In attempting to explain the troubled creation of sultan Jaqmaq's political order in Cairo in 1438 against the backdrop of rebellions in Syria and other obstacles, the 15th-century adib-historian Ahmad ibn 'Arabshah occasionally reached for examples and analogies from recent decades of history during his lifetime (1389-1450). In two early chapters on kingly virtues in his panegyric devoted to Jaqmaq, the Ta'lif al-tahir fi Shiyam al-Malik al-Zahir, Ibn 'Arabshah included observations on changing power relations between the sultanate of Cairo, eastern Anatolia, Asia Minor, and Greater Iran between the Dulghadirid, Qaramanid, Ottoman, Aqquyunlu, and Timurid dynasties down to his time of writing in approximately 1439. To set the stage, he provides a brief description of each power personified by its ruler, their territorial expanse, titulature, and hierarchical relationship vis-à-vis the sultan of Cairo. Ibn 'Arabshah's writing takes a decidedly pro-Turkmen position, however, particularly in favor of the Dulhghadirid dynasty (notably ‘in-laws’ of Jaqmaq) whom he placed among the most righteous kings of the region. In writing from a perspective in which Turkmen rulers were presented as protagonists having been despoiled of justice by the previous sultans of Cairo, Ibn 'Arabshah sought to attach meaning that was valuable to the present. In the context of the 1438-9 revolts against Jaqmaq by rogue deputies in the major cities of Bilad al-Sham, the governor of Aleppo, Taghri Birmish, himself of Turkmen stock with access to networks of Turkmen just beyond his city, presented a dangerous threat to the embattled sultan. Thus in his sketch of existing power hierarchies involving the Ottomans, Timurids and sultans of Cairo, Ibn 'Arabshah underscored the role of the Turkmen clan configurations, using the past to enhance their contemporary importance in regard to the delicate situation north of Aleppo during and shortly after the revolt of Taghri Birmish.