Depth
At a glance
- Era
- The Mongol and Post-Mongol Era
- Region
- Egypt & Nile · Levant & Iraq
- Review
- Completeness 2/5 · Help complete it
Origin
The title was originally granted in the Mamluk kingdom to all those who had seniority in service and in years, so that there was a whole group of amirs each of whom was called al-amir al-kabir. 1
Restriction
In the days of Shaykhun al-'Umari (752/1352) the title was reserved for the commander-in-chief (atabak al-'asakir) of the kingdom, and from that date it became the most common title of the commander-in-chief beside that of his rank. 1
Sources
- Encyclopaedia of Islam, 2nd edition (Leiden: Brill, 1954–2008), 13 volumes , vol. 1 p. 466
Cite this page
islam.museum contributors. “Al-amir al-kabir ('the great amir', Mamluk title)”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/concept/al-amir-al-kabir/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Last updated 2026-10-25.