This article portrays the life of Nafisa Khatun, a member of Egypt's social elite during the tumultuous period between the 18th and 19th centuries. Originally taken captive in the Caucus Mountains in Georgia, she was sold into slavery in Cairo’s slave market. After being a concubine, she would later become the wife to two of the most prominent Mamluk princes—Ali Bey "the Great" and Murad Bey—both of whom had wanted to rise to the throne of Egypt individually and secede completely from the Ottoman Empire. Nafisa Khatun's life story mirrored such larger narratives, as she eventually gained a high status within Mamluk society, becoming chief of the Mamluk Harem and acquiring substantial real estate wealth, becoming one of the wealthiest women within the Mamluk elite. Her fate would take another turn for the worse, however, after Mohammed Ali Pasha consolidated his control of Egypt and began his efforts at annihilating the Mamluk caste, which culminated in the famous Cairo Citadel massacre of 1811. Nafisa Khatun, who lived only briefly after that event, was reduced to penury, illness and suffered loss of influence. This study uses the case study of Nafisa Khatun to understand the extent to which large social, economic and political changes impacted the lives of individuals who lived through them. Nafisa Khatun's life told the story of Egypt's historical transformation, before being changed by the challenges presented by the period of modernization,