Ahmad ibn Tulun

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Ahmad ibn Ţũlũn (220 - 270 AH/835 - 884 AD) was the founder of the Tũlũnid dynasty that ruled Egypt briefly between 868 and 905 AD. Originally sent by the Abbassid caliph as governor to Egypt, ibn Ţũlũn established himself as an independent ruler.

Ibn Ţũlũn was born in Baghdad during the month of Ramadan 220 AH (September 835). His father, Ţũlũn, is believed to have been one of the Turkic slaves included with a tribute sent by the governor of Bukhara to the Abbassid Caliph Al-Ma'mun around the year 200/815-16. The Abbassid court recruited Turkish slaves to serve as military officers, and Tulun did well for himself, eventually coming to command the Caliph's private guard.

The family moved to Samarra in 850, and ibn Ţũlũn received his military training there, and also studied theology. He was appointed commander of special forces for the Caliph al-Mutawakkil in 855. Ţũlũn died around this time, and his widow married an influential Turkish commander in the palace, Bayik Bey ("Bãkbãk" in some of the Arabic sources). Ibn Ţũlũn married Hatun, the daughter of another influential Turkish general in the palace guard, who bore him two chilren: Abbas and Fatima.

After serving in military campaigns against the Byzantine Empire in Tarsus, ibn Ţũlũn gained the favor of the Caliph al-Musta'in. On returning to Baghdad in 863, the Caliph presented him with a concubine, Meyyaz, with whom he had Khumarraweh, the son who eventually succeeded him as ruler of Egypt.

In 868, the Caliph al-Mu'tazz appointed Bayik Bey as the governor of Egypt; Bayik Bey in turn sent Ahmad ibn Ţũlũn as his regent. Ibn Tulun arrived in Egypt in September 868.

On arriving in Egypt, ibn Ţũlũn found that the existing capital, al-Fustat, founded by Amr ibn al-'As in 641, was too small to accommodate his armies. He founded a new city to serve as his capital, Medinat al-Qatta'i, or the quartered city. Al-Qatta'i was laid out in the style of grand cities of Persia and the Byzantine Empire, including a large public square, hippodrome, a palace for the governor, and a large ceremonial Mosque of Ibn Tulun, which was named for ibn Ţũlũn. The city was razed in 905 AD, and the mosque alone has survived.

Initially, ibn Ţũlũn's rule in Egypt was marked by a struggle for control with the existing head of the council of financial affairs, Ibn al-Mudabbir. Ibn al-Mudabbir was disliked by the local population because of high rates of taxation (particularly against non-Muslim citizens, which comprised over half of Egypt's population) and greed. Ibn al-Mudabbir reported directly to the Caliph, not to the governor of Egypt, and as such ignored ibn Ţũlũn entirely. Ibn Ţũlũn used his influence at the Abbassid court to work against Ibn al-Mudabbir, and finally was able to have him removed after four years.

Bayik Bey was murdered around 870, and governorship passed to Yarjukh al-Turki, father of ibn Ţũlũn's wife, Hatun. Yarjukh retained ibn Ţũlũn as his regent in Egypt, and increased his power by granting him authority over Alexandria and other territories in the region. Ibn Ţũlũn led a campaign against the rebeliious governor of Syria, Isa ibn Shaykh al-Shaybani, which allowed him to amass an army of 100,000 men.

In 871, the Caliph al-Muta'mid appointed his brother Muwaffak as governor of Damascus, and his son, Jafaar (later the Caliph al-Mufawwad) to succeed Yarjukh as governor of Egypt. The rebellion of the Zanj, a group of black slaves who seized control of Basra and much of southern Iraq during this decade, siphoned much of the caliphate's resources away from the provinces. In 874, ibn Ţũlũn took advantage of the chaos in Iraq to sever relations with Baghdad and declare independence.

It was not until 877 that Jafaar sent armed forces under Musa bin Bugha to retake control of Egypt. The attempted invasion was a rout, with most of Musa's army scattering before the larger forces led by ibn Ţũlũn. Ibn Ţũlũn's forces followed and took control of large portions of Syria, but the campaign was cut short when ibn Ţũlũn had to return to Egypt to deal with a revolt led by his own son, Abbas.

Following his return from Syria, ibn Ţũlũn added his own name to coins issued by the dynasty, along with those of the Caliph and heir apparent. In 882, ibn Ţũlũn invited the nearly powerless Caliph al-Muta'mid to Egypt to offer him protection against his brother, Muwaffak, who was trying to seize the caliphate for himself. Al-Muta'mid was intercepted en route to Egypt, and ibn Ţũlũn and Muwaffak began campaigning against each other. Ibn Ţũlũn was able to have a group of prominent jurists declare Muwaffak incapable of ruling as Caliph, and both leaders had the other cursed during Friday prayers.

Military skirmishes followed. After leading the siege of Tarsus in 883, ibn Ţũlũn fell ill on his return to Egypt and died on May 10, 884. He was succeeded by his 20-year old son, Khumarraweh, who lacked much of the charisma and cunning that kept ibn Ţũlũn in power. The Tulunid dynasty was short-lived, and Egypt was reoccupied by Abbassid forces in the winter of 904-05.

[edit] Sources

Balawĩ, Sĩrat Ahmad ibn Ţũlũn

Zaki Hassan. "Ahmad b. Ţũlũn" in Encyclopedia of Islam, 1st ed. Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1960. p. 278-9.