Kaya Sakir (1762-21 July 1798) was a general of the Mamelukes who was killed in the Battle of the Pyramids.
Biography[]
Kaya Sakir was born in Alexandria in Egypt in 1762. Sakir was born to a family of Kipchak Turkish slaves, and became a leader of the Mamelukes. As a Mameluke slave commander, Kaya Sakir became the leader of a unit of Mameluke cavalry riders and fought against the French during the Egypt Campaign (1798-1800) of the French Revolutionary Wars (1792-1800).
During the Battle of the Pyramids on 21 July 1798, Kaya Sakir led his cavalry in an attack on the French army that was opposing the Ottoman Empire-Mameluke army of Ibrahim Bey and Murad Bey. Kaya Sakir charged the French cannon that were proving troublesome, but French dragoons charged in and Sakir was killed.