Qutuz
| Saif ad-Din Qutuz | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Victorious King Sword of the Temporal World and of the Faith Qutuz | |||||
Baibars | |||||
| Sultan of Syria | |||||
| Reign | September 1260 – 24 October 1260 | ||||
| Successor | Baibars | ||||
| Born | 2 November 1221 Khwarazmian Empire | ||||
| Died | 24 October 1260 (aged 38) Salihiyah, Egypt | ||||
| Burial | |||||
| Spouse | Gulńar | ||||
| |||||
| Religion | Islam | ||||
Saif ad-Din Qutuz (
He reigned as Sultan for less than a year, from 1259 until his assassination in 1260, but served as the de facto ruler for two decades.Sold into
The
Background
Qutuz was a
He became the most prominent Mu'izi Mamluk of Sultan Aybak,
In February 1258, the Mongol army sacked
Qutuz kept Emir Faris ad-Din Aktai al-Mostareb[e] as the Atabeg of the Egyptian army and began to prepare for battle.[12]
Mongol threat
Hulagu and his forces were proceeding towards Damascus. Some of the Syrian emirs suggested to an-Nasir Yusuf to surrender and submit to Hulagu as the best solution was to save themselves and Syria. Baibars, who was present at the meeting, was upset by the suggestion,[f] and the Mamluks decided to kill an-Nasir Yusuf that night. However, he managed to escape with his brother to the citadel of Damascus. Baibars and the Mamluks then left Syria, travelling to Egypt where they were warmly welcomed by Sultan Qutuz, who granted Baibars the town of Qalyub.[g][14][13] When an-Nasir Yusuf heard that the Mongol army was approaching Aleppo, he sent his wife, his son and his money to Egypt. The population of Damascus and other Syrian towns began to flee.[13] After besieging Aleppo for seven days, the Mongols sacked it and massacred its population. When an-Nasir Yusuf heard about the fall of Aleppo he fled to Egypt, leaving Damascus and its remaining population defenseless, but Qutuz denied him entry. An-Nasir Yusuf thus stayed on the border of Egypt, while his emirs deserted him and proceeded into the country. Sultan Qutuz ordered the seizing of an-Nasir Yusuf's jewelry and money, which were sent to Egypt with his wife and servants. Sixteen days after the fall of Aleppo to the Mongols, Damascus surrendered without a fight. An-Nasir Yusuf was taken prisoner by the Mamluks and sent to Hulagu.[15][h]
With the centers of Islamic power in Syria and Baghdad conquered, the center of the Islamic power transferred to Egypt, and became Hulagu's next target. Hulagu sent messengers to Cairo with a threatening letter, urging Qutuz to surrender and submit to the Mongols.[i] Qutuz's response was to execute the messengers. They were sliced in half, and their heads were mounted on the Bab Zuweila gate in Cairo.[20][12] Then, rather than waiting for the Mongols to attack, Qutuz decided to raise an army to engage them outside of Egypt.[21][22] Moroccans who resided in Egypt fled westward, while Yemenis escaped to Yemen and Hejaz.[21]
Qutuz went to Al-Salihiyya[23][j] and assembled his commanders to decide on when to march against the Mongols. But the emirs showed timidity. Qutuz shamed them into joining him, with the statement "Emirs of the Muslims, for some time now you have been fed by the country treasury and you hate to be invaded. I will go alone and who likes to join me should do that and who does not like to join me should go back home, but who will not join will carry the sin of not defending our women."[22]
Qutuz ordered Baibars to lead a force to
Battle of Ain Jalut
The Battle of Ain Jalut was fought on 3 September 1260 and was one of the most important battles and a turning point in history. In 1250, only ten years before the battle, the Bahariyya Mamluks (Qutuz, Baibars and Qalawun) led Egypt against the
Baibars, who was known to be a swift commander, led the vanguard
This was the first defeat suffered by the Mongols since they attacked the Islamic world. They fled from Damascus, then from the whole of the northern Levant.
The battle is also notable for being the earliest known battle where explosive
Assassination
On his way back to Cairo, Qutuz was assassinated while on a hunting expedition in
Qutuz was first buried in the town of Al-Qusair and then reburied in a cemetery in Cairo, Egypt.[43][44] Baibars returned to a Cairo which were undergoing celebrations on the victory over the Mongols,[39] where he became the new sultan. Baibars was at once admired by the people as he revoked the war taxes which had been imposed by Qutuz.[45]
Coins
The coins during the reign of Qutuz are unique in the history of Mamluk coinages as no other names except his names and titles were inscribed on it: al-Malik al-Muzafar Saif al-Donya wa al-Din ("The victorious king, sword of the temporal world and of the faith") and al-Muzafar Saif al-Din ("The victorious sword of faith").[46]
See also
- List of rulers of Egypt
- Mosque of Amr ibn al-As
Notes
- Al Karak. During the reign of Sultan Baibars he was killed in the Citadel of Cairo.
- Faris ad-Din Aktaithe leader of the Bahariyya Mamluks, during the reign of Sultan Aybak, many Bahariyya Mamluks fled from Egypt. Baibars, Qalawun and other prominent Mamluks took refuge in Syria, but after a dispute with an-Nasir Yusuf the Ayyubid king of Syria they moved to Al Karak which was also ruled by an Ayyubid king.
- Baibars al-Bunduqdari and Qalawun al-Alfi went to Syria then to Al Karak where they persuaded al-Malik al-Mughith the Ayyubid king of Al Karak to attack Egypt. (See also Aybak, Al-Mansur Ali and an-Nasir Yusuf)
- ^ The message was given by Hulagu to an-Nasir's son al-Malik al-Aziz. some of its passages said: "As al-Malik an-Nasir the ruler of Aleppo knows, we have conquered Baghdad by the sword of the almighty God, we killed its knights, we razed its buildings and we captured its inhabitants" When you receive this message, you should at once submit with your men, your money and your knights to the king of kings the ruler of the earth. By doing that you can be saved from his evil and gain his goodness." "We have heard that the merchants of the Levant and others have fled with their money and women to Egypt. If they hide in mountains we will raze the mountains and if they hide in the earth we will sink the earth down. Where is safety ? none can flee because I own both the land and the sea..The lions were despised by our dignity and the princes and the viziers are held in my grasp."[11]
- Faris ad-Din Aktai al-Jemdarwho was the leader of the Bahari Mamluks and who was assassinated by Al-Mansur Ali's father Sultan Aybak.
- ^ The surrendering to Hulagu suggestion was uttered by the Syrian Emir Zain ad-Din al-Hafizi. Baibars who was outraged struck and insulted the Emir saying to an-Nasir Yusuf and his Emirs: "You are the reason of the destruction of the Muslims!"[13]
- Qalyubia Governoratenow, north of Cairo.
- ^ An-Nasir Yusuf, his son al-Aziz, and his brother al-Zahir were abducted in Gaza by one of his servants and were sent to Hulagu. In another account, an-Nasir went to Kitbuga who arrested him and sent him to Hulagu.
- ^ From the King of Kings in the East and the West, the mighty Khan: In your name, O God, You who laid out the earth and raised up the skies. Let al-Malik al-Muzaffar Qutuz, who is of the race of Mamluks who fled before our swords into this country, who enjoyed its comforts and then killed its rulers, let al-Malik al-Muzzafar Qutuz know, as well as the Emirs of his state and the people of his kingdom, in Egypt and in the adjoining countries, that we are the army of God on His earth. He created us from his wrath and urged us against those who incurred His anger. In all lands there are examples to admonish you and to deter you from challenging our resolve. Be warned by the fate of others and hand over your power to us before the veil is torn and you are sorry and your errors are rebound upon you. For we do not pity those who weep, nor are we tender to those who complain. You have heard that we have conquered the lands and cleansed the earth of corruption and killed most of the people. Yours to flee: ours to pursue. And what land will shelter you, what road save you; what country protect you? You have no deliverance from our swords and you cannot avoid dreading us for our horses are swift, our arrows do pierce, our swords like thunder-bolts, our hearts like rocks and our numbers like sand. Fortresses cannot withstand us; armies are of no avail in fighting us. Your prayers against us will not be heard, for you have eaten forbidden things and your speech is foul, you betray oaths and promises, and disobedience and fractiousness prevail among you. Be informed that your lot will be shame and humiliation. "Today you are recommenced with the punishment of humiliation, because you were so proud on earth without right and for your wrongdoing" (Quran, xlvi, 20). "Those who have done wrong will know to what end they will revert" (Quran,xxvi. 227). Those who make war against us are sorry; those who seek our protection are safe. If you submit to our orders and conditions, then your rights and duties are the same as ours. If you resist you will be destroyed. Do not, therefore, destroy yourselves with you own hands. He who is warned should be on his guard. You are convinced that we are the infidels, and we are convinced that you are debauchers. God, who determines all and judges all, has urged us against you. What much for you is little for us, the honorable for you is base for us. Your kings should expect nothing from us except humiliation. Therefore, do not wait long but quickly answer us before the fire of war is set and the spark is thrown over you then You will not have from us dignity, nor comfort, nor protection, nor sanctuary and you will suffer at our hands the most fearful calamity, and your land will be empty of you. By writing to you we have dealt equitably with you and have awakened you by warning you. Now we have no other purpose but you. Peace be with both us and you, and with all of those who follow divine guidance, who fear the consequences of evil and who obey the Supreme King. Say to Egypt, Hulagu has come with swords unsheathed and sharp. The mightiest of her people will become humble and he will send their children to join the aged." (Letter from Hulagu to Qutuz)[16][17][18][19]
- ^ Also, 'As Salhiyah' in north Egypt, east of the Nile Delta. In Sharqia Governorate now.
- ^ While in Damascus, Qutuz chose an Abbasid named Abu al-Abbas Ahmad to become the new Abbasid Chaliph. After the assassination of Qutuz, Baibars invited Abu al-Abbas to Cairo but before his arrival another Abbasid named Abu al-Qasim Ahmad arrived to Cairo and was installed by Baibars as the new Chaliph. Qutuz' candidate Abu al-Abbas returned to Syria.[33]
- ^ Hulagu executed An-Nasir Yusuf and his brother al-Zahir Ghazi near Tabriz. Tuquz Khaton wife of Hulagu apealed for the life of Yusuf's son al-Aziz and he was not executed.[35]
- ^ Different medieval historians supply contradicting accounts. Al-Maqrizi and Ibn Taghri say that the assassins killed Qutuz while he was giving his hand to Baibars. Abu Al-Fida says that Qutuz was giving his hand to someone else when Baibars struck his back with a sword. Hassan, O. says that Baibars tried to help Qutuz against the assassins.
References
- ^ Encyclopaedia Islamica, "Baalbek".
- ^ Al-Maqrizi, p. 507/vol. 1
- ^ Mawsoa
- ^ Holt et al., p. 215
- ^ Qasim, p. 24
- OCLC 912631823.
- OCLC 644353691.
- OCLC 949555454.
- ^ Amitai-Preiss, p. 35.
- ^ a b Qasim, p. 44
- ^ Al-Maqrizi, p. 506/vol. 1
- ^ a b c d Shayyal, p. 122/vol. 2
- ^ a b c Al-Maqrizi, p. 509/vol. 1
- ^ Qalyub on a Google map
- ^ Al-Maqrizi, p. 513/vol. 1
- ^ Al-Maqrizi, pp. 515–516/vol. 1
- ^ Ibn Aybak Al-Dwedar, pp. 47–48
- ^ Al-Qalqashandi, pp. 63–64
- ^ Qasim, p. 61
- ^ Al-Maqrizi, pp. 514–515/vol. 1
- ^ a b c d Ibn Taghri, pp. 105–273/vol. 7 /Al-Muzafar Qutuz.
- ^ a b Al-Maqrizi, p. 515/vol. 1
- ^ Al-Salihiyyah on a Google map
- ^ Riley-Smith, p. 204.
- ^ a b Al-Maqrizi, p. 516/vol. 1
- ^ Toynbee, p. 449
- ^ Toynbee, p. 446
- ^ Shayyal, pp. 122–123, 126 /vol. 2
- ^ Britannica, p. 773/vol. 2
- ^ a b c d e Shayyal, p. 123/vol. 2
- ^ Amitai-Preiss pp. 39–45.
- ^ Al-Maqrizi, p. 517/vol. 1
- ^ Shayyal, p. 132/vol. 2
- ^ Shayyal, pp. 123–124/vol. 2
- ^ Al-Maqrizi, pp. 518–519
- OCLC 70831115.
- )
- Ahmad Y Hassan. "Gunpowder Composition for Rockets and Cannon in Arabic Military Treatises In Thirteenth and Fourteenth Centuries". History of Science and Technology in Islam. Archived from the originalon 19 January 2012.
- ^ a b c Shayyal, p. 126/vol. 2
- ^ Al-Maqrizi, p. 519/vol. 1.
- ^ See Perry (p. 150), Riley-Smith (p. 237, Baybars ... murdered Qutuz"), Amitai-Preiss (p. 47, "a conspiracy of amirs, which included Baybars and was probably under his leadership"), Holt et al. (p. 215, Baibars "came to power with [the] regicide [of Qutuz] on his conscience"), and Tschanz.
- Faris ad-Din Aktai
- ^ Mawsoa, p. 764/vol. 24
- ^ Al-Maqrizi, pp. 519–520/vol. 2
- ^ Al-Maqrizi, p. 521/vol. 1
- ^ Fahmi, p. 88
Sources
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- Al-Maqrizi, Al Selouk Leme'refatt Dewall al-Melouk, Dar al-kotob, 1997.
- Al-Maqrizi, al-Mawaiz wa al-'i'tibar bi dhikr al-khitat wa al-'athar, Matabat aladab, Cairo 1996, ISBN 977-241-175-X.
- Al-Maqrīzī, Aḥmad ibn ʻAlī Taqī al-Dīn (1895). Description topographique et historique de l'Egypte (in French). Translated by Bouriant, Urbain. Paris. )
- Al-Qalqashandi, Sobh al-Asha Fi sena'at al-Insha, Dar Alkotob, Cairo 1913.
- Amitai-Preiss, Reuven (1995). Mongols and Mamluks: The Mamluk-Ilkhanid War, 1260–1281. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-46226-6.
- Chronicles of the Crusades: being contemporary narratives of the crusade of Richard Coeur de Lion by Richard of Devizes and Geoffrey de Vinsauf; and of the crusade of St. Louis by Lord John de Joinville. (London: H. G. Bohn, 1848; reissued New York: AMS Press, 1969)
- Fahmi, Dr. Abd al-Rahman, al-Niqood al-Arabiya (Arabic coins), Mat Misr, Cairo 1964.
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- Qasim, Abdu Qasim, Dr., Asr Salatin AlMamlik (era of the Mamluk Sultans), Eye for human and social studies, Cairo 2007.
- Riley-Smith, Jonathan (2001) The Oxford Illustrated History of the Crusades, Oxford University Press US, ISBN 978-0-19-285428-5.
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- Toynbee, Arnold J., Mankind and mother earth, Oxford University Press, 1976.
- Tschanz, David W. (July–August 2007). "History's Hinge: 'Ain Jalut". Saudi Aramco World. Archived from the originalon 12 September 2007. Retrieved 24 September 2007..
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