THE INTERNAL AFFAIRS IN EGYPT DURING THE THIRD REIGN OF SULTa N AL-NASIR MUHAMT1ED Btl QALAV/tJN, A~.b 209, 7^ 1 3 0 9 - ^ 1 by Hayat Nasser al-Hajji A dissertation submitted to the University of London for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Royal Holloway College ProQuest Number: 11015787 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a com plete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. uest ProQuest 11015787 Published by ProQuest LLC(2018). Copyright of the Dissertation is held by the Author. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States C ode Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. ProQuest LLC. 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106- 1346 Dedication I dedicate this dissertation to my beloved husband Abdulla for his encouragement and unfailing support while I have been engaged in this work. Z.X CONTENTS \ * • £g.v »()i^ page Dedication .. •• i Contents ........................................... ii Acknowledgements ...................................... v Preface ................. .. vi Declaration ............... xiv Abbreviations ........................................... xv Introduction ........................................... 1 Chapter I The 'Abbasid Caliphate .. ?.......... J>1 (i) The relation between al-Nasir Muhammad and al-MustakfT...................... 31 (ii) The Caliphate in the later time of al- Na§ir Muhammad................. .. *f5 (iii)The function of the Caliphate .. 31 (iv) Conclusion ..................... 32 Chapter II The administrative divisions ............ 55 (i) The basic divisions .. .. .. .. 55 (ii) The local administration . 65 (iii)The economic importance ............. 78 (iv) The Nagiri r e f o r m s .................. 82 (v) Conclusion........................... 91 Chapter III The political plots ...................... 96 (i) The political s i t u a t i o n . 96 (ii) The Mamluk Oligarchy..... 105 (iii)The plot of Baktamur al-Jukandar .. 108 (iv) The issue of Shams al-EEn Qarasunqur. ll^f (v) The political reaction of the emirs.. 125 (vi) The office of ’’vicegerent in Egypt” (Niyabat al-Salfrana)................. 131 Ill (vii) The conspiracy of Baktamur al-Saqi 133 (viii) The case of Sharf al-DIn al-Nashu 1^-0 (ix) The affair of Tankiz al-Husami 1^9 (x) Conclusion.. ................ 159 Chapter IV The Non-Muslim Subjects ............ 1 (i) The western merchants .. .. l6^f (ii) The Jewish community ...... 165 (iii) The Christian community .. .. 167 (iv) The situation of dhimmis .. .. 169 (v) The Monks of Mount Sinai .. .. 176 (vi) The European and Abyssinian reaction 183 (vii) The position of dhimmis between the years 7lk/72l/iyik'-iyZT .. .. 192 (viii) The demolition of the churches, and fires in the mosques .. .. 195 (ix) The edict of 721/1321 .. .. 20*f (x) Dhimmis in the late years of al- Na$ir's reign ................. 211 (xi) The feasts of dhimmis .. .. 213 (x) Conclusion ................ 2l8 Chapter V TheBedouin Revolts .................. 221 (i) The early contact ........... 221 (ii) The political and economic relations...................... 225 (iii) Conclusion...................... 237 Chapter VI The Taxation System ................... 2*f0 (i) The Taxation Structure .. .. 2^0 (ii) The reform cf t a x e s ........... 2^9 (iii) The Na§irT rawk ........... 263 (iv) Conclusion •• 271 iv Chapter VII Famines and Epidemics ................. 273 (i) Famines and epidemics before al- Nagir Muhammad’s third reign .. 273 (ii) Historical analysis of trouble periods .. 276 (iii) The drought and the extra flood. 280 (iv) Conclusion •• 289 Conclusions........... •« v. •• v. ^ 3 Introduction to the Bibliography . •• •• •• 300 Bibliography ............ •• .. •• «• •• 3^ V ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to express my deep gratitude to Kuwait University which granted me a scholarship to come to London and do this work. I am deeply grateful to my supervisor, Professor L.H.Butler, for his advice, excellent guidance, encouragement and valuable sug­ gestions. My deep gratitude goes also to my assistant supervisor, Professor P.M.Holt, for his attentive criticism, valuable suggestions and lively discussion. I also give sincere thanks to him for lend­ ing me the microfilms of Masalik al-absar of Ibn Fa£l Allah al-'Umarl. I am indebted to Dr. A.A.al-Muhanna of Kuwait University for the interest he has taken in this work, his unfailing assistance and for his sound and ready advice through the course of my research. My great appreciation and gratitude to those who helped me and advised me, particularly Professor R.B.Serjeant of Cambridge University, Professor S.A. *£shur of Cairo University, Dr. J.Riley Smith of Cambridge University and Mr. A.Y. al-Ghunaym of Kuwait Uni­ versity. I would like to record my obligation to the librarians of St. Andrews University , Cambridge University, School of Oriental and African Studies, British Museum, Bibliotheque Nationale of Paris, the Chester Beatty, Oxford University, the Senate House and of the Arab League. I am grateful to Mrs. Winifred Grillet of Cambridge for check­ ing the English of this thesis and Mrs. Nina Fuller for typing this thesis. Last, but not least, I would like to take this opportunity of expressing ffly deep gratitude and appreciation to my parents for their encouragement and support throughout my research. PREFACE Studies previously undertaken by scholars concerning the Mamluk period in Egypt concentrate on either military activities or relation­ ships with other countries. The Mamluk Sultanate was fundamentally a military regime, and the Mamluks were responsible for bringing the Crusade to an end. Few contemporary records exist with regard to the internal affairs of Mamluk Egypt, therefore any study shedding light on this subject covers new ground. For this reason the following dissertation was undertaken. This study deals with aspects of the subject which so far have been subjected neither to academic research, nor to sufficiently practical analysis. There are historical writings concerning Mamluk history in general and articles on the Mamluk army, trade with other countries and the *Abbasid Caliphate at the beginning of the Mamluk period; but there is no comprehensive review of the internal affairs of Egypt during the third reign of al-Nasir Muhammad. There survive a number of manuscripts either of contemporary chroniclers, or of historians who were interested in recording events relating to this period. Some of these manuscripts are of great value because they were written either by Mamluk emirs such as Baybars al-Mansuri, or by people of high rank such as Ibn Fadl Allah al-^Umari, the confidential secretary (katib al-Sirr), of al-Nasir Muhammad. Those chroniclers witnessed closely events either at the royal court or in the governmental offices. At the end of this thesis there is an introduction to the bibliography concentrating on the manuscripts written by contemporary chroniclers and historians, which have been the foundation of the evidence for this thesis. The subject wehave studied is new, there are substantial materials available, and al-Nasir Muhammad's third reign was the golden age of the Mamluk period; there was a flourishing economy, internal stability, social security, progressive administration and advancement in studies, history in particular. Consequently with these three factors one might succeed in giving a convincing picture of the period, and this thesis attempts a detailed and comprehensive study of the internal affairs of Mamluk Egypt during the reign. In this thesis there is an introduction followed by seven chapters; the introduction is a brief study of the political situation of Mamluk Egypt during the first and second reigns of al-Nasir Muhammad, the periods of usurpation by Sayf al-Din Kitbugha, Husam al-Din Lachin and Baybars al-Jashnakir, then of al-Nasir Muhammad in power as sole ruler of the Mamluk Sultanate and the beginning of his third reign, which has been studied in detail. Thus one achieves an historical survey of the Mamluk Sultanate during the preceding reigns of al-Nasir Muhammad and an understanding of the fundamental nature of the political, economic, social and religious aspects of the Mamluk Sultanate during the first half of the fourteenth century. Accordingly one comes to understand that the Mamluks had no respect for hereditary right viii jconcerning the elevation to the Sultanate, and the emirs desired competent authority; therefore there were conspiracies to murder the Sultan or to depose him. Moreover the events show the danger which might come from the office of vicegerent (na'ib al Saltana bi 'L-diyar al-Migriyya), as well as its extreme importance. During those years al-Nasir Muhammad's power was nominal and the oligarchy of emirs enjoyed competent authority. Subsequently it was impossible for that -political situation to continue without causing dangerous dissatisfaction; therefore open conflict appeared and con­ tinued until al-Nasir Muhammad succeeded in establishing his authority and began his third reign with competent power. After this review of the political struggle and rivalry which gyjrrounded the Mamluk Sultanate during the early years of the fourteenth cerntury we come to the subject of the first chapter which is the ‘Ablbasid Caliphate, the attitude of the Caliph towards al-Nasir