Disguise in Egypt during the Circassian Mamlūk Period (784- 923A.H/1382-1517 A.D)

Document Type : Original Article

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Lecturer at Al-Alson Higher Institute of Tourism and Hotel Management

Abstract

Disguise was a known trick during the Mamlūk era, particularly during the Circassian Mamlūks. The political unrest and conspiracies at that time were among the primary motivation behind disguise of some statesmen such as Sultans and prominent amīrs upon deposition. They used such a trick to escape from accusations and punishment. Moreover, some members of society also resorted to disguise for social reasons, such as committing obscenities and sins. This is what some Mamlūk sources recorded when mentioning cases of marital infidelity, in which some individuals resorted to disguising themselves to escape confronting society by committing these moral crimes, or by disguising oneself as a religious figure and engaging in fraud to obtain money through this disguise. This is in addition to some incidents were cited for administrative and charitable reasons at which they tried to be away from any suspicion of hypocrisy. According to the study, most of the causes behind disguise were illegal except few legal incidents. The study was concluded with a table presenting the cases of disguise during the Circassian Mamlūk era in Egypt, including the date of their occurrence, their reasons, the disguised person and the aspects of disguise.

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