Medieval Egypt, renowned for its wealth and splendour, faced a darker reality in its cities: rampant crime and limited resources to enforce the law. From violent disputes to daring robberies, the streets of Cairo often became a stage for chaos, where justice was swift and brutal.
Ibn al-Furat, an Egyptian historian writing in the fourteenth century, provides insightful examples of the scale of the problem. His chronicles of Mamluk-era Egypt include vivid accounts of the challenges faced by authorities in curbing crime, shedding light on the precarious balance between order and chaos in medieval Cairo.
In the space of just one month, and in one location (in this case Cairo in the late summer of 1281), he mentions several high-profile acts of criminal violence, all of which took place, no doubt, alongside a vastly higher number of unreported, unrecorded, or lesser crimes:
During [this month, he wrote] one of the water-sellers in…Cairo passed by a fellow, crowding against him with his beast of burden, which excreted upon him. The two of them had words, grabbed each other, whereupon that fellow stabbed the water-seller with a knife and killed him. This was the story, so he was ordered to be hanged.
During [the same month] one of those troops under arms in Cairo passed by a tailor who asked from him if he would hand over something to be tailored by him, so the two of them had words, whereupon the soldier struck him, then killed him. He was ordered to be hanged.
During [the same month], a fellow known as al-Kuraydī in…Old Cairo was detained. It was said about him that he would strip [his victims], and that he was known for his thievery and bawdiness. An order was given to nail him up, so he was nailed upon a camel. He lingered for days, being paraded around through Old Cairo and Cairo. One of the most amazing things told about him was that the trustee [jailor?] responsible for him deprived him of food and drink, not in order to increase his suffering, but to shorten his life. However, he said, “Don’t do it, because bad life is better than death,” so he fed him and gave him drink. Then some interceded for him, so they let him go, and he was let go while still alive, but put in prison, where he died after a few short days.
Regardless of whether it was sparked by a stream of camel urine or an over-enthusiastic tailor’s sales-pitch, the casual nature of criminality on the street is striking. The presence of so many weapons allowed disputes to escalate far too quickly – and those same weapons ensured that the consequences were more likely to be irreversible.
Uber Crucifixions
Bazaar of the silk mercers, Cairo. British Library 746.e.7, 18
In a time with little infrastructure for moderate responses, the authorities needed other approaches to stopping crime. Hanging was the most common punishment for major crimes, but the use of a ‘mobile crucifixion’, by fixing the guilty party to the side of a camel, allowed the maximum number of people to see the consequences of criminality.
Despite the risks, however, a stream of gang leaders emerged. The more high profile amongst them had an established, albeit disreputable, place in their society. They had reputations. They were men of substance, within their own milieu at least. And their activities were often hugely disruptive.
The Water Buffalo
According to Ibn al-Furat, in 1280 ‘a fellow appeared known as al-Jāmūs’. This was a redolent nickname, meaning ‘Water Buffalo’, which undoubtedly reflects his physical presence and robust character. Water Buffalo was known as ‘a trickster and a bawdy fellow. He would wield a sword, a scimitar [‘simanṭāra’], alone, and try to duel with those who opposed him outside of protected Cairo, then take whatever he wanted from them. People were afraid of him, and he stayed with a number of people in their homes, as he overawed them and they gave him what he wanted.’
The Water Buffalo became increasingly bold and violent. He ‘killed a number [of people and] another fellow appeared together with him called al-Maḥwajab, and the both of them were active for a while.’
High Profile? – Good and Bad
A dangerous reputation was helpful for a gangster like the Water Buffalo. He was a man who traded in intimidation – ‘people were afraid of him, used him as a by-word, and began to talk about him a lot. Proverbs were even made about him’. But having a high profile was only useful up to a point. He began to believe his own propaganda, and his personal reputation eventually, inevitably, became his downfall.
The Water Buffalo’s antics became an embarrassment for the authorities. Finally, one of the Mamluks of the governor of Cairo ‘saw a fellow, who he didn’t like, but then became aware that he was al-Jāmūs. So he shot him with an arrow, whereupon the latter fled, entering one of the orchards where he was detained’.
High profile criminality demanded high profile justice. The Water Buffalo and his henchman were ‘brought before the governor…so the Sultan ordered them to be nailed up, so they were, at Zuwayla Gate, one of the gates of protected Cairo. There they stayed for days until they both died’. People entering the city had to pass the two men as they were slowly crucified.
Everyone could see the message – crime does not pay and that no one can evade justice indefinitely. But more specifically, that no one can embarrass the authorities without taking the consequences.
Conmen and Crooks
Bazaar of the coppersmiths, Cairo, – British Library 746.e.7, 20
Urban conmen, violent burglars and petty thieves were so commonplace, and such a part of everyday life that amusing manuals were even written about them as a form of entertainment, ostensibly to warn people of their activities. One such book was composed by a certain al-Jawbari, a self-confessed dodgy character from the Damascene suburb of the same name. He wrote a treatise entitled The Book of Charlatans (or, less catchily, The Book Containing a Selection Concerning the Exposure of Secrets).
Al-Jawbari conducts us on an eccentric and vivid tour around the darkest corners of the Muslim underworld. In it, he describes the different types of criminals one might encounter and gives advice on how to avoid them. But the stories of murderers and thieves are told in an almost affectionate way – crime was so familiar that it had become a form of entertainment. Al-Jawbari speaks knowledgeably, and admiringly, of the skills involved in becoming a successful criminal – it seems likely the author himself had been a conman, or worse, in an earlier life.
The idea of ‘honour amongst thieves’ was a tangible one. Criminal groups existed, with their own codes of conduct and with specific social or religious agendas. In addition to the better known groups such as the Futuwwa there was, for instance, a mysterious ‘tribe of charlatans known as the Bahriyyah’, who are thought to have been a sub-cult of the Haydari dervishes. These men had their own ‘rules’ which, according to al-Jawbari, led them to ‘believe they shouldn’t enter this or any other place unless they take something with them on the way out…They are a kind of sneak thief, the most despicable of all this tribe’.
Honour Amongst Thieves?
Other types of criminal were more familiar to our eyes, although no more attractive. Some, for instance, were described as ‘thieves who enter houses unlawfully…[they] are the lowest of the low and they are craftier and more violent than the thieves who commit murders…Their modus operandi is to enter a place without permission and quickly snatch anything they can lay their hands on’.
In an interesting indictment of the poor construction techniques used in medieval Egyptian homes, there was also a particular sub-set of criminals who ‘enter houses by making holes in walls and committing murder’, using a toolkit which included specialist items such as ‘a crowbar, an iron spike, a metal plate, a lock breaker, and an iron hand with iron fingers’. If they were caught in the process of a robbery the consequences could be severe. According to al-Jawbari, ‘if they enter a place and its owner hears them and opens his mouth, they will kill him and that’s an end of it. They will take property and life alike’.
The streets of medieval Cairo really were mean.
Want to learn more about crime during the Crusades? Check out Steve Tibble’s new book Crusader Criminals: The Knights Who Went Rogue in the Holy Land.
Dr Steve Tibble is a graduate of Jesus College, Cambridge and London University. He is an Honorary Research Associate at Royal Holloway College, University of London. Steve is a leading authority on warfare and violence in the crusading era.
By Steve Tibble
Medieval Egypt, renowned for its wealth and splendour, faced a darker reality in its cities: rampant crime and limited resources to enforce the law. From violent disputes to daring robberies, the streets of Cairo often became a stage for chaos, where justice was swift and brutal.
Ibn al-Furat, an Egyptian historian writing in the fourteenth century, provides insightful examples of the scale of the problem. His chronicles of Mamluk-era Egypt include vivid accounts of the challenges faced by authorities in curbing crime, shedding light on the precarious balance between order and chaos in medieval Cairo.
In the space of just one month, and in one location (in this case Cairo in the late summer of 1281), he mentions several high-profile acts of criminal violence, all of which took place, no doubt, alongside a vastly higher number of unreported, unrecorded, or lesser crimes:
Regardless of whether it was sparked by a stream of camel urine or an over-enthusiastic tailor’s sales-pitch, the casual nature of criminality on the street is striking. The presence of so many weapons allowed disputes to escalate far too quickly – and those same weapons ensured that the consequences were more likely to be irreversible.
Uber Crucifixions
In a time with little infrastructure for moderate responses, the authorities needed other approaches to stopping crime. Hanging was the most common punishment for major crimes, but the use of a ‘mobile crucifixion’, by fixing the guilty party to the side of a camel, allowed the maximum number of people to see the consequences of criminality.
Despite the risks, however, a stream of gang leaders emerged. The more high profile amongst them had an established, albeit disreputable, place in their society. They had reputations. They were men of substance, within their own milieu at least. And their activities were often hugely disruptive.
The Water Buffalo
According to Ibn al-Furat, in 1280 ‘a fellow appeared known as al-Jāmūs’. This was a redolent nickname, meaning ‘Water Buffalo’, which undoubtedly reflects his physical presence and robust character. Water Buffalo was known as ‘a trickster and a bawdy fellow. He would wield a sword, a scimitar [‘simanṭāra’], alone, and try to duel with those who opposed him outside of protected Cairo, then take whatever he wanted from them. People were afraid of him, and he stayed with a number of people in their homes, as he overawed them and they gave him what he wanted.’
The Water Buffalo became increasingly bold and violent. He ‘killed a number [of people and] another fellow appeared together with him called al-Maḥwajab, and the both of them were active for a while.’
High Profile? – Good and Bad
A dangerous reputation was helpful for a gangster like the Water Buffalo. He was a man who traded in intimidation – ‘people were afraid of him, used him as a by-word, and began to talk about him a lot. Proverbs were even made about him’. But having a high profile was only useful up to a point. He began to believe his own propaganda, and his personal reputation eventually, inevitably, became his downfall.
The Water Buffalo’s antics became an embarrassment for the authorities. Finally, one of the Mamluks of the governor of Cairo ‘saw a fellow, who he didn’t like, but then became aware that he was al-Jāmūs. So he shot him with an arrow, whereupon the latter fled, entering one of the orchards where he was detained’.
High profile criminality demanded high profile justice. The Water Buffalo and his henchman were ‘brought before the governor…so the Sultan ordered them to be nailed up, so they were, at Zuwayla Gate, one of the gates of protected Cairo. There they stayed for days until they both died’. People entering the city had to pass the two men as they were slowly crucified.
Everyone could see the message – crime does not pay and that no one can evade justice indefinitely. But more specifically, that no one can embarrass the authorities without taking the consequences.
Conmen and Crooks
Urban conmen, violent burglars and petty thieves were so commonplace, and such a part of everyday life that amusing manuals were even written about them as a form of entertainment, ostensibly to warn people of their activities. One such book was composed by a certain al-Jawbari, a self-confessed dodgy character from the Damascene suburb of the same name. He wrote a treatise entitled The Book of Charlatans (or, less catchily, The Book Containing a Selection Concerning the Exposure of Secrets).
Al-Jawbari conducts us on an eccentric and vivid tour around the darkest corners of the Muslim underworld. In it, he describes the different types of criminals one might encounter and gives advice on how to avoid them. But the stories of murderers and thieves are told in an almost affectionate way – crime was so familiar that it had become a form of entertainment. Al-Jawbari speaks knowledgeably, and admiringly, of the skills involved in becoming a successful criminal – it seems likely the author himself had been a conman, or worse, in an earlier life.
The idea of ‘honour amongst thieves’ was a tangible one. Criminal groups existed, with their own codes of conduct and with specific social or religious agendas. In addition to the better known groups such as the Futuwwa there was, for instance, a mysterious ‘tribe of charlatans known as the Bahriyyah’, who are thought to have been a sub-cult of the Haydari dervishes. These men had their own ‘rules’ which, according to al-Jawbari, led them to ‘believe they shouldn’t enter this or any other place unless they take something with them on the way out…They are a kind of sneak thief, the most despicable of all this tribe’.
Honour Amongst Thieves?
Other types of criminal were more familiar to our eyes, although no more attractive. Some, for instance, were described as ‘thieves who enter houses unlawfully…[they] are the lowest of the low and they are craftier and more violent than the thieves who commit murders…Their modus operandi is to enter a place without permission and quickly snatch anything they can lay their hands on’.
In an interesting indictment of the poor construction techniques used in medieval Egyptian homes, there was also a particular sub-set of criminals who ‘enter houses by making holes in walls and committing murder’, using a toolkit which included specialist items such as ‘a crowbar, an iron spike, a metal plate, a lock breaker, and an iron hand with iron fingers’. If they were caught in the process of a robbery the consequences could be severe. According to al-Jawbari, ‘if they enter a place and its owner hears them and opens his mouth, they will kill him and that’s an end of it. They will take property and life alike’.
The streets of medieval Cairo really were mean.
Want to learn more about crime during the Crusades? Check out Steve Tibble’s new book Crusader Criminals: The Knights Who Went Rogue in the Holy Land.
Please visit the publisher’s website or buy this book
on Amazon.com | Amazon.ca | Amazon.co.uk
Dr Steve Tibble is a graduate of Jesus College, Cambridge and London University. He is an Honorary Research Associate at Royal Holloway College, University of London. Steve is a leading authority on warfare and violence in the crusading era.
You can check out Steve’s other books: Templars: The Knights Who Made Britain, The Crusader Armies and The Crusader Strategy
Top Image: A view of Cairo – British Library Maps.6.Tab.24 no.23
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