Qutuz

Saif ad-Din Qutuz (Arabic: سيف الدين قطز‎; d. October 24, 1260), also romanized as Kutuz, Kotuz, and Koetoez and fully al-Malik al-Muzaffar Saif ad-Din Qutuz (الملك المظفر سيف الدين قطز), was the third or fourth of the Mamluk Sultans of Egypt in the Turkic line from 1259 until his death in 1260. It was under his leadership that the Mamluks achieved success against the Mongols in the key Battle of Ain Jalut. Qutuz was assassinated by a fellow Mamluk leader, Baibars, on the triumphant return journey to Cairo. Although Qutuz's reign was short, he is one of the most popular Mamluk sultans in the Islamic world and holds one of the highest positions in Islamic history.

Background

The early life of Qutuz is quite obscured, and there are many stories about his origin. Captured by the Mongols and sold as a slave, he traveled to Syria where he was sold to an Egyptian slave merchant who then sold him to Aybak, the Mamluk sultan in Cairo. According to some sources, Qutuz claimed that his original name was Mahmud ibn Mamdud and he was descended from Ala ad-Din Muhammad II, a ruler of the Khwarezmian Empire.