129 - Qurqumās al-Shaʿbānī al-Ẓāhirī Barqūq
Then al-Nāṣirī and known as Qurqumās ʾAhrām Ḍāgh, meaning mountain of the pyramids, because of his haughtiness. Originally he was of the Ẓāhirī kuttābīya, after which his son became his owner. Then he manumitted him and made him a khāṣṣakī. In the reign of al-Muʾayyad he became one of the dawādārīya ṣighār and after that he was made an amir of 10. Then he was made dawādār thānī with an amirate of 40. This remained until 26, when he was granted a taqdima and headed to Makka with ʿAlī b. ʿInān as his sharīk in its amirate. He stayed there for about a year, by conjecture. Then he was demanded in Cairo for his amirate until he was bestowed in the middle of Shawwāl 829 the ḥujjūbīya kubrā, which he took up with much respect, pride and power, in as much that he was feared by all. He traveled with the sultan to ʾĀmid. When he returned, in 837, he appointed him in the niyāba of Aleppo after Qaṣrūh, who was transferred to the niyāba of Syria. He took it up as was his custom. Then he was distracted when Jānibak al-Ṣūfī appeared from Rūm. Quickly he came to Cairo by dromedary in 839 for the ʾiqṭāʿ of Jaqmaq al-ʿAlāʾī and for his position as ʾamīr silāḥ. This until he went on expedition together with a group of amirs to ʾArzinkān in 841. Their attendance was requested when Jaqmaq was nominated for the sultanate. He stood with him until he became sultan and was made in his place ʾatābak. But it only took some days before he rebelled and occurred what was explained in the events. The matter ended with that he was wounded in his face by an arrow and most of his ʾasḥāb fled from him. He was defeated and went into hiding from Wednesday the 4th Rabīʿ I 842. It did not take long before he was arrested on Friday the 6th. Then he was enchained and brought to Alexandria the next morning. He was imprisoned there until the 5th of Rajab. A majlis was held on him at the palace. The evidence was established by the Mālikī judge aimed against Qurqumās, it was al-Shihāb b. Yaʿqūb, the nāqib of our shaykh because of his absence in Alexandria by his expulsion by the sultan after his pledge of allegiance to him, his oath to it but then his taking up of weapons. There was ruled according testimony; there was said on him what must be said and he was chosen by the sultan in this. He prepared a barīdī which was to be read. In it he apologized what was read to him.
He ordered to kill him according to Law, so he was decapitated. This happened in Alexandria on Monday the 12th of the month. He was over 50 years old.
He was a great amir, arrogant, haughty and unjust, with management and deception, brave and intrepid. He had studied fiqh and learned hadith for some matters. He showed piety but for his his haughtiness, arrogance and lack of friendliness, the people were happy with his seizure and destruction. Our shaykh pointed this out in his remembrance in the events of Rajab and in other places of his news. In the remembrance of Jār Quṭlī in the year 837 he said on him: it was a strange agreements that a companion of mine saw, when we were traveling to ʾĀmid, before we entered Aleppo -this in Ramaḍān- that the people gathered and demanded he who was leading and they saw a man connected to righteousness. They asked him to lead them and he said: “but Qurqumās leads you”, Immediately Qurqumās was present, came forward and prayed with them. His authority was powerful less than one year. Ibn Khaṭīb al-Nāṣirī and others wrote him a remembrance.