Tulunids

Ṭūlūnids طولونيون ( Turkic (army)
Religion	Sunni Islam (predominant), Orthodox Christians
Government	De jure caliphal Governorate Emirate De facto Autonomous Emirate from Caliphate
Emir
• 868–884	Aḥmad ibn Ṭūlūn
• 884–896	Khumarawayh ibn Ahmad ibn Tulun
History
• Established	868
• Abbasid reconquest	905
Currency	Dinar
Preceded by Succeeded by Abbasid Caliphate Abbasid Caliphate Ikhshidid dynasty

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The Tulunids (

The Tulunid period was marked by economic and administrative reforms alongside cultural ones. Ahmad ibn Tulun changed the taxation system and aligned himself with the merchant community. He also established the Tulunid army. The capital was moved from Fustat to al-Qata'i, where the celebrated mosque of Ibn Tulun was constructed.

History

The rise and fall of the Tulunids occurred against a backdrop of increasing

Ahmad ibn Ṭūlūn was a member of the mostly Central Asian Turkish guard formed initially in Baghdad, then later settled in Samarra, upon its establishment as the seat of the caliphate by al-Mu'tasim. In 254/868,^[6] Ibn Tulun was sent to Egypt as resident governor by Bāyakbāk (d. 256/870), the representative of the Abbasid caliph al-Muʿtazz.^[5] Ibn Tulun promptly established a financial and military presence in the province of Egypt by establishing an independent Egyptian army and taking over the management of the Egyptian and Syrian treasuries. In 877, troops of the caliphate were sent against him, due to his insufficient payment of tribute. Ahmad ibn Tulun, however, maintained his power, and took Syria the following year.^[4]

His reign of more than ten years allowed him to leave behind a well-trained military, a stable economy and an experienced bureaucracy to oversee the state affairs. He appointed his son, Khumārawayh, as the heir.^[5]

With full autonomy, once the tax income no longer had to go to the

Following his father's death, Khumārawayh took control as the designated heir. The first challenge he faced was the invasion of Syria by armies sent by al-Muwaffak, the de facto ruler during the reign of caliph al-Mu'tamid. Khumārawayh also had to deal with the defection of Ahmad ibn Muhammad al-Wasiti, a long-time and key ally of his father's, to the invaders' camp.^[5]

The young Tulunid achieved political and military gains, enabling him to extend his authority from Egypt into northern Iraq, and as far north as

Despite his gains, Khumārawayh's reign also set the stage for the demise of the dynasty. Financial exhaustion, political infighting and strides by the Abbasids would all contribute to the ruin of the Tulunids.[5] Khumārawayh was also totally reliant on his Turkish and sub-Saharan soldiers. Under the administration of Khumārawayh, the Syro-Egyptian state's finances and military were destabilized.^[4]

Demise

The later emirs of the dynasty were all ineffectual rulers, relying on their Turkish and black soldiers to run the affairs of the state.^[4]

Khumarawayh's son

Ahmad ibn Tulun founded his own capital, al-Qatā'i, north of the previous capital Fustat, where he seated his government. One of the dominant features of this city, and indeed the feature that survives today, was the Mosque of Ibn Tulun. The mosque is built in a Samarran style that was common in the period during which the caliphate had shifted capitals from Baghdad to Samarra. This style of architecture was not just confined to religious buildings, but secular ones also. Surviving houses of the Tulunid period have Samarran-style stucco panels.^[8]

Ḵh̲umārawayh's reign exceeded his father's in spending. He built luxuriant palaces and gardens for himself and those he favored. To the Tulunid Egyptians, his "marvellous" blue-eyed palace lion exemplified his prodigality. His stables were so extensive that, according to popular lore, Khumarawaih never rode a horse more than once. Though he squandered the dynastic wealth, he also encouraged a rich cultural life with patronage of scholarship and poetry. His protégé and the teacher of his sons was the famed grammarian Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad Muslim (d. 944). An encomium was written by Ḳāsim b . Yaḥyā al-Maryamī (d. 929) to celebrate Khumarawaih's triumphs on the battlefield.^[9]

Through the mediation of his closest adviser, al-Ḥusayn ibn Jaṣṣāṣ al-Jawharī, Khumārawayh arranged for one of the great political marriages of medieval

During his reign, Ibn Tulun created a Tulunid army and navy. The need for the establishment of an autonomous armed force became apparent after the revolt of ʿĪsā ibn al-Shaykkh, governor of Palestine, in 870. In response, Ibn Tulun organized an army composed of

Ibn Tulun founded an élite guard to surround the Tulunid family. These formed the core of the Tulunid army, around which other larger regiments were built. These troops are said to have been from the region of Ghūr in Afghanistan, during Ibn Tulun's reign, and from local Arabs during the reign of Ḵh̲umārawayh. In a ceremony held in 871, Ibn Tulun had his forces swear personal allegiance to him. Nevertheless, there were defections from the Tulunid army, most notably of the high-ranking commander Luʾluʾ in 883 to the Abbasids. Throughout its life the army faced such persistent problems of securing allegiance.^[5]

Khumārawayh also established an elite corps called al-mukhtāra. The corps was composed of

• In 877, the Tulunid troops, after displaying their strength, forced the Abbasid army under
  Mūsā ibn Bug̲h̲ā to abandon his plan to depose Ahmad ibn Tulun.^[14]
• In 878, the Tulunids, under the pretext of a
  Thughur) against the Byzantines, occupied Syria. This campaign was ended prematurely, as Ibn Tulun had to return to Egypt.^{[citation needed}
  ]
• In 885, the Tulunid army led by Khumarawayh met the invading Abbasids at the
  Battle of the Mills (al-Ṭawāḥīn) in southern Palestine. The Abbasids, led by Aḥmad ibn al-Muwaffaḳ (the future Caliph al-Mu'tadid), had invaded Syria, and the governor of Damascus had defected to the enemy. After both Ahmad and Khumarawayh fled the battlefield, the Ṭūlūnid general Saʿd al-Aysar secured victory.^[9]
• From 885 to 886, the Tulunid forces, led by Khumarawayh, defeated
  Jazira, Cilicia and regions as far east as Harran submitted to the Tulunid army. Peace treaties with the Tulunids put an end to the military campaigns.^[9]
• From 896 to 905, after the emirate's demise the Tulunids were unable to stop the Abbasids from taking their capital al-Qata'i.^[9]

Economy

During the reign of Ahmad ibn Tulun, the Egyptian economy remained prosperous. There were propitious levels of agricultural production, stimulated by consistent high flooding of the Nile. Other industries, particularly textiles, also thrived. In his administration, ibn Tulun asserted his autonomy, refusing to pay taxes to the central Abbasid government in Baghdad. He also reformed the administration, aligning himself with the merchant community, and changing the taxation system. Under the Tulunids, there were also repairs in the agricultural infrastructure. The key sector of production, investment, and participation in their Mediterranean-wide commerce, was textiles, linen in particular (Frantz, 281–5).^[5] The financial bureaucracy throughout the Tulunid period was headed by members of the al-Madhara'i family.

Financial autonomy

During the period of 870–872, Ibn Tulun asserted more control over Egypt's financial administration. In 871, he took control of the

thughūr from Syria. He also achieved victory over Ibn al-Mudabbir, the head of the finance office and member of the Abbasid bureaucratic élite.^[5]

The de facto ruler of the Abbasid caliphate, al-Muwaffak, took issue with Ibn Tulun's financial activities. He wanted to secure Egyptian revenue for his campaign against the Zanj rebellion (and perhaps limit the autonomy of the Tulunids). This pressing need for funds drew the attention of Baghdad to the considerably more wealthy Egypt.^[5] The situation came to a head in 877, when al-Muwaffak, upon not receiving the demanded funds, sent an army to depose Ahmad ibn Tulun.^[14] Nevertheless, on at least two occasions, Ibn Tulun remitted considerable sums of revenue, along with gifts, to the central Abbasid administration.^[5]

Under Ahmad's son, Khumarawayh, the Abbasids formally entered into a treaty with the Tulunids, thereby ending hostilities and resuming the payment of tribute. Financial provisions were made in the first treaty in 886 with al-Muwaffak. A second treaty with al-Muʿtaḍid, the son of al-Muwaffak, in 892, re-affirmed the political terms of the first. Financially, the Tulunids were to pay 300,000 dīnārs (though this figure may be inaccurate) annually.^[9]

Tulunid administration

The Tūlūnid administration over Egypt bore several notable features. The style of rule was highly centralized and "pitiless" in its execution. The administration was also backed by Egypt's commercial, religious and social élite. Ahmad ibn Tulun replaced Iraqi officials with an Egyptian bureaucracy. Overall, the administration relied on the powerful merchant community for both financial and diplomatic support. For example, Maʿmar al-Ḏj̲awharī, a leading member of the merchant community in Egypt, served as Ibn Ṭūlūn's financier.^[5]

The Tulunid administration also helped the economy prosper, by maintaining political stability, which in Egypt is a

tax-contracts, which were the source of an emergent land-holding élite in this period.^[5] Ahmad ibn Tulun's agrarian and administrative reforms encouraged peasants to work their lands with zeal, despite the heavy taxes. He also terminated the exactions of the administration's officers for their personal profit.^[14]

One final feature of the administration under Ibn Ṭūlūn was the discontinuation of the practice of draining off the majority of his revenue to the metropolis. Instead, he initiated building programs to benefit other parts of Egypt. He also used those funds to stimulate commerce and industry.[14]

Large expenditures

Ḵh̲umārawayh inherited a stable economy and a wealthy polity from his father. The treasury was worth ten million dīnārs at the young Tulunid's succession. When Ḵh̲umārawayh was killed in 896, the treasury was empty, and the dinar had sunk to one-third its value. Part of this financial disaster is attributed to his addiction to luxury, while squandering wealth to win loyalty was also another cause.^[9]

Ḵh̲umārawayh, unlike his father, spent lavishly. For example, he gave his daughter, Ḳaṭr al-Nadā, an extraordinary dowry of 400,000 - 1,000,000 dīnārs, for her wedding in 892 to the Abbasid al-Muʿtaḍid. This move is speculated by some scholars to have been an attempt by the Abbasids to drain the Tulunid treasury.^[5]

List of rulers

Titular Name	Personal Name	Rule
De facto autonomy from the Abbasid Caliphate during the reign of Caliph al-Mu'tamid.
Amir أمیر	Ahmad ibn Tulun أحمد بن طولون	868 – 884 CE
Amir أمیر Abu 'l-Jaysh ابو جیش	Khumarawayh ibn Ahmad ibn Tulun خمارویہ بن أحمد بن طولون	884 – 896 CE
Amir أمیر Abu 'l-Ashir ابو العشیر Abu 'l-Asakir ابو العساكر	Jaysh ibn Khumarawayh جیش ابن خمارویہ بن أحمد بن طولون	896 CE
Amir أمیر Abu Musa ابو موسی	Harun ibn Khumarawayh ہارون ابن خمارویہ بن أحمد بن طولون	896 – 904 CE
Amir أمیر Abu 'l-Manaqib ابو المناقب	Shayban ibn Ahmad ibn Tulun شائبان بن أحمد بن طولون	904 – 905 CE
Amir أمیر Abu Abdullah ابو عبد الله	Muhammad ibn Ali al-Khalanji محمد بن علي الخلنجي	905 CE
Re-conquered by the Abbasid Caliphate during the reign of Caliph al-Muktafi by general Muhammad ibn Sulayman.

Family Tree

Tulunid Dynasty
Tulun Ahmad r. 868–884 Khumarawayh r. 884–896 Shayban r. 904–905 Jaysh r. 896 Harun r. 896–904 Qatr al-Nada

Notes

1. ISBN 978-0-13-390915-9
   .
2. ^ Anjum 2007, p. 233.
3. ISBN 978-0-582-36931-3
   . The two gubernatorial dynasties in Egypt which have already been mentioned, the Tulunids and the Ikhshidids, were both of Mamluk origin.
4. ^ ^{a b c d e} "Tulunid Dynasty." Encyclopædia Britannica
5. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q} "Ṭūlūnids," Encyclopaedia of Islam
6. ^ The first date indicates the year according to the Hijri calendar, while the second one denotes the corresponding Gregorian year
7. ^ Lev, Yaacov, War and society in the eastern Mediterranean, 7th-15th centuries, BRILL, 1997, pp. 129–130
8. ^ Behrens-Abouseif (1989)
9. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h i} "Ḵh̲umārawayh b. Aḥmad b. Ṭūlūn ," Encyclopaedia of Islam
10. ^ Rizk, Yunan Labib.Royal mix Archived 25 June 2013 at the Wayback Machine. Al-Ahram Weekly. 2–8 March 2006, Issue No. 784.
11. ^ Rapoport (2000), p. 27-8
12. OCLC 1343008841.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link
    )
13. ^ El Shamsy, Ahmed (2013). The Canonization of Islamic Law: A Social and Intellectual History. Cambridge University Press. p. 141.
14. ^ ^{a b c d} "Aḥmad b. Ṭūlūn" Encyclopaedia of Islam

References

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  The Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition
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  ISBN 978-1-59339-236-9
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• Tillier, Mathieu (présenté, traduit et annoté par). Vies des cadis de Miṣr (257/851-366/976). Extrait du Rafʿ al-iṣr ʿan quḍāt Miṣr d’Ibn Ḥağar al-ʿAsqalānī, Institut Français d’Archéologie Orientale (Cahier des Annales Islamologiques, 24), Cairo, 2002.
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