The El-Emam family, sometimes spelled el-Imam (, ), is an Egyptian noble family which has had prominent members since the

Abbasid The Abbasid Caliphate or Abbasid Empire (; ) was the third caliphate to succeed the prophets and messengers in Islam, Islamic prophet Muhammad. It was founded by a dynasty descended from Muhammad's uncle, Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib (566–653 C ...

era, through the

Fatimid The Fatimid Caliphate (; ), also known as the Fatimid Empire, was a caliphate extant from the tenth to the twelfth centuries CE under the rule of the Fatimid dynasty, Fatimids, an Isma'ili Shi'a dynasty. Spanning a large area of North Africa ...

Ayyubid The Ayyubid dynasty (), also known as the Ayyubid Sultanate, was the founding dynasty of the medieval Sultan of Egypt, Sultanate of Egypt established by Saladin in 1171, following his abolition of the Fatimid Caliphate, Fatimid Caliphate of Egyp ...

and

Mamluk Mamluk or Mamaluk (; (singular), , ''mamālīk'' (plural); translated as "one who is owned", meaning "slave") were non-Arab, ethnically diverse (mostly Turkic, Caucasian, Eastern and Southeastern European) enslaved mercenaries, slave-so ...

era. To this day they still have influence.

Overview, history and name

The total known history of the family goes back 1,400 years. The founder of the family is Sheikh al-Islam Abu Uday el-Masry bin el-Emam (903 - May 31, 991). He was the first to be called the "ibn el-Emam". He was the ''sheikh sheiokh'' (sheikh of sheikhs) of

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

and their support in the Abbasid and then Fatimid era. Sheikh el-Masry's lineage dates back 300 years, making the known family history 1,400 years old. It is an Egyptian lineage that indicates that the family's origin is Coptic. In the eras that followed the death of Abu Uday el-Masry ibn el-Emam, members of the family rose to many high positions, most of which were in the judiciary, specifically in the Mamluk era, which witnessed the golden age of the el-Emam's family, through their assuming most of the deputies and judicial positions in Egypt. Until they reached the top of the political and military pyramid during the reign of Sultan Qansuh al-Ghuri, in which two of the el-Emam's family were in power, namely

Emir Emir (; ' (), also Romanization of Arabic, transliterated as amir, is a word of Arabic language, Arabic origin that can refer to a male monarch, aristocratic, aristocrat, holder of high-ranking military or political office, or other person po ...

(prince) Alaa el-Din bin el-Emam and his brother, Judge Saad el-Din bin el-Emam. Prince Alaa el-Din bin el-Emam held 5 major positions at the same time (supervisor of Special,

Amir al-Hajj ''Amir al-hajj'' ( or ; plural: ) was the position and title given to the commander of the annual Hajj pilgrim caravan by successive Muslim empires, from the 7th century until the 20th century. Since the Abbasid Caliphate, Abbasid period, there w ...

, supervisor of Endowments, supervisor of the Armies, Secret Writer of the Sultanate), This is in addition to the fact that Prince Alaa el-Din was nicknamed Abu el-ostool (father of the fleet) because he was the one who was entrusted by Sultan al-Ghuri with the task of building a new Egyptian fleet. He built a modern and strong fleet, and assumed command of the fleet for a period. Then he went to the

Hejaz Hejaz is a Historical region, historical region of the Arabian Peninsula that includes the majority of the western region of Saudi Arabia, covering the cities of Mecca, Medina, Jeddah, Tabuk, Saudi Arabia, Tabuk, Yanbu, Taif and Al Bahah, Al-B ...

and achieved impressive military achievements against the rebellious Arabs there. This in addition to his architectural establishment there, especially in the Badr region, in which he rebuilt the holy Badr well.Abdul Qadir bin Muhammad Al-Jaziri Al-Hanbali (2002). الدر�
الفرائد المنظمة في أخبار الحاج وطريق مكة المعظمة
Beirut: Dar al-Kutub al-Ilmiyah. part 2. pp. 168. Archived from th
original
on 2024-02-07. His brother, Saad el-Din bin el-Emam, was the judge of the Sultan's Diwan and also one of the Sultan's closest men, like his brother. After the fall of the Mamluk Sultanate of Egypt into the hands of the

Ottomans Ottoman may refer to: * Osman I, historically known in English as "Ottoman I", founder of the Ottoman Empire * Osman II, historically known in English as "Ottoman II" * Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empir ...

, specifically in the eighteenth century, the el-Emam family took control of a number of mayor positions areas in

Damietta Damietta ( ' ) is a harbor, port city and the capital of the Damietta Governorate in Egypt. It is located at the Damietta branch, an eastern distributary of the Nile Delta, from the Mediterranean Sea, and about north of Cairo. It was a Cath ...

and Dakahlia, the most famous of which are the areas of Mit el-Sheyoukh and Mit Tarif, which are governed by the el-Emam family to this day.

Notable members

* Abu Uday el-Masry bin el-Emam: the founder, sheikh al-Islam, sheikh al-sheiokh of Egypt and their supporter in the Abbasid and Fatimid eras. * Judge Abdel Latif bin el-Emam: Judge of

El Mahalla El Kubra El Mahalla El Kubra (, ) – commonly shortened to ' – is the largest city of the Gharbia Governorate and in the Nile Delta, with a population of 535,278 as of 2012. It is a large industrial and agricultural city in Egypt, located in the middle ...

. * Judge Abu Bakr bin el-Emam: Judge of

Samannud Samannud ( ) is a city (''markaz'') located in Gharbia Governorate, Egypt. Known in classical antiquity as Sebennytos (), Samannud is a historic city that has been inhabited since the Ancient Egyptian period. As of 2019, the population of the '' ...

. * Judge

El-Mohib bin el-Emam Abdullah bin Abdul Latif bin Ahmad bin Mahammad bin Abi Bakr bin Abdullah bin Abdul Mohsen el-Mohib Abu el-Tayeb bin el-Baha Abi el-Baqa bin el-Shihab Abu el-Abbas el-Sulami el-Mahli el-Shafi'i bin el-Emam (; 1386 – 1442), commonly known as El- ...

: Judge of El Mahalla El Kubra, the deputy of Qadi al-Qoudah (Chief Justice) and a religious scholar. * Judge Zain el-Din Abdel Rahim bin el-Emam. * Judge Abdel Qadir bin el-Emam. * Judge Saad el-Din bin el-Emam: Judge of the sultan's diwan. * Prince Alaa el-Din bin el-Emam:

, supervisor of Endowments, supervisor of the Armies, supervisor of Special, Secret Writer, founder of the updated Egyptian naval fleet. * El-Emam

Pasha Pasha (; ; ) was a high rank in the Ottoman Empire, Ottoman political and military system, typically granted to governors, generals, dignitary, dignitaries, and others. ''Pasha'' was also one of the highest titles in the 20th-century Kingdom of ...

El-Emam: Industrialist and Businessman. * Mayor Abdel Hadi el-Emam: Mayor of Mit el-Sheyoukh village during the reign of King

Farouk I Farouk I (; ''Fārūq al-Awwal''; 11 February 1920 – 18 March 1965) was the tenth ruler of Egypt from the Muhammad Ali dynasty and the penultimate King of Egypt and the Sudan, succeeding his father, Fuad I, in 1936 and reigning until his ...

. * Mayor Farouk el-Emam: Current mayor of Mit el-Sheyoukh. * Judge Mahmoud el-Emam. * Businessman Mostafa el-Emam: Chairman of Sinacola council. * Mohammed el-Imam: Writer and accountant. *

Hassan el-Imam Hassan el-Imam ( , ; March 6, 1919, in Mansoura, Egypt – January 29, 1988) was a prominent Egyptian film director. He was nicknamed the Box-office King. Early life Hassan El-Imam was born on March 6, 1919, in the city of Mansoura, his father E ...

: Film director. *

Hussein el-Imam Hussein el-Imam (; February 8, 1951 in Egypt – May 17, 2014) also spelled Hussein El-Emam was a well-known Egyptian film musician, actor and producer. Career El-Imam began his career playing music with his brother Moody El-Emam. This developed ...

: Actor. * Moody el-Emam: Musician.

Location

Their historical stronghold was the el-Emam's Palace in Kafr Tasfa,

Kafr Shukr Kafr Shukr () is a markaz with a corresponding eponymous capital town in Qalyubia Governorate, Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western A ...

Center,

Qalyubia Governorate Qalyubia ( ' ) is one of the governorates of Egypt, located in Lower Egypt. It is situated north of Cairo in the Nile Delta region. Its capital is Benha, Banha. Name ''Qalyubia'' is derived from the city of Qalyub, whose name is an arabization ...

in Egypt, and they have a presence in the following

governorates A governorate or governate is an administrative division headed by a governor. As English-speaking nations tend to call regions administered by governors either states or provinces, the term ''governorate'' is typically used to calque divisions o ...

: *

Dakahlia Governorate Dakahlia ( ', ) is an Egyptian governorate lying northeast of Cairo, Egypt. Its area is approximately 3,500 km2. Although the capital of the governorate is Mansoura, it got its name from the ancient town of Daqahlah (, from ) which is locat ...

. *

Damietta Governorate Damietta ( ' ) is one of the 27 governorates of Egypt. It is located in the northeastern part of the country, and has a population of over 1.3 million. The capital is the city of Damietta. Damietta (city) is famous for its guava farms, as well a ...

. *

Qalyubiyya Governorate Qalyubia ( ' ) is one of the governorates of Egypt, located in Lower Egypt. It is situated north of Cairo in the Nile Delta region. Its capital is Benha, Banha. Name ''Qalyubia'' is derived from the city of Qalyub, whose name is an arabization ...

. *

Gharbia Governorate Gharbia ( ', , "the western governorate") is one of the governorates of Egypt. It is located in the north of the country, south of Kafr El Sheikh Governorate, and north of Monufia Governorate. Its capital is Tanta, which is 90 km north of ...

. *

Beheira Governorate Beheira ( ', , "the governorate of the Lake") is a coastal governorates of Egypt, governorate in northern Egypt. Located in the northern part of the country in the Nile Delta, its capital is Damanhur. Overview Beheira Governorate enjoys an impo ...

. *

Cairo Governorate Cairo () is one of the 27 governorates of Egypt. It is formed of the city of Cairo, both the national capital of Egypt and the governorate's, in addition to six satellite cities: the New Administrative Capital - which became the official seat ...

References

{{Reflist Culture of Egypt Egyptian nobility El-Emam family African noble families Egyptian families Political families of Egypt