<p>This paper examines how and why people who did not have political power in 15th‒century Mamluk Cairo accumulated property. The Mamluk sultanate was a Sunni regime in which Mamluks, or slave soldiers, seized wealth and power and ruled Egypt, Syria, and Hejaz for over 250 years. The military ruling class justified its authority and consolidated its regime by distributing wealth through waqf (endowments) to ʻulamāʼ (scholars) and ‘āmma (commoners). Because of this social structure, previous studies on waqf have been concerned with the military ruling class. However, it was not only those in power who donated their property as waqf. This paper focuses on waqf deeds issued by two physicians. Through an analysis of how and why they designated their property as waqf despite the fact that they were not in power, I would like to bring a new perspective to Mamluk studies.</p><p>Chapter 1 shows that earlier studies on Mamluk‒era waqf focus mainly on the military ruling class and suggests the importance of studying those who were not in power. Chapter 2 gives a brief description of property inheritance under Sharī‘a (Islamic law) and confirms that waqf provided a way for people to bequeath property to specific people without violating Sharī‘a. The third chapter introduces two approaches to the understanding of the socio‒economic background of physicians in Mamluk Cairo ; an “institutional approach” and a “nepotistic approach”. The fourth chapter discusses the details of the waqf deeds made by two physicians, including the stipulations made on waqf properties, beneficiaries, operating costs, and so on. An overview of waqf deeds suggests that their intention in designating their properties as waqf was asset management. In both waqf cases, donors nominated themselves nāẓir (director) and included their family members as beneficiaries. Chapter 5 compares the physicians’ waqf discussed in the previous chapter with other similar cases. It is clear from certain narrative sources that physicians’ waqf took on different characteristics between the 12‒13th centuries and the 14th‒15th centuries. The earlier cases included “public” aspects such as investment in medical education, whereas the later cases placed more importance on “private” matters such as asset management and property inheritance.</p><p>Based on this discussion, this paper concludes that the physicians utilized “institutional” and “nepotistic” approaches to accumulate property and to designate their property as waqf in preparation for forthcoming death.</p>