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An-Nasir Ahmad, Sultan of Egypt

Ahmad
Al-Malik an-Nasir
Sultan of Egypt and Syria
Reign 21 January 1342 – 27 June 1342
Predecessor Al-Ashraf Kujuk
Successor As-Salih Isma'il
Born 1316
Cairo, Mamluk Sultanate
Died 16 July 1344 (aged 26)
Mamluk Sultanate
Spouse Zahirbugha Tahirbugha (m. 1331)
Issue None
Full name
Al-Malik al-Nasir Shihab ad-Din Ahmad ibn Muhammad
House Qalawuni
Dynasty Bahri
Father An-Nasir Muhammad
Mother Bayad
Religion Islam
Full name
Al-Malik al-Nasir Shihab ad-Din Ahmad ibn Muhammad

An-Nasir Shihab ad-Din Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Qalawun, better known as an-Nasir Ahmad, (1316 – 16 July 1344) was the Bahri Mamluk sultan of Egypt, ruling from January to June 1342. A son of Sultan an-Nasir Muhammad, he became embroiled in the volatile succession process following his father's death in 1341. An-Nasir Ahmad lived much of his life in the desert fortress of al-Karak in Transjordan and was reticent to assume the sultanate in Cairo, preferring al-Karak, where he was closely allied with the inhabitants of the city and the Bedouin tribes in its vicinity. His Syrian partisans, emirs Tashtamur and Qutlubugha al-Fakhri, successfully maneuvered to bring Syria under an-Nasir Ahmad's official control, while sympathetic emirs in Egypt were able to oust the Mamluk strongman Emir Qawsun and his puppet sultan, the five-year-old half-brother of an-Nasir Ahmad, al-Ashraf Kujuk. An-Nasir Ahmad eventually assumed the sultanate after frequently delaying his departure to Egypt.

An-Nasir Ahmad was known to be a seclusive sultan, surrounding himself with his coterie of supporters from al-Karak, rarely making direct contact with the Mamluk emirs of Egypt and avoiding the public view. Two months into his reign, he relocated to al-Karak with substantial sums from the treasury and several horses and senior administrative officials. He ruled from the desert fortress, leaving a deputy, Emir Aqsunqur al-Salari, to oversee affairs in Egypt on his behalf. His unorthodox rule, alleged frivolity, and his execution of loyal partisans, namely Tashtamur and Qutlubugha, led to an-Nasir Ahmad being deposed from the sultanate by his half-brother, as-Salih Isma'il. He remained in the fortress of al-Karak, which the Mamluks besieged at least seven times, until being captured in July 1344. He was killed later that month on the orders of as-Salih Isma'il.

Ahmad was born in 1316 or 1318. His father was Sultan an-Nasir Muhammad and his mother was Bayad, a singer and a slave girl freed by Emir Bahadur As and possibly given to an-Nasir Muhammad. At the time of his birth, Ahmad was an-Nasir Muhammad's only son (three other sons had died before Ahmad was born) and the only son of an-Nasir Muhammad born to Bayad. Bayad and an-Nasir Muhammad later divorced and the former married Maliktamur al-Sarjuwani, an emir who became Ahmad's stepfather. As a youth, Ahmad spent frequent bouts of time in the desert fortress of al-Karak under orders from his father. He was first sent there in 1324 under supervision and with a large budget to begin training in horsemanship and hunting. He was sent again in April 1326. Since Ayyubid times, but particularly during an-Nasir Muhammad's reign, al-Karak, which was isolated from the other Mamluk centers, became akin to a private academy for young Mamluk emirs where they could gain and perfect chivalric skills. Thus, Ahmad's residency in al-Karak was intended to imbue in him knightly qualities. While at al-Karak, Ahmad was under the supervision of its governor, Bahadur al-Badri. Nothing about Ahmad in the Mamluk-era sources is known between 1326 and 1331.


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