plural ikhwdn is employed 8) in the same sense.

The existence of loyalty and solidarity among the khushddshbya does
not imply that they lived peacefully amongst themselves. Very similarly
to their predecessors9), they fought one another after having got rid
I) I, p. 206, 11. 31-32.
2) I, p. 208, 11. 3-4 Fikum al-khalaf wal-buraka is a common phrase of consolation
to the berieved family. Its literal translation is: "May you have offspring and may
God bless you "

3) I, p. 2z57, 11. 6-Ii.
4) II, p. 80, 11. 24-z5. Mudhakkirit Niqzla Turc, edited, translated and annotated
by G. Wiet, Cairo, I950, p. I15, 11. I-x 8 (later to be cited: Nicolas Turc).
5) IV, p. 35, 11. 9-10; p. 113, 11. 15-I17.
6) IV, p. 35, 11. io-Ix. See also I, p. 182, 1. 6; p. 255, 1. 17; P. 257, 1. 10; IV,
p. 117, 1. I6 (cp. with ibid., p. Ii6, 11. 24-27).
7) "L'Esclavage, etc.", pp. 36, 37, 63.
8) I, p. 184, 11. 7-8; p. z5z2, 11. 7-99) "L'Esclavage, etc.", p. 30.
174 AYALON, STUDIES IN AL-JABARTI
of their enemies and having been left alone to divide th
spoils between themselves. According to Mamluk cr
bad and immoral to help the external enemies of your k
to abandon them to their fate whem attacked by su
when there is no external enemy, it is quite natural and
for the khushddshbya to fight one another for suprem
such fight is accompanied by bloodshed and murder

Ottoman Egypt abound with data on competition,
quarrels and struggle between the khushddshbya.
We have already mentioned that JHusayn Bak as-Sdbii
al-Balad, had been killed by his envious khushddshby

between 'Ali Bak al-Kabir and his rivals was mainly
the mamluks of the same master. In order to establish
'Ali Bak did not hesitate to persecute his khushddshjya
many of whom he killed and exiled 2). The long and pro
between Ibrdhim and Murdd was also a struggle betwee
of the same patron 3). So was the struggle of Muhamm
'Uthmdn al-Bardisi, the mamluks of Murdd Bak 4). The
Ibrdhim and Murdd bore a comparatively mild char

the extreme moderation, understanding and toleran
who was the very opposite of his rival. The cam
khushddslhya were, by their very nature, very fluid, fo
in servitude and manumission owed the same loyalty to
and could, therefore, pass from one side to the other wi

To be continued.
I) I, p. zo6, 1. 32. For another instance of a suspected murder of a sanjaq by his
khushddshlya see I, p. 250, 1. 29. See also I, p. 207, 11. 7-9, 12-13.
2) I, p. 2z5, 11. 14-15; P. 254, 11. 32-33; P. 255, 11. I-3; P. 344, 11. 3-14; P- 380,
11. 27-30.
3) II, p. 73, 11. 29-21; p. 75; P. 79, 11. Io-2z; p. 8o, 11. 16-19; 23-25; 27-30; p. 81,
1. 13 ff.; p. 82, 11. 23-25.
4) IV, p. 32, 11. 5-6; p. 35, 11. 7-II; p. II13, 11. I15-7.

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Studies in al-Jabart I.

Notes on the Transformation of Mamluk Society in Egypt under

STUDIES IN AL-JABARTI I')

? z Scope of the Study

5 3 The Transformation of Mamluk Names and its Consequ

? 5 Education and Manumission

? 6 The Mamluk's Relations with his Comrades and his Patr

? 14 The Mamluk "House" (Bayt)

I) This paper constitutes part of a study in progress on Egy

period and during Muh1ammad 'Ali's rule, carried out under a R

and under the Ottomans" in Proceedings of the Twenty-Third Inte

Orientalists, Cambridge, I954, PP- 333-335. For the structure

Mamluk military society see my ,,L'Esclavage du Mamelouk", Je

System of Payment in Mamluk Military Society",JESHO, I95

works cited in note i, p. 152 of this paper.

STUDIES IN AL-JABARTI 149

? 17 The "Clan" ('Ashira) and the "Tribe" (Qabila) i

? 18 The Mamluk Factions' Determination to Extermin

? 19 Firearms and the Increase of Bloodshed

? 22 Mamluks Owned by Civilians and their Positi

? 23 The "Black Mamluk" (Mamlfk Aswad)

The Mamluk military and slave institutio

could successfully fight its external enemies

particularly important role in the struggles a

one hand, and against the steadily growing m

resulting from the latter's technical prep

One of the main reasons for the great milita

lukdom had been the total or almost total ab

in the camp of Islam's adversaries. But this v

worthy of note to Mamlukdom outside th

civilization, which had been a blessing to Isla

back to Islamic research, for it caused the ne

of that institution, thus preventing a tru

Now the obvious question arises: Is it p

the Mamluk institution in the various and wid

it took during the thousand years or so of

knowledge there is but little hope that the s

sultanate in the middle of the thirteenth cent

described. Thus there is little likelihood th

which enshrouds the first five hundred year

the Muslim world two

Jabarti's and ad-Dimurddshi

Mamluk society under the Ottomans can be correctly desc

important for the understanding of the Mamluk institution as a w

this is by no means its only importance. Similarly significant

tribution to our knowledge of the period preceding the r

most thorough reforms carried out in the whole east. It is

Egyptian military society in the period covered by al-Jabarti'

will throw much light on the achievements and failures of M

'Ali's rule in particular and on the history of Egypt since Bo

occupation and up to the present day in general.

? 2 Scope of the Study

The present study does not claim to be exhaustive. It will d

with the comparison of a few typical aspects of the two

follow our line of argument, we shall state our main conclusions in

of the people in the Mamluk sultanate had been greatly narrowed

and by the intimate connections existing between the Mamluk and

? 3 The Transformation of Mamlu

cussion, which had far-reaching effects on their respective destinies

Egypt bore, with quite a limited number of exceptions, only Arab

rule, a military caste would continue to exist, whose members bear

names like Baybars, Qalinm, Barqiq, Aqsunqur, Baybughi, Tankiz,

Aydakin, Ayndl, Jaqmaq, Jdnim, Qinsfih, Tiimdnbdy, etc., which for

superiority over all outsiders. The following examples clearly