Al-Malik al-ʾAshraf Barsbāy b. ʿAbd Allāh, sultan al-Malik al-ʾAshraf ʾAbu l-Naṣr al-Duqmāqī al-Ẓāhirī al-Jārkasī, sultan of Egypt, Syria and the Hijaz, the 32th of the Turkish kings, and the 8th of the Circassian kings. He was brought from Circassia, and offered for sale in the Crim, and he stayed there for a while until he was bought by a merchant, who went with him to Syria. When he arrived with him in the city of Malaṭīya he sold him to the nāʾib of the city, amir Duqmāq al-Muḥammadī, with whom he stayed for a short period. Then Duqmāq sent him to al-Malik al-Ẓāhir Barqūq with other mamluks and a splendid gift-as was the custom of the nāʾibs of Syria. Al-Malik al-Ẓāhir took him and placed him in the Zimām barrack, as ʾinī of amir Jarkas al-Qāmisī al-Muṣārīʿ. He stayed there for a short period as one of the mamluks of the kuttābīya barracks, then the sultan brought out a horse for him, and manumitted him, amongst other mamluks. Days passed by for him until he became sāqī in the reign of al-Nāṣir Faraj, then he turned toward the amirs Nawrūz and Shaykh, and stayed with him until al-Malik al-Nāṣir Faraj was killed and he went with amir Shaykh al-Maḥmūdī to Egypt and became one of the amirs there. He was constantly promoted until he became amir of 100 of Egypt and he was appointed as kāshif of the bridges in the Western districts. Then he was appointed as nāʾib of Tripoli, after the dismissal of amir Bardbak al-Khalīlī on 23/04/821. He went to Tripoli and became the nāʾib there until he was dismissed at the end of Ramaḍān of the same year. The reason for this was that the news arrived that a group of the ʾĪnālīya Turkmen had come to the district of Tripoli and had attacked Sāfita on their flight from Qarā Yūsuf, the ruler of Bagdad. They plundered the town and burnt part of it, and Barsbāy prohibited them this but they did not stop. So he rode towards them and fought against them on Thursday 26/08. Many people of both sides died, amongst them was the ʾatābak of Tripoli, amir Sūdūn al-ʾAsandamurī, and others. Then he fled with his followers to Tripoli, the Turkmen followed them and took their equipment, then they returned. This news reached al-Muʾayyad and he was angry because of this and ordered to dismiss and arrest Barsbāy. He was imprisoned in Marqab and stayed there for a while, until al-Malik al-Muʾayyad released him after the intercession of amir Ṭaṭar, and made him amir of 100 in Damascus. He stayed in Damascus until the nāʾib there, amir Jaqmaq al-ʾArghūn Shāwī the dawādār arrested him, after the death of al-Muʾayyad and his rebellion. He stayed in prison until al-Malik al-Ẓāhir Ṭaṭar, who was at that time responsible of the reign of al-Muẓaffar ʾAḥmad b. al-Malik al-Muʾayyad Shaykh, released him, then he made him amir of 100 and dawādār kabīr after the arrest of amir ʿAlī Bāy. All of this happened in a few days in 824 and then Barsbāy returned to Egypt with al-Malik al-Ẓāhir Ṭaṭar, who did not stay more than a month in Cairo, then he became ill and died. ʾAtābak Jānibak al-Ṣūfī became responsible for the reign of al-Malik al-Ṣāliḥ Muḥammad b.al-Malik al-Ẓāhir Ṭaṭar. Amir Barsbāy and amir Ṭarabāy formed one faction. There were many discussions between the two amirs and ʾatābak Jānibak al-Ṣūfī, until this last one dressed for war and rode from the Bāb al-Silsila and amir Yashbak al-Jakamī the ʾamīr ʾākhūr agreed with this, and there was no other moment and he was was misled. He descended to the house of Baybughā al-Muẓaffarī, in front of the Bāb al-Silsila, with the fore-mentioned amir Yashbak and they were both arrested, brought to the fortress of Alexandria and imprisoned there. The time had come for amir Barsbāy and amir Ṭarabāy and the command of the government was divided between the two of them. This situation only lasted a short time, then dissension rose between them, there were many discussions and Ṭarabāy was afraid to go up to the khidma. In the meanwhile Barsbāy was living in the ʾAshrafī barrack of the citadel and Ṭarabāy lived underneath. He crossed the river to the spring pastures and the alienation between them augmented until Barsbāy sent a group amirs to Ṭarabāy to please him and to present the ascension to the khidma of the sultan in a better light to him. He crossed from the shore of Giza and returned to Cairo on Tuesday 02/03. The next morning, 03/03, amir Barsbāy arrested amir Sūdūn al-Ḥamawī and amir Qānṣūh al-Nawrūzī, two friends of Ṭarabāy and there were a lot of rumours about this. Ṭarabāy spent the night of Thursday while his followers and friends warned him against going up to the citadel, but he did not pay attention to their words, as he thought that the amirs would not turn away from him to someone else and that amir Barsbāy would not harm him, because in the beginning amir Ṭarabāy had been preferred over Barsbāy -since the death of al-Ẓāhir Barqūq - and in the end he had made the state favorable to Barsbāy: he had turned them away from Jānibak al-Ṣūfī, then he misled Jānibak until he descended from the stables of the sultan and then he arrested him, so Jānibak thought that he was the one who brought Barsbāy were he was now. On Thursday morning he went up to the sultan’s palace at the citadel, entered in the sultan’s quarters, and sat at his right, while amir Barsbāy sat at his left. Every amir sat down at his place. When they had taken their seats, amir Barsbāy started to speak to them and said: The word is not heard between the two of us and the opinion is that the authority should be given to one of us. He had not ended his words before amir Qaṣrūh min Timrāz said: You are the most suitable for this and you have the authority. Amir Barsbāy said immediately: Arrest Ṭarabāy. When Ṭarabāy heard this he drew his sword to defend himself, but amir Barsbāy rushed to him before he could stand up. He gave him a blow with the sword in his hand, which was almost cut off. Then amir Qaṣrūh grasped him from behind and he and amir Taghrī Birdī al-Maḥmūdī captured him and he was immediately brought to prison, dripping with his his own blood. There was a fight in the palace and one of the China dishes was broken and the food was dispersed. Then everything became quiet again, and nobody made a move to help Ṭarabāy. The next morning he was brought to Alexandria. The time was right for Barsbāy and he started to prepare his sultanate. He sent amir Muḥammad b. ʾIbrāhīm b. Manjak to Damascus to summon the nāʾib there, amir Tanbak al-ʿAlāʾī known as Miyiq. He started to give presents until amir Tanbak Miyiq arrived on Monday 06/04/825. Most of the ʾaʿyān of the amirs and the state officials received him, without amir Barsbāy. He left the palace to him, towards the vicinity of the ʾīwān of the citadel and embraced him. Then he went with him to al-Malik al-Ṣāliḥ and he gave him a robe of honour and confirmed him as nāʾib of Damascus. Then he spent some time alone with him and spoke to him. The first word amir Barsbāy said to him was: You are our aghā and you are most fit for the sultanate, but Tanbak only stood up, immediately, kissed the ground and pledged allegiance to his sultanate. Then a group of the amirs agreed with him on this and al-Malik al-Ṣāliḥ Muḥammad b. Ṭaṭar was deposed. He had been sultan for 4 months and 3 days.