Ibrahim Bey

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Ibrahim Bey's mansion on Al-Rudah Island, near Cairo
Ibrahim Bey's mansion on Al-Rudah Island, near Cairo

Ibrahim Bey (17351817) (of Georgian descent, real name: Sinjikashvili) was an Mamluk chieftain, military commander and joint ruler of Egypt.

He was born in the little village Martkopi, near Tbilisi and was captured by Ottoman slave raiders. He was renamed Ibrahim by his masters (in accordance with Turkish custom at the time, this was his only name; "bey" was an honorific bestowed upon him later).

Ibrahim was owned by the ruler of Egypt at the time, and through loyal service, was freed and given authority over the city of Cairo. When his former master died, he became joint ruler of the country with Murad Bey.

At the Battles of the Pyramids and the Heliopolis Ibrahim fought against Napoleon's armies, but was defeated on both occasions. These defeats effectively ended his reign over the country, and he died in obscurity in 1817, having survived Mohammad Ali Pasha's 1811 massacre of Mameluke leaders.

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