1. Al-Adil Kitbugha was originally a Mongol soldier in the Ilkhanid army of Hulagu.
18 Facts About Al-Adil Kitbugha
1. 2.
Al-Adil Kitbugha was taken prisoner during the First Battle of Homs in 1260.
3.
Al-Adil Kitbugha was purchased by Qalawun and became one of his Mamluks then later Qalawun manumitted him and granted him the rank of Emir.
4.
In 1293, after the assassination of Al-Ashraf Khalil, Kitbugha became the Vice-Sultan and Regent of Sultan Al-Nasir Muhammad.
5.
Al-Shuja'i, with the support of the Burji Mamluks, planned to arrest Al-Adil Kitbugha and assassinate his emirs, but Al-Adil Kitbugha was informed about al-Shuja'i's plan by a Tatar named Qunghar.
6.
Al-Adil Kitbugha lay siege to the Citadel with the support of the Genghis-Khanites and the Shahrzuri Kurds.
7.
Al-Adil Kitbugha later returned to Cairo and lay siege to the Citadel again after his emirs defeated the Burjis.
8.
The emirs of Al-Adil Kitbugha informed Sultan Al-Nassir Muhammed's mother that the dispute was between them and al-Shuja'i and not with her son.
9.
About 300 of the Burji Mamluks who were removed from the Citadel by Al-Adil Kitbugha rebelled and went on a rampage in Cairo.
10.
Al-Adil Kitbugha continued as the regent and the actual ruler of Egypt with Al-Nasir Muhammad, being a child, merely the nominal Sultan.
11.
Al-Adil Kitbugha was then convinced by Lajin, who was aware that the Mamluks of Khalil and Sultan Al-Nasir Muhammed would want to seek revenge for the death of Sultan Khalil, to depose Al-Nasir and take on complete power.
12.
However, as Al-Adil Kitbugha was himself of Mongol origin, his extraordinary generosity towards the Oirats made many emirs suspicious about his motives.
13.
Al-Adil Kitbugha was not popular among the Egyptians who regarded him as a bringer of ill-omens.
14.
The emirs went to Al-Adil Kitbugha and met him while he was on his way to Egypt.
15.
Al-Adil Kitbugha was angry with Bisari, who was a prominent emir, and accused him of corresponding with the Mongols.
16.
Al-Adil Kitbugha left the Dihliz through a back passage and fled to Damascus, accompanied by five of his Mamluks.
17.
Al-Adil Kitbugha ruled there for two years and 17 days.
18.
In 1295, during the reign of Sultan Al-Adil Kitbugha, it was decided for the first time in Egypt, that coins had to be weighed before being exchanged for goods or services.