Sultan of Egypt

Sultan of Egypt was the status held by the rulers of Egypt after the establishment of the Ayyubid dynasty of Saladin in 1174 until the Ottoman conquest of Egypt in 1517. Though the extent of the Egyptian Sultanate ebbed and flowed, it generally included Sham and Hejaz, with the consequence that the Ayyubid and later Mamluk sultans were also regarded as the Sultans of Syria. From 1914, the title was once again used by the heads of the Muhammad Ali dynasty of Egypt and Sudan, later being replaced by the title of King of Egypt and Sudan in 1922.

Painting from 1779 of a councilor to the Sultan of Egypt during Mamluk rule.

Ayyubid dynasty
Main article: Ayyubid dynasty

Prior to the rise of Saladin, Egypt was the center of the Shia Fatimid Caliphate, the only period in Islamic history when a caliphate was ruled by members of the Shia branch of Islam. The Fatimids had long sought to completely supplant the Sunni Abbasid Caliphate based in Iraq, and like their Abbasid rivals, they also took the title Caliph, representing their claim to the highest status within the Islamic hierarchy. However, with Saladin's rise to power in 1169, Egypt returned to the Sunni fold and the Abbasid Caliphate. Recognizing the Abbasid Caliph as his theoretical superior, Saladin took the title of Sultan in 1174, though from this point until the Ottoman conquest, supreme power in the caliphate would come to rest with the Sultan of Egypt.

Mamluk dynasties
Main article: Mamluk Sultanate

In 1250, the Ayyubids were overthrown by the Mamluks, who established the Bahri dynasty and whose rulers also took the title sultan. Notable Bahri sultans include Qutuz, who defeated the invading Mongol army of Hulagu at the Battle of Ain Jalut, and Baibars, who finally recaptured the last remnants of the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem. The Bahri were later overthrown by a rival Mameluke group, who established the Burji dynasty in 1382.

Ottoman Sultanate and autonomous Khedivate
Main articles: Egypt Eyalet and Khedivate of Egypt
Coat of Arms of the Sultan of Egypt (1914–1922)

The Ottoman conquest of Egypt in 1517 ended the Egyptian Sultanate, with Egypt henceforth a province of the Ottoman Empire. It also marked the end of the Mamluk Abbasid dynasty, as the Ottomans captured the current Caliph Al-Mutawakkil III, and forced him to relinquish the title to the Ottoman Sultan Selim I. The Ottomans subsequently paid little interest to Egyptian affairs, and the Mamelukes rapidly regained most of their power within Egypt. However, they remained vassals of the Ottoman Sultan and their leaders were limited to the title of Bey.

In 1523, the Ottoman-appointed Turkish governor of Egypt, Hain Ahmed Pasha, declared himself the Sultan of Egypt and Egypt independent from the Ottoman Empire. He struck his own coins to legitimize his rule, but soon thereafter, Ottoman forces under Pargalı Ibrahim Pasha captured him and executed him, with Ibrahim Pasha assuming the governorship until he found a more permanent replacement, Hadım Süleyman Pasha.

Following the defeat of Napoleon I's forces in 1801, Muhammad Ali Pasha seized power, overthrowing the Mamelukes, and declaring himself ruler of Egypt. In 1805, the Ottoman Sultan Selim III reluctantly recognized him as Wāli under Ottoman suzerainty. Muhammad Ali, however, styled himself as Khedive, and though technically a vassal of the Ottoman Empire, governed Egypt as if it were an independent state. Seeking to rival and ultimately supplant the Ottoman Sultan, Muhammad Ali implemented a rapid modernization and militarization program, and expanded Egypt's borders south into Sudan and north into Syria. Eventually, he waged war on the Ottoman Empire with the intention of overthrowing the ruling Osman Dynasty and replacing it with his own. Though the intervention of the Great Powers prevented Muhammad Ali from realizing his grandiose ambitions of becoming sultan himself, obliging Egypt to remain technically part of the Ottoman Empire, Egypt's autonomy survived his death with the Porte recognizing the Muhammad Ali Dynasty as hereditary rulers of the country.

Hussein Kamel, Sultan of Egypt, 1914–1917.

Muhammad Ali's grandson, Ismail I, acceded to the Egyptian throne in 1863 and immediately set about achieving his grandfather's aims, though in a less confrontation manner. A combination of growing Egyptian power, deteriorating Ottoman strength, and outright bribery led to Ottoman Sultan Abdulaziz formally recognizing the Egyptian ruler as Khedive in 1867. As Ismail expanded Egypt's borders in Africa, and the Ottoman Empire continued to decay, Ismail believed he was close to realizing formal Egyptian independence, and even contemplated using the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869 to declare himself Sultan of Egypt. He was persuaded otherwise by pressure from the Great Powers, who feared the consequences of further disintegration of Ottoman power. Ultimately, Ismail's reign ended in failure, due to the massive debt his ambitious projects had incurred. European and Ottoman pressure forced his removal in 1879 and replacement by his far more pliant son Tewfik. The subsequent Orabi Revolt resulted in Great Britain invading Egypt in 1882 on the invitation of Khedive Tewfik, and beginning its decades long occupation of the country.

Restoration of Egyptian Sultanate
Main article: Sultanate of Egypt
Further information: Kingdom of Egypt

From 1882 onwards, Egypt's status became deeply convoluted: officially a province of the Ottoman Empire, semi-officially a virtually independent state with its own monarchy, armed forces, and territorial possessions in Sudan, and for practical purposes a British puppet. The legal fiction of Ottoman sovereignty in Egypt was finally ended in 1914 when the Ottoman Empire joined the Central Powers in First World War. Alarmed that the anti-British Khedive Abbas II would side with the Ottomans, the British deposed him in favor of his uncle Hussein Kamel and declared Egypt a British protectorate. Symbolizing the official end of Ottoman rule, Hussein Kamel took the title Sultan as did his brother Fuad I who succeeded him in 1917, though in reality Egypt remained under British domination. Both Hussein Kamel and Fuad maintained Egypt's claim to Sudan, with Egyptian nationalists declaring both in turn to be the "Sultan of Egypt and Sudan".

Rising nationalist anger at the continued British occupation forced Britain to formally recognize Egyptian independence, in 1922. However, the title of Sultan was dropped and replaced with King. Nationalist leader Saad Zaghlul, who was later exiled by the British, maintained that this was because the British refused to recognize a sovereign Egyptian ruler who outranked their own king (in the hierarchy of titles, sultan, like shah in Iran, is comparable to emperor, being a sovereign who recognizes no secular superior). Another reason offered for the change in title, is that it reflected the growing secularization of Egypt at the time, as sultan has Islamic overtones, whereas the Arabic word for king, malik, does not.

Upon overthrowing Fuad's son, King Farouk I, in the Egyptian revolution of 1952, the Free Officers briefly considered declaring his infant son Sultan to reinforce Egypt's sovereignty over Sudan and demonstrate their rejection of British occupation. However, since the revolutionaries had already decided to abolish the Egyptian monarchy after a brief period of consolidating their hold on power, they determined that it would be an idle gesture and Farouk's son was duly declared King Fuad II. The following year, on 18 June 1953, the revolutionary government officially abolished the monarchy and Egypt became a republic.

List of Sultans

Ayyubid Dynasty

Bahri Dynasty

  Salihi Mamluks   Bahri dynasty   Burji dynasty

NumberRoyal titleNameReign startReign endEthnicityBackground notesCoinage
1st Al-Malik al-Mu'izz Izz ad-Din Aybak 31 July 1250[1] 10 April 1257[2] Turkmen Middle-ranking mamluk of Ayyubid sultan as-Salih Ayyub. Married the latter's widow, Shajar ad-Durr, who became sultan on 2 May 1250 until she abdicated in favor of Aybak.[1]
2nd Al-Malik al-Mansur Nur ad-Din Ali 15 April 1257[3] November 1259[3] Turkmen Son of Aybak.
3rd Al-Malik al-Muzaffar Sayf ad-Din Qutuz November 1259[3] 24 October 1260[3] Khwarazmian Turk[4] A mamluk of Aybak and head of Aybak's mamluk faction, the Mu'izziya,[5] Aybak's chief deputy, and strongman of Ali's sultanate.[6]
4th Al-Malik az-Zahir Rukn ad-Din Baybars 24 October 1260[3] 1 July 1277[3] Kipchak Turk Bahri mamluk and founder of the Bahri dynasty.[5]
5th Al-Malik as-Sa'id Nasir ad-Din Barakah 3 July 1277[3] August 1279[3] Kipchak Turk Son of Baybars and his wife, who was the daughter of Husam ad-Din Baraka Khan, a Khwarazmian warrior chief, after whom Barakah was named.[7][4][8]
6th Al-Malik al-Adil Badr ad-Din Salamish August 1279[3] November 1279[3] Kipchak Turk Son of Baybars.
7th Al-Malik al-Mansur Sayf ad-Din Qalawun November 1279[3] 10 November 1290[3] Kipchak Turk[9] Bahri mamluk and Baybars' chief deputy
8th Al-Malik al-Ashraf Salah ad-Din Khalil 12 November 1290[3] 12 December 1293[3] Kipchak Turk Son of Qalawun.
9th Al-Malik an-Nasir Nasir ad-Din Muhammad 14 December 1293[3] December 1294[3] Kipchak Turk Son of Qalawun. First reign.
10th Al-Malik al-Adil Zayn ad-Din Kitbugha December 1294[3] 7 December 1296[3] Mongol[10] A mamluk of Qalawun.[10]
11th Al-Malik al-Mansur Husam ad-Din Lajin 7 December 1296[3] 16 January 1299[3] Circassian[11] A mamluk of Qalawun.[10] Relative to Rukn ad-Din Baybars al-Jashnakir[11]
12th Al-Malik an-Nasir Nasir ad-Din Muhammad 16 January 1299[3] March 1309[3] Kipchak Turk Second reign.
13th Al-Malik al-Muzaffar Rukn ad-Din Baybars al-Jashnakir April 1309[3] 5 March 1310[3] Circassian[11] A mamluk of Qalawun.[12] Relative to Husam ad-Din Lajin[11]
14th Al-Malik an-Nasir Nasir ad-Din Muhammad 5 March 1310[3] 6 June 1341[3] Kipchak Turk Third reign.
15th Al-Malik al-Mansur Sayf ad-Din Abu Bakr 8 June 1341[3] August 1341[13] Kipchak Turk Son of an-Nasir Muhammad and his concubine Narjis.[14] Real power in Abu Bakr's sultanate was held by Qawsun, a mamluk and senior emir of an-Nasir Muhammad.[13]
16th Al-Malik al-Ashraf Ala'a ad-Din Kujuk August 1341[15] 21 January 1342[16] Kipchak Turk and Tatar Son of an-Nasir Muhammad and his Tatar concubine Ardu.[14] An infant when he was made sultan by strongman Qawsun.[13]
17th Al-Malik an-Nasir Shihab ad-Din Ahmad 21 January 1342[16] 27 June 1342[17] Kipchak Turk Son of an-Nasir Muhammad and his concubine Bayad, a freed slave girl.[14]
18th Al-Malik as-Salih Imad ad-Din Abu'l Fida Isma'il 27 June 1342[16] 3 August 1345[18] Kipchak Turk Son of an-Nasir Muhammad and one of his concubines, unnamed by the sources.[14]
19th Al-Malik al-Kamil Sayf ad-Din Sha'ban 3 August 1345[18] 18 September 1346[18] Kipchak Turk Son of an-Nasir Muhammad and one of his concubines, unnamed by the sources (same mother of as-Salih Isma'il).[14]
20th Al-Malik al-Muzaffar Sayf ad-Din Hajji 18 September 1346[18] 10 December 1347[18] Kipchak Turk Son of an-Nasir Muhammad and one of his other unnamed concubines.[14]
21st Al-Malik an-Nasir Badr ad-Din Hasan December 1347 21 August 1351[18] Kipchak Turk Son of an-Nasir Muhammad and his concubine Kuda, who died in Hasan's infancy. First reign. Hasan acceded to the sultanate as a young child and real power was shared by four senior emirs, Shaykhu an-Nasiri, Taz an-Nasiri, Manjak al-Yusufi and Baybugha al-Qasimi. Hasan was toppled when he challenged their power.
22nd Al-Malik as-Salih Salah ad-Din Salih 21 August 1351[18] 20 October 1354[18] Kipchak Turk Son of an-Nasir Muhammad and his wife Qutlumalik, daughter of Emir Tankiz al-Husami.[14]
23rd Al-Malik an-Nasir Badr ad-Din Hasan 20 October 1354[18] 16 March 1361[18] Kipchak Turk Second reign. He was killed by Emir Yalbugha al-Umari.[18]
24th Al-Malik al-Mansur Salah ad-Din Muhammad 17 March 1361[18] 29 May 1363[18] Kipchak Turk Son of Hajji. Real power was held by Emir Yalbugha al-Umari, who toppled him.[18]
25th Al-Malik al-Ashraf Zayn ad-Din Sha'ban (Sha'ban II) 29 May 1363[18] 15 March 1377[18] Kipchak Turk Son of al-Amjad Husayn (d. 21 January 1363), the last surviving son of an-Nasir Muhammad who never reigned,[19] and Khawand Baraka.[20]
26th Al-Malik al-Mansur Ala'a ad-Din Ali 15 March 1377[18] 19 May 1381[18] Kipchak Turk Son of Sha'ban II. Was an infant during his accession, and real power was initially held by emirs Ibek and Qartay until the latter was ousted by the former. Ibek was later killed and power passed to Barquq, a former mamluk of Yalbugha an-Nasiri.
27th Al-Malik as-Salih Salah ad-Din Hajji 19 May 1381[18] 26 November 1382[18] Kipchak Turk Son of al-Ashraf Sha'ban. Was an infant during his succession and real power was held by Barquq.

Burji Dynasty

  Salihi Mamluks   Bahri dynasty   Burji dynasty

NumberRoyal titleNameReign startReign endEthnicityBackground notesCoinage
28th Al-Malik az-Zahir Sayf ad-Din Barquq 26 November 1382[18] 1 June 1389[18] Circassian A mamluk of Yalbugha al-Umari. Son of Anas, who was brought to Egypt by Barquq in 1381 and converted to Islam. First reign. Established the Burji dynasty.
29th Al-Malik as-Salih Salah ad-Din Hajji 1 June 1389[18] January 1390[18] Kipchak Turk Second reign. Installed during a rebellion against Barquq in which the latter was toppled.[18] When Barquq was restored, Hajji was allowed to continue residing in the Cairo Citadel.
30th Al-Malik az-Zahir Sayf ad-Din Barquq 21 January 1390[18] 20 June 1399[18] Circassian Second reign.
31st Al-Malik an-Nasir Nasir ad-Din Faraj 20 June 1399[18] 20 September 1405[18] Circassian Son of Barquq.[18]
32nd Al-Malik al-Mansur Izz ad-Din Abd al-Aziz 20 September 1405[18] November 1405[18] Circassian Son of Barquq.[18]
33rd Al-Malik an-Nasir Nasir ad-Din Faraj November 1405[18] 23 May 1412[18] Circassian Second reign.
34th Al-Malik al-Adil Al-Musta'in Billah 23 May 1412[18] 6 November 1412[18] Arab The Abbasid caliph in Cairo. He was appointed by the Burji emir Shaykh Mahmudi as a figurehead, but then compelled him to abdicate.[18]
35th Al-Malik al-Mu'ayyad Shaykh al-Mahmudi 6 November 1412[18] 13 January 1421[18] Circassian A mamluk of Barquq.
36th Al-Malik al-Muzaffar Ahmad 13 January 1421[18] 29 August 1421[18] Circassian Son of Shaykh. Was an infant during accession.
37th Al-Malik az-Zahir Sayf ad-Din Tatar 29 August 1421[18] 30 November 1421[18] Circassian A mamluk of Barquq[21]
38th Al-Malik as-Salih An-Nasir ad-Din Muhammad 30 November 1421[18] 1 April 1422[18] Circassian Son of Tatar. Was an infant during accession.[18]
39th Al-Malik al-Ashraf Sayf ad-Din Barsbay 1 April 1422[18] 7 June 1438[18] Circassian A mamluk of Barquq.[21] He was a tutor of Muhammad before he toppled him.[18]
40th Al-Malik al-Aziz Jamal ad-Din Abu al-Mahasin Yusuf 7 June 1438[18] 9 September 1438[18] Circassian Son of Barsbay. Was a child during accession.
41st Al-Malik az-Zahir Sayf ad-Din Jaqmaq 9 September 1438[18] 1 February 1453[18] Circassian A mamluk of Barquq.[21]
42nd Al-Malik al-Mansur Fakhr ad-Din Uthman 1 February 1453[18] 15 March 1453[18] Circassian Son of Jaqmaq.[18]
43rd Al-Malik al-Ashraf Sayf ad-Din Inal 15 March 1453[18] 26 February 1461[18] Circassian A mamluk of Barquq.[21]
44th Al-Malik al-Mu'ayyad Shihab ad-Din Ahmad 26 February 1461[18] 28 June 1461[18] Circassian Son of Inal.[18]
45th Al-Malik az-Zahir Sayf ad-Din Khushqadam 28 June 1461[18] 9 October 1467[18] Greek[18] A mamluk of Shaykh.[21]
45th Al-Malik az-Zahir Sayf ad-Din Bilbay 9 October 1467[18] 4 December 1467[18] Circassian A mamluk of Shaykh.[22]
46th Al-Malik az-Zahir Timurbugha 4 December 1467[18] 31 January 1468[18] Greek[23] A mamluk of Jaqmaq.[21]
47th Al-Malik al-Ashraf Sayf ad-Din Qa'itbay 31 January 1468[18] 7 August 1496[18] Circassian A mamluk of Barsbay.[24]
48th Al-Malik an-Nasir Muhammad 7 August 1496[18] 31 October 1498[18] Circassian Son of Qa'itbay[18]
49th Al-Malik az-Zahir Abu Sa'id Qansuh 31 October 1498[18] 30 June 1500[18] Circassian A mamluk of Qa'itbay.[25]
50th Al-Malik al-Ashraf Abu al-Nasir Janbalat 30 June 1500[18] 25 January 1501[18] Circassian Originally a mamluk of Emir Yashbak min Mahdi, who gave Janbalat to Qa'itbay, who then freed him.[26]
51st Al-Malik al-Adil Sayf ad-Din Tumanbay 25 January 1501[18] 20 April 1501[18] Circassian A mamluk of Qa'itbay.[27]
52nd Al-Malik al-Ashraf Qansuh al-Ghawri 20 April 1501[18] 24 August 1516[18] Circassian His mamluk origins are unclear, but he was trained in the Ghawr Barracks of Cairo, hence his name "al-Ghawri".[28] Prior to his accession to the sultanate, he was an emir of ten and a provincial governor.[28]
53rd Al-Malik al-Ashraf Tumanbay II 17 October 1516[18] 15 April 1517[18] Circassian Last Mamluk sultan.


Hain Ahmed Pasha's Revolt

Muhammad Ali dynasty (1914–1922)
Further information: Muhammad Ali dynasty
  • Hussein Kamel (Sultan of Egypt and Sudan) – 19 December 1914 – 9 October 1917
  • Fuad I (Sultan of Egypt and Sudan) – 9 October 1917 – 16 March 1922

References
  1. Northrup 1998, p. 69.
  2. Northrup 1998, p. 70.
  3. Stewart, John (2006). African States and Rulers. McFarland & Company. p. 86. ISBN 9780786425624.
  4. Hathaway, Jane (2003). Tale of Two Factions, A: Myth, Memory, and Identity in Ottoman Egypt and Yemen. State University of New York Press. pp. 50–52. ISBN 9780791486108.
  5. Northrup, ed. Petry 1998, p. 250.
  6. Northrup 1998, p. 71.
  7. Thorau, Peter (1992). The Lion of Egypt: Sultan Baybars I and the Near East in the Thirteenth Century. Longman. p. 261. ISBN 9780582068230.
  8. Holt 2004, p. 99.
  9. Yosef 2012b, p. 394.
  10. Northrup, ed. Petry 1998, p. 252.
  11. Yosef 2012b, p. 396.
  12. Tarikh, Volumes 5-6: Peoples and Kingdoms of West Africa in the Pre-Colonial Period. Longman. 1974. p. 9. ISBN 9780582608733.
  13. Drory 2006, p. 20.
  14. Bauden 2009, p. 63.
  15. Levanoni 1995, p. 102.
  16. Drory 2006, p. 24.
  17. Drory 2006, p. 28.
  18. Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Egypt/3 History" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 09 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 80–130, see pages 101 to 103. Decline of the Bahri power
  19. Holt, eds. Vermeulen and De Smet, p. 319.
  20. Al-Harithy, Howayda (2005). "Female Patronage of Mamluk Architecture in Cairo". In Sonbol, Amira El Azhary (ed.). Beyond The Exotic: Women's Histories In Islamic Societies. Syracuse University Press. p. 332. ISBN 9780815630555.
  21. Garcin, ed. Petry 1998, p. 293.
  22. Levanoni, eds. Winter and Levanoni 2004, p. 82.
  23. Ali, Abdul (1996). Islamic Dynasties of the Arab East: State and Civilization During the Later Medieval Times. M.D. Publications Private Limited. p. 64. ISBN 9788175330085.
  24. Garcin, ed. Petry 1998, p. 295.
  25. Dobrowolski, Jarosław (2001). The Living Stones of Cairo. American University in Cairo Press. p. 60. ISBN 9789774246326.
  26. Mayer, L. A. (1933). Saracenic Heraldry: A Survey. Clarendon Press. p. 127.
  27. Garcin, ed. Petry 1998, p. 297.
  28. Petry 1994, p. 20.
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