Sometime during an-Nasir Muhammad's second reign, Tankiz was made an amir ashara.
17 Facts About Tankiz
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In 1309, when an-Nasir Muhammad went into voluntary exile at al-Karak in Transjordan after he was toppled by Baybars al-Jashnakir, Tankiz accompanied him until an-Nasir Muhammad left to take back the sultanate in 1310.
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Tankiz's quick ascent to this post was a rare occurrence because he did not undergo the stages of promotion that traditionally preceded the appointment.
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In 1315, Tankiz was dispatched by an-Nasir Muhammad as the supreme commander of Egyptian and Syrian mamluk regiments in an offensive to capture the Mongol-allied fortress of Malatya in Anatolia.
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Tankiz led his army dressed in the clothes of a king and "on his horse, all was gold, even his hunting drum," according to Mamluk-era chronicler Ibn Sasra.
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Tankiz managed to conquer Malatya and successfully embarked on a number of raids against nearby Lesser Armenia, which was allied with the Mongols.
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Tankiz went on the Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca in 1321, after gaining permission from an-Nasir Muhammad.
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In 1327, Tankiz oversaw the management of awqaf in Damascus.
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Tankiz ordered infrastructural repairs, reduced government workers' salaries and removed superfluous stipends in order that the awqaf conformed with their original purposes.
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Tankiz compromised with the ulema and agreed that 60 jurists would remain employed by the madrasa.
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Tensions grew further when in 1339, Tankiz levied a punitive tax on the Christians of Damascus to fund repairs for property damage resulting from a series of arson attacks that the Christians were alleged to have committed.
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Tankiz retorted that an-Nasir Muhammad had "lost his mind" and listened only to his young entourage.
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The confiscated wealth of Tankiz was distributed among the senior emirs.
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In 1343, two years after an-Nasir Muhammad died, Tankiz's body was brought to Damascus where it was buried in the mausoleum he had built during his rule.
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Tankiz was married to a Khawand Sutayta bint Sayf al-Din Kawkabay al-Mansuri.
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Tankiz arranged the marriage of his daughter Qutlughmalik to an-Nasir Muhammad.
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Also in 1338, two of Tankiz's sons married two of an-Nasir Muhammad's daughters from another of the latter's wives.