(1) _Moslem Conquest of Egypt._--In accordance with the scheme of
universal conquest conceived by the founder of Islam, an army of some
4000 men was towards the end of the year A.D. 639 sent against Egypt
under the command of 'Amr (see 'AMR-IBN-EL-ASS), by the second caliph,
Omar I., who had some doubt as to the expediency of the enterprise. The
commander marched from Syria through El-'Arish, easily took Farama or
Pelusium, and thence proceeded to Bilbeis, where he was delayed for a
month; having captured this place, he proceeded to a point on the Nile
called Umm Dunain, the siege of which also occasioned him some
difficulty. After taking it, he crossed the Nile to the Fayum. On the
6th of June of the following year (640) a second army of 12,000 men,
despatched by Omar, arrived at Heliopolis (On). 'Amr recrossed the river
and joined it, but presently was confronted by a Roman army, which he
defeated at the battle of Heliopolis (July 640); this victory was
followed by the siege of Babylon, which after some futile attempts at
negotiation was taken partly by storm and partly by capitulation on Good
Friday, the 6th of April 641. 'Amr next proceeded in the direction of
Alexandria, which was surrendered to him by a treaty signed on the 8th
of November 641, under which it was to be occupied by the Moslems on the
29th of September of the following year. The interval was spent by him
in founding the city Fostat (Fustat), near the modern Cairo, and called
after the camp (_Fossatum_) occupied by him while besieging Babylon; and
in reducing those coast towns that still offered resistance. The Thebaid
seems to have surrendered with scarcely any opposition.
The ease with which this valuable province was wrenched from the Roman
empire appears to have been due to the treachery of the governor of
Egypt, Cyrus, patriarch of Alexandria, and the incompetence of the
generals of the Roman forces. The former, called by the Arabs Mukaukis
(Muqauqis) from his Coptic name Pkauchios, had for ten years before the
arrival of 'Amr maintained a fierce persecution of the Jacobite sect, to
which the bulk of the Copts belonged. During the siege of Babylon he had
been recalled and exiled, but after the death of Heraclius had been
reinstated as patriarch by Heraclonas, and been welcomed back to
Alexandria with general rejoicing in September 641. Since Alexandria
could neither have been stormed nor starved out by the Arabs, his
motives for surrendering it, and with it the whole of Egypt, have been
variously interpreted, some supposing him to have been secretly a
convert to Islam. The notion that the Arab invaders were welcomed and
assisted by the Copts, driven to desperation by the persecution of
Cyrus, appears to be refuted by the fact that the invaders treated both
Copts and Romans with the same ruthlessness; but the dissensions which
prevailed in the Christian communities, leading to riots and even civil
war in Alexandria and elsewhere, probably weakened resistance to the
common enemy. An attempt was made in the year 645 with a force under
Manuel, commander of the Imperial forces, to regain Alexandria for the
Byzantine empire; the city was surprised, and held till the summer of
646, when it was again stormed by 'Amr. In 654 a fleet was equipped by
Constans with a view to an invasion, but it was repulsed, and partly
destroyed by storm. From that time no serious effort was made by the
Eastern Empire to regain possession of the country. And it would appear
that at the time of the attempt by Manuel the Arabs were actually
assisted by the Copts, who at the first had found the Moslem lighter
than the Roman yoke.
Terms of capitulation.
A question often debated by Arabic authors is whether Egypt was taken by
storm or capitulation, but, so far as the transference of the country
was accomplished by the first taking of Alexandria, there seems no doubt
that the latter view is correct. The terms were those on which conquered
communities were ordinarily taken under Moslem protection. In return for
a tribute of money (_jizyah_) and food for the troops of occupation
(_daribat-al-ta'am_), the Christian inhabitants of Egypt were to be
excused military service, and to be left free in the observance of their
religion and the administration of their affairs.
From 639 to 968 Egypt was a province of the Eastern Caliphate, and was
ruled by governors sent from the cities which at different times ranked
as capitals. Like other provinces of the later Abbasid Caliphate its
rulers were, during this period, able to establish quasi-independent
dynasties, such being those of the Tulunids who ruled from 868 to 905,
and the Ikshidis from 935-969. In 969 the country was conquered by
Jauhar for the Fatimite caliph Mo'izz, who transferred his capital from
Mahdia (q.v.) in the Maghrib to Cairo. This dynasty lasted till 1171,
when Egypt was again embodied in the Abbasid empire by Saladin, who,
however, was himself the founder of a quasi-independent dynasty called
the Ayyubites or Ayyubids, which lasted till 1252. The Ayyubites were
followed by the Mameluke dynasties, usually classified as Bahri from
1252-1382, and Burji from 1382-1517; these sovereigns were nominally
under the suzerainty of Abbasid caliphs, who were in reality instruments
of the Mameluke sultans, and resided at Cairo. In 1517 Egypt became part
of the Ottoman empire and was governed by pashas sent from
Constantinople, whose influence about 1707 gave way to that of officials
chosen from the Mamelukes who bore the title Sheik al-balad. After the
episode of the French occupation, government by pashas was restored;
Mehemet Ali (appointed pasha in 1805) obtained from the Porte in 1841
the right to bequeath the sovereignty to his descendants, one of whom,
Ismail Pasha, received the title Khedive, which is still held by Mehemet
Ali's descendants.
(2) The following is a list of the governors of Egypt in these
successive periods:--
(a) _During the undivided Caliphate._
'Amr-ibn-el-Ass, A.H. 18-24 (A.D. 639-645).
'Abdallah b. Sa'd b. Abi Sarh, 24-36 (645-656).
Qais b. Sa'd b. 'Ubadah, 36 (657-658).
Mahommed b. Abu Bekr, 37-38 (658).
Ashtar Malik b. al-Harith (appointed, but never governed).
'Amr-ibn-el-Ass, 38-43 (658-663).
'Utbah b. Abu Sofian, 43-44 (664-665).
'Utbah b. 'Amir, 44-45 (665).
Maslama b. Mukhallad, 45-62 (665-682).
Sa'id b. Yazid b. 'Alqamah, 62-64 (682-684).
Abdarrahman b. 'Utbah b. Jahdam, 64-65 (684).
Abdalaziz ('Abd al-'Aziz) b. Merwan, 65-86 (685-705).
'Abdallah b. 'Abd al-Malik, 86-90 (705-708).
Qurrah b. Sharik al-'Absi, 90-96 (709-714).
'Abd al-Malik b. Rifa'ah al-Fahmi, 96-99 (715-717).
Ayyub b. Shurahbil al-Asbahi, 99-101 (717-720).
Bishr b. Safwan al-Kalbi, 101-102 (720-721).
Hanzalah b. Safwan, 102-105 (721-724).
Mahommed b. 'Abd al-Malik, 105 (724).
Hurr b. Yusuf, 105-108 (724-727).
Hafs b. al-Walid, 108 (727).
'Abd al-Malik b. Rifa'ah, 109 (727).
Walid b. Rifa'ah, 109-117 (727-735).
'Abd al-Rahman b. Khalid, 117-118 (735).
Hanzalah b. Safwan, 118-124 (735-742).
Hafs b. al-Walid, 124-127 (742-745).
Hassan b. 'Atahiyah al-Tu'jibi, 127 (745).
Hafs b. al-Walid, 127 (745).
Hautharah b. Suhail al-Bahili, 128-131 (745-749).
Mughirah b. 'Ubaidallah al-Fazari, 131-132 (749).
'Abd al-Malik b. Marwan al-Lakhmi, 132 (750).
Salih b. 'Ali, 133 (750-751).
Abu 'Aun 'Abdalmalik b. Yazid, 133-136 (751-753).
Salih b. 'Ali, 136-137 (753-755)--second time.
Abu 'Aun, 137-141 (755-758)--second time.
Musa b. Ka'b b. 'Uyainah al-Tamimi, 141 (758-759).
Mahommed b. al-Ash'ath b. 'Uqbah al-Khuza i, 141-143 (759-760).
Humaid b. Qahtabah b. Shabib al-Ta'i, 143-144 (760-762).
Yazid b. Hatim b. Kabisah al-Muhallabi, 144-152 (762-769).
'Abdallah b. 'Abdarrahman b. Moawiya b. Hudaij, 152-155 (769-772).
Mahommed b. Abdarrahman b. Moawiya b. Hudaij, 155 (772).
Musa b. 'Ulayy b. Rabah al-Lakhmi, 155-161 (772-778).
'Isa b. Luqman b. Mahommed al-Jumahi, 161-162 (778).
Wadih, 162 (779).
Mansur b. Yazid b. Mansur al-Ru'aini, 162 (779).
Abu Salih Yahya b. Dawud b. Mamdud, 162-164 (779-780).
Salim b. Sawadah al-Tamimi, 164 (780-781).
Ibrahim b. Salih b. 'Ali, 165-167 (781-784).
Musa b. Mus'ab b. al-Rabi al-Khath'ami, 167-168 (784-785).
Usamah b. 'Amr b. 'Alqamah al-Ma'afiri, 168 (785).
al Fadl b. Salih b. 'Ali al-'Abbasi, 168-169 (785-786).
'Ali b. Sulaiman b. 'Ali al-'Abbasi, 169-171 (786-787).
Musa b. 'Isa b. Musa al-'Abbasi, 171-172 (787-789).
Maslamah b. Yahya b. Qurrah al-Bajili, 172-173 (789-790).
Mahommed b. Zuhair al-Azdi, 173 (790).
Dawud b. Yazid b. Hatim al-Muhallabi, 174-175 (790).
Musa b. 'Isa al-'Abbasi, 175-176 (790-792).
Ibrahim b. Salih, 176 (792).
Salih b. Ibrahim, 176 (792).
Abdallah b. al-Musayyib b. Zuhair al Dabbi, 176-177 (792-793).
Ishaq b. Sulaiman b. 'Ali al-'Abbasi, 177-178 (793-794).
Harthamah b. A'yan, 178 (794-795).
'Obaidallah b. al-Mahdi, 179 (795).
Musa b. 'Isa al-'Abbasi, 179-180 (795-796).
'Obaidallah b. al-Mahdi, 180-181 (796-797)--second time.
Isma'il b. Salih b. 'Ali al-'Abbasi, 181-182 (797-798).
Isma'il b. 'Isa b. Musa al-'Abbasi, 182-183 (798).
Laith b. al-Fadl al-Abiwardi, 183-187 (798-803).
Ahmad b. Isma'il b. 'Ali al-'Abbasi, 187-189 (803-805).
'Obaidallah b. Mahommed b. Ibrahim al-'Abbasi, 189-190 (805-806).
Husain b. Jamil, 190-192 (806-808).
Malik b. Dalham b. 'Isa al-Kalbi, 192-193 (808).
Hasan b. al-Tahtah, 193-194 (808-809).
Hatim b. Harthamah b. A'yan, 194-195 (809-811).
Jabir b. al-Ash'ath b. Yahya al-Ta'i, 195-196 (811-812).
'Abbad b. Mahommed b. Hayyan al-Balkhi, 196-198 (812-813).
Mottalib b. 'Abdallah b. Malik al-Khuza'i, 198 (813-814).
'Abbas b. Musa b. 'Isa al-'Abbasi, 198-199 (814).
Mottalib b. 'Abdallah, 199-200 (814-816)--second time.
Sari b. al-Hakam b. Yusuf, 200-201 (816).
Sulaiman b. Ghalib b. Jibril al-Bajili, 201 (816-817).
Sari b. al-Hakam, 201-205 (817-820).
Abu Nasr Mahommed b. al-Sari, 205 (820-821).
'Obaidallah b. al-Sari, 205-211 (821-826).
'Abdallah b. Tahir, 211-213 (826-829).
Mahommed b. Harun (al-Mo'tasim), 213-214 (829).
'Umair b. Al-Walid al-Tamimi al-Badhaghisi, 214 (829).
'Isa b. Yazid, 214 (829).
'Abduyah b. Jabalah, 215-216 (830-831).
'Isa b. Mansur b. Musa al-Rafi'i, 216-217 (831-832).
Nasr b. Abdallah Kaidar al-Safadi, 217-219 (832-834).
Muzaffar b. Kaidar, 219 (834).
Musa b. Abi'l-'Abbas Thabit al-Hanafi, 219-224 (834-839).
Malik b. Kaidar al Safadi, 224-226 (839-841).
'Ali b. Yahya abu l-Hasan al-Armani, 226-228 (841-842).
'Isa b. Mansur al-Rafi'i, 229-233 (843-847).
Harthamah b. al-Nadir al-Jabali, 233-234 (848-849).
Hatim b. Harthamah, 234 (849).
'Ali b. Yahya, 234-235 (849-850).
Ishaq b. Yahya al-Khatlani, 235-236 (850-851).
'Abd al-Wahid b. Yahya b. Mansur, 236-238 (851-852).
'Anbasa b. Ishaq b. Shamir, 238-242 (852-856).
Yazid b. 'Abdallah b. Dinar, 242-253 (856-867).
Muzahim b. Khaqan al-Turki, 253-254 (867-868).
Ahmad b. Muzahim b. Khaqan, 254 (868).
Urjuz b. Ulugh Tarkhan al-Turki, 254 (868).
_Tulunid house._
Ahmad b. Tulun, 254-270 (868-884).
Khomaruya b. Ahmad, 270-282 (884-896).
Jaish b. Khomaruya, 282 (896).
Harun b. Khomaruya, 283-292 (896-904).
Shaiban b. Ahmad, 292 (905).
'Isa b. Mahommed al-Naushari, 292 (905).
Mahommed b. 'Ali al-Khalanji, 292-293 (905-906).
'Isa al-Naushari, 293-297 (906-910)--second time.
Takin b. Abdallah al-Khazari, 297-302 (910-915).
Dhuka al-Rumi, 303-307 (915-919).
Takin b. 'Abdallah, 307-309 (919-921)--second time.
Abu Qabus Mahmud b. Hamal, 309 (921).
Hilal b. Badr, 309-311 (921-923).
Ahmad b. Kaighlagh, 311 (923).
Takin b. Abdallah, 311-321 (923-933)--third time.
Mahommed b. Takin, 321 (933).
_Ikshidi house._
Mahommed b. Tughj al-Ikshid, 321 (933).
[Ahmad b. Kaighlagh, 321-322 (933-934)].
Mahommed b. Tughj, 323-334 (934-946)--second time.
Unjur b. al-Ikshid, 334-349 (946-961).
'Ali b. al-Ikshid, 349-355 (961-966).
Kafur b. Abdallah al-Ikshidi, 355-357 (966-968).
Abu'l-Fawaris Ahmad b. 'Ali b. al-Ikshid, 357 (968).
_(b) Fatimite Caliphs_, 357-567 (969-1171).
Mo'izz Abu Tamim Ma'add (or li-din allah), 357-365 (969-975).
'Aziz Abu Mansur Nizar (al-'Aziz billah), 365-386 (975-996).
Hakim [Abu 'Ali Mansur], 386-411 (996-1020).
Zahir [Abu'l-Hasan 'Ali], 411-427 (1020-1035).
Mostansir [Abu Tamim Ma'add], 427-487 (1035-1094).
Mosta'li [Abu'l-Qasim Ahmad], 487-495 (1094-1101).
Amir [Abu 'Ali Mansur], 495-524 (1101-1130).
Hafiz [Abu'l-Maimun 'Abd al-Majid], 524-544 (1130-1149).
Zafir [Abu'l-Mansur Isma'il], 544-549 (1149-1154).
Fa'iz [Abu'l-Qasim 'Isa], 549-555 (1154-1160).
'Adid [Abu Mahommed 'Abdallah], 555-567 (1160-1171).
_(c) Ayyubite Sultans_, 564-648 (1169-1250).
Malik al-Nasir Salah al-din Yusuf b. Ayyub (SALADIN), 564-589
(1169-1193).
Malik al-'Aziz 'Imad al-din Othman, 589-595 (1193-1198).
Malik al-Mansur Mahommed, 595-596 (1198-1199).
Malik al-'Adil Saif al-din Abu Bakr, 596-615 (1199-1218).
Malik AL-KAMIL Mahommed, 615-635 (1218-1238).
Malik al-'Adil II. Saif al-din Abu Bakr, 635-637 (1238-1240).
Malik al-Salih Najm al-din Ayyub, 637-647 (1240-1249).
Malik al-Mo'azzam Turanshah, 647-648 (1249-1250).
Malik al-Ashraf Musa, 648-650 (1250-1252).
_(d) Bahri Mamelukes_, 648-792 (1250-1390).
Shajar al-durr, 648 (1250).
Malik al-Mo'izz 'Izz al-din Aibek, 648-655 (1250-1257).
Malik al-Mansur Nureddin 'Ali, 655-657 (1257-1259).
Malik al-Mozaffar Saif al-din KOTUZ, 657-658 (1259-1260).
Malik al-Zahir [Rukn al-din (Rukneddin) BIBARS Bundukdari],
658-676 (1260-1277).
Malik al-Sa'id Nasir al-din Barakah Khan, 676-678 (1277-1279).
Malik al-'Adil Badr al-din Salamish, 678 (1279).
Malik al-Mansur Saif al-din QALA'UN, 678-689 (1279-1290).
Malik al-Ashraf [Salah al-din KHALIL], 689-693 (1290-1293).
Malik al-Nasir [Nasir al-din Mahommed], 693-694 (1293-1294).
Malik al-'Adil [Zain al-din KITBOGA], 694-696 (1294-1296).
Mansur [Husam al-din LAJIN], 696-698 (1296-1298).
NASIR MAHOMMED (again), 698-708 (1298-1308).
Mozaffar [Rukn al-din Bibars Jashengir], 708-709 (1308-1310).
Nasir Mahommed (third time), 709-741 (1310-1341).
Mansur [Saif al-din ABU BAKR], 741-742 (1341).
Ashraf [Ala'u 'l-din KUCHUK], 742 (1341-1342).
Nasir [Shihab al-din Ahmad], 742-743 (1342).
Salih 'Imad al-din Isma'il], 743-746 (1342-1345).
Kamil [Saif al-din SHA'BAN], 746-747 (1345-1346).
Mozaffar [Saif al-din HAJJI], 747-748 (1346-1347).
Nasir [Nasir al-din Hasan], 748-752 (1347-1351).
Salih [Salah al-din Salih], 752-755 (1351-1354).
Nasir [Hasan] (again), 755-762 (1354-1361).
Mansur [Salah al-din Mahommed], 762-764 (1361-1363).
Ashraf [Nasir al-din Sha'ban], 764-778 (1363-1377).
Mansur ['Ala'u 'l-din 'Ali], 778-783 (1377-1381).
Salih [Salah al-din Hajji, 783-784 (1381-1382).
Barkuk or Barquq (see below), 784-791 (1382-1389).
Hajji again, with title of Mozaffar, 791-792 (1389-1390).
_(e) Burji Mamelukes_, 784-922 (1382-1517).
Zahir [Saif al-din Barquq], 784-801 (1382-1398) [interrupted by Hajji,
791-792].
Nasir [Nasir al-din FARAJ], 801-808 (1398-1405).
Mansur ['Izz al-din Abdalaziz ('Abd al-'Aziz)], 808-809 (1405-1406).
Nasir Faraj (again), 809-815 (1406-1412).
'Adil Mosta'in (Abbasid caliph), 815 (1412).
Mu'ayyad [Sheikh], 815-824 (1412-1421).
Mozaffar [Ahmad], 824 (1421).
Zahir [Saif al-din Tatar], 824 (1421).
Salih [Nasir al-din Mahommed], 824-825 (1421-1422).
Ashraf [Saif al-din Barsbai], 825-842 (1422-1438).
'Aziz [Jamal al-din Yusuf], 842 (1438).
Zahir [Saif al-din Jakmak], 842-857 (1438-1453).
Mansur [Fakhr al-din Othman], 857 (1453).
Ashraf [Saif al-din Inal], 857-865 (1453-1461).
Mu'ayyad [Shihab al-din Ahmad], 865 (1461).
Zahir [Saif al-din Khoshkadam], 865-872 (1461-1467).
Zahir [Saif al-din Yelbai or Bilbai], 872 (1467).
Zahir [Timurbogha], 872-873 (1467-1468).
Ashraf [Saif al-din (KAIT BEY)], 873-901 (1468-1495).
Nasir [Mahommed], 901-904 (1495-1498).
Zahir [Kansuh], 904-905 (1498-1499).
Ashraf [Janbalat or Jan Belat], 905-906 (1499-1501).
'Adil Tumanbey, 906 (1501).
Ashraf [Kansuh Ghuri], 906-922 (1501-1516).
Ashraf [Tumanbey], 922 (1516-1517).
_(f) Turkish Governors after the Ottoman Conquest._
Khair Bey, 923 (1517).
Mustafa Pasha, 926 (1520).
Ahmad, 929 (1523).
Qasim, 930 (1524).
Ibrahim, 931 (1525).
Suleiman, 933 (1527).
Dawud, 945 (1538).
'Ali, 956 (1549).
Mahommed, 961 (1554).
Iskandar, 963 (1556).
'Ali al-Khadim, 968 (1561).
Mustafa, 969 (1561).
'Ali al-Sufi, 971 (1563).
Mahmud, 973 (1566).
Sinan, 975 (1567).
Hosain, 980 (1573).
Masih, 982 (1575).
Hasan al-Khadim, 988 (1580).
Ibrahim, 991 (1583).
Sinan, 992 (1584).
Uwais, 994 (1585).
Hafiz Ahmad, 999 (1591).
Kurt, 1003 (1595).
Sayyid Mahommed, 1004 (1596).
Khidr, 1006 (1598).
'Ali al-Silahdar, 1009 (1601).
Ibrahim, 1012 (1604).
Mahommed al-Kurji, 1013 (1605).
Hasan, 1014 (1605).
Mahommed al-Sufi, 1016 (1607).
Ahmad al-Daftardar, 1022 (1613).
Mustafa Lafakli, 1026 (1617).
Ja'far, 1027 (1618).
Mustafa, 1028 (1619).
Hosain, 1028 (1619).
Mahommed, 1031 (1622).
Ibrahim, 1031 (1622).
Mustafa, 1032 (1623).
'Ali, 1032 (1623).
Mustafa, 1032 (1624).
Bairam, 1036 (1626).
Mahommed, 1037 (1627).
Musa, 1040 (1631).
Khalil al-Bustanji, 1041 (1631).
Ahmad al-Kurji, 1042 (1633).
Hosain, 1045 (1636).
Mahommed b. Ahmad, 1047 (1638).
Mustafa al-Bustanji, 1049 (1639).
Maqsud, 1050 (1641).
Suyan Bey, 1054 (1644).
Ayyub, 1055 (1645).
Mahommed b. Haidar, 1057 (1647).
Ahmad, 1058 (1648).
'Abd al-Rahman, 1061 (1651).
Mahommed al-Silahdar, 1062 (1652).
Ghazi, 1066 (1655).
Omar, 1067 (1652).
Ahmad, 1077 (1666).
Ibrahim, 1078 (1667).
Hosain, 1085 (1674).
Hasan al-Janbalat, 1087 (1676).
Othman, 1091 (1680).
Hasan al-Silahdar, 1099 (1688).
Ahmad, 1101 (1690).
'Ali Qilij, 1102 (1691).
Isma'il, 1107 (1696).
Hosain, 1109 (1697).
Qara Mahommed or Ahmad, 1111 (1699).
Mahommed Rami, 1116 (1704).
'Ali Muslim, 1118 (1706).
Hosain Ketkhuda, 1119 (1707).
Ibrahim Qabudan, 1121 (1709).
Khalil, 1122 (1710).
Wali, 1123 (1711).
'Abidin, 1127 (1715).
'Ali Izmirli, 1129 (1717).
Rajab, 1130 (1718).
Mahommed al-Bashimi, 1132 (1720).
'Ali, 1138 (1728).
Bakir, 1141 (1729).
'Abdallah Kuburlu, 1142 (1729).
Mahommed Silahdar, 1144 (1732).
Othman Halabi, 1146 (1733).
Bakir, 1148 (1735).
Mustafa, 1149 (1736).
Sulaiman b. al-'Azim, 1152 (1739).
'Ali Hakim Oghlu, 1153 (1740).
Yahya, 1154 (1741).
Mahommed Yedkeshi, 1156 (1743).
Mahommed Raghib, 1158 (1745).
Ahmad Kuruzir, 1161 (1748).
Sharif 'Abdallah, 1163 (1750).
Mahommed Amin, 1166 (1753).
Mustafa, 1166 (1753).
'Ali Hakim Oghlu, 1169 (1756).
Mahommed Sa'id, 1171 (1758).
Mustafa, 1173 (1759).
Ahmad Kamil, 1174 (1761).
Bakir, 1175 (1761).
Hasan, 1176 (1761).
Hamzah, 1179 (1765).
Mahommed Raqim, 1181 (1767).
Mahommed Urflu, 1182 (1768).
Ahmad, 1183 (1770).
Qara Khalil, 1184 (1770).
Mustafa Nabulsi, 1188 (1774).
Ibrahim 'Arabgirli, 1189 (1775).
Mahommed 'Izzet, 1190 (1776).
Isma'il, 1193 (1779).
Mahommed Malik, 1195 (1781).
Sharif 'Ali Qassab, 1196 (1782).
Mahommed Silahdar, 1198 (1783).
Mahommed Yeyen, 1200 (1785).
'Abidin Sharif, 1201 (1787).
Isma'il Tunisi, 1203 (1788).
Salih Qaisarli, 1209 (1794).
Abu Bakr Tarabulsi, 1211 (1796).
_French Occupation._
Khosrev, 1216 (1802).
Tahir, 1218 (1803).
Ali Jaza'irli' or Tarabulsi, 1218 (1803).
Khorshid, 1219 (1804).
_(g) Hereditary Pashas (later Khedives), from 1220 (from 1805)._
Mehemet 'Ali, 1220-1264 (1805-1848).
Ibrahim, 1264 (1848).
'Abbas I., 1264-1270 (1848-1854).
Sa'id, 1270-1280 (1854-1863).
Isma'il 1280-1300 (1863-1882).
Tewfik, 1300-1309 (1882-1892).
Abbas II., 1309 (1892).
(3) _Period under Governors sent from the Metropolis of the eastern
Caliphate._--The first governor of the newly acquired province was the
conqueror 'Amr, whose jurisdiction was presently restricted to Lower
Egypt; Upper Egypt, which was divided into three provinces, being
assigned to Abdallah b. Sa'd, on whom the third caliph conferred the
government of Lower Egypt also, 'Amr being recalled, owing to his
unwillingness to extort from his subjects as much money as would satisfy
the caliph. In the troubles which overtook the Islamic empire with the
accession of Othman, Egypt was greatly involved, and it had to be
reconquered from the adherents of Ali for Moawiya (Mo'awiyah) by 'Amr,
who in A.H. 38 was rewarded for his services by being reinstated as
governor, with the right to appropriate the surplus revenue instead of
sending it as tribute to the metropolis. In the confusion which followed
on the death of the Omayyad caliph Yazid the Egyptian Moslems declared
themselves for Abdallah b. Zobair, but their leader was defeated in a
battle near Ain Shams (December 684) by Merwan b. Hakam (Merwan I.), who
had assumed the Caliphate, and the conqueror's son Abd al-'Aziz was
appointed governor. They also declared themselves against the usurper
Merwan II. in 745, whose lieutenant al-Hautharah had to enter Fostat at
the head of an army. In 750 Merwan II. himself came to Egypt as a
fugitive from the Abbasids, but found that the bulk of the Moslem
population had already joined with his enemies, and was defeated and
slain in the neighbourhood of Giza in July of the same year. The Abbasid
general, Salih b. Ali, who had won the victory, was then appointed
governor.
Coptic revolt.
During the period that elapsed between the Moslem conquest and the end
of the Omayyad dynasty the nature of the Arab occupation had changed
from what had originally been intended, the establishment of garrisons,
to systematic colonization. Conversions of Copts to Islam were at first
rare, and the old system of taxation was maintained for the greater part
of the first Islamic century. This was at the rate of a dinar per
_feddan_, of which the proceeds were used in the first place for the pay
of the troops and their families, with about half the amount in kind for
the rations of the army. The process by which the first of these
contributions was turned into coin is still obscure; it is clear that
the corn when threshed was taken over by certain public officials who
deducted the amount due to the state. In general the system is well
illustrated by the papyri forming the Schott-Reinhardt collection at
Heidelberg (edited by C.H. Becker, 1906), which contain a number of
letters on the subject from Qurrah b. Sharik, governor from A.H. 90 to
96. The old division of the country into districts (_nomoi_) is
maintained, and to the inhabitants of these districts demands are
directly addressed by the governor of Egypt, while the head of the
community, ordinarily a Copt, but in some cases a Moslem, is responsible
for compliance with the demand. An official called "receiver" (_qabbal_)
is chosen by the inhabitants of each district to take charge of the
produce till it is delivered into the public magazines, and receives 5%
for his trouble. Some further details are to be found in documents
preserved by the archaeologist Maqrizi, from which it appears that the
sum for which each district was responsible was distributed over the
unit in such a way that artisans and tradesmen paid at a rate similar to
that which was enforced on those employed in agriculture. It is not
known at what time the practice of having the amount due settled by the
community was altered into that according to which it was settled by the
governor, or at what time the practice of deducting from the total
certain expenses necessary for the maintenance of the community was
abandoned. The researches of Wellhausen and Becker have made it clear
that the difference which is marked in later Islam between a poll-tax
(_jizyah_) and a land-tax (_kharaj_) did not at first exist: the papyri
of the 1st century know only of the jizyah, which, however, is not a
poll-tax but a land-tax (in the main). The development of the poll-tax
imposed on members of tolerated cults seems to be due to various causes,
chief of them the acquisition of land by Moslems, who were not at first
allowed to possess any, the conversion of Coptic landowners to Islam,
and the enforcement (towards the end of the 1st century of Islam) of the
poll-tax on monks. The treasury could not afford to lose the land-tax,
which it would naturally forfeit by the first two of the above
occurrences, and we read of various expedients being tried to prevent
this loss. Such were making the Christian community to which the
proselyte had belonged pay as much as it had paid when his lands
belonged to it, making proselytes pay as before their conversion, or
compelling them to abandon their lands on conversion. Eventually the
theory spread that all land paid land-tax, whereas members of tolerated
sects paid a personal tax also; but during the evolution of this
doctrine the relations between conquerors and conquered became more and
more strained, and from the time when the control of the finance was
separated from the administration of the country (A.D. 715) complaints
of extortion became serious; under the predecessor of Qurrah, 'Abdallah
b. 'Abd al-Malik, the country suffered from famine, and under this ruler
it was unable to recover. Under the finance minister Obaidallah b.
Habhab (720-734) the first government survey by Moslems was made,
followed by a census; but before this time the higher administrative
posts had been largely taken out of the hands of Copts and filled with
Arabs. The resentment of the Copts finally expressed itself in a revolt,
which broke out in the year 725, and was suppressed with difficulty. Two
years after, in order that the Arab element in Egypt might be
strengthened, a colony of North Arabians (Qaisites) was sent for and
planted near Bilbeis, reaching the number of 3000 persons; this
immigration also restored the balance between the two branches of the
Arab race, as the first immigrants had belonged almost exclusively to
the South Arabian stock. Meanwhile the employment of the Arabic language
had been steadily gaining ground, and in 706 it was made the official
language of the bureaux, though the occasional use of Greek for this
purpose is attested by documents as late as the year 780. Other revolts
of the Copts are recorded for the year 739 and 750, the last year of
Omayyad domination. The outbreaks in all cases are attributed to
increased taxation.
The Abbasid period was marked at its commencement by the erection of a
new capital to the north of Fostat, bearing the name _'Askar_ or "camp."
Apparently at this time the practice of farming the taxes began, which
naturally led to even greater extortion than before; and a fresh rising
of the Copts is recorded for the fourth year of Abbasid rule. Governors,
as will be seen from the list, were frequently changed. The three
officials of importance whose nomination is mentioned by the historians
in addition to that of the governor were the commander of the bodyguard,
the minister of finance and the judge. Towards the beginning of the 3rd
Islamic century the practice of giving Egypt in fief to a governor was
resumed by the caliph Mamun, who bestowed this privilege on 'Abdallah b.
Tahir, who in 827 was sent to recover Alexandria, which for some ten
years had been held by exiles from Spain. 'Abdallah b. Tahir decided to
reside at Bagdad, sending a deputy to Egypt to govern for him; and this
example was afterwards followed. In 828, when Mamun's brother Motasim
was feudal lord, a violent insurrection broke out in the Hauf,
occasioned, as usual, by excessive taxation; it was partly quelled in
the next year by Motasim, who marched against the rebels with an army of
4000 Turks. The rebellion broke out repeatedly in the following years,
and in 831 the Copts joined with the Arabs against the government; the
state of affairs became so serious that the caliph Mamun himself visited
Egypt, arriving at Fostat in February 832; his general Afshin fought a
decisive battle with the rebels at Basharud in the Hauf region, at which
the Copts were compelled to surrender; the males were massacred and the
women and children sold as slaves.
Turkish governors appointed.
This event finally crushed the Coptic nation, which never again made
head against the Moslems. In the following year the caliph Motasim, who
surrounded himself with a foreign bodyguard, withdrew the stipends of
the Arab soldiers in Egypt; this measure caused some of the Arab tribes
who had been long settled in Egypt to revolt, but their resistance was
crushed, and the domination of the Arab element in the country from this
time gave way to that of foreign mercenaries, who, belonging to one
nation or another, held it for most of its subsequent history. Egypt was
given in fief to a Turkish general Ashnas (Ashinas), who never visited
the country, and the rule of individuals of Turkish origin prevailed
till the rise of the Fatimites, who for a time interrupted it. The
presence of Turks in Egypt is attested by documents as early as 808.
While the governor was appointed by the feudal lord, the finance
minister continued to be appointed by the caliph. On the death of Ashnas
in 844 Egypt was given in fief to another Turkish general Itakh, but in
850 this person fell out of favour, and the fief was transferred to
Montasir, son of the caliph Motawakkil. In 856 it was transferred from
him to the vizier Fath b. Khaqan, who for the first time appointed a
Turkish governor. The chief places in the state were also filled with
Turks. The period between the rise of the Abbasids and the
quasi-independent dynasties of Egypt was marked by much religious
persecution, occasioned by the fanaticism of some of the caliphs, the
victims being generally Moslem sectarians. (For Egypt under Motawakkil
see CALIPHATE, S c. par. 10.)
The policy of these caliphs also led to severe measures being taken
against any members of the Alid family or adherents of their cause who
were to be found in Egypt.
Tulunid Dynasty.
In the year 868 Egypt was given in fief to a Turkish general Bayikbeg,
who sent thither as his representative his stepson Ahmad b. Tulun, the
first founder of a quasi-independent dynasty. This personage was himself
the son of a Turk who, originally sent as a slave to Bagdad, had risen
to high rank in the service of the caliphs. Ahmad b. Tulun spent some of
his early life in Tarsus, and on his return distinguished himself by
rescuing his caravan, which conveyed treasure belonging to the caliph,
from brigands who attacked it; he afterwards accompanied the caliph
Mosta'in into exile, and displayed some honourable qualities in his
treatment of the fallen sovereign. He found a rival in Egypt in the
person of Ibn al-Modabbir, the finance minister, who occupied an
independent position, and who started the practice of surrounding
himself with an army of his own slaves or freedmen; of these Ibn Tulun
succeeded in depriving the finance minister, and they formed the nucleus
of an army by which he eventually secured his own independence.
Insurrections by adherents of the Alids gave him the opportunity to
display his military skill; and when in 870 his stepfather died, by a
stroke of luck the fief was given to his father-in-law, who retained
Ahmad in the lieutenancy, and indeed extended his authority to
Alexandria, which had till that time been outside it. The enterprise of
a usurper in Syria in the year 872 caused the caliph to require the
presence of Ahmad in that country at the head of an army to quell it;
and although this army was not actually employed for the purpose, it was
not disbanded by Ahmad, who on his return founded a fresh city called
Kata'i', "the fiefs," S.E. of modern Cairo, to house it. On the death of
Ahmad's father-in-law in the same year, when Egypt was given in fief to
the caliph's brother Mowaffaq (famous for his defeat of the Zanj), Ahmad
secured himself in his post by extensive bribery at headquarters; and in
the following year the administration of the Syrian frontier was
conferred on him as well. By 875 he found himself strong enough to
refuse to send tribute to Bagdad, preferring to spend the revenues of
Egypt on the maintenance of his army and the erection of great
buildings, such as his famous mosque; and though Mowaffaq advanced
against him with an army, the project of reducing Ahmad to submission
had to be abandoned for want of means. In 877 and 878 Ahmad advanced
into Syria and obtained the submission of the chief cities, and at
Tarsus entered into friendly relations with the representatives of the
Byzantine emperor. During his absence his son 'Abbas revolted in Egypt;
on the news of his father's return he fled to Barca, whence he
endeavoured to conquer the Aghlabite dominions in the Maghrib; he was,
however, defeated by the Aghlabite ruler, and returned to Barca, where
he was again defeated by his father's forces and taken prisoner.
In 882 relations between Ahmad and Mowaffaq again became strained, and
the former conceived the bold plan of getting the caliph Mo'tamid into
his power, which, however, was frustrated by Mowaffaq's vigilance; but
an open rupture was the result, as Mowaffaq formally deprived Ahmad of
his lieutenancy, while Ahmad equally formally declared that Mowaffaq had
forfeited the succession. A revolt that broke out at Tarsus caused Ahmad
to traverse Syria once more in 883, but illness compelled him to return,
and on the 10th of May 884 he died at his residence in Kata'i'. He was
the first to establish the claim of Egypt to govern Syria, and from his
time Egypt grew more and more independent of the Eastern caliphate. He
appears to have invented the fiction which afterwards was repeatedly
employed, by which the money spent on mosque-building was supposed to
have been furnished by discoveries of buried treasure.
He was succeeded by his son Khomaruya, then twenty years of age, who
immediately after his accession had to deal with an attempt on the part
of the caliph to recover Syria; this attempt failed chiefly through
dissensions between the caliph's officers, but partly through the
ability of Khomaruya's general, who succeeded in winning a battle after
his master had run away from the field. By 886 Mowaffaq found it
expedient to grant Khomaruya the possession of Egypt, Syria, and the
frontier towns for a period of thirty years, and ere long, owing to the
disputes of the provincial governors, Khomaruya found it possible to
extend his domain to the Euphrates and even the Tigris. On the death of
Mowaffaq in 891 the Egyptian governor was able to renew peaceful
relations with the caliphs, and receive fresh confirmation in his
possessions for thirty years. The security which he thereby gained gave
him the opportunity to indulge his taste for costly buildings, parks and
other luxuries, of which the chroniclers give accounts bordering on the
fabulous. After the marriage of his daughter to the caliph, which was
celebrated at enormous expense, an arrangement was made giving the
Tulunid sovereign the viceroyalty of a region extending from Barca on
the west to Hit on the east; but tribute, ordinarily to the amount of
300,000 dinars, was to be sent to the metropolis. His realm enjoyed
peace till his death in 896, when he fell a victim to some palace
intrigue at Damascus.
His son and successor Abu'l-'Asakir Jaish was fourteen years old at his
accession, and being without adequate guidance soon revealed his
incompetence, which led to his being murdered after a reign of six
months by his troops, who gave his place to his brother Harun, who was
of about the same age. In the eight years of his government the Tulunid
empire contracted, owing to the revolts of the deputies which Harun was
unable to quell, though in 898 he endeavoured to secure a new lease of
the sovereignty in Egypt and Syria by a fresh arrangement with the
caliph, involving an increase of tribute. The following years witnessed
serious troubles in Syria caused by the Carmathians, which called for
the intervention of the caliph, who at last succeeded in defeating these
fanatics; the officer Mahommed b. Solaiman, to whom the victory was due,
was then commissioned by the caliph to reconquer Egypt from the
Tulunids, and after securing the allegiance of the Syrian prefects he
invaded Egypt by sea and land at once. Before the arrival of these
troops Harun had met his death at the hands of an assassin, or else in
an affray, and his uncle Shaiban, who was placed on the throne, found
himself without the means to collect an army fit to grapple with the
invaders. Fostat was taken by Mahommed b. Solaiman after very slight
resistance, at the beginning of 905, and after the infliction of severe
punishment on the inhabitants Egypt was once more put under a deputy,
'Isa al-Naushari, appointed directly by the caliph.
The old regime was not restored without an attempt made by an adherent
of the Tulunids to reconquer Egypt ostensibly for their benefit, and for
a time the caliph's viceroy had to quit the capital. The vigorous
measures of the authorities at Bagdad speedily quelled this rebellion,
and the Tulunid palace at Kata'i' was then destroyed in order that there
might be nothing to remind the Egyptians of the dynasty. In the middle
of the year 914 Egypt was invaded for the first time by a Fatimite force
sent by the caliph al-Mahdi 'Obaidallah, now established at Kairawan.
The Mahdi's son succeeded in taking Alexandria, and advancing as far as
the Fayum; but once more the Abbasid caliph sent a powerful army to
assist his viceroy, and the invaders were driven out of the country and
pursued as far as Barca; the Fatimite caliph, however, continued to
maintain active propaganda in Egypt. In 919 Alexandria was again seized
by the Mahdi's son, afterwards the caliph al-Qa'im, and while his forces
advanced northward as far as Ushmunain (Eshmunain) he was reinforced by
a fleet which arrived at Alexandria. This fleet was destroyed by a far
smaller one sent by the Bagdad caliph to Rosetta; but Egypt was not
freed from the invaders till the year 921, when reinforcements had been
repeatedly sent from Bagdad to deal with them. The extortions
necessitated by these wars for the maintenance of armies and the
incompetence of the viceroys brought Egypt at this time into a miserable
condition; and the numerous political crises at Bagdad prevented for a
time any serious measures being taken to improve it. After a struggle
between various pretenders to the viceroyalty, in which some pitched
battles were fought, Mahommed b. Tughj, son of a Tulunid prefect of
Damascus, was sent by the caliph to restore order; he had to force his
entrance into the country by an engagement with one of the pretenders,
Ibn Kaighlagh, in which he was victorious, and entered Fostat in August
935.
Ikshidite Dynasty.
Mahommed b. Tughj was the founder of the Ikshidi dynasty, so called from
the title Ikshid, conferred on him at his request by the caliph shortly
after his appointment to the governorship of Egypt; it is said to have
had the sense of "king" in Ferghana, whence this person's ancestors had
come to enter the service of the caliph Motasim. He had himself served
under the governor of Egypt, Takin, whose son he displaced, in various
capacities, and had afterwards held various governorships in Syria. One
of the historians represents his appointment to Egypt as effected by
bribery and even forgery. He united in his person the offices of
governor and minister of finance, which had been separate since the time
of the Tulunids. He endeavoured to replenish the treasury not only by
extreme economy, but by inflicting fines on a vast scale on persons who
had held offices under his predecessor and others who had rendered
themselves suspect. The disaffected in Egypt kept up communications with
the Fatimites, against whom the Ikshid collected a vast army, which,
however, had first to be employed in resisting an invasion of Egypt
threatened by Ibn Raiq, an adventurer who had seized Syria; after an
indecisive engagement at Lajun the Ikshid decided to make peace with Ibn
Raiq, undertaking to pay him tribute. The favour afterwards shown to Ibn
Raiq at Bagdad nearly threw the Ikshid into the arms of the Fatimite
caliph, with whom he carried on a friendly correspondence, one letter of
which is preserved. He is even said to have given orders to substitute
the name of the Fatimite caliph for that of the Abbasid in public
prayer, but to have been warned of the unwisdom of this course. In 941,
after the death of Ibn Raiq, the Ikshid took the opportunity of invading
Syria, which the caliph permitted him to hold with the addition of the
sacred cities of Mecca and Medina, which the Tulunids had aspired to
possess. He is said at this time to have started (in imitation of Ahmad
Ibn Tulun) a variety of vexatious enactments similar to those afterwards
associated with the name of Hakim, e.g. compelling his soldiers to dye
their hair, and adding to their pay for the purpose.
In the year 944 he was summoned to Mesopotamia to assist the caliph, who
had been driven from Bagdad by Tuzun and was in the power of the
Hamdanids; and he proposed, though unsuccessfully, to take the caliph
with him to Egypt. At this time he obtained hereditary rights for his
family in the government of that country and Syria. The Hamdanid Saif
addaula shortly after this assumed the governorship of Aleppo, and
became involved in a struggle with the Ikshid, whose general, Kafur, he
defeated in an engagement between Homs and Hamah (Hamath). In a later
battle he was himself defeated by the Ikshid, when an arrangement was
made permitting Saif addaula to retain most of Syria, while a prefect
appointed by the Ikshid was to remain in Damascus. The Buyid ruler, who
was now supreme at Bagdad, permitted the Ikshid to remain in possession
of his viceroyalty, but shortly after receiving this confirmation he
died at Damascus in 946.
The second of this dynasty was the Ikshid's son Unjur, who had been
proclaimed in his father's time, and began his government under the
tutelage of the negro Kafur. Syria was immediately overrun by Saif
addaula, but he was defeated by Kafur in two engagements, and was
compelled to recognize the overlordship of the Egyptian viceroy. At the
death of Unjur in 961 his brother Abu'l-Hasan 'Ali was made viceroy with
the caliph's consent by Kafur, who continued to govern for his chief as
before. The land was during this period threatened at once by the
Fatimites from the west; the Nubians from the south, and the Carmathians
from the east; when the second Ikshidi died in 965, Kafur at first made
a pretence of appointing his young son Ahmad as his successor, but
deemed it safer to assume the viceroyalty himself, setting an example
which in Mameluke times was often followed. He occupied the post little
more than three years, and on his death in 968 the aforementioned Ahmad,
called Abu'l-Fawaris, was appointed successor, under the tutelage of a
vizier named Ibn Furat, who had long served under the Ikshidis. The
accession of this prince was followed by an incursion of the Carmathians
into Syria, before whom the Ikshidi governor fled into Egypt, where he
had for a time to undertake the management of affairs, and arrested Ibn
Furat, who had proved himself incompetent.
The administration of Ibn Furat was fatal to the Ikshidis and momentous
for Egypt, since a Jewish convert, Jacob, son of Killis, who had been in
the Ikshid's service, and was ill-treated by Ibn Furat, fled to the
Fatimite sovereign, and persuaded him that the time for invading Egypt
with a prospect of success had arrived, since there was no one in Fostat
capable of organizing a plan of defence, and the dissensions between the
Buyids at Bagdad rendered it improbable that any succour would arrive
from that quarter. The Fatimite caliph Mo'izz li-din allah was also in
correspondence with other residents in Egypt, where the Alid party from
the beginning of Abbasid times had always had many supporters; and the
danger from the Carmathians rendered the presence of a strong government
necessary. The Fatimite general Jauhar (variously represented as of
Greek, Slav and Sicilian origin), who enjoyed the complete confidence of
the Fatimite sovereign, was placed at the head of an army of 100,000
men--if Oriental numbers are to be trusted--and started from Rakkada at
the beginning of March 969 with the view of seizing Egypt.
Before his arrival the administration of affairs had again been
committed to Ibn Furat, who, on hearing of the threatened invasion, at
first proposed to treat with Jauhar for the peaceful surrender of the
country; but though at first there was a prospect of this being carried
out, the majority of the troops at Fostat preferred to make some
resistance, and an advance was made to meet Jauhar in the neighbourhood
of Giza. He had little difficulty in defeating the Egyptian army, and on
the 6th of July 969 entered Fostat at the head of his forces. The name
of Mo'izz was immediately introduced into public prayer, and coins were
struck in his name. The Ikshidi governor of Damascus, a cousin of
Abu'l-Fawaris Ahmad, endeavoured to save Syria, but was defeated at
Ramleh by a general sent by Jauhar and taken prisoner. Thus the Ikshidi
Dynasty came to an end, and Egypt was transferred from the Eastern to
the Western caliphate, of which it furnished the metropolis.
(4) _The Fatimite period_ begins with the taking of Fostat by Jauhar,
who immediately began the building of a new city, al-Kahira or Cairo, to
furnish quarters for the army which he had brought. A palace for the
caliph and a mosque for the army were immediately constructed, the
latter still famous as al-Azhar, and for many centuries the centre of
Moslem learning. Almost immediately after the conquest of Egypt, Jauhar
found himself engaged in a struggle with the Carmathians (q.v.), whom
the Ikshidi prefect of Damascus had pacified by a promise of tribute;
this promise was of course not held binding by the Fatimite general
(Ja'far b. Falah) by whom Damascus was taken, and the Carmathian leader
al-Hasan b. Ahmad al-A'sam received aid from Bagdad for the purpose of
recovering Syria to the Abbasids. The general Ja'far, hoping to deal
with this enemy independently of Jauhar, met the Carmathians without
waiting for reinforcements from Egypt, and fell in battle, his army
being defeated. Damascus was taken by the Carmathians, and the name of
the Abbasid caliph substituted for that of Mo'izz in public worship.
Hasan al-A'sam advanced from Damascus through Palestine to Egypt,
encountering little resistance on the way; and in the autumn of 971
Jauhar found himself besieged in his new city. By a timely sortie,
preceded by the administration of bribes to various officers in the
Carmathian host, Jauhar succeeded in inflicting a severe defeat on the
besiegers, who were compelled to evacuate Egypt and part of Syria.
Meanwhile Mo'izz had been summoned to enter the palace that had been
prepared for him, and after leaving a viceroy to take charge of his
western possessions he arrived in Alexandria on the 31st of May 973, and
proceeded to instruct his new subjects in the particular form of
religion (Shi'ism) which his family represented. As this was in origin
identical with that professed by the Carmathians, he hoped to gain the
submission of their leader by argument; but this plan was unsuccessful,
and there was a fresh invasion from that quarter in the year after his
arrival, and the caliph found himself besieged in his capital. The
Carmathians were gradually forced to retreat from Egypt and then from
Syria by some successful engagements, and by the judicious use of
bribes, whereby dissension was sown among their leaders. Mo'izz also
found time to take some active measures against the Byzantines, with
whom his generals fought in Syria with varying fortune. Before his death
he was acknowledged as caliph in Mecca and Medina, as well as Syria,
Egypt and North Africa as far as Tangier.
In the reign of the second Egyptian Fatimite 'Aziz billah, Jauhar, who
appears to have been cashiered by Mo'izz, was again employed at the
instance of Jacob b. Killis, who had been raised to the rank of vizier,
to deal with the situation in Syria, where a Turkish general Aftakin had
gained possession of Damascus, and was raiding the whole country; on the
arrival of Jauhar in Syria the Turks called the Carmathians to their
aid, and after a campaign of many vicissitudes Jauhar had to return to
Egypt to implore the caliph himself to take the field. In August 977
'Aziz met the united forces of Aftakin and his Carmathian ally outside
Ramleh in Palestine and inflicted a crushing defeat on them, which was
followed by the capture of Aftakin; this able officer was taken to
Egypt, and honourably treated by the caliph, thereby incurring the
jealousy of Jacob b. Killis, who caused him, it is said, to be poisoned.
This vizier had the astuteness to see the necessity of codifying the
doctrines of the Fatimites, and himself undertook this task; in the
newly-established mosque of el-Azhar he got his master to make provision
for a perpetual series of teachers and students of his manual. It would
appear, however, that a large amount of toleration was conceded by the
first two Egyptian Fatimites to the other sects of Islam, and to other
communities. Indeed at one time in 'Aziz's reign the vizierate of Egypt
was held by a Christian, Jesus, son of Nestorius, who appointed as his
deputy in Syria a Jew, Manasseh b. Abraham. These persons were charged
by the Moslems with unduly favouring their co-religionists, and the
belief that the Christians of Egypt were in league with the Byzantine
emperor, and even burned a fleet which was being built for the Byzantine
war, led to some persecution. Aziz attempted without success to enter
into friendly relations with the Buyid ruler of Bagdad, 'Adod addaula,
who was disposed to favour the 'Alids, but caused the claim of the
Fatimites to descend from 'Ali to be publicly refuted. He then tried to
gain possession of Aleppo, as the key to 'Irak, but this was prevented
by the intervention of the Byzantines. His North African possessions
were maintained and extended by 'Ali, son of Bulukkin, whom Mo'izz had
left as his deputy; but the recognition of the Fatimite caliph in this
region was little more than nominal.
His successor _Abu 'Ali al-Mansur_, who reigned under the title
_al-Hakim bi'amr allah_, came to the throne at the age of eleven, being
the son of 'Aziz by a Christian mother. He was at first under the
tutelage of the Slav Burjuwan, whose policy it was to favour the Turkish
element in the army as against the Maghribine, on which the strength of
the Fatimites had till then rested; his conduct of affairs was vigorous
and successful, and he concluded a peace with the Greek emperor. After a
few years' regency he was assassinated at the instance of the young
sovereign, who at an early age developed a dislike for control and
jealousy of his rights as caliph. He is branded by historians as the
Caligula of the East, who took a delight in imposing on his subjects a
variety of senseless and capricious regulations, and persecuting
different sections of them by cruel and arbitrary measures. It is
observable that some of those with which Hakim is credited are also
ascribed to Ibn Tulun and the Ikshid (Mahommed b. Tughj). He is perhaps
best remembered by his destruction of the church of the Holy Sepulchre
at Jerusalem (1010), a measure which helped to provoke the Crusades, but
was only part of a general scheme for converting all Christians and Jews
in his dominions to his own opinions by force. A more reputable
expedient with the same end in view was the construction of a great
library in Cairo, with ample provision for students; this was modelled
on a similar institution at Bagdad. It formed part of the great palace
of the Fatimites, and was intended to be the centre of their propaganda.
At times, however, he ordered the destruction of all Christian churches
in Egypt, and the banishment of all who did not adopt Islam. It is
strange that in the midst of these persecutions he continued to employ
Christians in high official positions. His system of persecution was not
abandoned till in the last year of his reign (1020) he thought fit to
claim divinity, a doctrine which is perpetuated by the Druses (q.v.),
called after one Darazi, who preached the divinity of Hakim at the time;
the violent opposition which this aroused among the Moslems probably led
him to adopt milder measures towards his other subjects, and those who
had been forcibly converted were permitted to return to their former
religion and rebuild their places of worship. Whether his disappearance
at the beginning of the year 1021 was due to the resentment of his
outraged subjects, or, as the historians say, to his sister's fear that
he would bequeath the caliphate to a distant relative to the exclusion
of his own son, will never be known. In spite of his caprices he appears
to have shown competence in the management of external affairs;
enterprises of pretenders both in Egypt and Syria were crushed with
promptitude; and his name was at times mentioned in public worship in
Aleppo and Mosul.
His son _Abu'l-Hasan 'Ali_, who succeeded him with the title _al-Zahir
li'i'zaz din allah_, was sixteen years of age at the time, and for four
years his aunt Sitt al-Mulk acted as regent; she appears to have been an
astute but utterly unscrupulous woman. After her death the caliph was in
the power of various ministers, under whose management of affairs Syria
was for a time lost to the Egyptian caliphate, and Egypt itself raided
by the Syrian usurpers, of whom one, Salih b. Mirdas, succeeded in
establishing a dynasty at Aleppo, which maintained itself after Syria
and Palestine had been recovered for the Fatimites by Anushtakin
al-Dizbari at the battle of Ukhuwanah in 1029. His career is said to
have been marked by some horrible caprices similar to those of his
father. After a reign of nearly sixteen years he died of the plague.
His successor, _Abu Tamim Ma'add_, who reigned with the title
_al-Mostansir_, was also an infant at the time of his accession, being
little more than seven years of age. The power was largely in the hands
of his mother, a negress, who promoted the interests of her kinsmen at
court, where indeed even in Hakim's time they had been used as a
counterpoise to the Maghribine and Turkish elements in the army. In the
first years of this reign affairs were administered by the vizier
al-Jarjara'i, by whose mismanagement Aleppo was lost to the Fatimites.
At his death in 1044 the chief influence passed into the hands of Abu
Sa'd, a Jew, and the former master of the queen-mother, and at the end
of four years he was assassinated at the instance of another Jew
(Sadakah, perhaps Zedekiah, b. Joseph al-Falahi), whom he had appointed
vizier. In this reign Mo'izz b. Badis, the 4th ruler of the dependent
Zeirid dynasty which had ruled in the Maghrib since the migration of the
Fatimite Mo'izz to Egypt, definitely abjured his allegiance (1049) and
returned to Sunnite principles and subjection to the Bagdad caliphate.
The Zeirids maintained Mahdia (see ALGIERS), while other cities of the
Maghrib were colonized by Arab tribes sent thither by the Cairene
vizier. This loss was more than compensated by the enrolment of Yemen
among the countries which recognized the Fatimite caliphate through the
enterprise of one 'Ali b. Mahommed al-Sulaihi, while owing to the
disputes between the Turkish generals who claimed supremacy at Bagdad,
Mostansir's name was mentioned in public prayer at that metropolis on
the 12th of January 1058, when a Turkish adventurer Basasiri was for a
time in power. The Egyptian court, chiefly owing to the jealousy of the
vizier, sent no efficient aid to Basasiri, and after a year Bagdad was
retaken by the Seljuk Toghrul Beg, and the Abbasid caliph restored to
his rights. In the following years the troubles in Egypt caused by the
struggles between the Turkish and negro elements in Mostansir's army
nearly brought the country into the dominion of the Abbasids. After
several battles of various issue the Turkish commander Nasir addaula b.
Hamdan got possession of Cairo, and at the end of 1068 plundered the
caliph's palace; the valuable library which had been begun by Hakim was
pillaged, and an accidental fire caused great destruction. The caliph
and his family were reduced to destitution, and Nasir addaula began
negotiations for restoring the name of the Abbasid caliph in public
prayer; he was, however, assassinated before he could carry this out,
and his assassin, also a Turk, appointed vizier. Mostansir then summoned
to his aid Badr al-Jamali, an Armenian who had displayed competence in
various posts which he had held in Syria, and this person early in 1074
arrived in Cairo accompanied by a bodyguard of Armenians; he contrived
to massacre the chiefs of the party at the time in possession of power,
and with the title Amir al-Juyush ("prince of the armies") was given by
Mostansir complete control of affairs. The period of internal
disturbances, which had been accompanied by famine and pestilence, had
caused usurpers to spring up in all parts of Egypt, and Badr was
compelled practically to reconquer the country. During this time,
however, Syria was overrun by an invader in league with the Seljuk Malik
Shah, and Damascus was permanently lost to the Fatimites; other cities
were recovered by Badr himself or his officers. He rebuilt the walls of
Cairo, of more durable material than that which had been employed by
Jauhar--a measure rendered necessary partly by the growth of the
metropolis, but also by the repeated sieges which it had undergone since
the commencement of Fatimite rule. The time of Mostansir is otherwise
memorable for the rise of the Assassins (q.v.), who at the first
supported the claims of his eldest son Nizar to the succession against
the youngest Ahmed, who was favoured by the family of Badr. When Badr
died in 1094 his influence was inherited by his son al-Afdal Shahinshah,
and this, at the death of Mostansir in the same year, was thrown in
favour of _Ahmed_, who succeeded to the caliphate with the title
_al-Mosta'li billah_.
The Crusades.
Mosta'li's succession was not carried through without an attempt on the
part of Nizar to obtain his rights, the title which he chose being
_al-Mostafa lidin allah_; for a time he maintained himself in
Alexandria, but the energetic measures of his brother soon brought the
civil war to an end. The beginning of this reign coincided with the
beginning of the Crusades, and al-Afdal made the fatal mistake of
helping the Franks by rescuing Jerusalem from the Ortokids, thereby
facilitating its conquest by the Franks in 1099. He endeavoured to
retrieve his error by himself advancing into Palestine, but he was
defeated in the neighbourhood of Ascalon, and compelled to retire to
Egypt. Many of the Palestinian possessions of the Fatimites then
successively fell into the hands of the Franks. After a reign of seven
years Mosta'li died and the caliphate was given by al-Afdal to an infant
son, aged five years at the time, who was placed on the throne with the
title _al-Amir biahkam allah_, and for twenty years was under the
tutelage of al-Afdal. He made repeated attempts to recover the Syrian
and Palestinian cities from the Franks, but with poor success. In 1118
Egypt was invaded by Baldwin I., who burned the gates and the mosques of
Farama, and advanced to Tinnis, whence illness compelled him to retreat.
In August 1121 al-Afdal was assassinated in a street of Cairo, it is
said, with the connivance of the caliph, who immediately began the
plunder of his house, where fabulous treasures were said to be amassed.
The vizier's offices were given to one of the caliph's creatures,
Mahommed b. Fatik al-Bata'ihi, who took the title _al-Ma'mun_. His
external policy was not more fortunate than that of his predecessor, as
he lost Tyre to the Franks, and a fleet equipped by him was defeated by
the Venetians. On the 4th of October 1125 he with his followers was
seized and imprisoned by order of the Caliph Amir, who was now resolved
to govern by himself, with the assistance of only subordinate officials,
of whom two were drawn from the Samaritan and Christian communities. The
vizier was afterwards crucified with his five brothers. The caliph's
personal government appears to have been incompetent, and to have been
marked by extortions and other arbitrary measures. He was assassinated
in October 1129 by some members of the sect who believed in the claims
of Nizar, son of Mostansir.
The succeeding caliph, _Abu'l-Maimun 'Abd al-Majid_, who took the title
_al-Hafiz lidin allah_, was not the son but the cousin of the deceased
caliph, and of ripe age, being about fifty-eight years old at the time;
for more than a year he was kept in prison by the new vizier, a son of
al-Afdal, whom the army had placed in the post; but towards the end of
1131 this vizier fell by the hand of assassins, and the caliph was set
free. The reign of Hafiz was disturbed by the factions of the soldiery,
between which several battles took place, ending in the subjection of
the caliph for a time to various usurpers, one of these being his own
son Hasan, who had been provoked to rebel by the caliph nominating a
younger brother as his successor. For some months the caliph was under
this son's control; but the latter, who aimed at conciliating the
people, speedily lost his popularity with the troops, and his father was
able to get possession of his person and cause him to be poisoned
(beginning of 1135).
His son _Abu'l-Mansur Isma'il_, who was seventeen years old at the time
of Hafiz's death, succeeded him with the title _al-Zafir lia'da allah_.
From this reign to the end of the Fatimite period we have the journals
of two eminent men, Usamah b. Muniqdh and Umarah of Yemen, which throw
light on the leading characters. The civil dissensions of Egypt were
notorious at the time. The new reign began by an armed struggle between
two commanders for the post of vizier, which in January 1150 was decided
in favour of the Amir Ibn Sallar. This vizier was presently assassinated
by the direction of his stepson 'Abbas, who was raised to the vizierate
in his place. This event was shortly followed by the loss to the
Fatimites of Ascalon, the last place in Syria which they held; its loss
was attributed to dissensions between the parties of which the garrison
consisted. Four years later (April 1154) the caliph was murdered by his
vizier 'Abbas, according to Usamah, because the caliph had suggested to
his favourite, the vizier's son, to murder his father; and this was
followed by a massacre of the brothers of Zafir, followed by the raising
of his infant son _Abu'l-Qasim 'Isa_ to the throne.
The new caliph, who was not five years old, received the title _al-Fa'iz
binasr allah_, and was at first in the power of 'Abbas. The women of the
palace, however, summoned to their aid Tala'i' b. Ruzzik, prefect of
Ushmunain, at whose arrival in Cairo the troops deserted 'Abbas, who was
compelled to flee into Syria, taking his son and Usamah with him. 'Abbas
was killed by the Franks near Ascalon, his son sent in a cage to Cairo
where he was executed, while Usamah escaped to Damascus.
Frankish invasion.
Saladin.
The infant Fa'iz, who had been permanently incapacitated by the scenes
of violence which accompanied his accession, died in 1160. Tala'i' chose
to succeed him a grandson of Zafir, who was nine years of age, and
received the title _al-'Adid lidin allah_. Tala'i', who had complete
control of affairs, introduced the practice of farming the taxes for
periods of six months instead of a year, which led to great misery, as
the taxes were demanded twice. His death was brought on by the rigour
with which he treated the princesses, one of whom, with or without the
connivance of the caliph, organized a plot for his assassination, and he
died in September 1160. His son Ruzzik inherited his post and maintained
himself in it for more than a year, when another prefect of Upper Egypt,
Shawar b. Mujir, brought a force to Cairo, before which Ruzzik fled, to
be shortly afterwards captured and beheaded. Shawar's entry into Cairo
was at the beginning of 1163; after nine months he was compelled to flee
before another adventurer, an officer in the army named Dirgham.
Shawar's flight was directed to Damascus, where he was favourably
received by the prince Nureddin, who sent with him to Cairo a force of
Kurds under Asad al-din Shirguh. At the same time Egypt was invaded by
the Franks, who raided and did much damage on the coast. Dirgham was
defeated and killed, but a dispute then arose between Shawar and his
Syrian allies for the possession of Egypt. Shawar, being unable to cope
with the Syrians, demanded help of the Frankish king of Jerusalem
Amalric (Amauri) I., who hastened to his aid with a large force, which
united with Shawar's and besieged Shirguh in Bilbeis for three months;
at the end of this time, owing to the successes of Nureddin in Syria,
the Franks granted Shirguh a free passage with his troops back to Syria,
on condition of Egypt being evacuated (October 1164). Rather more than
two years later Shirguh persuaded Nureddin to put him at the head of
another expedition to Egypt, which left Syria in January 1167, and,
entering Egypt by the land route, crossed the Nile at Itfih (Atfih), and
encamped at Giza; a Frankish army hastened to Shawar's aid. At the
battle of Babain (April 11th, 1167) the allies were defeated by the
forces commanded by Shirguh and his nephew Saladin, who was presently
made prefect of Alexandria, which surrendered to Shirguh without a
struggle. Saladin was soon besieged by the allies in Alexandria; but
after seventy-five days the siege was raised, Shirguh having made a
threatening movement on Cairo, where a Frankish garrison had been
admitted by Shawar. Terms were then made by which both Syrians and
Franks were to quit Egypt, though the garrison of Cairo remained; the
hostile attitude of the Moslem population to this garrison led to
another invasion at the beginning of 1168 by King Amalric, who after
taking Bilbeis advanced to Cairo. The caliph, who up to this time
appears to have left the administration to the viziers, now sent for
Shirguh, whose speedy arrival in Egypt caused the Franks to withdraw.
Reaching Cairo on the 6th of January 1169, he was soon able to get
possession of Shawar's person, and after the prefect's execution, which
happened some ten days later, he was appointed vizier by the caliph.
After two months Shirguh died of indigestion (23rd of March 1169), and
the caliph appointed Saladin as successor to Shirguh; the new vizier
professed to hold office as a deputy of Nureddin, whose name was
mentioned in public worship after that of the caliph. By appropriating
the fiefs of the Egyptian officers and giving them to his Kurdish
followers he stirred up much ill-feeling, which resulted in a
conspiracy, of which the object was to recall the Franks with the view
of overthrowing the new regime; but this conspiracy was revealed by a
traitor and crushed. Nureddin loyally aided his deputy in dealing with
Frankish invasions of Egypt, but the anomaly by which he, being a
Sunnite, was made in Egypt to recognize a Fatimite caliph could not long
continue, and he ordered Saladin to weaken the Fatimite by every
available means, and then substitute the name of the Abbasid for his in
public worship. Saladin and his ministers were at first afraid lest this
step might give rise to disturbances among the people; but a stranger
undertook to risk it on the 17th of September 1171, and the following
Friday it was repeated by official order; the caliph himself died during
the interval, and it is uncertain whether he ever heard of his
deposition. The last of the Fatimite caliphs was not quite twenty-one
years old at the time of his death.
(5) _Ayyubite Period._--Saladin by the advice of his chief Nureddin
cashiered the Fatimite judges and took steps to encourage the study of
orthodox theology and jurisprudence in Egypt by the foundation of
colleges and chairs. On the death of the ex-caliph he was confirmed in
the prefecture of Egypt as deputy of Nureddin; and on the decease of the
latter in 1174 (12th of April) he took the title sultan, so that with
this year the Ayyubite period of Egyptian history properly begins.
During the whole of it Damascus rather more than Cairo counted as the
metropolis of the empire. The Egyptian army, which was motley in
character, was disbanded by the new sultan, whose troops were Kurds.
Though he did not build a new metropolis he fortified Cairo with the
addition of a citadel, and had plans made for a new wall to enclose both
it and the double city; this latter plan was never completed, but the
former was executed after his death, and from this time till the French
occupation of Egypt the citadel of Cairo was the political centre of the
country. It was in 1183 that Saladin's rule over Egypt and North Syria
was consolidated. Much of Saladin's time was spent in Syria, and his
famous wars with the Franks belong to the history of the Crusades and to
his personal biography. Egypt was largely governed by his favourite
Karakush, who lives in popular legend as the "unjust judge," though he
does not appear to have deserved that title.
Saladin at his death divided his dominions between his sons, of whom
'Othman succeeded to Egypt with the title _Malik al-Aziz 'Imal al-ain_.
The division was not satisfactory to the heirs, and after three years
(beginning of 1196) the Egyptian sultan conspired with his uncle Malik
al-'Adil to deprive Saladin's son al-Afdal of Damascus, which had fallen
to his lot. The war between the brothers was continued with intervals of
peace, during which al-'Adil repeatedly changed sides: eventually he
with al-'Aziz besieged and took Damascus, and sent al-Afdal to Sarkhad,
while al-'Adil remained in possession of Damascus. On the death of
al-'Aziz on the 29th of November 1198 in consequence of a hunting
accident, his infant son Mahommed was raised to the throne with the
title _Malik al-Mansur Nasir al-din_, and his uncle al-Afdal sent for
from Sarkhad to take the post of regent or Atabeg. So soon as al-Afdal
had got possession of his nephew's person, he started on an expedition
for the recovery of Damascus: al-'Adil not only frustrated this, but
drove him back to Egypt, where on the 25th of January 1200 a battle was
fought between the armies of the two at Bilbeis, resulting in the defeat
of al-Afdal, who was sent back to Sarkhad, while al-'Adil assumed the
regency, for which after a few months he substituted the sovereignty,
causing his nephew to be deposed. He reigned under the title _Malik
al-'Adil Saif al-din_. His name was Abu Bakr.
Though the early years of his reign were marked by numerous disasters,
famine, pestilence and earthquake, of which the second seems to have
been exceedingly serious, he reunited under his sway the whole of the
empire which had belonged to his brother, and his generals conquered for
him parts of Mesopotamia and Armenia, and in 1215 he got possession of
Yemen. He followed the plan of dividing his empire between his sons, the
eldest Mahommed, called _Malik al-Kamil_, being his viceroy in Egypt,
while al-Mu'azzam 'Isa governed Syria, al-Ashraf Musa his eastern and
al-Malik al-Auhad Ayyub his northern possessions. His attitude towards
the Franks was at the first peaceful, but later in his reign he was
compelled to adopt more strenuous measures. His death occurred at Alikin
(1218), a village near Damascus, while the Franks were besieging
Damietta--the first operation of the Fifth Crusade--which was defended
by al-Kamil, to whom his father kept sending reinforcements. The efforts
of al-Kamil after his accession to the independent sovereignty were
seriously hindered by the endeavour of an amir named Ahmed b. Mashtub to
depose him and appoint in his place a brother called al-Fa'iz Sabiq
al-din Ibrahim: this attempt was frustrated by the timely interposition
of al-Mu'azzam 'Isa, who came to Egypt to aid his brother in February
1219, and compelled al-Fa'iz to depart for Mosul. After a siege of
sixteen and a half months Damietta was taken by the Franks on Tuesday
the 6th of November 1219; al-Kamil thereupon proclaimed the Jihad, and
was joined at his fortified camp, afterwards the site of Mansura, by
troops from various parts of Egypt, Syria and Mesopotamia, including the
forces of his brothers 'Isa and Musa. With these allies, and availing
himself of the advantages offered by the inundation of the Nile,
al-Kamil was able to cut off both the advance and the retreat of the
invaders, and on the 31st of August 1221 a peace was concluded, by which
the Franks evacuated Egypt.
For some years the dominions of al-'Adil remained divided between his
sons: when the affairs of Egypt were settled, al-Kamil determined to
reunite them as before, and to that end brought on the Sixth Crusade.
Various cities in Palestine and Syria were yielded to Frederick II. as
the price of his help against the son of Mu'azzam 'Isa, who reigned at
Damascus with the title of Malik al-Nasir. About 1231-32 Kamil led a
confederacy of Ayyubite princes against the Seljuk Kaikobad into Asia
Minor, but his allies mistrusted him and victory rested with Kaikobad
(see SELJUKS). Before Kamil's death he was mentioned in public prayer at
Mecca as lord of Mecca (Hejaz), Yemen, Zabid, Upper and Lower Egypt,
Syria and Mesopotamia.
At his death (May 8th, 1238) at Damascus, his son Abu Bakr was appointed
to succeed with the title _Malik al-'Adil Saif al-din_; but his elder
brother Malik al-Salih Najm al-din Ayyub, having got possession of
Damascus, immediately started for Egypt, with the view of adding that
country to his dominions: meanwhile his uncle Isma'il, prince of Hamath,
with the prince of Homs, seized Damascus, upon hearing which the troops
of Najm al-din deserted him at Nablus, when he fell into the hands of
Malik al-Nasir, prince of Kerak, who carried him off to that city and
kept him a prisoner there for a time; after which he was released and
allowed to return to Nablus. On the 31st of May 1240 the new sultan was
arrested at Bilbeis by his own amirs, who sent for Najm al-din to
succeed him; and on the 19th of June of the same year Najm al-din
entered Cairo as sultan, and imprisoned his brother in the citadel,
where he died in 1248. Meanwhile in 1244 Jerusalem had been finally
wrested from the Franks. The administration of Najm al-din is highly
praised by Ibn Khallikan, who lived under it. He made large purchases of
slaves (Mamelukes) for his army, and when the inhabitants of Cairo
complained of their lawlessness, he built barracks for them on the
island of Roda (Rauda), whence they were called Bahri or Nile Mamelukes,
which became the name of the first dynasty that originated from them.
Much of his time was spent in campaigns in Syria, where the other
Ayyubites allied themselves against him with the Crusaders, whereas he
accepted the services of the Khwarizmians: eventually he succeeded in
recovering most of the Syrian cities. His name is commemorated by the
town of Salihia, which he built in the year 1246 as a resting-place for
his armies on their marches through the desert from Egypt to Palestine.
In 1249 he was recalled from the siege of Homs by the news of the
invasion of Egypt by Louis IX. (the Seventh Crusade), and in spite of
illness he hastened to Ushmum Tanna, in the neighbourhood of Damietta,
which he provisioned for a siege. Damietta was taken on the 6th of June
1249, owing to the desertion of his post by the commander Fakhr ud-din,
and the Banu Kinanah, to whom the defence of the place had been
entrusted: fifty-four of their chieftains were afterwards executed by
the sultan for this proceeding. On the 22nd of November the sultan died
of disease at Mansura, but his death was carefully concealed by the
amirs Lajin and Aktai, acting in concert with the Queen Shajar al-durr,
till the arrival from Syria of the heir to the throne, _Turanshah_, who
was proclaimed some four months later. At the battle of Fariskur, 6th of
April 1250, the invaders were utterly routed and the French king fell
into the hands of the Egyptian sultan. The Egyptian authorities now
resolved to raze Damietta, which, however, was rebuilt shortly after.
The sultan, who himself had had no share in the victory, advanced after
it from Mansura to Fariskur, where his conduct became menacing to the
amirs who had raised him to the throne, and to Shajar al-durr; she in
revenge organized an attack upon him which was successful, fire, water,
and steel contributing to his end.
(6) _Period of Bahri Mamelukes._--The dynasties that succeeded the
Ayyubites till the conquest of Egypt by the Ottomans bore the title
Dynasties of the Turks, but are more often called Mameluke dynasties,
because the sultans were drawn from the enfranchised slaves who
constituted the court, and officered the army. The family of the fourth
of these sovereigns, Ka'a'un (Qala'un), reigned for 110 years, but
otherwise no sultan was able to found a durable dynasty: after the death
of a sultan he was usually succeeded by an infant son, who after a short
time was dethroned by a new usurper.
After the death of the Sultan Turanshah, his step-mother at first was
raised to the vacant throne, when she committed the administration of
affairs to the captain of the retainers, Aibek; but the rule of a queen
caused scandal to the Moslem world, and Shajar al-durr gave way to this
sentiment by marrying Aibek and allowing the title sultan to be
conferred on him instead of herself. For policy's sake, however, Aibek
nominally associated with himself on the throne a scion of the Ayyubite
house, Malik al-Ashraf Musa, who died in prison (1252 or 1254). Aibek
meanwhile immediately became involved in war with the Ayyubite Malik
al-Nasir, who was in possession of Syria, with whom the caliph induced
him after some indecisive actions to make peace: he then successfully
quelled a mutiny of Mamelukes, whom he compelled to take refuge with the
last Abbasid caliph Mostasim in Bagdad and elsewhere. On the 10th of
April 1257 Aibek was murdered by his wife Shajar al-durr, who was
indignant at his asking for the hand of another queen: but Aibek's
followers immediately avenged his death, placing on the throne his
infant son _Malik al-Mansur_, who, however, was almost immediately
displaced by his guardian _Kotuz_, on the plea that the Mongol danger
necessitated the presence of a grown man at the head of affairs. In 1260
the Syrian kingdom of al-Nasir was destroyed by Hulaku (Hulagu), the
great Mongol chief, founder of the Ilkhan Dynasty (see MONGOLS), who,
having finally overthrown the caliph of Bagdad (see CALIPHATE, sect. c.
S 37), also despatched a threatening letter to Kotuz; but later in the
same year Syria was invaded by Kotuz, who defeated Hulagu's lieutenant
at the battle of 'Ain Jalut (3rd of September 1260), in consequence of
which event the Syrian cities all rose against the Mongols, and the
Egyptian sultan became master of the country with the exception of such
places as were still held by the Crusaders.
Rule of Bibars.
Abbasid caliphate revived.
Before Kotuz had reigned a year he was murdered at Salihia by his
lieutenant Bibars (October 23rd, 1260), who was piqued, it is said, at
the governorship of Aleppo being withheld from him. The sovereignty was
seized by this person with the title of _Malik al-Qahir_, presently
altered to _al-Zahir_. He had originally been a slave of Malik al-Salih,
had distinguished himself at the battle after which Louis IX. was
captured, and had helped to murder Turanshah. Sultan Bibars, who proved
to be one of the most competent of the Bahri Mamelukes, made Egypt the
centre of the Moslem world by re-establishing in theory the Abbasid
caliphate, which had lapsed through the taking of Bagdad by Hulagu,
followed by the execution of the caliph. Bibars recognized the claim of
a certain Abu'l-Qasim Ahmed to be the son of Zahir, the 35th Abbasid
caliph, and installed him as Commander of the Faithful at Cairo with the
title _al-Mostansir billah_. Mostansir then proceeded to confer on
Bibars the title sultan, and to address to him a homily, explaining his
duties. This document is preserved in the MS. life of Bibars, and
translated by G. Weil. The sultan appears to have contemplated restoring
the new caliph to the throne of Bagdad: the force, however, which he
sent with him for the purpose of reconquering Irak was quite
insufficient for the purpose, and Mostansir was defeated and slain. This
did not prevent Bibars from maintaining his policy of appointing an
Abbasid for the purpose of conferring legitimacy on himself; but he
encouraged no further attempts at re-establishing the Abbasids at
Bagdad, and his principle, adopted by successive sultans, was that the
caliph should not leave Cairo except when accompanying the sultan on an
expedition.
The reign of Bibars was spent largely in successful wars against the
Crusaders, from whom he took many cities, notably Safad, Caesarea and
Antioch; the Armenians, whose territory he repeatedly invaded, burning
their capital Sis; and the Seljukids of Asia Minor. He further reduced
the Isma'ilians or Assassins, whose existence as a community lasted on
in Syria after it had nearly come to an end in Persia. He made Nubia
tributary, therein extending Moslem arms farther south than they had
been extended by any previous sultan. His authority was before his death
recognized all over Syria (with the exception of the few cities still in
the power of the Franks), over Arabia, with the exception of Yemen, on
the Euphrates from Birah to Kerkesia (Circesium) on the Chaboras
(Khabur), whilst the amirs of north-western Africa were tributary to
him. His successes were won not only by military and political ability,
but also by the most absolute unscrupulousness, neither flagrant perjury
nor the basest treachery being disdained. He was the first sultan who
acknowledged the equal authority of the four schools of law, and
appointed judges belonging to each in Egypt and Syria; he was thus able
to get his measures approved by one school when condemned by another.
Kala'un.