Page 173 - Arabian Studies (I)

The Pilgrimage to Mecca in Mamltlk Times 157

conveyance or the annual Kiswah or Cover for the Ka‘bah. He had to
attend the ceremony when it was placed over the Ka‘bah and to
ensure the sole right of his sovereign to present it.61 In 751/1351,
when the Yemeni sovereign Al-Mujahid decided to replace the
Egyptian Kiswah with one of his own, which he had brought with
him upon his pilgrimage, the Egyptian Amir al-Hajj, accompanied by
other Mamluk amirs, went so far as to do battle with the king at
Mina, arrest him and carry him off to Egypt. 6 2
This role of the Egyptian Amir al-Hajj as an instrument of Mamluk
policy in the Holy Cities seems to have created tension and mutual
distrust in his relations with the SharTfs of Mecca. Moreover, since
the Amir, in order to ensure the safety of his pilgrims, often
intervened in the domestic affairs of Mecca, conflicts between the
pilgrims and the SharTfs broke out from time to time which turned
Mecca into a battlefield. In 743/1343, for reasons unknown to us, a
fight broke out at ‘Arafat between the Egyptian Amir al-TIdjj and the
Sharif which resulted in the death of sixteen Mamluk soldiers and a
number of the SharTfs men. When the battle was over the Sharif left
for Mecca with his followers where they fortified themselves, while
the Amir al-Hajj and his pilgrims, though they continued their
pilgrimage, were unable to perform the Tawaf al-Wada\63 In
797/1395, in consequence of the robbery of one of the pilgrims by a
follower of the Sharif, a fight broke out inside the Great Mosque
which led to a battle between the pilgrims and the Meccans in the
city and to an attack on the pilgrims by local tribes on the route to
‘Arafat.64 In 817/1415 the Great Mosque of Mecca itself was used as
an operational headquarters and became a battleground in a fight
between the Amir al-Ilajj and the Sharif. The trouble started when a
slave of one of the Sharlfs followers was arrested for carrying arms
contrary to the orders of the Amir al-Hajj. 6 5
The political activities of the Egyptian Amir al-Hajj were not
confined to the situation in Mecca itself. On three occasions, in
consequence of the political situation between Egypt and ‘Iraq, he
was prompted to arrest the 'Iraqi Amir al-Hajj,66 while in 809/1407
he arrested the Syrian Amir al-Hajj. 6 7 This latter intervention was
brought about following a revolt against Mamluk authority by the
viceroy of Aleppo who had extended the territory under his sway to
include Damascus and was attempting to overthrow the sultan and
take his place. 6 8
Such incidents as these were frequent and the pilgrims were often
disturbed during the ceremonies of their pilgrimage.

The Amir al-Rakb al-Awwal. Together with the Egyptian Amir
al-Hajj the Mamluk sultans annually appointed an official at Cairo