Baybars al-Mansuri

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Baybars al-Mansuri (1245–4 September 1325) was a Bahri Mamluk soldier and later a historian in Cairo. His full name was Rukn ad-Dīn Baybars ad-Dawadar al-Manṣūrī al-Khaṭaʾī, and he bore the nisba al-Khitʿai, meaning “from Khitai,” suggesting origins from the eastern lands, possibly Mongol.

Baybars wrote important historical works. His major book is Zubdat al-fikra fi taʾrīkh al-hijra (the quintessence of thought in Muslim history), a universal chronicle that ends just before his death. He also wrote Al-Tuhfa al-mulukiyya fi l-dawla al-turkiyya (the royal gift in the Turkish realm), which covers the Bahri period from 1250 to 1325 and is based on the Zubda, though it contains some original material. Both works draw heavily on the earlier historian Ibn Abd al-Zahir and were written with the help of the Coptic scribe Ibn Kabar.

Baybars was bought as a slave from the prince of Mosul around 1260 and served Sultan Al-Mansur Qalawun. He participated in several campaigns during the reign of Sultan Baibars (d. 1277). In 1284 he was given command of fifty horsemen. In 1287 he became governor of Al Karak, a post he held until Qalawun’s death in 1290. He served as amir al-hajj (leader of the pilgrimage) in 1302. His Zubda ends with his death, and his Tuhfa is a Bahri-period continuation based on that work.