Al-Salih Ismail, Sultan of Egypt

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
(Redirected from
As-Salih Ismail, Sultan of Egypt
)
Isma'il
Al-Malik as-Salih
An-Nasir Muhammad
ReligionIslam

As-Salih Imad ad-Din Abu'l Fida Isma'il, better known as as-Salih Isma'il, (1326 – 4 August 1345[

an-Nasir Ahmad, were killed. He was succeeded by another brother, al-Kamil Sha'ban
.

Early life and family

Isma'il was born in 1324 or 1325 and was likely named after the

Mamluk sultan an-Nasir Muhammad (r. 1310–1341).[1] Isma'il's mother was a concubine of an-Nasir Muhammad, whose name is not provided by the Mamluk-era sources.[2]

In 1342, Isma'il married a black slave girl named Ittifaq and had a son (unnamed in sources) with her that year.[2] On 11 July 1343, he married a daughter of Emir Baktamur as-Saqi and had a daughter with her.[2] The following year, on 2 January 1344, he married a daughter of Emir Tuquzdamur al-Hamawi.[2]

Reign

Frontispiece of Ibrahim al-Qaysarani's panegyric of as-Salih

Following an-Nasir Muhammad's death in 1341, three of his sons inherited the sultanate in succession, although the first two,

an-Nasir Ahmad, came to power in January 1342, but was a highly seclusive leader who ruled from the isolated desert fortress of al-Karak, beginning in May. His refusal to return to Cairo and his alienation of the Egyptian emirs led to his dethronement in June. Isma'il, by then known as "as-Salih Isma'il" was chosen by the leading emirs to replace his half-brother Ahmad.[3] He was 17 at the time of his accession to the sultanate in June, but was already well known for his piety.[3][1] Moreover, he made a pact with the leading Mamluk emirs that he would bring no harm to a mamluk, unless he committed an injustice, in return for the emirs' loyalty.[3]

An-Nasir Ahmad refused to surrender the regalia of the sultanate or recognize Isma'il's accession. Isma'il resolved to arrest him and sent a total of eight military expeditions against an-Nasir Ahmad in al-Karak.[3] The final siege, commanded by Emir Sanjar al-Jawli,[4] succeeded in early July 1344, and an-Nasir Ahmad was captured and soon murdered on the secret orders of Isma'il, who hired a mercenary to accomplish the task.[5] Meanwhile, al-Ashraf Kujuk, who was a young child at the time and was under the care of his mother after being ousted from the sultanate in January 1342, was killed along with his mother as a result of Isma'il's mother's hatred of the ex-sultan; Isma'il had become gravely ill in late 1344 and his mother blamed his illness on al-Ashraf Kujuk's alleged sorcery. In July 1345, Isma'il became bed-ridden and died in August. His stepfather, Arghun al-Ala'i, who had acquired several concurrent senior posts under Isma'il,[3] arranged for Isma'il's full brother, al-Kamil Sha'ban to succeed him as sultan by purchasing many of Isma'il's mamluks on Sha'ban's behalf.[6]

Legacy

Isma'il was deemed the best of an-Nasir Muhammad's sons by the Mamluk-era historian

Peter Malcolm Holt, Isma'il' "made little impression on the course of events in his short reign".[7] Isma'il was praised by the Mamluk-era historian Ibrahim al-Qaysarani as the "renewer" (mujaddid) of the Islamic faith in the sultanate during the closing of the first 100 years of Mamluk rule.[8]

References

  1. ^ a b Holt 1998, p. 6.
  2. ^ a b c d Bauden, Frédéric (2009). "The Sons of al-Nāṣir Muḥammad and the Politics of Puppets: Where Did It All Start?" (PDF). Mamluk Studies Review. 13 (1). Middle East Documentation Center, The University of Chicago: 63.
  3. ^ a b c d e Holt 1986, p. 122.
  4. ^ Sharon 2009, p. 87
  5. ^ Drory 2006, p. 29.
  6. ^ Holt 1986, p. 123.
  7. ^ Holt 1998, p. 8.
  8. ^ Holt 1998, pp. 6–7.

Bibliography

Al-Salih Ismail, Sultan of Egypt
Mamluk Sultanate
Born: 1326 Died: 4 August 1345
Regnal titles
Preceded by
An-Nasir Ahmad
 Sultan of Egypt and Syria
June 1342 – August 1345 		Succeeded by
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Al-Salih_Ismail,_Sultan_of_Egypt&oldid=1216463005"