Al-Ashraf Qansuh al-Ghuri ( ar, الأشرف قانصوه الغوري) or Qansuh II al-Ghawri (c. 1441/1446 – 24 August 1516) was the second-to-last of the
Mamluk Sultans. One of the last and most powerful of the
Burji dynasty The Burji or Circassian Mamluk ( ar, المماليك الشركس) dynasty of Circassian origin, ruled Egypt from 1382 until 1517, during the Mamluk Sultanate. The Circassian community in Cairo especially flourished during this time. Political p ...
, he reigned from 1501 to 1516.
Early life
Qansuh, born between 1441 and 1446, was bought by
Qaitbay, and educated at the al-Ghuri military school in
Cairo, from which he gained his nickname "al-Ghuri".
[Behrens-Abouseif, Doris. " Cairo of the Mamluks". Cairo:AUC Press, 2008. p 295] Consequently, he held several official positions in
Upper Egypt,
Aleppo
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,
Tarsus and
Malatya. Later on, a revolt against
Tuman bay by the conspiring emirs, led to the appointment of Qansuh as Sultan against his will, because he feared to be deposed by execution like his predecessors.
Consolidation of power
The reign began as usual with the removal of all
Tuman bay's adherents. As dangerous to the throne, they were laid hold of, imprisoned or exiled and their property escheated; while the opposite party were restored to freedom and raised again to power and office. Tuman bay I from his hiding-place was found to be plotting against the new Sultan; after some weeks, betrayed by his friends, he was murdered by the
Mamluks of an Emir whom he had put to death; and so Al-Ashraf Qansuh al-Ghuri was saved from that danger without arousing the hostilities of his predecessor's party. On the other hand, the remains of Sultan Al-Ashraf Janbulat were brought from
Alexandria where Tuman bay I had caused him to be executed, and royally interred at
Cairo.
Present danger thus averted, Al-Ashraf Qansuh al-Ghuri turned to the revenue administration. To replenish the empty treasury, exorbitant demands were levied on every kind of property to the extent of from seven to ten months' income; even religious and charitable endowments not escaping. This was exacted with such severity, not only from Jews and Christians, but from every class, as to create outbreaks in the city.
There is not much of importance to tell of the earlier years of this reign. The outrages of the royal Mamluks must have become intolerable, for twice while Al-Ashraf Qansuh al-Ghuri took fresh oaths of loyalty from his Emirs, he also on his own part swore upon
Quran, that he would no more suffer his Mamluks to do them harm. We read also of some suspected treason, which led to punishments of more than ordinary barbarism. Till near the close of the
Sultanate, much was not done in fighting. The
Bedouins attacked
Kerak
Al-Karak ( ar, الكرك), is a city in Jordan known for its medieval castle, the Kerak Castle. The castle is one of the three largest castles in the region, the other two being in Syria. Al-Karak is the capital city of the Karak Governorate.
...
and
Jerusalem, but were repulsed by the
Syrian
Syrians ( ar, سُورِيُّون, ''Sūriyyīn'') are an Eastern Mediterranean ethnic group indigenous to the Levant. They share common Levantine Semitic roots. The cultural and linguistic heritage of the Syrian people is a blend of both indi ...
Emirs. Rebellion and rival factions at Mecca and
Yanbu also rendered measures necessary for chastising the
Sharifs and restoring order.
On 15 June 1512, Al-Ghuri received an envoy of the
King of Georgia with 20
horses, who was dressed in gold and his cap was adorned with
ermine. He came to Al-Ghuri to ask for reopening of the
Church of Holy Sepulchre
The Church of the Holy Sepulchre, hy, Սուրբ Հարության տաճար, la, Ecclesia Sancti Sepulchri, am, የቅዱስ መቃብር ቤተክርስቲያን, he, כנסיית הקבר, ar, كنيسة القيامة is a church i ...
which was closed down for Christians for two years.
[How Many Miles to Babylon?: Travels and Adventures to Egypt and Beyond, 1300 to 1640, Anne Wolff, p161]
Portuguese-Mamluk War
The chief concern was the fitting-out a fleet which should protect the Eastern seas from Portuguese attack. For it was at this time that
Vasco da Gama
Vasco da Gama, 1st Count of Vidigueira (; ; c. 1460s – 24 December 1524), was a Portuguese explorer and the first European to reach India by sea.
His initial voyage to India by way of Cape of Good Hope (1497–1499) was the first to link E ...
, having in 1498 found his way round the
Cape and obtained pilots from the coast of
Zanzibar, pushed his way across the Indian Ocean to the shores of
Malabar
Malabar may refer to the following:
People
* Malabars, people originating from the Malabar region of India
* Malbars or Malabars, people of Tamil origin in Réunion
Places
* Malabar Coast, or Malabar, a region of the southwestern shoreline o ...
and
Kozhikode, attacked the fleets that carried freight and Muslim pilgrims from India to the
Red Sea, and struck terror into the potentates all around. The Rulers of
Gujarat and
Yemen turned for help to
Egypt. Sultan Al-Ashraf Qansuh al-Ghuri accordingly fitted out a fleet of 50 vessels under his Admiral,
Hussein the Kurd.
Jeddah
Jeddah ( ), also spelled Jedda, Jiddah or Jidda ( ; ar, , Jidda, ), is a city in the Hejaz region of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) and the country's commercial center. Established in the 6th century BC as a fishing village, Jeddah's pro ...
by forced labor was soon fortified under Barakat II bin Muhammad better known as Barakat Efendi as a harbor of refuge from the Portuguese; now
Arabia and the Red Sea were protected. But the fleets in the Indian Ocean were at the mercy of the enemy.
Various engagements took place; in one of these, an Egyptian ship belonging to Al-Ashraf Qansuh al-Ghuri, and in the following year a fleet of seventeen vessels from Arabian harbors- were after a hard struggle taken by the Portuguese, the cargo seized, the pilgrims and crew slain, and the vessels burned. The Sultan was affronted and angry at the attacks upon the Red Sea, the loss of tolls and- traffic, the indignities to which
Mecca and its Port were subjected, and above all at the fate of his own ship, and he vowed vengeance upon Portugal. But first, through the
Priory of Sion, he threatened the
Pope that if he did not check
Ferdinand and
Manuel I of Portugal in their depredations on the Indian Seas, he would destroy all Christian holy places, and treat Christians as they were treating the followers of Islam. Foiled in this demand, a naval enterprise was set on foot and carried out with various successes. In
Battle of Chaul
The Battle of Chaul was a naval battle between the Portuguese and an Egyptian Mamluk fleet in 1508 in the harbour of Chaul in India. The battle ended in a Mamluk victory. It followed the Siege of Cannanore in which a Portuguese garrison succ ...
in 1508,
Lourenço de Almeida was defeated and lost his life; but in the following year this defeat was avenged by a terrible defeat of the Egyptian fleet at the
Battle of Diu in which the Port city of
Diu was wrested from the
Gujarat Sultanate of India by
Francisco de Almeida. Some years after,
Afonso de Albuquerque tried to take
Aden
Aden ( ar, عدن ' Yemeni: ) is a city, and since 2015, the temporary capital of Yemen, near the eastern approach to the Red Sea (the Gulf of Aden), some east of the strait Bab-el-Mandeb. Its population is approximately 800,000 people. ...
, while the Egyptian troops suffered disaster in Yemen. Al-Ashraf Qansuh al-Ghuri now fitted out a new fleet to punish the enemy and protect the Indian trade; but before its results were known, Egypt had lost her sovereignty, and the Red Sea with Mecca and all its Arabian interests had passed into
Ottoman hands.
Ottoman-Safavid intrusions
Ottoman Sultan
Bayezid II
Bayezid II ( ota, بايزيد ثانى, Bāyezīd-i s̱ānī, 3 December 1447 – 26 May 1512, Turkish: ''II. Bayezid'') was the eldest son and successor of Mehmed II, ruling as Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1481 to 1512. During his reign, ...
was still engaged in Europe when there suddenly in 1501 appeared a new ground of hostility with
Egypt. It arose out of the relations of the two kingdoms with the
Safavid
Safavid Iran or Safavid Persia (), also referred to as the Safavid Empire, '. was one of the greatest Iranian empires after the 7th-century Muslim conquest of Persia, which was ruled from 1501 to 1736 by the Safavid dynasty. It is often conside ...
dynasty in
Persia. Shah
Ismail I of Persia was a
Shia Muslim who had embarked on a war with the
Sunni
Sunni Islam () is the largest branch of Islam, followed by 85–90% of the world's Muslims. Its name comes from the word '' Sunnah'', referring to the tradition of Muhammad. The differences between Sunni and Shia Muslims arose from a disagr ...
Ottoman Sultanate over the
Caucasus and religious differences. Many
Sufi
Sufism ( ar, ''aṣ-ṣūfiyya''), also known as Tasawwuf ( ''at-taṣawwuf''), is a mystic body of religious practice, found mainly within Sunni Islam but also within Shia Islam, which is characterized by a focus on Islamic spirituality, ...
sects had been arrested or exiled by Sultan Bayezid II as dangerous to his rule; and Shah Ismail I's request, that instead they should be allowed free transit into Europe across the
Bosporus, was rejected. Upon this, Shah Ismail I sent an Embassy to the
Venetians via
Syria
Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...
inviting them to join his arms and recover the territory taken from them by the
Porte. Sultan Bayezid II, angry with the
Mamluk Sultan Al-Ashraf Qansuh al-Ghuri, complained bitterly that this Embassy had been suffered to pass through Syria. To appease him, Al-Ashraf Qansuh al-Ghuri placed in confinement the
Venetian
Venetian often means from or related to:
* Venice, a city in Italy
* Veneto, a region of Italy
* Republic of Venice (697–1797), a historical nation in that area
Venetian and the like may also refer to:
* Venetian language, a Romance language s ...
merchants then in Syria and Egypt. And although, fearing reprisals from Venice, he after a year released them, yet the relations between Egypt and the Porte remained peaceful for a time.
On the succession, however, of
Selim I to the throne of Ottoman Sultanate, things took a very different turn. Not only had the attitude of Shah Ismail I become more threatening, but Sultan Selim I himself was more of the warrior than his father. Selim I set out against him, and the
Battle of Chaldiran was fought near
Tabriz on 23 August 1514. The fanaticism of the Sufis, which led even to their women joining in the combat, failed against the cavalry and artillery of the Turks, and Ismail after a disastrous defeat fled and escaped. Selim I, his provisions failing, returned westward and spent the winter at
Amasia. In the spring taking the field again, he attacked the bey of
Dulkadirids who as Egypt's vassal had stood aloof, and sent his head with tidings of the victory to Mamluk Sultan Al-Ashraf Qansuh al-Ghuri. Selim I later overran
Diyarbakır and
Iraq, taking Roha,
Nineveh
Nineveh (; akk, ; Biblical Hebrew: '; ar, نَيْنَوَىٰ '; syr, ܢܝܼܢܘܹܐ, Nīnwē) was an ancient Assyrian city of Upper Mesopotamia, located in the modern-day city of Mosul in northern Iraq. It is located on the eastern ban ...
, the
Nineveh Plains,
Nisibin,
Mosul and other cities. Secure now against Shah Ismail I, a larger project dawned upon Selim I; it was the conquest of Egypt, and the fact that the invasion must be made from Syria. With no anxieties toward the North, he could now safely make the advance, and so in the spring of 1516 CE he drew together for this end a great and well-appointed army; and with the view of deceiving Egypt, represented his object to be the further pursuit of Shah Ismail I.
Fall of the Mamluk Sultanate
Leaving
Al-Ashraf Tuman bay II the Vizier, in charge, Al-Ashraf Qansuh al-Ghuri marched against the
Ottoman Turks
The Ottoman Turks ( tr, Osmanlı Türkleri), were the Turkic founding and sociopolitically the most dominant ethnic group of the Ottoman Empire ( 1299/1302–1922).
Reliable information about the early history of Ottoman Turks remains scarce, ...
. He was defeated by
Selim I at the
Battle of Marj Dabiq, north of
Aleppo
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, on 24 August 1516; the betrayal of two Mamluk leaders
Janbirdi al-Ghazali and
Khayr Baig led to the Mamluk defeat and to the death of the Sultan Qansuh. This marked the end of Mamluk control of the Middle East that eventually passed to the Ottomans. Al-Ashraf Qansuh al-Ghuri himself fell upon the field and his head was carried to the Conqueror.
Accounts however vary to how he met his end. It is said that Khayr Baig spread report of his death to precipitate the Egyptian flight. According to some the Sultan was found alive on the field, and his head cut off and buried to prevent its falling into the enemy's hands. The Ottoman account is that he was beheaded by a Turk whom Sultan Selim I would have put to death, but afterwards pardoned.
Al-Ashraf Qansuh al-Ghuri had reigned a little more than 15 years. Of his private life and domestic administration we know but little, for as we reach the later years of the Mamluk Sultanate, details become too scanty for a judgment. He could, as we have seen, be cruel and extortionate, but so far as our information goes, there is less to say against him than against most of the previous Sultans.
His descendants now live in
Aleppo
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and
Lebanon.
See also
*
Wikala of Al-Ghuri
*
Sultan Al-Ghuri madrasa and mausoleum complex
References
*William Muir, ''The Mameluke; Or, Slave Dynasty of Egypt, 1260–1517, A. D.''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Qansuh al-Ghuri, Alashraf
1441 births
1516 deaths
Egyptian military leaders
Political people from the Ottoman Empire
Burji sultans
History of Kerala
Circassians
16th-century Mamluk sultans