Qalāwūn aṣ-Ṣāliḥī was the seventh Turkic Bahri Mamluk Sultan of Egypt; he ruled from 1279 to 1290. He was called al-Manṣūr Qalāwūn. After having risen in power in the Mamluk court and elite circles, Qalawun eventually held the title of "the victorious king" and gained de facto authority over the sultanate. He is the founder of the Qalawunid dynasty that ruled Egypt for over a century.
For a time, Mamluk sultans after him received their coronation here.
The siege of Tripoli by the Mamluks of Qalawun in 1289.
The Qalawun complex (mausoleum-madrasa-maristan) on Muizz Street, Bayn al-Qasrayn
The Bahri Mamluks, sometimes referred to as the Bahri dynasty, were the rulers of the Mamluk Sultanate of Egypt from 1250 to 1382, following the Ayyubid dynasty. The members of the Mamluk ruling class were purchased as slaves (mamluks) and manumitted, with the most powerful among them taking the role of sultan in Cairo. While several Bahri Mamluk sultans tried to establish hereditary dynasties through their sons, these attempts were ultimately unsuccessful, with the role of sultan often passing on to another powerful Mamluk.
Enthroned Prince. Probably Egypt 1334. Maqamat of al-Hariri. "In the paintings the facial cast of these [ruling] Turks is obviously reflected, and so are the special fashions and accoutrements they favored".