Ayyubid dynasty
Jump to navigation
Jump to search
Ayyubids, (Arabic: الأيوبيون al-Ayyūbīyūn; Kurdish: ئەیووبیەکان Eyûbiyan) was a Kurdish[1] dynasty that ruled Egypt from 1171 to 1254.
Ayyubid dynasty | |
|---|---|
| 1171–1254/1462 | |
 Flag | |
 Ayyubid Sultanate of Egypt (in pink) at the death of Saladin in 1193 | |
| Status | Sultanate |
| Capital | Cairo |
• 1171–1193 | Saladin (first) |
• 1150–1254 | Al Ashraf (last) |
| History | |
• Established | 1171 |
• Disestablished | 1254/1462 |
History[change | change source]
Seizing power in Egypt, they were soon able to extend their dominion to the Yemen, Syria, and much of the Jazira. However, they lost the bulk of their lands during the crises of the mid-seventh/thirteenth century, though they did continue to hold two minor principalities for some time thereafter (Hama until 1341, Hisn Kayfa until 1462). In addition, many members of the family continued to be maintained in Egypt as pensioners of the Mamluk sultanate until the early eighth/fourteenth century.[2] Bosworth says the Kurdish Ayyubids were considerably Turkified,[3] The political attitudes of the Kurdish Ayyubids were significantly indistinguishable from the structure of contemporary Turkish states.[4]
Origins[change | change source]
The ancestors of the Ayyubid dynasty were from the Kurdish Hadhbani tribe.[5] Most of the academic sources state that Saladin, the Founder of the dynasty, was Kurdish.[6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15]
References[change | change source]
- ↑ Humphreys, R. S. "AYYUBIDS", Encyclopædia Iranica. Vol. III, Fasc. 2, pp. 164–167, "AYYUBIDS (Ar. Banū Ayyūb), a Kurdish family who first became prominent as members of the Zangid military establishment in Syria in the mid-sixth/twelfth century."
- ↑ Humphreys, R. S. "AYYUBIDS", Encyclopædia Iranica. Vol. III, Fasc. 2, pp. 164–167, "Seizing power in Egypt in 564/1168, they were soon able to extend their dominion to the Yemen, Syria, and much of the Jazīra. However, they lost the bulk of their lands during the crises of the mid-seventh/thirteenth century, though they did continue to hold two minor principalities for some time thereafter (Ḥamā until 740/1341, Ḥeṣn Kayfā until 866/1462). In addition, many members of the family continued to be maintained in Egypt as pensioners of the Mamluk sultanate until the early eighth/fourteenth century."
- ↑ Bosworth, C. E. (2019). New Islamic Dynasties: A Chronological and Genealogical Manual. Edinburgh University Press. p. 73. ISBN 978-1-4744-6462-8.
(...) although the family seems to have become considerably Turkicised from their service at the side of Turkish soldiers. (...)
- ↑ Humphreys, R. S. "AYYUBIDS", Encyclopædia Iranica. Vol. III, Fasc. 2, pp. 164–167, "In the light of the above outline, is it proper to think of the Ayyubid confederation as a specifically “Kurdish” state? On the level of political structure, the governing attitudes of the Ayyubid confederation can certainly be related to the political institutions of their original homeland. On the other hand, these institutions do not differ significantly from the underlying structures of contemporary Turkish states (...)"
- ↑ Bosworth, C. E. (2019). New Islamic Dynasties: A Chronological and Genealogical Manual. Edinburgh University Press. p. 73. ISBN 978-1-4744-6462-8.
Najm al-Dīn Ayyub and Asad al-Dīn Shīrkūh b. Shādhī, the progenitors of the dynasty, were from the Hadhbani tribe of Kurds (...)
- ↑ Riley-Smith, Jonathan (2008). The Crusades, Christianity, and Islam. Columbia University Press. p. 64, "Saladin's relative obscurity in Muslim history was understandable. He was a Kurd."
- ↑ Laine, James W. (2015). Meta-Religion: Religion and Power in World History. University of California Press. p. 133, "A Kurd, Saladin was born in Iraq (in Tikrit, Saddam Hussein's hometown), and became famous in medieval legend for his chivalrous exchanges with Richard the Lionheart, commander of the Third Crusade."
- ↑ Bowering, Gerhard; Crone, Patricia; Kadi, Wadad; Mirza, Mahan; Stewart, Devin J.; Zaman, Muhammad Qasim (2013). The Princeton Encyclopedia of Islamic Political Thought. Princeton University Press. p. 58, "The Ayyubid dynasty was founded by Saladin (Salah al-Din b. Ayyub d. 1193), a military commander of Kurdish descent..."
- ↑ Findlay, Ronald; O'Rourke, Kevin H. (2009). Power and Plenty: Trade, War, and the World Economy in the Second Millennium. Princeton University Press. p. 91, "The Fatimid dynasty was overthrown by the Kurdish hero Saladin in 1171, who used the resources of Egypt to good effect against the Crusaders."
- ↑ Humphreys, R. Stephen (1977). From Saladin to the Mongols: The Ayyubids of Damascus, 1193–1260. State University of New York Press. p. 29, "Among the free-born amirs the Kurds would seem the most dependent on Saladin's success for the progress of their own fortunes. He too was a Kurd, after all..."
- ↑ Esposito, John L. (2004). The Oxford Dictionary of Islam. Oxford University Press. p. 31, "...Kurdish officer Salah al-Din (Saladin)."
- ↑ Lewis, Bernard (2002). Arabs in History. Oxford University Press. p. 166, "A Kurdish officer called Salāh al-Dīn, better known in the West as Saladin, went to Egypt, where he served as Wazir to the Fațimids while representing the interests of Nūr al-Din. In 1171 Saladin declared the Fațimid Caliphate at an end."
- ↑ Riley-Smith, Jonathan (2002). The Oxford History of the Crusades. Oxford University Press. p. 228, "...Saladin (or Salah al-Din) from the Kurdish clan of Ayyub..."
- ↑ Rogers, Clifford J.; Caferro, William; Reid, Shelley (2010). The Oxford Encyclopedia of Medieval Warfare and Military Technology. Oxford University Press. p. 213, "Saladin was born into a Kurdish military family..."
- ↑ Bang, Peter Fibiger; Bayly, C. A.; Scheidel, Walter (2020). The Oxford World History of Empire: Volume Two: The History of Empires. Oxford University Press. p. 607, "...Kurdish warlord Saladin..."
