Sayf ad-Din Sirghitmish ibn Abdullah an-Nasiri, better known as Sirghitmish (also spelled ''Sarghitmish'') (died 1358) was a prominent
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 ...
emir during the reign of Sultan
an-Nasir Hasan
Al-Nasir Badr ad-Din Hasan ibn Muhammad ibn Qalawun (1334/35–17 March 1361), better known as al-Nasir Hasan, was the Mamluk sultan of Egypt, he was of Turkish origin. the seventh son of al-Nasir Muhammad to hold office, reigning twice in 1347� ...
(r. 1347–1351, 1354–1361). By 1357, Sirgitmish was the most powerful emir in an-Nasir Hasan's court. That year, he had the
Madrasa of Sirghitmish built in
Cairo
Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...
. In 1358, the sultan's suspicions of a coup plot by Sirghitmish led to his imprisonment and subsequent death.
Biography
Political career
Sirghitmish was a ''
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 ...
'' purchased by Sultan
an-Nasir Muhammad
Al-Malik an-Nasir Nasir ad-Din Muhammad ibn Qalawun (), commonly known as an-Nasir Muhammad (), or by his kunya: Abu al-Ma'ali () or as Ibn Qalawun (1285–1341) was the ninth Mamluk sultan of the Bahri dynasty who ruled Egypt between 12 ...
(r. 1310–1341). He began his career under Sultan
al-Muzaffar Hajji
Al-Muzaffar Sayf ad-Din Hajji ibn Muhammad ibn Qalawun, better known as al-Muzaffar Hajji, (1331–December 1347) was the Bahri Mamluk sultan of Egypt. He was also the sixth son of an-Nasir Muhammad (d. 1341) to hold office, ruling from Septemb ...
(r. 1346–1347), a son of an-Nasir Muhammad.
In March/April 1352, in a spiritual bid to recover from an illness, which had lasted for a few days, Sirghitmish donated large
alms
Alms (, ) are money, food, or other material goods donated to people living in poverty. Providing alms is often considered an act of Charity (practice), charity. The act of providing alms is called almsgiving.
Etymology
The word ''alms'' come ...
to the impoverished and freed a certain number of prisoners. He rose to prominence during the second reign of an-Nasir Muhammad's son,
an-Nasir Hasan
Al-Nasir Badr ad-Din Hasan ibn Muhammad ibn Qalawun (1334/35–17 March 1361), better known as al-Nasir Hasan, was the Mamluk sultan of Egypt, he was of Turkish origin. the seventh son of al-Nasir Muhammad to hold office, reigning twice in 1347� ...
, which began in 1355. Sirghitmish and Emir
Shaykhu had led the coup against Sultan
as-Salih Salih and the strongman Taz an-Nasiri and restored an-Nasir Hasan to the throne.
[Al-Harithy 1996, p. 70.] Sirghitmish and Shaykhu were the major figures in an-Nasir Hasan's court and held the reins of power.
Sirghitmish's authority was strengthened when Shaykhu was killed by dissident ''mamluks'' in 1357.
That year he purchased the town of
Amman
Amman ( , ; , ) is the capital and the largest city of Jordan, and the country's economic, political, and cultural center. With a population of four million as of 2021, Amman is Jordan's primate city and is the largest city in the Levant ...
in Transjordan and assigned it as the district capital of
Balqa, part of the province of Damascus. Ownership of Amman would remain in Sirghitmish's family until they sold it in 1394.
While Sirghitmish was the most powerful figure in the royal court, an-Nasir Hasan sought to assert his authority and oust Sirghitmish.
After imprisoning or exiling Shaykhu's ''mamluk'' faction, he moved against Sirghitmish, who he believed was plotting to topple him.
Sirghitmish was arrested in 1358 and jailed in
Alexandria
Alexandria ( ; ) is the List of cities and towns in Egypt#Largest cities, second largest city in Egypt and the List of coastal settlements of the Mediterranean Sea, largest city on the Mediterranean coast. It lies at the western edge of the Nile ...
.
He died there later that year.
Afterward, the presence of Sirghitmish's ''mamluk'' faction, which according to
Ibn Iyas numbered 800 ''mamluks'',
was suppressed in the royal court and replaced by an-Nasir Hasan's own ''mamluks'' and supporters.
One of Sirghitmish's sons, Ibrahim, would later become an emir of ten, i.e. a low-ranking Mamluk officer in 1363, during the reign of Sultan al-Mansur Muhammad.
Cultural patronage
Sirghitmish studied the
Arabic
Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...
language and was well-versed in the
Qur'an
The Quran, also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation directly from God ('' Allāh''). It is organized in 114 chapters (, ) which consist of individual verses ('). Besides ...
and
calligraphy
Calligraphy () is a visual art related to writing. It is the design and execution of lettering with a pen, ink brush, or other writing instruments. Contemporary calligraphic practice can be defined as "the art of giving form to signs in an e ...
.
He also studied
Islamic jurisprudence
''Fiqh'' (; ) is the term for Islamic jurisprudence.[Fiqh](_blank)
Encyclopædia Britannica ''Fiqh'' is of ...
, and favored the
Hanafi
The Hanafi school or Hanafism is the oldest and largest Madhhab, school of Islamic jurisprudence out of the four schools within Sunni Islam. It developed from the teachings of the Faqīh, jurist and theologian Abu Hanifa (), who systemised the ...
''
madhab'' (school of thought) of
Sunni Islam
Sunni Islam is the largest Islamic schools and branches, branch of Islam and the largest religious denomination in the world. It holds that Muhammad did not appoint any Succession to Muhammad, successor and that his closest companion Abu Bakr ...
.
Nonetheless, he valued the work of non-Hanafi scholars as well, and showed particular favoritism to the
Persian
Persian may refer to:
* People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language
** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples
** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...
members of the ''
ulama
In Islam, the ''ulama'' ( ; also spelled ''ulema''; ; singular ; feminine singular , plural ) are scholars of Islamic doctrine and law. They are considered the guardians, transmitters, and interpreters of religious knowledge in Islam.
"Ulama ...
'' (Muslim scholarly establishment).
Persian culture influenced his architectural and cultural patronage.
In 1356 Sirghitmish commissioned the construction of the
Madrasa of Sirghitmish (also known as the "Sarghitmishiya Madrasa") in
Cairo
Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...
.
The ''
madrasa
Madrasa (, also , ; Arabic: مدرسة , ), sometimes Romanization of Arabic, romanized as madrasah or madrassa, is the Arabic word for any Educational institution, type of educational institution, secular or religious (of any religion), whet ...
'' (Islamic college) consists of four large ''
iwan
An iwan (, , also as ''ivan'' or ''ivān''/''īvān'', , ) is a rectangular hall or space, usually vaulted, walled on three sides, with one end entirely open. The formal gateway to the iwan is called , a Persian term for a portal projecting ...
s'', ostensibly for the four ''madhabs'' of Sunni Islam, although the ''madrasa'' was only used by the Hanafi ''madhab''.
A feature of Sirghitmish's ''madrasa'' unique to similar institutions in Cairo was that a dome was built atop the central portion of the ''
qibla
The qibla () is the direction towards the Kaaba in the Great Mosque of Mecca, Sacred Mosque in Mecca, which is used by Muslims in various religious contexts, particularly the direction of prayer for the salah. In Islam, the Kaaba is believed to ...
'' ''iwan''.
Another feature not typically seen in Cairene mosques or ''madrasas'' is the
minaret
A minaret is a type of tower typically built into or adjacent to mosques. Minarets are generally used to project the Muslim call to prayer (''adhan'') from a muezzin, but they also served as landmarks and symbols of Islam's presence. They can h ...
's bi-colored inlaid
masonry
Masonry is the craft of building a structure with brick, stone, or similar material, including mortar plastering which are often laid in, bound, and pasted together by mortar (masonry), mortar. The term ''masonry'' can also refer to the buildin ...
.
Sirghitmish's son Ibrahim died in 1368/69 and was buried in the ''madrasa''.
References
Bibliography
*
* (pp
14208��210)
{{refend
1358 deaths
Bahri dynasty
Mamluk emirs
Prisoners murdered in custody