Sayf ad-Din Jaqmaq
Sayf ad-Din Jaqmaq (; 1373 – 13 February 1453) was the Mamluk sultan of Egypt from 9 September 1438 to 1 February 1453. Early life and career 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, until he was imprisoned with his brother during a period of instability, to be later freed by emir Taghribirdi, grandfather of Ibn Taghribirdi. 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 ad-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 ad-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 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 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. During that period, the real danger for the Mamluks was the Ottoman Empire. On November 10, 1444, the Ottoman Sultan Murad II defeated the Crusaders at the Battle of