Ibn Iyas (852/1448 – ca. 930/1524) is one of the most cited historians of the Mamluk period; his report on the Ottoman conquest of Egypt in particular has strongly influenced our knowledge about this time. However, we still have very little information on Ibn Iyas’ person and life as a writer. Except for the scanty words he offers about himself in his Bada’i’ az-Zuhur, no contemporary or later biography is known. The few mentions of him in later bibliographic dictionaries do not substantially supplement the data from Bada’i’ az-Zuhur. Ibn Iyas, the highly trusted eyewitness to the Ottoman conquest, clearly tried to hide from the eyes of his reader. Or were his contemporaries simply too indifferent towards his writings and person to include him into the ‘who’s who’ of important men? This paper proposes a fresh look at Ibn Iyas’ self-representation, taking into account his status as a son of the Mamluks (walad an-nas). It will discuss the author’s interest in highlighting his Mamluk descent and explore how his social status may have influenced his approach to writing and explaining history. To this end, the paper will put a focus on Ibn Iyas’ narratives on transitions of power, in which awlad an-nas, or more precisely asyad (the sons of Sultans), played an important role.