He played an important role in the establishment of a new mamluk-based regime in Cairo that would rule Egypt and Syria for a long period known as the Mamluk Sultanate (1250–1517).

[2] After playing a central role in repelling the Mongol advance at the Battle of Ain Jalut in 1260 (often cited as a turning point in history[3]) he rose to the position of sultan.

[4] Baybars died unexpectedly in July 1277 in his palace (called al-Qasr al-Ablaq) in Damascus after drinking a poisoned cup that was intended for someone else.

[4][5] His death was kept a secret and he was temporarily buried in the Citadel of Damascus while arrangements could be made for his permanent burial and for a transition of power to his 18-year-old son al-Sa'id Barakah.

[5] On al-Sa'id's orders, the governor of Damascus, emir Aydamur, purchased a house opposite the 'Adiliyya Madrasa, in the al-Amara neighbourhood near the Great Umayyad Mosque.

[8][9][7] The architect of the complex was Ibrahim ibn Ghana'im al-Muhandis,[9] who was also responsible for building al-Qasr al-Ablaq, the palace of Baybars in Damascus, in 1264.

The complex included a monumental portal with a broad canopy of stone-carved muqarnas (honeycomb or stalactite-like forms) culminating in a shell-like hood, considered one of the most accomplished examples of its kind in Syria.

[6][9][11] The mihrab (a wall niche symbolizing the direction of prayer) also features an elaborate composition of marble mosaic paneling forming geometric and foliated patterns.

[6] The muqarnas portal (the earliest example of which is the Bimaristan of Nur al-Din), the marble dadoes, and (to a lesser extent) the mosaic friezes of the mausoleum were decorative elements that would recur throughout the Mamluk period after Baybars.