Al-Muzaffar Hajji

Al-Muzaffar Hajji was born "al-Malik al-Muzaffar Hajji" in 1331.[1][2] The appellation "al-Malik", which means "king" in Arabic, was rare among the sons of Mamluk sultans at birth and was typically given at the accession to the sultanate.[1] Al-Muzaffar Hajji was a son of the long-reigning Sultan an-Nasir Muhammad and one of his concubines, whose name is not provided by the Mamluk-era sources.[3] He married a daughter of Emir Tankiz al-Husami on 15 January 1347 and had one son with her, Muhammad (d. 1398), who became sultan in 1361–1363. Al-Muzaffar Hajji had a second son named Ahmad (d. 1381) with another woman.[4]

Al-Muzaffar Hajji was the sixth of the an-Nasir Muhammad's sons to serve as sultan following an-Nasir Muhammad's death in 1341. Al-Muzaffar Hajji's accession to the sultanate came after the death of his brother and predecessor al-Kamil Sha'ban in September 1346. Like with his other brothers, despite the accession pacts made with the leading Mamluk emirs, al-Muzaffar Hajji's rule was in effect a power center rivaling the Mamluk establishment, which consisted of the powerful emirs and mamluks of an-Nasir Muhammad.[5] Al-Muzaffar Hajji married the daughter of the well-known and long-reigning Mamluk viceroy of Syria, Tankiz (d. 1340) in 1346.[6]

Al-Muzaffar Hajji was known for his affection of the commoners and engaging in sports, such as wrestling wearing only professional leather trousers, stick fighting, polo and pigeon racing.[7] In 1347, the leading Mamluk emirs of the citadel, frustrated at al-Muzaffar Hajji's extravagance and apparent neglect of duties, expelled an African slave girl named Ittifaq that al-Muzaffar Hajji had preoccupied his time with and secretly married, from the citadel.[5] However, al-Muzaffar Hajji's interest in pigeons became another source of frustration with the senior emirs.[5] They were particularly bothered by his frequent distribution of high sums in gold and pearls to pigeon racers and his high-stakes bets.[8] After his senior emirs raised the issue with him, al-Muzaffar Hajji became enraged and killed all of his pigeons one-by-one as a warning to his emirs that they could meet the same fate.[8]

Al-Muzaffar Hajji developed close ties with Emir Ghurlu, with whom al-Muzaffar Hajji entrusted governmental affairs.[9] Ghurlu attempted to curb the power of the emirs Arutay (vice-regent), Uljaybugha and Taniraq, all of whom were angered by Ghurlu's powers and conspired against him.[9] They succeeded in turning al-Muzaffar Hajji against Ghurlu by using the court jester, a paralyzed and honored individual named Shaykh Ali al-Kasih, through his jokes to make al-Muzaffar Hajji suspicious of Ghurlu's intentions.[9] It was also through al-Kasih that Taniraq and Uljaybugha learned that al-Muzaffar Hajji was set on deposing them. The emirs thus conspired to have al-Muzaffar Hajji eliminated.[10]> In December 1347, a group of Circassian mamluks angry at al-Muzaffar Hajji's killing of a senior Circassian emir in his retinue revolted against his rule.[5] Al-Muzaffar Hajji and his troops sought to eliminate them, but once al-Muzaffar Hajji reached the outskirts of Cairo, his troops abandoned him.[5] Al-Muzaffar Hajji was subsequently captured and killed thirteen months into his reign,[5] on 16 December.[4] His death was commented on by his contemporary as-Safadi, who wrote:

You intelligent people, think about the strong al-Malik al-Muzaffar! How much wrong and injustice did he commit, till the pigeon play became the seriousness of death![8]