al-Ashraf Kujuk

Ala'a ad-Din Kudschuk ( Arabic علاء الدين كجك, DMG ʿAlāʾ ad-Dīn Kuǧuk ; royal name al-Malik al-Ashraf Ala'a ad-Din Kujuk  /الملك الأشرف علاء الدين كجك / al-Malik al-Asraf ʿAlāʾ ad-Dīn Kuǧuk ; * 1334 in Cairo ; † 1345 ibid) was Sultan of the Mamluks in Egypt from 1341 to 1342.

Life

Ala'a ad-Din Kudschuk was the second son of Sultan an-Nasir Muhammad I , who succeeded his father as Sultan of Egypt. His mother, Urdu, was Mongolian . After the deposition and internment of his older brother Saif ad-Din Abu Bakr together with six brothers by Emir Qusson, the latter decided, together with the emirs of the Mamluk Empire, to put the only 7-year-old Kujuk on the throne.

After Emir Aidaghmash rejected the high position of Vice-Sultan, the powerful Emir Qusson accepted this position on the condition that he could stay in the citadel and not move to the Vice-Sultan's divan. From now on Qusson was the real ruler of Egypt. Soon many emirs and notables who were loyal to the deposed Sultan Sayf ad-Din Abu Bakr were removed from their offices and replaced by Mamluks whom Qusson had elevated to emirs. This only made the unpopular Qusson less popular in the country. But he himself feared only Emir Ahmad, another brother of the deposed and current sultan, who lived in Kerak . He therefore sent Emir Tughan to Kerak to first bring Ahmad to Cairo , and then to imprison him together with his brothers in Upper Egypt. Ahmad, who believed that Qusson would make him the new sultan, let him know that he would only return to Egypt when the leading emirs came to him to take the oath and when Qusson also released his brothers and also to him to Al Karak. Qusson replied that he should not come to Egypt as the new sultan, but because the Emir of Kerak had complained about his behavior and because he also had a gift for him. Warned of Qusson's true intentions, Ahmad refused to return to Egypt, whereupon Qusson and his emirs sent soldiers to Kerak to arrest Ahmad.

When Qusson asked the Mamluks of the deceased Sultan an-Nasir Muhammad that they should serve him in the same way as the Sultan, they refused. The relationship between the Qussons and the Mamluks gradually deteriorated until they rebelled and publicly declared that they were solely the Mamluks of the Sultan and not those Qussons. Qusson learned that the Sultan's Mamluks were planning his assassination, and now turned to the emirs for help, stating that he regretted having assumed the rank of Vice Sultan. While the emirs assured him of their full support and protection, the armed Sultan's Mamluks gathered in the citadel and the people of Cairo streamed into the square in front of it and shouted in their support “Nasiriyah, Nasiriyah!” (Designation of the Mamluks and followers of the deceased Sultan an-Nasir). When Qusson saw the raging people attacking his stables, he stormed the crowd with his emirs and killed many of them while the sultan's mamluks tried to defend themselves from the roof of the citadel. Many emirs were killed on both sides and the battle ended with the defeat of the Sultans-Mamluks and the mob. While many sultans-Mamluks, emirs and commons were severely punished by Qusson, he promoted many Tabaq Mamluks (these were still in training) to the rank of emirs and gave them fiefs.

Alarming news arrived from Damascus about Emir Ahmad, who in Kerak forged alliances with the Emir of Aleppo , Tshatmar Homos Akhdar, and other emissaries of the Sultan in Syria , before moving to Egypt and crowning himself Sultan. Against the will of the emirs, Qusson sent troops under Emir Qatlubugha al-Fakhri to Kerak to arrest Ahmad. But instead of arresting Ahmad, Qatlubugha and the emirs accompanying him, with the support of the ambassadors in Syria, took the oath on Ahmad and awarded him the royal sultan title of al-Malik an-Nasir. Qusson confiscated the possessions of Qatlubugha and the emirs in his company and ordered Altinbugha as-Salihi, the emir of Syria, to march against the emir of Aleppo, Tshatmar Homos Akhdar. Tshatmar fled to the Byzantine Caesarea (now Kayseri ) and Altnbugha conquered Aleppo and confiscated the possessions of Tshatmar. In the meantime, Qatlubugha conquered Damascus and took possession of the domain and lands of Qusson himself. Now Qatlbugha was preparing for Ahmad's return as sultan to Egypt. He sent a message to Qusson accusing him of the murder of Sultan Sayf al-Din Abu Bakr and the ill treatment of Sultan an-Nasir Muhammad's other sons, and informing him that the emirs were ruling would have to appoint Ahmad as the new Sultan of Egypt. The deeply angry Qusson offered the sultans-Mamluks and emirs money, gifts and titles to keep them on his side. But the leading emirs, including Aidaghmash, who were already angry with Qusson and convinced that he had killed both Sultan Sayf al-Din Abu Bakr and Emir Beshtik an-Nasiri, now felt reassured by the Qatlubugha victory in Syria, Overthrow Qusson. They didn't wait for him to proclaim himself Sultan. Led by Emir Aidaghmash, they besieged the citadel together with numerous Mamluks and a large crowd. A major street battle began after Aidaghmash ordered the people to attack and loot the Qusson stables. Within a few hours, all the horses and all the gold that had been in them were captured by the mob. After the battle ended, Qusson was forced to surrender. He and his emirs were captured and chained to Alexandria that night to protect them from the wrath of the crowd who raged and plundered the homes of Qusson and other nobles.

The Mamluks and emirs imprisoned by Qusson were freed and the child sultan al-Ashraf Ala'a ad-Din Kujuk was deposed after only five months on the throne. Emir Baibars al-Ahmadi was sent to Kerak to escort the new Sultan Schihab al-Din Ahmad to Egypt. Qusson was killed in prison, and Ala'a ad-Din Kujuk died three years later. His remains were buried in December 1347 in the recently completed dome mausoleum of the mosque of the Emir Aqsunqur al-Nasiri in Cairo.

swell

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predecessor	Office	successor
al-Mansur Abu Bakr	Sultan of Egypt ( Bahri Dynasty ) 1341–1342	an-Nasir Ahmad I.