Baibars

For other uses, see Baibars (disambiguation).
Baibars
Sultan of Egypt
Reign 24 October 1260 – 1 July 1277
Coronation 1260 at Salihiyah
Predecessor Qutuz
Successor Al-Said Barakah
Born 19 July 1223
Cumania
Died 1 July 1277 (aged 54)
Damascus, Mamluk Sultanate
Spouse Several
Issue al-Said Barakah
Solamish
Full name
al-Malik al-Zahir Rukn al-Din Baibars al-Bunduqdari Abu al-Futuh
Dynasty Bahri
Religion Sunni Islam

Baibars or Baybars (Arabic: الملك الظاهر ركن الدين بيبرس البندقداري‎, al-Malik al-Ẓāhir Rukn al-Din Baibars al-Bunduqdar), nicknamed Abu l-Futuh[1] (literally "The father of conquest"; Arabic: أبو الفتوح) (1223 – 1 July 1277), was the fourth Sultan of Egypt from the Mamluk Bahri dynasty. He was one of the commanders of the Egyptian forces that inflicted a defeat on the Seventh Crusade of King Louis IX of France. He also led the vanguard of the Egyptian army at the Battle of Ain Jalut in 1260,[2] which marked the first substantial defeat of the Mongol army and is considered a turning point in history.[3]

The reign of Baibars marked the start of an age of Mamluk dominance in the Eastern Mediterranean and solidified the durability of their military system. He managed to pave the way for the end of the Crusader presence in the Levant and reinforced the union of Egypt and Syria as the region's pre-eminent Muslim state, able to fend off threats from both Crusaders and Mongols and even managed to subdue the kingdom of Makuria, which was famous for being unconquerable by previous Muslim empire invasion attempts. As Sultan, Baibars also engaged in a combination of diplomacy and military action, allowing the Mamluks of Egypt to greatly expand their empire.

Name

His name was derived from Kipchak Turkic bay ("chief") + bars ("panther").[4]

Early life

Baibars was born in the Dasht-i Kipchak/Cumania, between the Edil (Volga) and Yaiyk (Ural) rivers, to the Cumans-Kipchaks.[5][6][7][8][9][10] He was fair-skinned, blond,[11] very tall, and had a cataract in one of his bluish eyes.

It was said that he was captured by the Mongols in the Kipchak steppe/Cumania and sold as a slave, ending up in Syria. Baibars was quickly sold to a Mamluk officer called Aydekin al bondouqdar and sent to Egypt, where he became a bodyguard to the Ayyubid ruler As-Salih Ayyub.

Rise to power

The Mamluks under Baibars (yellow) fought off the Franks and the Mongols during the Ninth Crusade.

Baibars was a commander of the Mamluks under the Ayyubids. He was particularly involved in the significant victory where he led the Egyptian army at the Battle of La Forbie,also known as Battle of Harbiyyah, east of Gaza in 1244 in the aftermath of the Sixth Crusade. In around 1250 he defeated the Seventh Crusade of Louis IX of France. He was also involved in the Battle of Al Mansurah, where he employed an ingenious strategy in ordering the opening of a gate to let the crusader knights enter the town; the crusaders rushed into the town that they thought was deserted to find themselves trapped inside. They were besieged from all directions by the Egyptian forces and the town population, and suffered heavy losses. Robert of Artois, who took refuge in a house,[12][13] and William of Salisbury were both killed, along with most of the Knights Templar. Only five Templar Knights escaped alive.[14]

Baibars was still a commander under Sultan Qutuz at the Battle of Ain Jalut in 1260, when he decisively defeated the Mongols. After the battle, Sultan Qutuz (aka Koetoez) was assassinated while on a hunting expedition. It was said that Baibars was involved in the assassination because he expected to be rewarded with the governorship of Aleppo for his military success, but Qutuz, fearing his ambition, refused to give him the post.[15] Baibars succeeded Qutuz as Sultan of Egypt.[16]

Sultan of Egypt

Once Baibars had ascended to the Sultanate, his authority was soon confirmed without any serious resistance, except from Sinjar al-Halabi, another Mamluk amir who was popular and powerful enough to claim Damascus. Also, the threat from the Mongols was still serious enough to be considered as a threat to Baibars' authority. However, Baibars first chose to deal with Sinjar, and marched on Damascus. At the same time the princes of Hama and Homs proved able to defeat the Mongols in the First Battle of Homs, which lifted the Mongol threat for a while. On 17 January 1261, Baibars' forces were able to rout the troops of Sinjar outside Damascus, and pursued the attack to the city, where the citizens were loyal to Sinjar and resisted Baibars, although their resistance was soon crushed.

After suppressing the revolt of Sinjar, Baibars then managed to deal with the Ayyubids, while quietly eliminating the prince of Kerak. Ayyubids such as Al-Ashraf Musa, Emir of Homs and the Ayyubid Emir Dynasty of Hama (presumably Al-Afdal Muhammad), who had earlier staved off the Mongol threat, were permitted to continue their rule in exchange for their recognizing Baibars' authority as Sultan[17]

The next step which Baibars needed after this was religious authority, so he sought legitimation from the Caliph in Baghdad, which was sacked by Ilkhanate Mongol army earlier. So by becoming a protegee of the Caliph, he had all he needed[17]

Campaign against the Crusaders

Further information: Siege of Antioch (1268)

As sultan, Baibars engaged in a lifelong struggle against the Crusader kingdoms in Syria, in part because the Christians had aided the Mongols. He started with the Principality of Antioch, which had become a vassal state of the Mongols and had participated in attacks against Islamic targets in Damascus and Syria. In 1263, Baibars laid siege to Acre, the capital of the remnant of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, although the siege was abandoned when he sacked Nazareth instead.[18] He used siege engines to defeat the Crusaders in battles such as the Fall of Arsuf from March 21 to April 30. After breaking into the town and forcing its defenders to surrender, he razed the castle to the ground.[19] He next attacked Athlith and Haifa, where he captured both towns after destroying the crusaders' resistance, and razed the citadels.[20]

In the same year Baibars laid siege to the fortress of Safad, held by the Templar knights, which had been conquered by Saladin in 1188 but returned to the Kingdom of Jerusalem in 1240. On capturing Safed, Baibars did not raze the fortress to the ground but instead he fortified it and repaired the damage, as it was strategically situated and well constructed. He installed a new governor in Safed, with the rank of Wali[21]

Later, in 1266, Baibars invaded the Christian country of Cilician Armenia which, under King Hethum I, had submitted to the Mongol Empire. After defeating the forces of Hethum I in the Battle of Mari, Baibars managed to ravage the three great cities of Mamistra, Adana and Tarsus, so that, when Hetoum arrived with Mongol troops, the country was already devastated. Hetoum had to negotiate the return of his son Leo by giving control of Armenia's border fortresses to the Mamluks. In 1269, Hetoum abdicated in favour of his son and became a monk, but he died a year later.[22] Leo was left in the awkward situation of keeping Cilicia as a subject of the Mongol Empire, while at the same time he was paying tribute to the Mamluks.[23]

This isolated Antioch and Tripoli, led by Hethum's son-in-law, Prince Bohemond VI. After successfully conquering Cilicila, Baibars in 1267 settled his unfinished business with Acre, and continued the extermination of remaining crusader garrisons in the following years. In 1268, he besieged Antioch, capturing the city on 18 May. Baibars had promised to spare the lives of the inhabitants, but he broke his promise and had the city razed, killing or enslaving much of the population after the surrender.[24] prompting the fall of the Principality of Antioch. The massacre of men, women, and children at Antioch "was the single greatest massacre of the entire crusading era."[25] Priests had their throats slit inside their churches, and women were sold into slavery.[26]

Then he continued to Jaffa, which belonged to Guy, the son of John of Ibelin. Jaffa fell to Baibars on 7 March after twelve hours of fighting; most of Jaffa's citizens were slain, but the garrison was allowed by Baibars to go unharmed.[27] after this he conquer Ashkalon, and Caesarea.

Diplomacy with Golden Horde

In some time around October to November 1267, or about 666 Safar of Hijra year, Baibars wrote condolence and congratulation to the new Khan of the Golden Horde, Mengu-Timur, to urge him to fight Abaqa. Despite the failure to incite infighting between the Golden Horde and Ilkhanate, Baibars continued to conduct warm correspondence with the Golden Horde, particularly with Mengu Timur's general Noqai, who was very cooperative with relation to Baibars unlike Mengu Timur. It is theorized that the factor of this intimacy was not only the religious connection (as Noqai was a Muslim, unlike his Khan), but also because Noqai was not really fond of Mengu-Timur. However, Baibars was pragmatic in his approach and did not want to become involved in complicated intrigue inside the Golden Horde, so instead he stayed close to both Mengu Timur and Noqai[28]

Continued campaign against Crusaders

Further information: Fall of Krak des Chevaliers

In 1271, after Baibars captured the smaller castles in the area, including Chastel Blanc, he besieged Krak des Chevaliers castle, held by the Hospitallers, on 30 March. Peasants who lived in the area had fled to the castle for safety and were kept in the outer ward. As soon as Baibars 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.[29] 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, which granted permission for them to surrender. The garrison capitulated and the Sultan spared their lives.[29] The new owners of the castle undertook repairs, focused mainly on the outer ward.[30] The Hospitaller chapel was converted to a mosque and two mihrabs were added to the interior.[31]

Baibars 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 Baibars. So Baibars declared a truce with Tripoli, as well as with Edward, who was never able to capture any territory from Baibars anyway. According to some reports, Baibars tried to have Edward assassinated with poison, but Edward survived the attempt and returned home in 1272.

Campaign against Makuria

Further information: Kingdom of Makuria § Decline

In 1272 the Mamluk Sultan invaded the Kingdom of Makuria, after its King David I had raided the Egyptian city of Aidhab, initiating several decades of intervention by the Mamlukes in Nubian affairs.[32] Hostilities toward the dying Christian kingdom were sidelined as Baibars' invasion of Makuria continued for four years until, by 1276, Baibars had completed his conquest of Nubia, Including the Medieval lower Nubia which ruled by Banu Kanz. Under the terms of 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 Baibars, namely a Makurian noble named Shakanda.[33] In practice this was reducing Makuria to a vassal kingdom,[34] effectively ending Makuria's status as an independent kingdom

Campaign against the Mongols

In 1277, Baibars invaded the Seljuq Sultanate of Rûm, then controlled by the Ilkhanate Mongols. He defeated a Mongol army at the Battle of Elbistan and captured the city of Kayseri. Baibars himself went with a few troops to deal with the Mongol right flank that was pounding his left wing.[35] Baibars ordered a force from the army from Hama to reinforce his left. The large Mamluk numbers were able to overwhelm the Mongol force, who instead of retreating dismounted from their horses. Some Mongols were able to escape and took up positions on the hills. Once they became surrounded they once again dismounted, and fought to the death.[35][36] During the celebration of victory, Baybars said that "How can I be happy. Before I had thought that I and my servants would defeat the Mongols, but my left wing was beaten by them. Only Allah helped us".[37]

The possibility of a new Mongol army convinced Baibars to return to Syria, since he was far away from his bases and supply line. As the Mamluk army returned to Syria the commander of the Mamluk vanguard, Izz al-Din Aybeg al-Shaykhi, deserted to the Mongols. Pervâne sent a letter to Baibars asking him to delay his departure. Baibars chastised him for not aiding him during the Battle of Elbistan. Baibars told him he was leaving for Siwas to mislead Pervâne and the Mongols as to his true destination. Baibars also sent Taybars al-Waziri with a force to raid the Armenian town of al-Rummana, whose inhabitants had hidden the Mongols earlier.

Death

Baibars died in Damascus on 1 July 1277. His demise has been the subject of some academic speculation. Many sources agree that he died from drinking poisoned kumis that was intended for someone else. Other accounts suggest that he may have died from a wound while campaigning, or from illness.[38] He was buried in the Az-Zahiriyah Library in Damascus.[39]

Family

Baibars married several women and had seven daughters and three sons. Two of his sons, al-Said Barakah and Solamish, became sultans.

Assessment

Icon of Baibars from 1260

As the first Sultan of the Bahri Mamluk dynasty, Baibars made the meritocratic ascent up the ranks of Mamluk society. He took final control after the assassination of Sultan Sayf al Din Qutuz, but before he became Sultan he was the commander of the Mamluk forces in the most important battle of the Middle Periods, repelling a Mongol force at the legendary Battle of Ain Jalut in 1260.[40] Although in the Muslim World he has been considered a national hero for centuries, and in Egypt, Syria and Kazakhstan is still regarded as such, Sultan Baibars was reviled in the Christian world of the time for his seemingly unending victorious campaigns. A Templar knight who fought in the Seventh Crusade lamented:

Rage and sorrow are seated in my heart...so firmly that I scarce dare to stay alive. It seems that God wishes to support the Turks to our loss...ah, lord God...alas, the realm of the East has lost so much that it will never be able to rise up again. They will make a Mosque of Holy Mary's convent, and since the theft pleases her Son, who should weep at this, we are forced to comply as well...Anyone who wishes to fight the Turks is mad, for Jesus Christ does not fight them any more. They have conquered, they will conquer. For every day they drive us down, knowing that God, who was awake, sleeps now, and Muhammad waxes powerful.[41]

Baibars 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.[42]

Legacy

Military Legacy

Baibars 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, Baibars 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.[43][44] His military campaign also extended into Libya and Nubia.

Culture and science

Further information: Islam and cats

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 also built bridges, irrigation and shipping canals, improved the harbours, and built mosques. He was also a patron of Islamic science, such as his support for the medical research by his Arab physician, Ibn al-Nafis.[45] As a testament of a special relationship between Islam and cats, Baibars left a cat garden in Cairo as a waqf, providing the cats of Cairo with food and shelter.[46] Until this day its legacy of domesticated cats in Cairo is still seen[47]

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 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. The library and Mausoleum are being reconstructed by Kazakhstan government fund.

In 2009, a copy of Sultan Beibars Mausoleum in Damascus was to be built in Kazakhstan.

In fiction

See also

References

  1. ↑ Baibars was Kipchak Turk origin , nicknamed Abu al-Futuh and Abu l-Futuhat, which means Father of Conquests, pointing to his victories.
  2. ↑ The New Encyclopædia Britannica, Macropædia, H.H. Berton Publisher, 1973–1974, p.773/vol.2
  3. ↑ The history of the Mongol conquests, By J. J. Saunders, pg. 115
  4. ↑ Heghnar Zeitlian Watenpaugh (2004). The Image Of An Ottoman City: Imperial Architecture And Urban Experience In Aleppo In The 16th And 17th Centuries. BRILL. p. 198. ISBN 90-04-12454-3.
  5. ↑ Al-Maqrizi, from the Berish tribe that currently lives in the Western part of Kazakhstan, Al Selouk Leme'refatt Dewall al-Melouk, p.520/vol.1
  6. ↑ Ibn Taghri, al-Nujum al-Zahirah Fi Milook Misr wa al-Qahirah, Year 675H /vol.7
  7. ↑ Abu al-Fida, The Concise History of Humanity, Tarikh Abu al-Fida pp.71-87/ year 676H
  8. ↑ Ibn Iyas , Badai Alzuhur Fi Wakayi Alduhur, abridged and edited by Dr. M. Aljayar, Almisriya Lilkitab, Cairo 2007, ISBN 977-419-623-6 , p.91
  9. ↑ Baibars in Concise Britannica Online, web page
  10. ↑ Brief Article in Columbia Encyclopedia, web page
  11. ↑ Maalouf, Amin (1984). The crusades through Arab eyes. Saqi Books. p. 248. ISBN 978-0-86356-023-1.
  12. ↑ Lord of Joinville, 110, part II.
  13. ↑ Asly, p. 49.
    Skip Knox, Egyptian Counter-attack, The Seventh Crusade.
  14. ↑ According to Matthew Paris, only 2 Templars, 1 Hospitaller and one ‘contemptible person’ escaped. Matthew Paris, LOUIS IX`S CRUSADE, p. 14/ Vol. 5.
  15. ↑ The story of the involvement of Baibars in the assassination was told by different historians in different ways. In one account the assassins killed Qutuz while he was giving a hand to Baibars (Al-Maqrizi and Ibn-Taghri). In another, from an Ayyubid source, Qutuz was giving a hand to someone when Baibars struck his back with a sword (Abu-Al-Fida). A third account mentioned that Baibars tried to help Qutuz against the assassins (O. Hassan). According to Al-Maqrizi, the Emirs who struck Qutuz were Badr ad-Din Baktut, Emir Ons, and Emir Bahadir al-Mu'izzi. (Al-Maqrizi, p.519/vol.1)
  16. ↑ MacHenry, Robert. The New Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 1993. Baibars
  17. 1 2 Runciman, Steven (1987). A History of the Crusades: The Kingdom of Acre and the Later Crusades quoting Magrisi Sultans, I, i, p. 116; Abu al Fida pp. 145-50; Bar Hebraeus p. 439. p. 316.
  18. ↑ Dalrymple, William (2004). In Xanadu. p. 320.
  19. ↑ The Crusaders in the East quoting El-Aini ii. 220; Makrizi i, ii. 8. 1987. p. 338.
  20. ↑ The Crusaders in the East quoting El-Aini ii. 220; Makrizi i, ii. 8. 1987. p. 338.
  21. ↑ Winter, Evanoni, Michael, Amalia (2005). The Mamluks in Egyptian and Syrian Politics and Society quoting Izz Al Din bin Shaddad, tarikh al malik al zahir; Muqaddasi, Ahsan al Taqasim fii Ma'rifat Al Taqalim; Abdul Qadir bin Muhammad al Nu'aymi al Daris fii tarikh al Madaris. pp. 163–165.
  22. ↑ Claude Mutafian, p.60
  23. ↑ Bournotian, A Concise History of the Armenian People, p. 101
  24. ↑ Hudson Institute > American Outlook > American Outlook Article Detail
  25. ↑ Thomas F. Madden, The Concise History of the Crusades (3rd ed. 2014), p. 168
  26. ↑ Madden, supra at 168.
  27. ↑ The Later Crusades, 1189-1311. Univ of Wisconsin Press. 1969. p. 557. ISBN 9780299048440.
  28. ↑ F. Broadbridge, Anne (2008). Kingship and Ideology in the Islamic and Mongol Worlds Cambridge Studies in Islamic Civilization. p. 59. ISBN 9780521852654.
  29. 1 2 King 1949, pp. 88–92
  30. ↑ King 1949, p. 91
  31. ↑ Folda, French & Coupel 1982, p. 179
  32. ↑ Howard, Jonathan (2011). The Crusades: A History of One of the Most Epic Military Campaigns of All Time.
  33. ↑ El Hareir, Mbaye, Idris , Ravane (2011). The Spread of Islam Throughout the World. p. 300.
  34. ↑ Kenana Handbook Of Sudan edited by Peter Gwynvay Hopkins
  35. 1 2 Ibn Taghri, Al-Zahir Baibars
  36. ↑ Al-Maqrizi,p. 99/vol.2
  37. ↑ Reuven Amitai Press, Mamluk Ilkhanid war 1260-1281
  38. ↑ Young, Robyn (2007). Crusade. Dutton. p. 484.
  39. ↑ Zahiriyya Madrasa and Mausoleum of Sultan al-Zahir Baybars
  40. ↑ 100 Decisive Battles: From Ancient Times to the Present By Paul K. Davis, pg. 141
  41. ↑ Howarth,p.223
  42. ↑ The preaching of Islam: a history of the propagation of the Muslim faith, By Thomas Walker Arnold, pg. 192
  43. ↑ Ahmad Y Hassan, Gunpowder Composition for Rockets and Cannon in Arabic Military Treatises In Thirteenth and Fourteenth Centuries
  44. ↑ Ancient Discoveries, Episode 12: Machines of the East, History Channel, 2007 (Part 4 and Part 5)
  45. ↑ Albert Z. Iskandar, "Ibn al-Nafis", in Helaine Selin (1997), Encyclopaedia of the History of Science, Technology, and Medicine in Non-Western Cultures, Kluwer Academic Publishers, ISBN 0-7923-4066-3.
  46. ↑ Campo, Juan Eduardo (2009). Encyclopedia of Islam. Infobase Publishing. ISBN 1438126964.
  47. ↑ http://cairocats.com/
  48. ↑ Lamb, Harold. The Crusades. Garden City Publishing, 1934. page 343

External links

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Regnal titles
Preceded by
Qutuz		 Mamluk Sultan
1260–1277 		Succeeded by
Al-Said Barakah
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