1. Qaitbay was born between 1416 and 1418 in Circassia, located in the Caucasus.
17 Facts About Qaitbay
1. 2.
Qaitbay was quickly purchased by the reigning sultan Barsbay and became a member of the palace guard.
3.
Under the Sultan Timurbugha, finally, Qaitbay was appointed atabak, or field marshal of the entire Mamluk army.
4.
Qaitbay was proposed as a compromise candidate acceptable to the various court factions.
5.
Qaitbay insisted that Timurburgha be granted an honorable retirement, instead of the enforced exile usually imposed on dethroned sovereigns.
6.
Qaitbay did exile the leaders of the coup, and created a new ruling council composed of his own followers and more veteran courtiers who had fallen into disgrace under his predecessors.
7.
In general Qaitbay seems to have pursued a policy of appointing rivals to posts of equal authority, thus preventing any single subordinate from acquiring too much power and maintaining the ability to settle all disputes via his own autocratic authority.
8.
Qaitbay's reign was marked by trade with other contemporaneous polities.
9.
Qaitbay frequently went on excursions, ostentatiously leaving the Citadel with limited guards to display his trust of his subordinates and of the populace.
10.
Qaitbay traveled throughout his reign, visiting Alexandria, Damascus, and Aleppo, among other cities, and personally inspecting his many building projects.
11.
Qaitbay was struck by the poverty of the citizens of Medina and devoted a substantial portion of his private fortune to the alleviation of their plight.
12.
The end of Qaitbay's reign was marred by increasing unrest among his troops and a decline in his personal health, including a riding accident that left him comatose for days.
13.
Qaitbay's health became markedly poor in 1494, and his court, now lacking a figure of central authority, was wracked by infighting, factionalism, and purges.
14.
Qaitbay was the mother of his son, Sultan Sultan An-Nasir Muhammad.
15.
Qaitbay was the mother of Ahmed and Sitt al-Jarakisa.
16.
Qaitbay's reign has traditionally been seen as the "happy culmination" of the Burji Mamluk dynasty.
17.
Today Qaitbay is perhaps best known for his wide-ranging architectural patronage, which was second only to al-Nasir Muhammad ibn Qalawun.