Al-Mansur Abu Bakr

Abu Bakr was born around 1321 to his sultan father an-Nasir Muhammad (r. 1310–1341) and his concubine mother, Narjis.[1] Narjis also gave birth to Abu Bakr's younger full brothers Ramadan (died 1343) and Yusuf (died 1346).[1] Information about Abu Bakr's early childhood is unavailable in the Mamluk sources.[2] The first mention of Abu Bakr came in 1332.[2] At that time, Abu Bakr had been sent to the desert fortress of al-Karak to join his half-brothers Ahmad and Ibrahim in their military training.[2] Also during that year, Abu Bakr left al-Karak to accompany his father and half-brothers Anuk and Ahmad at al-Aqaba and from there to Mecca to perform the Hajj pilgrimage. However, an-Nasir Muhammad had them return to al-Karak before the trek to Mecca.[3]

In 1335, Abu Bakr was recalled to Cairo and made an emir by his father.[2] The event was marked by a royal procession, led by Emir Qawsun, in which Abu Bakr was dressed in the attire of an emir.[2] At around the same time, an-Nasir Muhammad arranged Abu Bakr's marriage to a daughter of Emir Tuquzdamur al-Hamawi, who married Narjis sometime earlier.[2][note 1] Later, during his 59-day reign as sultan, Abu Bakr also married two slave girls, spending 100,000 gold dinars for each of their bridal veils.[4] In 1337/38, Abu Bakr was promoted to an amir arba'in (emir of forty [mounted mamluks]).[5]

For several years, Abu Bakr was based in the desert fortress of al-Karak (pictured), where he gained military training and briefly served as governor.

Abu Bakr was sent back to al-Karak in 1339 to replace Ahmad as na'ib of the province. By then, Ahmad had been dropped by an-Nasir Muhammad as a potential successor.[5] Anuk remained the sultan's favored son to replace him, but with Ahmad deemed unfit to rule, Abu Bakr became the runner-up.[5] Sometime that year, Abu Bakr paid a visit to his father with a gift of 200,000 silver dirhams that he apparently extorted from the inhabitants of al-Karak.[5] He later returned to al-Karak where he remained until 17 July 1340.[5] At that point, Anuk had been dropped as a potential successor by the sultan, who invited Abu Bakr back to Cairo.[5] There, an-Nasir Muhammad had his emirs swear an oath of allegiance to Abu Bakr.[5]

Abu Bakr then set off for al-Karak until he was recalled to Cairo once more in 1341, arriving on 24 January.[5] When he returned, he brought his father a sum of 100,000 dirhams, while an-Nasir Muhammad issued another order recalling all of Abu Bakr's mamluks and soldiers in al-Karak to Cairo.[5] Abu Bakr remained in Cairo effectively to wait for his ailing father to die. In the months prior to an-Nasir Muhammad's death, Abu Bakr was given a large iqta (fief), his interests were put under the care of Emir Bashtak and he was transferred a large number of wafidiyya (immigrant, typically Mongol, soldiers) from Aleppo and other troops.[6] On 4 June 1341, while on his deathbed, an-Nasir Muhammad had all of his emirs recognize the transfer of the sultanate to Abu Bakr in the event of his death.[6] Moreover, he crowned Abu Bakr as "al-Malik al-Mansur", the title of the latter's grandfather, Sultan Qalawun (r. 1277–90), and gave him Qalawun's sword.[6] The throne was peacefully passed to Abu Bakr when an-Nasir Muhammad died on 7 June.[6]

Although Abu Bakr was made sultan, the reins of power were held by an-Nasir Muhammad's senior emirs, chief among whom were his son-in-law Qawsun and Bashtak.[7] According to historian Amalia Levanoni, Abu Bakr sought to restore the traditional concepts of mamluk-master relations and the modes of hierarchical advancement set by his grandfather Qalawun and abrogate the growing independence of the emirs that developed under his father.[8] However, the post-Qalawun mamluk norms of conduct proved too resilient for Abu Bakr.[8] In the view of the emirs and the low and middle-ranking mamluks, Abu Bakr was to solely play the role of a figurehead and not disturb the system created by his father. Thus, Abu Bakr's attempts to rule in his own right were consistently stymied by the emirs.[7] Of the latter, the most prominent was Qawsun, who sought to become the mudabbir ad-dawla (organizer of the state), in effect the strongman of the sultanate. After neutralizing Bashtak, his principal rival, Qawsun moved against Abu Bakr; Qawsun had feared that Abu Bakr would attempt to imprison him.[7]

On 5 August 1341, Qawsun had Abu Bakr arrested on concocted charges of frivolity.[7] Abu Bakr and six of his brothers were subsequently sent to prison in Qus in Upper Egypt.[7] In November 1341, Abu Bakr was executed by the governor of Qus on orders from Qawsun.[7] After his death, Qawsun installed Abu Bakr's infant half-brother, Kujuk, as sultan and became the Kujuk's regent.[7] Meanwhile, dissent mounted against Qawsun in Syria and Cairo and he was ousted in a revolt, along with Kujuk.[9] The new sultan, Abu Bakr's half-brother Ahmad, later had Qawsun and the governor of Qus (who apologized for killing Abu Bakr) executed in early 1342.[10]