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In the previous article, we tackled Ahmed bin Tulun’s tenure, building al-Qata’i in 256 Hijri (270 A.D.) as well as Ahmed bin Tulun’s Square and his mosque which was magnificently built by the Christian architect Sa’id bin Katib al-Faraghani and Jabal Yashkur mosque. In 257 Hijri (871 A.D.), bin Tulun became ruler of Alexandria, after which he was assigned by the caliph the affairs of Egypt, the Levant, and the harbors. This took place in 259 Hijri (872-873 A.D.)
The Hospital
Ahmed bin Tulun built a hospital which affairs he used to monitor. It is said that it provided free medical care. He appended to it a free pharmacy which construction cost about sixty thousand dinars. Some historians assert that as bin Tulun was on a hunting trip, his horse’s feet stumbled in the sand. So, he ordered his associates to dig the place where they found a million dinars!
Agriculture
Bin Tulun gave special attention to expanding agriculture, which led to increasing agrarian products. He also cared about irrigation. So, he had the Nile water purified, canals dug, bridges built, dams repaired, and farmers provided with seeds and agricultural tools which costs they would return after sowing and selling crops.
In the light of this reformation, he fixed the Nilometer in Rhoda. As we mentioned beforehand, the Nilometer was constructed during the tenure of Ossama bin Zayd al-Tennukhi in 96 Hijri (714-715 A.D.) to measure the height of the Nile’s water. It was renovated during al-Ma’mun’s tenure, in 199 Hijri (814 A.D.) and remained like this till it was rebuilt by al-Mutawakkil in 247 Hijri (861 A.D.), then bin Tulun renovated it.
The Son Rebels
When bin Tulun went to the Levant in 264 Hijri (877 A.D.), he deputized Egypt’s affairs to his son, al-Abbas, and appointed Ahmed bin Mohammed al-Wasiti chief minister to assist him in running the State’s affairs. Yet, some of his wicked associates instigated him against his father, made him arrest al-Wasiti who sent a message, informing bin Tulun of his son’s rebellion.
Al-Abbas had seized all possessions in Bayt al-Mal and gone to Barqa. When bin Tulun returned to Egypt, he sent an army to overcome al-Abbas! Battles broke out, ending up in arresting al-Abbas and his troops and bringing him over to his father’s house. The latter threw him in prison where he remained until his death during the tenure of his brother Khumarawayh bin Ahmad bin Tulun! Bin Tulun sent his son a message which content is:
“From Ahmed bin Tulun, the caliph’s appointee, to the one who undid himself, disobeyed God, knew his guilt, lost his gain, tested his limits, and did not know of his worth! You fool who became vainglorious and was seduced by his page! You are going headlong toward perdition, God willing. You have rebelled against the Almighty and strayed. But, He had given you a parable in His book: ‘God has given a parable of a village which was safe and prosperous.
Yet, it disinterred. So, God punished it by fear and hunger according to its deeds.’ True we made you close to us in order that you might repent, and in hope that you might return. Only then you will know, you who disobeyed your father’s order, severed your family ties, and defied God, how guilty you are and which sin you committed. You would wish you had had a mind or virtue, or that you had never been born, unless you reconsidered the matter and hurried to us, lowly and obediently. In this case, we shall forgive, rather than curse you, and treat you with kindness instead of harshness. Peace be upon the obedient who observe God.”
Ahmed bin Tulun and the Abbasid Caliph
Shortly after al-Muhtadi had been overthrown and put to death, Ahmed al-Mu’tamid ‘ala allah bin al-Mutawakkil became caliph, having been released. Yet, it was his brother al-Muwaffaq who did run the State’s affairs. Bin Tulun’s relation with al-Mu’tamid was better than his with al-Muwaffaq with whom he clashed, as bin Tulun would present money to the caliph, while al-Muwaffaq was mobilizing the State’s resources to overcome the Zanj rebellion.
Al-Muwaffaq had tried to reduce bin Tulun’s influence. So, he sent him Moussa bin Bugha to overcome him. Yet, he could not reach Egypt due to lack of money. What made matters worse was that bin Tulun enticed al-Mu’tamid to come over to Egypt and make her the capital of the Abbasid caliphate and flee from his brother al-Muwaffaq. This was in 268 Hijri (881 A.D.) By the time Al-Muwaffaq found out, the caliph had left Samarra and headed to Egypt. So, al-Muwaffaq sent someone who returned him to Samarra, which deepened the chasm between bin Tulun and al-Muwaffaq.
Some historians assert that in 269 Hijri (883 A.D.), bin Tulun decided to depose al-Muwaffaq from his post as crown prince, having assembled with judges and nobles in Damascus. In effect, al-Muwaffaq’s name was abolished from the Friday speech. In return, al-Muwaffaq asked al-Mu’tamid to have bin Tulun cursed in the State’s mosques, to which he reluctantly complied. As such, the relation remained turbulent until bin Tulun died and his son Khumarawayh took over.
Personality
Ahmed bin Tulun was intelligent and capable of understanding people. It is said that as he was eating, he saw a beggar. So, he ordered his servant to give him a chicken, bread, and dessert. Yet, his servant returned and told him the man would not eat. So, he ordered him to bring the man over. The beggar was not disturbed by bin Tulun’s encounter. So, the latter asked him to inform him frankly of the messages his bore and ordered the whip be brought. So, the man admitted what he had been hiding.
Some of bin Tulun’s associates thought that such knowledge was a type of magic. Yet, he told them it was not. Rather, it emanated from a true understanding of the man’s character, after which he told them he offered him food which he would not eat, despite his destitute condition, and when he came over, he was self-contained, which made him understand he was no beggar, but a messenger. What an interesting story. Stories never end in Beautiful Egypt.
General Bishop
Head of the Coptic Orthodox Cultural Center
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