Muhammad ibn Tughj al-Ikhshid
Muhammad ibn Tughj al-Ikhshid | |
---|---|
Hereditary emir of Egypt, Syria and the Hejaz | |
Rule | 26 August 935 – 24 July 946 |
Successor | Unujur |
Born | Baghdad | 8 February 882
Died | 24 July 946 Damascus | (aged 64)
Burial | |
Dynasty | Ikhshidid dynasty |
Father | Tughj ibn Juff |
Religion | Sunni Islam |
Abū Bakr Muḥammad ibn Ṭughj ibn Juff ibn Yiltakīn ibn Fūrān ibn Fūrī ibn Khāqān (8 February 882 – 24 July 946), better known by the
The son of
Throughout his governorship, al-Ikhshid was engaged in conflicts with other regional strongmen for control over Syria, without which Egypt was vulnerable to invasion from the east, but unlike many other Egyptian leaders, notably the Tulunids themselves, he was prepared to bide his time and compromise with his rivals. Although he was initially in control of the entirety of Syria, he was forced to cede the northern half to Ibn Ra'iq between 939 and 942. Following Ibn Ra'iq's murder, al-Ikhshid reimposed his control over northern Syria, only to have it challenged by the Hamdanids. In 944 al-Ikhshid met Caliph al-Muttaqi at Raqqa; the caliph had fled there from the various strongmen vying to kidnap him and control the caliphal government in Baghdad. Although unsuccessful in persuading the caliph to come to Egypt, he received recognition of hereditary rule over Egypt, Syria and the Hejaz for thirty years. Following his departure, the ambitious Hamdanid prince Sayf al-Dawla seized Aleppo and northern Syria in the autumn of 944, and although defeated and driven out of Syria by Ibn Tughj himself in the next year, a treaty dividing the region along the lines of the agreement with Ibn Ra'iq was concluded in October. Ibn Tughj died nine months later, and was buried in Jerusalem. He left his son Unujur as ruler of his domains, under the tutelage of the powerful black eunuch Abu al-Misk Kafur.
Origin and early life
According to the biographical dictionary compiled by
After the death of Ibn Tulun's son Khumarawayh in 896, the Tulunid state quickly began crumbling from within, and failed to put up any serious resistance when the Abbasids moved to re-establish direct control over Syria and Egypt in 905.[9] Tughj defected to the invading Abbasids under Muhammad ibn Sulayman al-Katib, and was named governor of Aleppo in return;[6] Muhammad al-Katib himself fell victim to court intrigues soon after, and Tughj along with his sons Muhammad and Ubayd Allah were imprisoned in Baghdad. Tughj died in prison in 906, and the brothers were freed shortly after.[6] The sons of Tughj participated in the palace coup that tried to depose the new caliph, al-Muqtadir (reigned 908–932), in favour of the older Ibn al-Mu'tazz in December 908. Although the attempt failed, Muhammad ibn Tughj and his brother were able to avenge themselves for their imprisonment on the vizier al-Abbas ibn al-Hasan al-Jarjara'i, whom they struck down with the aid of Husayn ibn Hamdan.[10][11] After the coup's failure, the three fled: Ibn Hamdan returned to his native Upper Mesopotamia and Ubayd Allah fled east to Yusuf ibn Abi'l-Saj, while Muhammad fled to Syria.[11]
In Syria, Muhammad ibn Tughj joined the service of the tax supervisor of the local provinces, Abu'l-Abbas al-Bistam. He soon followed his new master to Egypt, and after al-Bistam's death in June 910 he continued serving the latter's son.[11] Eventually, he gained the attention of the local governor, Takin al-Khazari, who sent him to govern the lands beyond the Jordan River, with his seat at Amman.[5][11] In 918, he rescued a hajj caravan, among which was one of the ladies-in-waiting of al-Muqtadir's mother, from Bedouin raiders, thereby improving his standing at the Abbasid court.[11] Two years later, Ibn Tughj gained an influential patron when he briefly served under the powerful Abbasid commander-in-chief Mu'nis al-Muzaffar, when he came to help defend Egypt from a Fatimid invasion. During the campaign, Ibn Tughj commanded the finest troops of the Egyptian army. The two men evidently established a rapport, and remained in contact thereafter.[5][12][13]
When Takin returned to Egypt as governor in 923, Ibn Tughj joined him there, but the two men fell out in 928 over Takin's refusal to give Ibn Tughj the post of governor of Alexandria.[14] Ibn Tughj escaped the capital Fustat by a ruse, and managed to obtain for himself an appointment as governor of Palestine from Baghdad; the incumbent, al-Rashidi, fled the governor's seat at Ramla for Damascus, whose governorship he assumed. His flight, according to historian Jere L. Bacharach, may indicate that Ibn Tughj commanded a significant military force.[14] Three years later, in July 931, Muhammad ibn Tughj was promoted to governor of Damascus, while al-Rashidi returned to Ramla.[14] Both these appointments were likely the result of Ibn Tughj's relation with Mu'nis al-Muzaffar, who at this time was at the zenith of his power and influence.[14][15]
Takeover of Egypt
Takin died in March 933, and his son and nominated successor, Muhammad, failed to establish his authority in Egypt. Ibn Tughj was named as the new governor in August but the appointment was revoked a month later before he could reach Egypt, and Ahmad ibn Kayghalagh was appointed in his place. The timing of Ibn Tughj's recall coincides with the arrest (and subsequent murder) of Mu'nis by Caliph al-Qahir (r. 932–934) on 22 September, suggesting that Ibn Tughj's nomination was in all likelihood also due to Mu'nis.[5][16] The fact that al-Qahir sent a eunuch called Bushri to replace Ibn Tughj in Damascus after the fall of Mu'nis reinforces this view. Bushri was able to take over the governorship of Aleppo (to which he also had been appointed), but Ibn Tughj resisted his replacement, and defeated and took him prisoner. The caliph then charged Ahmad ibn Kayghalagh with forcing Ibn Tughj to surrender, but although Ahmad marched against Ibn Tughj, both avoided a direct confrontation. Instead, the two men met and reached an agreement of mutual support, upholding the status quo.[17]
Ahmad ibn Kayghalagh soon proved incapable of restoring order to the increasingly turbulent province. By 935, the troops were rioting over lack of pay, and Bedouin raids had recommenced. At the same time, Takin's son Muhammad and the fiscal administrator
With the capital under his control, Ibn Tughj now had to confront the Fatimids. The Maghariba who refused to submit to Ibn Tughj had fled to Alexandria and then to
Government of Egypt
Writing to Caliph
Very little is known about al-Ikhshid's domestic policies.[2] Nevertheless, the silence of the sources about domestic troubles during his reign—apart from a minor Shi'ite revolt in 942, which was swiftly suppressed—stands in stark contrast to the usual narrative of Bedouin raids, urban riots over high prices, or military and dynastic revolts and intrigues, and indicates that he was successful in restoring internal tranquillity and orderly government in Egypt.[29] According to the biographical dictionary of Ibn Khallikan, he was "a resolute prince, displaying great foresight in war, and a close attention to the prosperity of his empire; he treated the military class with honour and governed with ability and justice".[1] His potential rivals Muhammad ibn Takin and al-Madhara'i were quickly won over and incorporated in the new administration.[29][32] The latter had tried to resist al-Ikhshid's takeover in vain, as his troops had immediately defected, and was initially imprisoned by al-Ikhshid, only to be released in 939. He soon recovered his status and influence, and briefly served as regent of al-Ikhshid's son and heir, Unujur in 946, before being overthrown and imprisoned for a year. Thereafter, and until his death in 957, he retired into private life.[20][28] Like the Tulunids before him, al-Ikhshid also took particular care to build up a considerable military force of his own, including Turkic and Black African slave soldiers.[29][32]
Foreign policy and the struggle for Syria
As commander and ruler in Egypt, al-Ikhshid was a patient and cautious man. He achieved his goals as much by diplomacy and ties to powerful personages in the Baghdad regime as by force, and even then he tended to avoid direct military confrontation whenever possible. His conflict with Ahmad ibn Kayghalagh was indicative of his approach: instead of a direct clash, the truce between the two gave al-Ikhshid the time to reconnoitre the situation in Egypt before acting.[34] Although following in the footsteps of Ibn Tulun, his ambitions were more modest and his objectives more practical, as became particularly evident in his policies towards Syria and the rest of the Caliphate.[32] Historically, possession of Syria, and particularly Palestine, was a foreign policy objective for many rulers of Egypt, to foreclose the most likely invasion route into the country. Ibn Tulun before and Saladin after al-Ikhshid were two typical examples of Egyptian rulers who spent much of their reigns securing control of Syria, and indeed used Egypt mostly as a source of revenue and resources to accomplish this goal.[35] Al-Ikhshid differed from them; Bacharach describes him as a "cautious, conservative realist".[36] His goals were limited but clear: his main concern was Egypt proper and the establishment of his family as a hereditary dynasty over it, while Syria remained a secondary objective.[37] Unlike other military strongmen of the time, he had no intention of entering the contest for control of Baghdad and the caliphal government through the all-powerful office of amir al-umara; indeed, when Caliph al-Mustakfi (r. 944–946) offered him the post, he turned it down.[38]
Conflict with Ibn Ra'iq
Following the expulsion of the Fatimids from Egypt, al-Ikhshid had his troops occupy all of Syria up to Aleppo, allying himself, as Ibn Tulun had done, with the local tribe of
While the amir al-umara Ibn Ra'iq was in power in Baghdad (936–938) with al-Ikhshid's old friend al-Fadl ibn Ja'far ibn al-Furat as vizier, relations with Baghdad were good. Following Ibn Ra'iq's replacement by the Turk Bajkam, however, Ibn Ra'iq received a nomination by the caliph to the governorship of Syria and in 939 marched west to claim it from al-Ikhshid's forces.[39][42] Ibn Ra'iq's appointment enraged al-Ikhshid, who sent an envoy to Baghdad to clarify the situation. There Bajkam informed him that the caliph might appoint whomever he chose, but that it ultimately did not matter: it was military strength that would determine who was governor of Syria and even of Egypt, not any appointment by a figurehead caliph. If either Ibn Ra'iq or al-Ikhshid emerged victorious from the conflict, caliphal confirmation would soon follow.[43] Al-Ikhshid was even more infuriated by the reply, and reportedly for a time even threatened to give one of his daughters to the Fatimid caliph al-Qa'im and to have coins minted and the Friday prayer read in his name rather than the Abbasid caliph, until the Abbasids formally reconfirmed his position. The Fatimids themselves were preoccupied with the revolt of Abu Yazid and were unable to offer any assistance.[39][44][45]
From
Conflict with the Hamdanids
Peace did not last for long, as the political turmoil in Baghdad continued. In September 941, Ibn Ra'iq assumed once more the post of amir al-umara at the invitation of Caliph al-Muttaqi (r. 940–944), but he was not as powerful as before. Unable to stop the advance of another strongman, Abu'l-Husayn al-Baridi of Basra, both Ibn Ra'iq and the caliph were forced to abandon Baghdad and seek the help of the Hamdanid ruler of Mosul. The latter soon had Ibn Ra'iq assassinated (April 942) and succeeded him as amir al-umara with the laqab of Nasir al-Dawla.[46] Al-Ikhshid used the opportunity to reoccupy Syria for himself, joining his forces in person in June 942, and venturing as far as Damascus, before returning to Egypt in January 943. The Hamdanids also staked claim on Syria at the same time, but the sources do not record details of their expeditions there.[46] Nasir al-Dawla's position as amir al-umara also proved to be weak, and in June 943 he was ousted by the Turkish general Tuzun. In October, Caliph al-Muttaqi, fearing that Tuzun intended to replace him, fled the capital and sought refuge with the Hamdanids.[47] Although Nasir al-Dawla and his brother Sayf al-Dawla sheltered the caliph, they also did not confront Tuzun's troops, and in May 944 they reached an agreement that gave Upper Mesopotamia and northern Syria to the Hamdanids in exchange for recognizing Tuzun's possession of Iraq. Nasir al-Dawla sent his cousin al-Husayn ibn Sa'id to take over the Syrian provinces allotted to him in this agreement. The Ikhshidid forces either defected or retreated, and al-Husayn swiftly took over the districts of Qinnasrin and Hims.[39][48]
In the meantime, al-Muttaqi with Sayf al-Dawla had fled to Raqqa before Tuzun's advance, but the caliph grew increasingly suspicious of the Hamdanids, and wrote to al-Ikhshid (perhaps as early as the winter of 943), asking for aid.
As it happened, al-Muttaqi was persuaded by the emissaries of Tuzun, who protested his loyalty, to return to Iraq, only to be seized, blinded and deposed on 12 October and replaced by al-Mustakfi.
Following his meeting with al-Muttaqi, al-Ikhshid returned to Egypt, leaving the field open for the ambitious Sayf al-Dawla. The Ikhshidid forces left behind in Syria were relatively weak, and the Hamdanid leader, having gained the support of the Banu Kilab, had little difficulty in capturing Aleppo on 29 October 944. He then began extending his control over the provinces of northern Syria down to Hims.[39][54][55] Al-Ikhshid sent an army under the eunuchs Abu al-Misk Kafur and Fatik against the Hamdanid, but it was defeated near Hama and retreated back to Egypt, abandoning Damascus and Palestine to the Hamdanids.[56] Al-Ikhshid was then forced to once again campaign in person in April 945, but at the same time he sent envoys proposing to Sayf al-Dawla an agreement along the lines of the one with Ibn Ra'iq: the Hamdanid prince would get to keep northern Syria, while al-Ikhshid would pay him an annual tribute for the possession of Palestine and Damascus.[56] Sayf al-Dawla refused and reportedly even boasted that he would conquer Egypt itself, but al-Ikhshid held the upper hand: his agents managed to bribe several Hamdanid leaders, and he won over the citizens of Damascus, who barred their gates before the Hamdanid and opened them for al-Ikhshid. The two armies met near Qinnasrin in May, where the Hamdanids were defeated. Sayf al-Dawla fled to Raqqa, leaving his capital Aleppo to be captured by al-Ikhshid.[56]
Nevertheless, in October the two sides came to an agreement, broadly on the lines of the earlier Ikhshidid proposal: al-Ikhshid acknowledged Hamdanid control over northern Syria and even consented to sending an annual tribute in exchange for Sayf al-Dawla's renunciation of all claims on Damascus. The Hamdanid ruler was also to marry one of al-Ikhshid's daughters or nieces.
Death and legacy
In mid-spring 946, al-Ikhshid sent emissaries to the Byzantines for yet another prisoner exchange (which eventually would take place under Sayf al-Dawla's auspices in October). Emperor Constantine VII (r. 913–959) sent an embassy under John Mystikos in response, which arrived at Damascus on 11 July.[40] On 24 July 946, al-Ikhshid died in Damascus;[60] his body was transported for burial in Jerusalem, near the Gate of the Tribes of the Temple Mount.[61] The succession of his son Unujur was peaceful and undisputed, due to the influence of the powerful and talented commander-in-chief, Kafur. One of the many Black African slaves recruited by al-Ikhshid, Kafur remained the paramount minister and virtual ruler of Egypt over the next 22 years, assuming power in his own right in 966 until his death two years later. Encouraged by Kafur's demise, in 969 the Fatimids invaded and conquered Egypt, beginning a new era in the country's history.[62][63]
Medieval historians noted the many parallels between al-Ikhshid and his Tulunid predecessors, especially Khumarawayh. Ibn Sa'id even reported that according to
See also
References
- ^ a b Ibn Khallikan 1868, p. 220.
- ^ a b Bacharach 1993, p. 411.
- ^ Ibn Khallikan 1868, pp. 217, 219–220.
- ^ Gordon 2001, pp. 158–159.
- ^ a b c d e f Kennedy 2004, p. 311.
- ^ a b c d e f Bacharach 1975, p. 588.
- ^ Kennedy 2004, pp. 185, 286.
- ^ Jiwa 2009, pp. 143–144.
- ^ Kennedy 2004, pp. 184–185, 310.
- ^ Kennedy 2004, p. 191.
- ^ a b c d e Bacharach 1975, p. 589.
- ^ Bacharach 1975, pp. 589–590.
- ^ Halm 1996, pp. 208–209.
- ^ a b c d Bacharach 1975, p. 590.
- ^ Kennedy 2004, pp. 191–194, 311.
- ^ Bacharach 1975, pp. 591–592.
- ^ Bacharach 1975, p. 592.
- ISBN 978-977-416-074-5.
- ^ Bianquis 1998, pp. 97, 105, 111.
- ^ a b Gottschalk 1986, p. 953.
- ^ Bacharach 1975, pp. 592–593.
- ^ Brett 2001, p. 161.
- ^ Bacharach 1975, pp. 592–594.
- ^ Kennedy 2004, pp. 311–312.
- ^ a b Halm 1996, p. 284.
- ^ a b c Brett 2001, p. 162.
- ^ a b Madelung 1996, p. 34.
- ^ a b c Bianquis 1998, p. 112.
- ^ a b c d Bacharach 1975, p. 594.
- ^ Bacharach 1975, p. 605.
- ^ Bacharach 1975, p. 595.
- ^ a b c d e f g Kennedy 2004, p. 312.
- ^ Bacharach 1975, pp. 595–596.
- ^ Bacharach 1975, pp. 594–595.
- ^ Bacharach 1975, pp. 596–597.
- ^ a b c Bacharach 1975, p. 600.
- ^ Bacharach 1975, pp. 597, 603.
- ^ Bacharach 1975, pp. 597–598.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Bianquis 1998, p. 113.
- ^ a b PmbZ.
- ^ Canard 1936, p. 193.
- ^ Bacharach 1975, pp. 598–599.
- ^ a b Bacharach 1975, p. 599.
- ^ Bacharach 1975, pp. 599–600.
- ^ Halm 1996, p. 408.
- ^ a b c Bacharach 1975, p. 601.
- ^ Bacharach 1975, pp. 601–602.
- ^ a b Bacharach 1975, p. 602.
- ^ a b Bacharach 1975, pp. 602–603.
- ^ a b Kennedy 2004, pp. 196, 312.
- ^ Bacharach 1975, p. 603.
- ^ Bacharach 1975, pp. 603–608.
- ^ Canard 1936, p. 191.
- ^ Bacharach 1975, p. 607.
- ^ a b Kennedy 2004, p. 273.
- ^ a b c d Bacharach 1975, p. 608.
- ^ Bianquis 1998, pp. 113–115.
- ^ Canard 1936, pp. 190–193, 205–209.
- ^ Bianquis 1998, pp. 113–114.
- ^ Bacharach 1975, p. 609.
- ^ van Berchem 1927, pp. 13–14.
- ^ Kennedy 2004, pp. 312–313.
- ^ Bianquis 1998, pp. 115–118.
- ^ a b Bacharach 1975, p. 610.
- ^ Bacharach 1975, pp. 610–612.
Sources
- Bacharach, Jere L. (1975). "The Career of Muḥammad Ibn Ṭughj Al-Ikhshīd, a Tenth-Century Governor of Egypt". Speculum. 50 (4): 586–612. S2CID 161166177.
- Bacharach, Jere L. (1993). "Muḥammad b. Ṭug̲h̲d̲j̲". In ISBN 978-90-04-09419-2.
- ISBN 0-521-47137-0.
- Brett, Michael (2001). The Rise of the Fatimids: The World of the Mediterranean and the Middle East in the Fourth Century of the Hijra, Tenth Century CE. The Medieval Mediterranean. Vol. 30. Leiden: BRILL. ISBN 978-90-04-11741-9.
- Canard, Marius (1936). "Une lettre de Muḥammad ibn Ṭuġj al-Ihšid, émir d'Egypte, à l'empereur Romain Lécapène". Annales de l'Institut d'Études Oriantales de la Faculté des Lettres d'Alger (in French). II: 189–209.
- Gordon, Matthew S. (2001). The Breaking of a Thousand Swords: A History of the Turkish Military of Samarra (A.H. 200–275/815–889 C.E.). Albany, New York: State University of New York Press. ISBN 0-7914-4795-2.
- Gottschalk, H.L. (1986). "al-Mād̲h̲arāʾī". In ISBN 978-90-04-07819-2.
- ISBN 978-90-04-10056-5.
- OCLC 1204465708.
- Jiwa, Shainool, ed. (2009). Towards a Shi'i Mediterranean Empire: Fatimid Egypt and the Founding of Cairo. London and New York: I.B. Tauris. ISBN 978-1-84511-960-7.
- ISBN 978-0-582-40525-7.
- Lilie, Ralph-Johannes; Ludwig, Claudia; Pratsch, Thomas; Zielke, Beate (2013). "Muḥammad b. Ṭuġǧ al-Iḫšīd (#25443)". Prosopographie der mittelbyzantinischen Zeit Online. Berlin-Brandenburgische Akademie der Wissenschaften. Nach Vorarbeiten F. Winkelmanns erstellt (in German). Berlin and Boston: De Gruyter.
- ISBN 978-0-521-45140-6.
- van Berchem, Max (1927). Matériaux pour un Corpus Inscriptionum Arabicarum, Deuxième partie: Syrie du Sud. Tome deuxième: Jérusalem "Haram" (in French). Cairo: Imprimerie de l'Institut français d'archéologie oriantele.
Further reading
- Bacharach, Jere L. (2006). Islamic History Through Coins: An Analysis and Catalogue of Tenth-century Ikhshidid Coinage. Cairo: American University in Cairo. ISBN 978-977-424-930-3.