The 15th century historian Ibn Taghribirdi was one of the sons of Mamluks who succeeded in building a scholarly career. His knowledge of the language, customs and values of the Mamluk court allowed him to present the actions of the ruling elite in a manner that often differed from the reports of his scholarly colleagues. The present article examines the picture that Ibn Taghribirdi painted of the rulers Shajar al-Durr, Aybak and Qutuz. His presentation is contrasted to the portrayals provided by his two teachers Badr al-Din al-'Ayni and al-Maqrizi.Irmeli Perho is Docent in Arabic and Islamic Studies at the University of Helsinki. She is teaching Islamic subjects and Arabic language. She has previously published "Climbing the ladder: social mobility in the Mamluk period," in Mamluk Studies Review, 15/1 (2011) and "Ibn Qayyim al-Gawziyyah's Contribution to the Prophet's Medicine," in A Scholar in the Shadow: Essays in the Legal and Theological Thought of Ibn Qayyim al-Gawziyyah, ed. Caterina Bori & Livnat Holtzman (2010).