Sayf ad-Din Qawsun ibn Abdullah an-Nasiri as-Saqi (1302 – April 1342), commonly known as Qawsun (also spelled Qausun or Qusun) was a prominent Mamluk emir during the reigns of sultans an-Nasir Muhammad (r. 1310–41), al-Mansur Abu Bakr (r. 1341) and al-Ashraf Kujuk (r. 1341–42). He came to Egypt as a traveling merchant in a Mongol caravan and after his arrival met Sultan an-Nasir Muhammad, who purchased him as a mamluk. In a few years, Qawsun rose through the military hierarchy, attaining the highest Mamluk military rank of amir mi'a muqaddam alf (emir of one hundred [mamluks], commander of one thousand [soldiers]) and becoming one of the top emirs of the sultan. His adulthood at purchase and quick promotions was atypical of Mamluk emirs, who were usually purchased as children and underwent