'Father of Conquests'), was the fourth Mamluk sultan of Egypt and Syria, of Turkic Kipchak origin, in the Bahri dynasty, succeeding Qutuz.

[5] The reign of Baybars marked the start of an age of Mamluk dominance in the Eastern Mediterranean and solidified the durability of their military system.

He managed to pave the way for the end of the Crusader presence in the Levant and reinforced the union of Egypt and Syria as the region's pre-eminent Muslim state, able to fend off threats from both Crusaders and Mongols, and even managed to subdue the kingdom of Makuria, which was famous for being unconquerable by previous Muslim empire invasion attempts.

As sultan, Baybars also engaged in a combination of diplomacy and military action, allowing the Mamluks of Egypt to greatly expand their empire.

According to a fellow Cuman and eyewitness, Badr al-Din Baysari, the Barli fled the armies of the Mongols, intending to settle in the Second Bulgarian Empire (named in the sources Wallachia).

[18] Both Baybars, who witnessed his parents being massacred,[18] and Baysari were among the captives during the invasion and were sold into slavery in the Sultanate of Rum at the slave market in Sivas.

Shortly after the victory over the Crusaders, Baybars and a group of Mamluk soldiers assassinated Turanshah, leading to as-Salih Ayyub's widow Shajar al-Durr being named sultana.

Some of his Mamluks, among them Baybars and Qalawun al-Alfi, fled to an-Nasir Yusuf in Syria,[25] persuading him to break the accord[clarification needed] and invade Egypt.

It was said that Baybars was involved in the assassination because he expected to be rewarded with the governorship of Aleppo for his military success, but Qutuz, fearing his ambition, refused to give him the post.

[30] Soon after Baybars had ascended to the Sultanate, his authority was confirmed without any serious resistance, except from Alam al-Din Sinjar al-Halabi, another Mamluk amir who was popular and powerful enough to claim Damascus.

Al- Kurani and another rebel leaders were executed (crucified) in Bab Zuweila[31] After suppressing the revolt of Sinjar, Baybars then managed to deal with the Ayyubids, while quietly eliminating the prince of Kerak.

[34] As sultan, Baybars engaged in a lifelong struggle against the Crusader kingdoms in Syria, in part because the Christians had aided the Mongols.

[38] In the same year, Baybars laid siege to the fortress of Safed, held by the Templar knights, which had been conquered by Saladin in 1188 but returned to the Kingdom of Jerusalem in 1240.

After defeating the forces of Hethum I in the Battle of Mari, Baybars managed to ravage the three great cities of Mamistra, Adana and Tarsus, so that when Hetoum arrived with Mongol troops, the country was already devastated.

[40] Leo was left in the awkward situation of keeping Cilicia as a subject of the Mongol Empire, while at the same time paying tribute to the Mamluks.

After successfully conquering Cilicila, Baybars in 1267 settled his unfinished business with Acre, and continued the extermination of remaining crusader garrisons in the following years.

[46] In some time around October to November 1267, or about 666 Safar of Hijra year, Baybars wrote condolences and congratulations to the new Khan of the Golden Horde, Mengu-Timur, to urge him to fight Abaqa.

However, Baybars was pragmatic in his approach and did not want to become involved in complicated intrigue inside the Golden Horde, so instead he stayed close to both Mengu Timur and Noqai.

[47] On 30 March 1271, after Baybars captured the smaller castles in the area, including Chastel Blanc, he besieged the Krak des Chevaliers, held by the Hospitallers.

According to Ibn Shaddad, two days later the first line of defences was captured by the besiegers; he was probably referring to a walled suburb outside the castle's entrance.

[48] After a lull of ten days, the besiegers conveyed a letter to the garrison, supposedly from the Grand Master of the Knights Hospitaller in Tripoli, Hugues de Revel, which granted permission for them to surrender.

In 1265 a Mamluk army allegedly raided Makuria as far south as Dongola[51] while also expanding southwards along the African Red Sea coast, thus threatening the Nubians.

[52] In 1272 king David marched east and attacked the port town of Aidhab,[53] located on an important pilgrimage route to Mecca.

[56] Three years later the Makurians attacked and destroyed Aswan,[53] but this time, Baybars responded with a well-equipped army setting off from Cairo in early 1276,[54] accompanied by a cousin of king David named Mashkouda[57] or Shekanda.

David fled upstream the Nile, eventually entering al-Abwab in the south,[59] which, previously being Alodia's northernmost province, had by this period become a kingdom of its own.

Under the terms of the settlement, the Nubians were now subjected to paying jizya tribute, and in return they were allowed to keep their religion, being protected under Islamic law as 'People of the Book'; they were also allowed to continue being governed by a king from the native royal family, although this king was chosen personally by Baybars, namely a Makurian noble named Shakanda.

[70] Sultan Baybars married a noble lady from Tripoli (modern-day Lebanon) named Aisha al Bushnatiya, a prominent Arab family.

A Templar knight who fought in the Seventh Crusade lamented: Rage and sorrow are seated in my heart...so firmly that I scarce dare to stay alive.

[78] Baybars was a popular ruler in the Muslim world who had defeated the crusaders in three campaigns, and the Mongols in the Battle of Ain Jalut which many scholars deem of great macro-historical importance.

He was also an efficient administrator who took interest in building various infrastructure projects, such as a mounted message relay system capable of delivery from Cairo to Damascus in four days.