state governed by the Ayyubid dynasty in the 12th and 13th centuries From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Ayyubid Sultanate (Arabic: الأيوبيون al-Ayyūbīyūn; Kurdish: ئەیووبیەکان, Eyûbiyan) wss dynasty of Kurdish origin that ruled Egypt, Syria, the Jazira and the Yemen in the 12th and 13th centuries. The name of the dynasty is attributed to Ayyub b. Shadhi, the father of Saladin. The Ayyūbids played a significant role in the history of the region, notably ending Fatimid, uniting Syria and Egypt, and defeating the Crusaders.[1]
Ayyubid Sultanate الأيوبيون ئەیووبی Eyûbî | |
---|---|
1171–1260a | |
Left: Banner of the Ayyubid Dynasty Right: Reconstruction of Saladin's personal standard | |
![]() Ayyubids (in pink) at the death of Saladin in 1193 | |
Status | Sovereign state (1171–1260) |
Capital |
|
Common languages | Arabic, Kurdish, Turkish[Note 1] |
Religion | Sunni Islam (Shafi) |
Government | Sultanate (princely confederation) under Abbasid Caliphate |
Sultan | |
• 1174–1193 | Saladin (first) |
• 1193–1198 | Al-Aziz |
• 1198–1200 | Al-Mansur |
• 1200–1218 | Al-Adil I |
• 1218–1238 | Al-Kamil |
• 1238–1240 | Al-Adil II |
• 1240–1249 | As-Salih Ayyub |
• 1249–1250 | Al-Muazzam Turanshah |
• 1250–1260 | An-Nasir Yusuf |
History | |
• Established | 1171 |
• Disestablished | 1260a |
Area | |
1190 est. | 2,000,000 km2 (770,000 sq mi) |
1200 est. | 1,700,000 km2 (660,000 sq mi) |
Population | |
• 12th century | 7,200,000 (estimate)b |
Currency | Dinar, Dirham |
aA branch of the Ayyubid dynasty ruled Hisn Kayfa until the 1524. bThe total population of the Ayyubid territories is unknown. This population figure only includes Egypt, Syria, Upper Mesopotamia, Palestine and Transjordan. Other Ayyubid territories, including coastal areas of Yemen, the Hejaz, Nubia and Cyrenaica are not included. |
Saladin, founder of the dynasty, was Kurdish[3][4][5][6] and the former vizier of Fatimid Caliphate.
Bosworth states that the Ayyubids belonged to the Hadhbani tribe of the Kurds, but argues that the Ayyubids were considerably Arabized.[7] Humphreys also identifies Saladin as a Kurd[5] and the Ayyubids as a Kurdish family, but argues that the Ayyubids were not specifically a Kurdish state, and that at the level of political structure, the governing attitudes of the Ayyubid confederation were not significantly different from those of previous Arab states such as the Abbasids and Fatimids, which can certainly be attributed to the political institutions of their original homeland, Humphreys as well as taking into account Minorsky's speculations on the "Arab origins" of the Ayyubids.[8] Tabaa, on the other hand, argues that over time the Ayyubids drastically moved away from their Kurdish origins and became decidedly Arabised.[9]
Various medieval historians spoke of Saladin's Kurdishness:
Minhaj-i Siraj Juzjani (1193–1266) at Tabaqāt-i Nâṣiri:[10]
He distinguished Sulṭān Mu'izz-ud-Dîn, Muḥammad-i-Sām, Shansabî [Shansābanî], Ghūrî, by great victories in the country of Hindūstān, as far as the boundaries of Chîn; in the territories of the West, and in the country of Shām, He made Sultan Salāḥ-ud-Dîn, Yūsuf, the Kurd, exalted by the conquests of the territories of Maghrab, and of the Afranj, so that great victories were achieved by him.
The Chronography of Bar Habraeus (1225–1286):[11]
In this year, which is the year five hundred and fifty-nine of the Arabs (A.D. 1163), Nûr ad-Dîn sent 'Asâd Ad-Dîn Shîrkûh, the brother of Najam Ad-Dîn 'Ayûb, the father of Ṣalâḥ Ad-Dîn, to Egypt. For these two brothers, Shîrkûh and 'Ayûb, the sons of Shâdî, were from the district of Dâwîn, a city of Armenia, and were Kûrds by race.
Ibn Khallikan (1211–1282) at Wafayat al-Ayan:[12]
They (Salâh ad-Din's family) were Kurds and belonged to the tribe of Rawdâdiya, which is a branch of the great tribe called al-Hadâniya.
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