El-Melikü’z-Zâhir Baybars’ın Sultanlığı Meselesi: Sultan Öldüren Sultan Olur mu?
The Matter of the Sultanate of al-Malik al-Zāhir Baybars: Can Anyone Who Regicides Become a Sultan?

Summary/Abstract: There are numerous studies in the literature on the nature of the sultanate and its emergence in the founding years of the Mamlūk state. These studies have discussed the distinction between puppet sultan and authoritarian sultan and have drawn attention to the tensions between the sultan and the elite amirs. Moreover, after the assassination of al-Malik al-Muzaffar al-Sayf al-Din Quṭuz, a rationale such as “whoever kills a sultan becomes a sultan” as a form of being a sultan also took place in literature. However, since this postulate has not been sufficiently analyzed at the historical level and general conclusions are drawn about an event, the ground has been prepared for this understanding to appear as a phenomenon in literature. This work attempts to solve this problem by analyzing the assassination of Quṭuz in the chronicles of the period, gaining a number of insights into how the process actually took place. The contradictory statements of the sources on this subject were examined on a historical level and an attempt was made to uncover the context of the theory in question. In addition, the weakness of the proposition was emphasized by mentioning the disconnection of the problems faced by al-Malik al-Ẓāhir Baybars in the first years of his reign with the understanding of “who kills a sultan becomes a sultan.”

• Details
• Contents