Power Transition Mechanism in the MAMLUK STATE IN THE Late Bahri Period: the View of Ibn Duqmaq

Аннотация

The study aims to identify the key elements in the mechanism of power transition in Egypt during the Late Bahri Mamluk period (1341–1399).

Methodology: The article is based on an analysis of the narrative of the Egyptian historian Sarim al-Din Ibn Duqmaq (d. 1407) and his work ‘The Precious Gem in the History of Caliphs, Kings, and Sultans’. The study proceeds from the hypothesis that Ibn Duqmaq described the political processes of the preceding era not so much in terms of their historical accuracy, but rather through the lens of the normative conditions of his own time – namely, the reign of the first Burji sultan, al-Zahir Barquq (1382–1399). The analysis itself rests on the descriptions of the succession of twenty-four rulers of the Mamluk state, which constitutes a sufficiently representative sample. The comparative method is actively employed, juxtaposing the mechanisms identified in Ibn Duqmaq with those revealed through an analysis of the early Bahri chronicle ‘The Cream of Thought in the History of the Hijra’ by Baybars al-Mansuri (d. 1325).

Scientific novelty: The work's scholarly contribution lies in identifying the elements of the power-transition mechanism during the Late Bahri period in comparison with the Early Bahri period, thereby making it possible to pinpoint significant changes in institutions of power and their legitimization over the period under study.

Scientific results. Ibn Duqmaq does not draw a strict division between the Bahri and Burji dynasties, treating them instead as a single ‘Noble Turkic State’. Based on an analysis of the characteristics of twenty-four rulers, the author identifies the mechanisms of legitimation and deposition of power: the fragmentation of the emirate corps, the weakening role of blood kinship and marital ties, the shift from vertical (direct) succession to horizontal succession (within a single generation), and the declining role of the ‘assembly of amirs’ as a tool for temporary political compromise, accompanied by the growing influence of ordinary mamluks. Special attention is paid to the personal qualities of the ruler as a factor of legitimacy and to the dominance of the principle ‘order is more important than righteousness’, rooted in classical Muslim political thought.

The conclusion states that the model of power transition described by Ibn Duqmaq reflects the diminishing significance of traditional Turkic elements of succession (a female ruler, the institution of atabeg, the ‘council of senior amirs’ as a modification of the kurultai), the weakening of kinship ties as a stabilizing factor, and the increasing factional fragmentation among the Mamluk elite.