Sayf al-Din Inal
Sultan of Egypt (1380-1461)
Al-Malik al-Ashraf Sayf al-Din Abu an-Nasr Inal al-'Ala'i az-Zahiri an-Nasiri al-Ajrud (better known as Sayf al-Din Inal; also spelled Saif al-Din Aynal; 1381 – 26 February 1461) was the 13th Burji Mamluk sultan of Egypt, ruling between 1453–1461.
Early life and career
Sayf al-Din Inal was born in Cairo in 1381 to a Circassian merchant father. He was originally bought by trader Ala' al-Din, who gave him the nisbah "al-Ala'i." Ala' al-Din sold Inal to Sultan az-Zahir Barquq, founder of the Burji dynasty, in 1397, hence his second nisbah "az-Zahiri." Inal undertook military training during his service with Barquq.
Following Barquq's death, Sultan an-Nasir Faraj emancipated Inal and enlisted him in his khassakiyah ("personal retinue"). Inal thereby acquired the additional nisbah "an-Nasiri." He gained the nickname "al-Arjud" because of the scantiness of his beard. Under the short-lived sultanate of Ahmad ibn Shaykh in 1421, he was made "emir of ten [mamluks]." He was later promoted to the rank of "emir of drums" by Sultan Barsbay in 1422.
Inal continued to rise through the military's ranks, distinguishing himself as a commander, according to historian Moshe Sharon. In 142,7 Barsbay promoted Inal to "emir of forty." In 1428 he was appointed na'ib ("governor" or "viceroy") of Gaza. During his term as na'ib, Inal was praised for the "justice" of his rule by Bertrandon de la Brocquière who visited the city in 1432. Inal had the minaret of the Kateb al-Welaya Mosque restored on 30 July 1432.
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