Sayf ad-Din Barquq

Timeline

1. c. 1340–1382Cairo · EgyptBarquq was born among the Circassians, sold to Egypt and trained as a Mamluk, freed around 1363. Thereafter, during the era of boy sultans, he gradually secured key military and political posts, becoming a member of the faction dominating behind the scenes, laying the foundation for his seizure of power in 1382.
2. 1382–1389Cairo · EgyptIn November 1382 Barquq deposed al-Salih Hajji, taking the title al-Zahir, becoming the first Circassian Mamluk sultan. During this period he reformed the currency and finances, built the Bayn al-Qasrayn mosque-madrasa complex in 1384–1386, and dispatched troops to suppress local rebellions in Upper Egypt and Syria.
3. 1390–1399Cairo · EgyptForced to abdicate by a rebellion of provincial governors in 1389, he was swiftly restored in 1390. In his later years he continued consolidating Burji factional rule, placing relatives and confidants in key posts, countering Timur's espionage activities and border threats, dying in Cairo in 1399, succeeded by his son al-Nasir Faraj.