An-Nasir Faraj

Nasir-ad-Din Faraj (Urdu; Arabic; Persian: ناصر الدین فرج ; r. 1399–1411 CE) was born in 1386 and succeeded his father Sayf-ad-Din Barquq as the second Sultan of the Burji dynasty of the Mamluk Sultanate of Egypt in July 1399 with the title Al-Nasir.^[1] He was only thirteen years old when he became Sultan on the sudden death of his father.^[1] His reign was marked by anarchy, pandemonium and chaos with invasions of Tamerlane (Timur Leng, or Timur Beg Gurkani), incessant rebellions in Cairo, endless conflicts with the Emirs of Syria (with the Sultan and also amongst themselves), along with plague and famine which reduced the population of the kingdom to one-third.^[1] During the end of his reign he became a tyrannical ruler which eventually led him into his seventh and final conflict with the Syrian Emirs at Baalbek. Defeated in battle he fled to the citadel of Damascus.^[1] Unable to escape, he surrendered and on May 23, 1411 he was stabbed to death in his prison cell by a hired assassin.^[1] The Emirs placed on the throne as a temporary measure Caliph Al-Musta'in Billah.^[1]

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