Qalawun
Encyclopedia
Mamluk
A Mamluk was a soldier of slave origin, who were predominantly Cumans/Kipchaks The "mamluk phenomenon", as David Ayalon dubbed the creation of the specific warrior...
sultan of Egypt
Sultan of Egypt
Sultan of Egypt was the status held by the rulers of Egypt after the establishment of the Ayyubid Dynasty of Saladin in 1174 until the Ottoman conquest of Egypt in 1517. Though the extent of the Egyptian Sultanate ebbed and flowed, it generally included Sham and Hejaz, with the consequence that the...
. He was in the Baḥrī
Bahri dynasty
The Bahri dynasty or Bahriyya Mamluks was a Mamluk dynasty of mostly Kipchak Turkic origin that ruled Egypt from 1250 to 1382 when they were succeeded by the Burji dynasty, another group of Mamluks...
line and ruled Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
from 1279 to 1290.
Biography and rise to power
Qalawun was a Kipchak Turk who became a Mamluk in the 1240s after being sold for 1000 dinarDinar
The dinar is the official currency of several countries.The history of the dinar dates to the gold dinar, an early Islamic coin corresponding to the Byzantine denarius auri...
s to a member of sultan al-Kāmil
Al-Kamil
Al-Kamil was a Kurdish Ayyubid sultan who ruled North Africa. During his tenure as sultan, the Ayyubids defeated two crusades. In a temporary agreement with the Crusaders, he ceded Jerusalem to the Christians.-Biography:He was the son of sultan al-Adil, a brother of Saladin...
's household. Qalawun was known as al-Alfi ['the Thousand-man'] because al-Malik aṣ-Ṣāliḥ
As-Salih Ayyub
Al-Malik as-Salih Najm al-Din Ayyub , also known as al-Malik al-Salih was the Ayyubid ruler of Egypt from 1240 to 1249.-Biography:...
bought him for a thousand dinars of gold. He barely spoke Arabic
Arabic language
Arabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book...
. He rose in power and influence and became an emir
Emir
Emir , meaning "commander", "general", or "prince"; also transliterated as Amir, Aamir or Ameer) is a title of high office, used throughout the Muslim world...
under sultan Baibars
Baibars
Baibars or Baybars , nicknamed Abu l-Futuh , was a Mamluk Sultan of Egypt. He was one of the commanders of the forces which inflicted a devastating defeat on the Seventh Crusade of King Louis IX of France and he led the vanguard of the Egyptian army at the Battle of Ain Jalut in 1260, which marked...
, whose son Barakah Khan
Al-Said Barakah
Al-Said Barakah Al-Said Barakah Al-Said Barakah (1260–1280; original name: Muhammed Barakah Qan , royal name: al-Malik al-Said Nasir al-Din Barakah (Arabic: الملك السعيد ناصر الدين بركة) was a Mamluk Sultan who ruled from 1277 to 1279 after the death of his father al-Zahir Baibars...
was married to Qalawun's daughter. Baibars died in 1277 and was succeeded by Barakah. In early 1279, as Barakah and Qalawun invaded the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia
Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia
The Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia , also known as the Cilician Armenia, Kingdom of Cilician Armenia or New Armenia, was an independent principality formed during the High Middle Ages by Armenian refugees fleeing the Seljuk invasion of Armenia...
, there was a revolt in Egypt that forced Barakah to abdicate upon his return home. He was succeeded by his brother Solamish
Solamish
Badr al-Din Solamish was a Sultan of Egypt in 1279. Born at Cairo, he was the son of Baibars, a sultan of Kazakh origin....
, but it was Qalawun, acting as atabeg
Atabeg
Atabeg, Atabek, or Atabey is a hereditary title of nobility of Turkic origin, indicating a governor of a nation or province who was subordinate to a monarch and charged with raising the crown prince...
, who was the true holder of power. Because Solamish
Solamish
Badr al-Din Solamish was a Sultan of Egypt in 1279. Born at Cairo, he was the son of Baibars, a sultan of Kazakh origin....
was only seven years old, Qalawun argued that Egypt needed an adult ruler, and Solamish
Solamish
Badr al-Din Solamish was a Sultan of Egypt in 1279. Born at Cairo, he was the son of Baibars, a sultan of Kazakh origin....
was sent into exile in Constantinople in late 1279. As a result, Qalawun took the title al-Malik al-Mansur. The governor of Damascus
Damascus
Damascus , commonly known in Syria as Al Sham , and as the City of Jasmine , is the capital and the second largest city of Syria after Aleppo, both are part of the country's 14 governorates. In addition to being one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, Damascus is a major...
, Sungur, did not agree with Qalawun's ascent to power and declared himself sultan. Sungur's claim of leadership, however, was repelled in 1280, when Qalawun defeated him in battle. In 1281, Qalawun and Sungur reconciled as a matter of convenience when the Mongol Il-Khan emperor of Persia, Abaqa, invaded Syria. Qalawun and Sungur, working together, successfully repelled Abuqa's attack at the Second Battle of Homs
Second Battle of Homs
The Second Battle of Homs was fought in western Syria on October 29, 1281, between the armies of the Mamluk dynasty of Egypt and Ilkhanate, division of the Mongol Empire centered on Iran...
.
Barakah
Al-Said Barakah
Al-Said Barakah Al-Said Barakah Al-Said Barakah (1260–1280; original name: Muhammed Barakah Qan , royal name: al-Malik al-Said Nasir al-Din Barakah (Arabic: الملك السعيد ناصر الدين بركة) was a Mamluk Sultan who ruled from 1277 to 1279 after the death of his father al-Zahir Baibars...
, Solamish
Solamish
Badr al-Din Solamish was a Sultan of Egypt in 1279. Born at Cairo, he was the son of Baibars, a sultan of Kazakh origin....
, and their brother Khadir were exiled to Al Karak
Al Karak
Karak is a city in Jordan that is known for the famous crusader castle Kerak. The castle is one of the three largest castles in the region, the other two being in Syria...
, the former Crusader castle. Barakah died there in 1280 (it was rumored that Qalawun had him poisoned), and Khadir gained control of the castle, until 1286 when Qalawun took it over directly.
Mamluk diplomacy
As BaibarsBaibars
Baibars or Baybars , nicknamed Abu l-Futuh , was a Mamluk Sultan of Egypt. He was one of the commanders of the forces which inflicted a devastating defeat on the Seventh Crusade of King Louis IX of France and he led the vanguard of the Egyptian army at the Battle of Ain Jalut in 1260, which marked...
had done previously, Qalawun entered into land control treaties with the remaining Crusader states, military orders and individual lords who wished to remain independent; he recognized Tyre and Beirut
Beirut
Beirut is the capital and largest city of Lebanon, with a population ranging from 1 million to more than 2 million . Located on a peninsula at the midpoint of Lebanon's Mediterranean coastline, it serves as the country's largest and main seaport, and also forms the Beirut Metropolitan...
as separate from the Kingdom of Jerusalem
Kingdom of Jerusalem
The Kingdom of Jerusalem was a Catholic kingdom established in the Levant in 1099 after the First Crusade. The kingdom lasted nearly two hundred years, from 1099 until 1291 when the last remaining possession, Acre, was destroyed by the Mamluks, but its history is divided into two distinct periods....
, now centered on Acre. The treaties were always in Qalawun's favor, and his treaty with Tyre mandated that the city would not build new fortifications, would stay neutral in conflicts between the Mamluks and other Crusaders, and Qalawun would be allowed to collect half the city's taxes. In 1281 Qalawun also negotiated an alliance with Byzantine emperor Michael VIII Palaeologus to bolster resistance against Charles of Anjou, who was threatening both the Byzantine Empire
Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire during the periods of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, centred on the capital of Constantinople. Known simply as the Roman Empire or Romania to its inhabitants and neighbours, the Empire was the direct continuation of the Ancient Roman State...
and the Kingdom of Jerusalem. In 1290, he concluded trade alliances with the Republic of Genoa
Republic of Genoa
The Most Serene Republic of Genoa |Ligurian]]: Repúbrica de Zêna) was an independent state from 1005 to 1797 in Liguria on the northwestern Italian coast, as well as Corsica from 1347 to 1768, and numerous other territories throughout the Mediterranean....
and the Kingdom of Sicily
Kingdom of Sicily
The Kingdom of Sicily was a state that existed in the south of Italy from its founding by Roger II in 1130 until 1816. It was a successor state of the County of Sicily, which had been founded in 1071 during the Norman conquest of southern Italy...
.
Offensive action against Crusader states
Undeterred by the terms of these newly formed peace treaties, Qalawun sacked the "impregnable" HospitallerKnights Hospitaller
The Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem of Rhodes and of Malta , also known as the Sovereign Military Order of Malta , Order of Malta or Knights of Malta, is a Roman Catholic lay religious order, traditionally of military, chivalrous, noble nature. It is the world's...
fortress of Margat
Margat
Margat, also known as Marqab from the Arabic Qalaat al-Marqab is a castle near Baniyas, Syria, which was a Crusader fortress and one of the major strongholds of the Knights Hospitaller...
in 1285, and established a Mamluk garrison there. He also captured and destroyed the castle of Maraclea
Maraclea
Maraclea, also known as Khrab Marqiya or Maraqîya, was a small coastal Crusader town and a castle in the Levant, between Tortosa and Baniyas . During the middle of the 13th century, the possession of the castle was a matter of dispute between the Principality of Antioch and the Hospitallers. In...
. He captured Latakia
Latakia
Latakia, or Latakiyah , is the principal port city of Syria, as well as the capital of the Latakia Governorate. In addition to serving as a port, the city is a manufacturing center for surrounding agricultural towns and villages...
in 1287 and Tripoli
Tripoli, Lebanon
Tripoli is the largest city in northern Lebanon and the second-largest city in Lebanon. Situated 85 km north of the capital Beirut, Tripoli is the capital of the North Governorate and the Tripoli District. Geographically located on the east of the Mediterranean, the city's history dates back...
on April 27, 1289, thus ending the Crusader County of Tripoli
County of Tripoli
The County of Tripoli was the last Crusader state founded in the Levant, located in what today are parts of western Syria and northern Lebanon, where exists the modern city of Tripoli. The Crusader state was captured and created by Christian forces in 1109, originally held by Bertrand of Toulouse...
. The siege of Tripoli in 1289 was spurred by the Venetians
Republic of Venice
The Republic of Venice or Venetian Republic was a state originating from the city of Venice in Northeastern Italy. It existed for over a millennium, from the late 7th century until 1797. It was formally known as the Most Serene Republic of Venice and is often referred to as La Serenissima, in...
and the Pisa
Republic of Pisa
The Republic of Pisa was a de facto independent state centered on the Tuscan city of Pisa during the late tenth and eleventh centuries. It rose to become an economic powerhouse, a commercial center whose merchants dominated Mediterranean and Italian trade for a century before being surpassed and...
ns, who opposed rising Genoese influence in the area. In 1290, reinforcements of King Henry arrived in Acre and drunkenly slaughtered peaceable merchants and peasants, Christians and Muslims alike. Qalawun sent an embassy to ask for an explanation and above all to demand that the murderers be handed over for punishment. The Frankish response was divided between those who sought to appease him and those who sought a new war. Having received neither an explanation nor the murderers themselves, Qalawun decided that the ten-year truce he had formed with Acre in 1284 had been broken by the Franks. He subsequently besieged the city that same year. He died in Cairo on November 10, before taking the city, but Acre was captured the next year by his son Al-Ashraf Khalil.
Despite Qalawun's distrust of his son, Khalil succeeded him following his death. Khalil continued his father's policy of replacing Turkish Mamluks with Circassians, which eventually led to conflict within the Mamluk ranks. Khalil was assassinated by the Turks in 1293, but Qalawun's legacy continued when his younger son, Al-Nasir Muhammad
Al-Nasir Muhammad
Al-Nasir Muhammad b. Cairo 1285, d...
, claimed power.
External links
- The American University in Cairo - Complex of Qalawun