Last article tackled the rule of the seventh Sultan of the Ayyubid State, King Al-Saleh Ayyub (637- 646 AH) (1240- 1249), who raised the Turkish mamluks and made them princes. During his reign, conspiracies were hatched by the followers of Al-Ashraf and Al-Kamel, some of whom were killed and others were imprisoned. Also, conflicting forces- Al-Nasser Dawoud, King Al-Saleh Ismail and King Al-Mansour allied against him and the Khwarazmian dynasty. Then, King Al-Saleh Ismail sought the help of the Franks in exchange for giving them Jerusalem, Tiberias, and Ashkelon. Historian Ibn Wasel states the following: “The Franks took over Jerusalem, built and fortified the citadels of Tiberias and Ashkelon. Al-Saleh Ismail promised to give them cities if he ruled over Egypt,so they gathered and mobilized, and the soldiers of the Levant marched to Gaza, Al-Mansour, the ruler of Homs, went himself to Acre and asked for it, and they answered him.” On the other hand, King Al-Saleh Ayyub prepared for war, assisted by the Khwarezmians; they moved to Gaza, where they met the Egyptians.
Tens of thousands of the Khwarezmians crossed Euphrates River, they looted and vandalized, compelling the soldiers of Gaza to retreat, the Franks fled from Jerusalem, so the Khwarezmians entered it, Ibn Taghri mentions: “The Khwarezmians attacked the sanctuary of Jerusalem, killed the Christians there, demolished the cemetery of Al-Qemama, collected the dead bones there and burnt them, settled in Gaza and sent to King Al-Saleh of Egypt, who sent them money and soldiers…” Battles were raged between the two parties, ending in the victory of the Khwarezmians and King Al-Saleh Ayyub, Egypt celebrated that victory: “… Egypt was incomparably adorned, good tidings were spread, the Franks and princes captives of the Levant entered; it was a well-attended day in Cairo.” Then the armies advanced towards Ashkelon, then Nablus, and were able to rule Palestine and the Jordan Valley. Thus, King Al-Saleh Ayyub restored Jerusalem again in his days. The armies of King Al-Saleh Ayyub and the Khwarazmians marched towards the Levant and descended on Damascus, where Al-Saleh Ismail and Al-Mansour stayed. Al-Saleh Ismail sought reconciliation between him and his nephew Al-Saleh Ayyub, seeking intercession from the caliph, but he did not succeed.The siege of the city of Damascus continued until Al-Saleh Ayyub took control of it.
However, matters between King Al-Saleh Ayyub and the Khwarezmians worsened because they did not get what they wanted from him. Ibn Taghri mentions: “When the the Khwarazmians saw that the Sultan had gained control of the Levant through them (thanks to them) and had defeated his enemies, they began to have a lot of excessive confidence and presumption, in addition to their previous victory achieved for him over the owner of Mosul before his Sultanate while he was in Sinjar, so they coveted the great feudal lands), but when they obtained nothing, they rebelled against him.” They wrote to Rukn al-Din Baibars al-Bunduqdari, the greatest prince of Al-Saleh Ayyub, the ruler of Karak, and King Al-Saleh Ismail, and they all agreed to fight the king of Egypt, Al-Saleh Ayyub, who had sent for Rukn al-Din Baibars and arrested him. It was moreover said he killed him. The armies of the Khwarazmians and Al-Saleh Ismail came to Damascus and besieged it. Then violent fighting occurred between the ruler of Aleppo and Al-Mansour, the ruler of Homs, against the Khwarazmians and Al-Saleh Ismail, which ended with their defeat. Egypt and the Levant became under the rule of Al-Saleh Ayyub.
In 646 AH (1248 AD), King Al-Saleh Ayyub seized control of Homs. He was ill at the time, he got became angry and traveled in a stretcher to Damascus. He settled in its castle and sent his armies to Homs and besieged it until peace was concluded, and Homs was governed by the ruler of Aleppo.
King Al-Saleh Ayyub departed from Damascus back to Egypt due to his illness and the news of the Franks’ movement towards Egypt, and he went down to Ashmum Tannah to face the Franks if they entered it from Damietta, and it was said about that: “Damietta was loaded with ammunition and the grain stores prepared for military ammunition were secured. Fakhr al-Din Ibn al-Sheikh landed with the soldiers on the island of Damietta, and the Franks’ ships arrived and anchored in the sea facing the Muslims.” And… Stories about beautiful Egypt never end!
General Bishop
Head of the Coptic Orthodox Cultural Center
