Ibn al-Mulaqqin's ordeal in the Baraka–Barquq affair, Rabi' II 780/1378

محنة ابن الملقن في قضية بركة وبرقوق، ربيع الآخر ٧٨٠هـ

12 August 1378 CE · 17 Rabi' II 780 AH

Cairo

In 780 came Ibn al-Mulaqqin's ordeal. He was a companion of Barquq, and when the amirs discussed removing Badr al-Din Ibn Abi l-Baqa' from office and who might replace him, word reached Ibn al-Mulaqqin. An adviser told him: Barquq will not hold it against you, but secure Amir Baraka first. So he sought him out and wrote his own hand promising a sum, which Baraka accepted. When Baraka raised his appointment with Barquq, the latter denied it — 'he is my companion; had he wanted it he would have spoken to me' — and produced the letter. Furious, Barquq had him confined in the stable and bound for the promised sum, until Shaykh Akmal al-Din al-Babarti, Shaykh Siraj al-Din al-Bulqini and others interceded for his release. He never entered the judicial deputyship again ¹.