Ibrahim Bey (born Abram Shinjikashvili; 1735 – 1816/1817) was a

Mamluk Mamluk ( ar, مملوك, mamlūk (singular), , ''mamālīk'' (plural), translated as "one who is owned", meaning " slave", also transliterated as ''Mameluke'', ''mamluq'', ''mamluke'', ''mameluk'', ''mameluke'', ''mamaluke'', or ''marmeluke'') ...

chieftain and regent of

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

Biography

Ibrahim Bey was born as Abram Shinjikashvili (აბრამ შინჯიკაშვილი), of

Georgian Georgian may refer to: Common meanings * Anything related to, or originating from Georgia (country) ** Georgians, an indigenous Caucasian ethnic group ** Georgian language, a Kartvelian language spoken by Georgians **Georgian scripts, three scrip ...

origin, into the family of a

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

priest in

Martqopi Martkopi ( ka, მარტყოფი) is a village in Gardabani Municipality of Georgia. It is located on the left side of Ialno range, in the gorges of the rivers Alikhevi and Tevali, and is at an altitude of 770 meters. It is 55 kilometre ...

in the southeastern Georgian province of

Kakheti Kakheti ( ka, კახეთი ''K’akheti''; ) is a region (mkhare) formed in the 1990s in eastern Georgia from the historical province of Kakheti and the small, mountainous province of Tusheti. Telavi is its capital. The region comprises eigh ...

.Mikaberidze, Alexander, "Ibrahim Bey", in: Gregory Fremont-Barnes (ed., 2006), ''The Encyclopedia of the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars'', Vol. 2, p. 471-2. ABC-CLIO, Inc. As a child, he was captured by Ottoman

slave Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...

raiders and sold out in Egypt where he was converted to Islam and trained as a Mamluk. Through loyal service to

Muhammad Bey Abu al-Dhahab Muḥammad Bey Abū aḏ-Ḏahab (1735–1775), also just called Abū Ḏahab (meaning "father of gold", a name apparently given to him on account of his generosity and wealth), was a Mamluk emir and regent of Ottoman Egypt. Born in the North ...

, the Mamluk ruler of

, he rose in rank and attained to the dignity of

bey Bey ( ota, بك, beğ, script=Arab, tr, bey, az, bəy, tk, beg, uz, бек, kz, би/бек, tt-Cyrl, бәк, translit=bäk, cjs, пий/пек, sq, beu/bej, sh, beg, fa, بیگ, beyg/, tg, бек, ar, بك, bak, gr, μπέης) is ...

. With time he emerged as one of the most influential Mamluk commanders, sharing a ''

de facto ''De facto'' ( ; , "in fact") describes practices that exist in reality, whether or not they are officially recognized by laws or other formal norms. It is commonly used to refer to what happens in practice, in contrast with ''de jure'' ("by la ...

'' control of Egypt with his fellow

Murad Bey Murad Bey Mohammed ( 1750 – 22 April 1801) was an Egyptian Mamluk chieftain ( Bey), cavalry commander and joint ruler of Egypt with Ibrahim Bey. He is often remembered as being a cruel and extortionate ruler, but an energetic courageous fighter ...

. The two men became a

duumvirate Diarchy (from Greek , ''di-'', "double", and , ''-arkhía'', "ruled"),Occasionally misspelled ''dyarchy'', as in the ''Encyclopaedia Britannica'' article on the colonial British institution duarchy, or duumvirate (from Latin ', "the office of ...

, Murad Bey managing military matters while Ibrahim Bey managed civil administration. They survived through the persistent Ottoman attempts at overthrowing the Mamluk regime and civil strifes. They served as

kaymakam Kaymakam, also known by many other romanizations, was a title used by various officials of the Ottoman Empire, including acting grand viziers, governors of provincial sanjaks, and administrators of district kazas. The title has been retained an ...

s (acting governors) in Egypt on occasion, although they effectively held ''de facto'' power for decades, even over the appointed

Ottoman governor of Egypt The Ottoman Empire's governors of Egypt from 1517 to 1805 were at various times known by different but synonymous titles, among them ''beylerbey'', viceroy, governor, governor-general, or, more generally, '' wāli''. Furthermore, the Ottoman sul ...

. From 1771 to 1773, Ibrahim Bey served as the '' amir al-hajj'' (commander of the hajj caravan) of Egypt.Creighton, Ness
Dictionary of African Biography
p. 133. In 1786, the Ottoman sultan

Abdülhamid I Abdülhamid or Abdul Hamid I ( ota, عبد الحميد اول, ''`Abdü’l-Ḥamīd-i evvel''; tr, Birinci Abdülhamid; 20 March 1725 – 7 April 1789) was the 27th Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, reigning over the Ottoman Empire from 1774 to ...

sent

Kapudan Pasha The Kapudan Pasha ( ota, قپودان پاشا, modern Turkish: ), was the Grand Admiral of the navy of the Ottoman Empire. He was also known as the ( ota, قپودان دریا, links=no, modern: , "Captain of the Sea"). Typically, he was based ...

(grand admiral of the Ottoman Navy)

Cezayirli Gazi Hasan Pasha Cezayirli Gazi Hasan Pasha or Hasan Pasha of Algiers (1713 – 19 March 1790) was an Ottoman Grand Admiral (Kapudan Pasha) (1770–90), Grand Vizier (1790), and general in the late 18th century. Primary life He is known to have been brought u ...

to drive out Ibrahim and Murad Bey. Hasan Pasha was fervent and thorough in his efforts and succeeded in the short term, reestablishing direct

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

control over Egypt.

Ismail Bey Ismāʿīl Bey ( 1735? - March 1791), also known as ''Ismail Bey al-Kabir'' ("the Great") was a Mamluk emir and regent of Ottoman Egypt. Biography Ismail was of Georgian origin, and became a Mamluk of the Emir Ali Bey al-Kabir in Egypt. During th ...

was appointed as new Mamluk leader and

Shaykh al-Balad Sheikh (pronounced or ; ar, شيخ ' , mostly pronounced , plural ' )—also transliterated sheekh, sheyikh, shaykh, shayk, shekh, shaik and Shaikh, shak—is an honorific title in the Arabic language. It commonly designates a chief of a ...

(civil governor and de facto ruler). However, in 1792, only six years after their expulsion by Hasan Pasha, the duumvirate returned to Cairo from hiding in southern Egypt and took back ''de facto'' control. When the French invaded Egypt in 1798, Ibrahim fought against

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

's armies at the battles of the Pyramids and the Heliopolis but was defeated on both occasions. These defeats effectively ended his reign over the country, and he died in obscurity in 1816 or 1817, having survived

Mohammad Ali Pasha Muhammad Ali Pasha al-Mas'ud ibn Agha, also known as Muhammad Ali of Egypt and the Sudan ( sq, Mehmet Ali Pasha, ar, محمد علي باشا, ; ota, محمد علی پاشا المسعود بن آغا; ; 4 March 1769 – 2 August 1849), was ...

's 1811 massacre of Mameluke leaders.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ibrahim Bey 1735 births 1817 deaths 18th-century Ottoman governors of Egypt 19th-century Ottoman governors of Egypt Egyptian nobility Political people from the Ottoman Empire Mamluks Georgians from the Ottoman Empire Former Georgian Orthodox Christians Converts to Islam from Eastern Orthodoxy Muslims from Georgia (country) Ottoman governors of Egypt People from the Ottoman Empire of Georgian descent People from Kvemo Kartli

Biography

See also

References