Many historians agree that the first sultana of the Mamluk state in Egypt was Shajar al-Durr, who ruled after the death of her husband, Sultan as-Salih Najm al-Din Ayyub. Along with her remarkable intelligence, she was known for her association with the mahmal procession. A mahmal is a ceremonial, passenger-less camel litter covered with intricately embroidered textiles that accompanied historic Hajj pilgrimage caravans.
Although it is unclear whether Sultana Shajar al-Durr performed the Hajj, her presence in the history of the Egyptian pilgrimage looms large, and she is the only sultana of the Mamluk era linked to the formation of lasting religious and political traditions. Biographies credit her with dispatching the decorated howdah (a large, often canopied carriage or seat strapped to the back of a camel) that became a symbol of Egyptian sovereignty and the state’s authority in safeguarding the Mecca-bound pilgrim caravans.
Her influence also extended to the institutional and charitable spheres. Accounts attributed to the traveller Evliya Çelebi point to her role in establishing major religious waqfs (permanent, irrevocable religious endowments in Islamic law) devoted to preparing the Kiswah of the Holy Kaaba and dispatching it from Egypt. This approach later became a practice of the Mamluk court.
Stories continued to cast her as a patron of pilgrims’ affairs, meeting their needs through these endowed institutions. In fact, the linking of Shajar al-Durr’s name to the mahmal tradition—which later became firmly established as an official practice during the reign of Sultan al-Zahir Baybars—was no mere historical coincidence. It reflected the pioneering role played by elite women in religious and social life, and it expressed a popular sensibility that insisted on granting this exceptional ruler a singular status, one that fused the majesty of sovereignty with the sanctity of the rite.
Journey in comfort
As time passed, medieval Egyptian historian and biographer al-Maqrizi notes that Khawand Tughay Umm Anuk, the wife of Sultan al-Nasir Muhammad ibn Qalawun, held such an exalted place in his heart that he remained devoted to no one else. He adds that she was his most important wife, surpassing his other wife (the daughter of Sayf ad-Din Tankiz) in rank and standing. Striking, too, is his account of the Hajj journeys she undertook in her own right, those who accompanied her, and the comforts provided to her along that arduous route.
He writes: “Judge Karim al Din took her on Hajj and made elaborate arrangements for her. He had fresh greens carried for her in clay containers on the backs of camels, and he procured milch cows for her, which travelled with her along the entire route so that she would have fresh milk, and cheese could be made. He would fry cheese for her at lunch and supper. Just consider this: if she were provided with greens and cheese every day, humble fare though it is, what must have been provided beyond that? When the caravan halted, Judge Karim al Din, the Amir Majlis, and several other amirs would dismount, walk before her litter, and kiss the ground for her, as they do for the sultan. Then Amir Bashtak took her on Hajj in the year 739 AH.”
Al-Maqrizi adds that the sultan himself would receive her on her arrival at the Citadel. It was also said that her intercession with Sultan al-Nasir was immediately effective, to the point that, for her sake, he abolished the wheat levy that had been imposed on Mecca. Tughay retained the same awe and standing among the Mamluk amirs even after her husband Sultan al-Nasir's death, until her own death.
Beyond the veil
The Mamluks are often portrayed as harsh, severe, and brutal. Evidence of their domestic lives is scarce, so popular memory tends to assume these qualities extended to their women as well, casting them as helpless figures confined to the harem. In reality, Mamluk women at times enjoyed a wider social presence and played a real part in bolstering the sultan’s authority. That space expanded further under the Circassian Mamluks (the Burji Mamluks), and the Hajj was one of its clearest expressions.
In a research paper titled Family Matters: The Family-In-Law Impulse in Mamluk Marriage Policy, published in a journal of the French Institute for Oriental Archaeology in Cairo, the researchers challenge the conventional view of the Mamluk state as a slave polity governed by a patriarchal order in which women had no role. Rather than treat Mamluk history as a succession of disconnected conflicts and coups, they identify an underlying current of political continuity sustained by court women through a range of social processes, including marriage alliances, and through social and religious roles, foremost among them the Hajj.
The Hajj of the khawands (a Persian term used for both men and women, meaning lord, prince, or ruler, though in the Mamluk era it was best known as a title for the prominent wives and concubines of Mamluk sultans) was not merely a religious rite. It became a highly developed political and diplomatic instrument, designed above all to reinforce authority and consolidate the foundations of sultanic legitimacy in the eyes of subjects and the wider world.
Religious prestige
The performance of the Hajj by the khawand al-Kubra was regarded as a pilgrimage undertaken on behalf of the sultan himself. It bestowed on him religious prestige as the protector and servant of the Two Holy Mosques without requiring him to leave his capital. An imposing display of economic power matched this spiritual rite. The Hajj caravans of the sultans’ wives were outfitted with legendary extravagance, serving as a tangible political message that reflected the wealth and power of the ruling house. It inspired awe in rivals and enemies, while offering reassurance to their followers.
At the same time, the strict regime of seclusion imposed on the women during their journey, despite their presence in the public sphere, was presented as proof of the sultan’s authority and of his ability to regulate his harem and maintain firm control over it. Thus, the majestic, near-mythical departure of the mahmal procession associated with the khawands’ journey acquired a powerful aura of legitimacy and ceremony, affirming the Mamluks' total security along the pilgrimage route and their complete control over the Hijaz.
In reality, the departures of Mamluk sultans’ wives created opportunities to build social networks and wield wide influence. The khawands would set out, accompanied by hundreds of attendants, thereby turning themselves into political centres of gravity through which intercession and mediation with the sultan could be pursued. In this way, the khawands became guardians of status and repositories of symbolic capital.
Even after a sultan’s death, a widow who had performed the Hajj and established religious endowments would retain a standing that prompted new sultans to compete to marry her, seeking the legitimacy associated with the former household. It also amounted to an implicit recognition of the khawand’s power, and a desire to avert the harm her intelligence might cause if turned against them. This made the khawands’ Hajj a fully formed political spectacle in which religion, wealth, and rank intertwined to shore up the foundations of rule.
Ceremonial processions
In her research paper titled Royal Pilgrims: Mamluk Accounts of the Pilgrimages to Mecca of the Khawand al-Kubra, Catherine Johnson examines pilgrimage records relating to five of the khawand al-Kubra from the Circassian Mamluk period, revealing the details behind these ceremonial processions that reflected the prestige of the Egyptian state and the wealth of its sultanate at the time.
Preparations for this arduous journey would begin months in advance, specifically in Rabi al-Awwal, when the task was entrusted to senior officials under the title of Amir al-Hajj. The choice of this Amir was made through a solemn sultanic ritual during the celebrations of the Prophet’s birthday: the sultan would send a discreet signal by means of a cup of sweet drink, take a sip, then instruct a servant to offer what remained to the chosen man, who would at once kiss the sultan’s hand, declaring his acceptance of this weighty duty.
This journey, which could take up to 50 days, required vast quantities of water and provisions for thousands of pilgrims. Troops protected the procession. The caravan was divided into two units. There was the advance caravan, which prepared the route, and the mahmal caravan, the more prestigious of the two as it carried the Kiswah of the Holy Kaaba and the khawand, the sultan’s wife.
This great honour also imposed a heavy financial burden on senior officials, since the Amir al-Hajj bore most of the costs out of his own wealth. Some amirs sought exemption, while others were forced to borrow to pay the staggering sums, which included gifts and banquets for the sultan’s family (100,000 dinars) and the litter prepared for Sultan al-Ghuri’s wife (20,000 dinars).
