Baybars

Al-Malik al-Zahir Rukn al-Din Baybars al-Bunduqdari ( ; 1223/1228 – 30 June 1277), commonly known as Baibars or Baybars ( ) and nicknamed Abu al-Futuh ( , ), was the fourth Mamluk sultan of Egypt and Syria, ruling from 1260 to 1277. He is noted for leading the vanguard of the Mamluk army that inflicted the first substantial defeat of the Mongols at the Battle of Ain Jalut, as well as his successful campaigns against the Crusaders. Through a combination of diplomacy and military action, he ushered in an age of Mamluk dominance in the Eastern Mediterranean. Of Turkic Kipchak origin, Baybars was sold into slavery during the Mongol invasions and ultimately entered the service of Ayyubid sultan As-Salih Ayyub. He subsequently rose to become a prominent military leader in Egypt. In 1250, he was a commander of the Muslim forces that defeated and captured King Louis IX of France during the Seventh Crusade, and led the group of Mamluks that assassinated sultan Turanshah. Later, he played a significant role in the victory over the invading Mongol army at Ain Jalut and soon thereafter orchestrated the assassination of sultan Qutuz, seizing the throne for himself. As sultan, Baybars set about asserting Mamluk authority in Syria. After securing the loyalty of Ayyubid emirs, he launched extensive campaigns against the Crusader states, culminating in the capture of Antioch in 1268.…

Al-Malik al-Zahir Rukn al-Din Baybars al-Bunduqdari ( ; 1223/1228 – 30 June 1277), commonly known as Baibars or Baybars ( ) and nicknamed Abu al-Futuh ( , ), was the fourth Mamluk sultan of Egypt and Syria, ruling from 1260 to 1277. He is noted for leading the vanguard of the Mamluk army that inflicted the first substantial defeat of the Mongols at the Battle of Ain Jalut, as well as his successful campaigns against the Crusaders. Through a combination of diplomacy and military action, he ushered in an age of Mamluk dominance in the Eastern Mediterranean. Of Turkic Kipchak origin, Baybars was sold into slavery during the Mongol invasions and ultimately entered the service of Ayyubid sultan As-Salih Ayyub. He subsequently rose to become a prominent military leader in Egypt. In 1250, he was a commander of the Muslim forces that defeated and captured King Louis IX of France during the Seventh Crusade, and led the group of Mamluks that assassinated sultan Turanshah. Later, he played a significant role in the victory over the invading Mongol army at Ain Jalut and soon thereafter orchestrated the assassination of sultan Qutuz, seizing the throne for himself. As sultan, Baybars set about asserting Mamluk authority in Syria. After securing the loyalty of Ayyubid emirs, he launched extensive campaigns against the Crusader states, culminating in the capture of Antioch in 1268. He continued to fend off threats from the Mongols by engaging with the Ilkhanate, while forging an alliance with the Golden Horde. In 1276, he launched an expedition into Nubia that concluded with the subjugation of Makuria. ===Further Ilkhanate attempt to attack the Mamluks=== In 1272 the Mongol Ilkhanates attempted to besiege Al-Bira but failed when Sultan Baybars attacked the Mongols with a relief force of an unknown number, the Mongols tried to repel the attack, but they failed. After Mongol commander Samagar heard that the mongols have been defeated he retreated back into Mongol land. ====Continued campaign against Crusaders==== On 30 March 1271, after Baybars captured the smaller castles in the area, including Chastel Blanc, he besieged the Krak des Chevaliers, held by the Hospitallers. Peasants who lived in the area had fled to the castle for safety and were kept in the outer ward. As soon as Baybars arrived, he began erecting mangonels, powerful siege weapons which he would turn on the castle. According to Ibn Shaddad, two days later the first line of defences was captured by the besiegers; he was probably referring to a walled suburb outside the castle's entrance. After a lull of ten days, the besiegers conveyed a letter to the garrison, supposedly from the Grand Master of the Knights Hospitaller in Tripoli, Hugues de Revel, which granted permission for them to surrender. The garrison capitulated and the Sultan spared their lives. The new owners of the castle undertook repairs, focused mainly on the outer ward. The Hospitaller chapel was converted to a mosque and two mihrabs were added to the interior. Baibars led a campaign against the Assassins. In 1271, Baibars' forces seized al-'Ullaiqah and ar-Rusafa, after taking Masyaf the year before. Later in the year, Shams ad-Din surrendered and was deported to Egypt. Qala'at al-Khawabi fell that year and within two years Gerdkuh and all of the Assassin fortresses were held by the sultan. With the Assassins under his control, Baibars was able to use them to counter the forces arriving in the Ninth Crusade. Baybars then turned his attention to Tripoli, but he interrupted his siege there to call a truce in May 1271. The fall of Antioch had led to the brief Ninth Crusade, led by Prince Edward of England, who arrived in Acre in May 1271 and attempted to ally himself with the Mongols against Baybars. So Baybars declared a truce with Tripoli, as well as with Edward, who was never able to capture any territory from Baybars anyway. According to some reports, Baybars tried to have Edward assassinated with poison, but Edward survived the attempt and returned home in 1272 following the failure of the crusade. ====Campaign against Makuria==== on a wallpainting from Old Dongola]] In 1265 a Mamluk army allegedly raided Makuria as far south as Dongola while also expanding southwards along the African Red Sea coast, thus threatening the Nubians. In 1272 king David marched east and attacked the port town of Aidhab, located on an important pilgrimage route to Mecca. The Nubian army destroyed the town, causing “a blow to the very heart of Islam”. This initiated several decades of intervention by the Mamluks in Nubian affairs. A punitive Mamluk expedition was sent in response, but did not pass beyond the second cataract. Three years later the Makurians attacked and destroyed Aswan, but this time, Baybars responded with a well-equipped army setting off from Cairo in early 1276, accompanied by a cousin of king David named Mashkouda or Shekanda. The Mamluks defeated the Nubians in three battles at Gebel Adda, Meinarti and finally at the Battle of Dongola. David fled upstream the Nile, eventually entering al-Abwab in the south, which, previously being Alodia's northernmost province, had by this period become a kingdom of its own. The king of al-Abwab, however, handed David over to Baybars, who had him executed. Baybars then completed his conquest of Nubia, including the Medieval lower Nubia which was ruled by Banu Kanz. Under the terms of the settlement, the Nubians were now subjected to paying jizya tribute, and in return they were allowed to keep their religion, being protected under Islamic law as 'People of the Book'; they were also allowed to continue being governed by a king from the native royal family, although this king was chosen personally by Baybars, namely a Makurian noble named Shakanda. In practice this was reducing Makuria to a vassal kingdom, effectively ending Makuria's status as an independent kingdom. ==Family== Sultan Baybars married a noble lady from Tripoli (modern-day Lebanon) named Aisha al Bushnatiya, a prominent Arab family. Aisha was a warrior who fought the Crusaders along with her brother lieutenant Hassan. She met Sultan Baybars after he camped in Tripoli during his siege. They had a short relationship and after that they got married. There are conflicting stories of whether Aisha returned with Baybars to Egypt or was martyred in Tripoli. One of Baibar's wives was the daughter of Amir Sayf ad-Din Nogay at-Tatari. Another wife was the daughter of Amir Sayf ad-Din Giray at-Tatari. Another wife was the daughter of Amir Sayf ad-Din Tammaji. Another wife was Iltutmish Khatun. She was the daughter of Barka Khan a former Khwarazmian amir. She was the mother of his son Al-Said Barakah. She died in 1284¹–85. Another wife was the daughter Karmun Agha, a Mongol Amir. He had three sons al-Said Barakah, Solamish and Khizir. He had seven daughters; one of them was named Tidhkarbay Khatun. ==Legacy== ]] As the first Sultan of the Bahri Mamluk dynasty, Baybars made the meritocratic ascent up the ranks of Mamluk society, where he commanded Mamluk forces in the decisive Battle of Ain Jalut in 1260, repelling Mongol forces from Syria. Although in the Muslim world he has been considered a national hero for centuries, and in the Near East and Kazakhstan is still regarded as such, Baybars was reviled in the Christian world of the time for his successful campaigns against the Crusader States. Baybars also played an important role in bringing the Mongols to Islam. He developed strong ties with the Mongols of the Golden Horde and took steps for the Golden Horde Mongols to travel to Egypt. The arrival of the Mongol's Golden Horde to Egypt resulted in a significant number of Mongols accepting Islam. ===Military legacy=== Baybars was a popular ruler in the Muslim world who had defeated the crusaders in three campaigns, and the Mongols in the Battle of Ain Jalut which many scholars deem of great macro-historical importance. In order to support his military campaigns, Baybars commissioned arsenals, warships and cargo vessels. He was also arguably the first to employ explosive hand cannons in war, at the Battle of Ain Jalut. However this claim of hand cannons usage is disputed by other historians who claim hand cannons did not appear in the Middle East until the 14th century. His military campaign also extended into Libya and Nubia. ===Culture and science=== He was also an efficient administrator who took interest in building various infrastructure projects, such as a mounted message relay system capable of delivery from Cairo to Damascus in four days. He built bridges, irrigation and shipping canals, improved the harbours, and built mosques. He was a patron of Islamic science, such as his support for the medical research of his Arab physician, Ibn al-Nafis. As a testament of a special relationship between Islam and cats, Baybars left a cat garden in Cairo as a waqf, providing the cats of Cairo with food and shelter. His memoirs were recorded in Sirat al-Zahir Baibars ("Life of al-Zahir Baibars"), a popular Arabic romance recording his battles and achievements. He has a heroic status in Kazakhstan, as well as in Egypt, Palestine, Lebanon and Syria. Al-Madrassa al-Zahiriyya is the school built adjacent to his Mausoleum in Damascus. The Az-Zahiriyah Library has a wealth of manuscripts in various branches of knowledge to this day. ==See also== Ablaq Bahri dynasty Cumania Cuman people Kipchak people Mosque of al-Zahir Baybars Sirat al-Zahir Baibars Sayyidah Zainab District ==Notes== ==References== ===Sources=== 252 ==External links== Baibars article from Encyclopedia of the Orient Baibars in Concise Britannica online Al-Madrassa al-Zahiriyya and Baybars Mausoleum Brief article in Columbia Encyclopedia Extensive Arabic Article on Baybars Brief biography

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