Al-Malik al-Ashraf Salāh al-Dīn Khalil ibn Qalawūn (Arabic: الملك الأشرف صلاح الدين خليل بن قلاوون); (b. c. 1262, Cairo – d. 14 December 1293, Kom Turuga) was the eighth Mamluk sultan of Egypt from 1290 until his assassination in December, 1293. He is most famous for conquering the last of the Crusader states in Palestine with the capture of Acre in 1291.
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Al-Ashraf Khalil, the 8th Kipchak Turkic Sultan of Egypt[1] was the son of Sultan Qalawun. He became heir to the Sultanate and was named co-sultan with his father shortly after the sudden death of his older brother as-Salih Ali in 1288.[2] During the investiture, Khalil faced a formal problem as the succession document was not signed by his late father. According to the ceremony judge, Fath ad-Din Abdul Zahir, his father refused to sign the document before his death saying: "Fath ad-Din, I can not let Khalil rule the Muslims".[3] When Khalil saw the document without his father's signature he said: "Fath ad-Din, the sultan declined to give it to me, but God gave it to me" and he was inaugurated.[4][5] Qalawun's vice-Sultan, Hosam ad-Din Turuntay and Emir Kitbugha, were arrested by Khalil and Turuntay was executed as he led a conspiracy to kill him but Kitbugha was later released.[6] While Baydara al-Mansuri[7] became the new Vice-Sultan, Hosam ad-Din Lajin[8] became the deputy of the Sultan in Syria and Ibn al-Salus[9] was granted the post of vizier. After Khalil liquidated his opponents and secured his position he was ready to complete the work which his father did not finish, namely the recapturing of the last strongholds of the Franks situated on the Syrian coast.
Qalawun, father of Khalil, conquered the County of Tripoli in 1289, and in 1290 marched on Acre, the capital of the remnant of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, but, to the relief of the Franks of Acre, he died in November before launching the attack. He was succeeded by Khalil who decided to continue the attack. Khalil sent a message to William of Beaujeu,[10] the Master of the Temple, telling him about his intentions to attack Acre and urging him not to send messengers or gifts.[11] But a delegation from Acre led by Sir Philip Mainebeuf,[12][13] arrived in Cairo [14] with gifts and appealed to Khalil not to attack Acre. Khalil did not accept the request and imprisoned the Frank messengers.[15][16]
Al-Ashraf Khalil assembled the forces of Egypt and Syria, which included a great number of volunteers[17] and siege engines from everywhere at Hisn al-Akrad. Some of Khalil's catapults were huge and had such names as "Al Mansuri" and "The Furious" in addition to lighter, but potent, mangonels called "Black Bulls".[18][19] Four armies from Damascus (led by Lajin), Hama (led by al-Muzaffar Taqai ad-Din), Tripoli (led by Bilban) and Al Kark (led by Baibars al-Dewadar) marched to Acre to join the Egyptian army of Khalil.[20] In addition to the historian Baibars al-Dewadar [21] who led the army of Al Karak, Abu al-Fida was another prominent historian who accompanied al-Ashraf in his Levantiane expedition.[22]
The Franks of Acre were for some time aware of the seriousness of the situation. They asked for help from Europe which resulted in nothing significant. A small group of knights, among them the Swiss Otto de Grandison, were sent by king Edward I of England. Burchard of Schwanden, the Grand Master of the German Teutonic Knights, resigned and was replaced by Konrad von Feuchtwangen who suddenly left Acre for Europe. The only noteworthy reinforcement came from king Henry II of Cyprus who fortified the walls and sent forces led by his brother Amalric to defend the city. Acre was well defended by two lines of thick walls[23] and had Twelve towers[24] which were built by European kings[25] and rich pilgrims.[26]
On the 5th of April 1291, Khalil's forces stood in front of Acre.[27] The army of Hama took its position on front of the Templars' tower, while the Egyptian army stretched out from the end of the wall of Montmusard [28] up to the Gulf of Acre.[29] The Dihliz (red tent of the Sultan and the headquarters) stood on a small hill near the shore on front of the Tower of the Legate. On April 6, the catapults began to hurl stones and fire over the walls of Acre. For eight days the walls were hurled and both armies engaged in occasional clashes. At the end of the eight days the Muslims set up barricades and began to move further towards the city, using wicker screens, till in the end they reached the edge of the wall. Carabohas[30] were brought up and parts of the wall were mined out. Despite the continual arrival of reinforcements from Cyprus to Acre by sea, the Franks became convinced of their lack of strength against Khalil's army. On April 15, under moonlight, the Templars, led by Jean Grailly and Otto de Grandison, launched a sudden attack against the camp of the contingent of Hama but their horses got their legs tangled in the ropes of the Muslims' tents and were caught and many were killed. Another attack, after a few days and this time under cover of darkness, by the Hospitallers also ended badly. On May 5, some hope was revived when Henry II of Cyprus arrived with forces transported by 40 ships. But soon Henry, too, became convinced of his helplessness. The Franks sent messengers [31] to Al-Ashraf Khalil who saluted him on their knees. Khalil asked them whether they brought him the keys of the city, but they replied that the city could not be surrendered so easily and that they only came to plea for mercy for the poor inhabitants and that the Franks were willing to discuss any injustice done by them earlier to the Muslims[32] and to restore the truce signed by them and the Muslims. Khalil promised the messengers to spare the life of everyone if the Franks hand him Acre peacefully but the messengers refused his offer.[33] While the messengers were still there a huge catapult stone launched from the city struck the ground near the sultan's tent. Khalil, believing that the crusaders were negotiating in bad faith, reacted furiously and wanted to kill the two messenger but Emir Sanjar al-Shuja' pleaded for them and they were sent back to the city.
From May 8, Acre's towers began to cave in one after one. On May 18, early in the morning at sunrise, the Sultan gave his order to launch an all-out attack on all points, accompanied by sound of trumpets and drums carried on 300 camels.[34] The Muslim forces advanced towards a great tower that was called the Accursed Tower[35] and forced the Frankish garrison to retreat to the side of the Gate of St. Anthony. Muslim standards were placed on the walls. All counter-attacks and attempts made by the Hospitallers and the Templars to recapture the tower were in vain. King Henry II and the Master of the Hospital boarded their galleys and fled from Acre.[36] William of Beaujeu, the Master of the Temple, and Matthew of Clermont were killed. By capturing these positions, the Muslim forces were now inside the city fighting the Franks in the streets and alleys of Acre, which turned into a terrifying chaos as the inhabitants were fleeing towards the sea. How many inhabitants perished on land and in sea is unknown.[37][38][39] Before night, Acre, after being in the hands of the Franks for 100 years,[40] was in the hands of Al-Ashraf Khalil and his army after a siege of 43 days, with exception of the huge headquarters of the Templars which stood on the west side of the city seashore. After a week, Al-Asraf Khalil negotiated with Peter de Severy, who was in charge of the Templars, and it was agreed that the Templars and everyone inside the fortress would have free passage to Cyprus, but the Sultan's men who were sent to the fortress to supervise the evacuation seemed not disciplined enough to handle the matter and were massacred by the Templars. Under the cover of darkness, Theobald Gaudin, the new Master of the Temple, left the fortress for Sidon with a few people and the fortune of the Templars. In the morning, Peter de Severy went to the Sultan to settle a new negotiation but he was arrested with his followers and they were executed in retaliation for the Sultan's men who were masscared earlier by the Templars inside the fortress. When the besieged Templars in the fortress saw what happened to Peter de Severy, they continued the fight. On May 28, after a wide breach was made under the fortress, the Sultan sent about 2000 men to take it. The Frankish fortress collapsed killing everyone inside, including Sultan's men.[41]
The news of the conquest of Acre reached Damascus and Cairo. Al-Ashraf Khalil entered the decorated city of Damascus with Franks chained at the feet and the captured crusader standards which were carried upside-down as a sign of their defeat. After celebrating his victory in Damascus, Khalil left for Cairo which was also decorated and celebrating.[42] Arriving at Cairo, he ordered the release of Philip Mainebeuf and the men who accompanied him to Cairo earlier.[43]
The port of Tyre was one of the most protected strongholds of the Franks on the Syrian coast. Saladin failed twice to capture it. Tyre was passed from Margaret of Lusignan[44] to her nephew Amalric shortly before the capture of Acre by Al-Ashraf Khalil. On May 19, Al-Ashraf, while still in Acre, sent a group of men, led by Emir Sanjar al-Shuja'i, to examine the situation in Tyre. Having a small garrison and seeing the fleeing refugees from Acre, Adam of Cafran, the Bailli of Tyre, panicked and fled to Cyprus. Tyre was taken by the Muslims without a fight.
A month after the capture of Acre, Al-Ashraf Khalil sent a force led by Emir al-Shuja'i to Sidon. The Knights Templar, as their fortune had been brought to Sidon earlier by Theobald Gaudin, the new Master of the Temple, decided to take refuge inside a castle that was built on an isle ca. 90 meters from the shore. Gaudin took the fortune and left for Cyprus after he promised his followers to send reinforcement from Cyprus. But Gaudin never sent anything and his followers had to fight till they fled by sea, in the night, to Tartous after they saw the Muslims building a bridge. Emir al-Shuja'i ordered the destruction of the sea castle on July 14.[45]
After the capture of Sidon, al-Shuja'i marched to Beirut. Beirut, which had a small garrison, was an important trading seaport for the Crusaders. Eschiva of Ibelin, the Lady of Beirut, thought she was secure because she had a truce with al-Ashraf Khalil's father Qalawun. al-Shuja'i summoned the commanders of the garrison and arrested them. Seeing the commanders arrested, everyone fled by sea. Beirut was taken by the Muslims on July 31. al-Shuja'i ordered the razing of its walls and castles and turned its Cathedral to a Mosque.
Haifa was captured on July 31, with little resistance. Tartus was besieged by Emir Bilban and the crusaders had to flee to the nearby island of Arwad[46] and was captured on August 3, followed by Atlit on August 14. Nothing was left for the Franks except the Island of Arwad which was captured by an Egyptian army later in 1302.[47]
In 1292, Al-Ashraf Khalil accompanied by his Vizier Ibn al-Salus arrived to Damascus and left – via Aleppo – to besiege the castle of Qal'at ar-Rum (Hromgla in Armenian). Qal'at ar-Rum, which was the seat of the Patriarch of Armenia, was besieged by more than 30 catapults [48] and was captured after 30 days by Khalil, who renamed it Qal'at al-Muslimin (Castle of the Muslims).[49] Khalil left Emir al-Shaja'i at the castle and returned to Damascus with prisoners. The population of Damascus bid farewell to the victorious Sultan on his way to Cairo at night with thousands of lighted candles. The Sultan entered Cairo from the Victory Gate (Bab al-Nasr) and was greeted by the celebrating population, also with thousands of lighted candles .
The Sultan returned to Damascus and assembled an army to invade Sis,[50] the capital of the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia, but Armenian messengers arrived to Damascus and appealed to him not to attack Sis. Til Hemdun, Marash and Behesni were given to the Sultan in exchange for peace. On the other hand, Khalil had good relations with the Kingdom of Cyprus, the Kingdom of Aragon, and the Kingdom of Sicily, who had commercial and military treaties with him.
The process of conquering the crusader kingdom, begun by Saladin in 1187, was finally completed by Khalil who was described on some of his monuments as Alexander.[51] Al-Ashraf was also planning to attack Cyprus[52] and the Mongols in Baghdad.[53]
The Crusaders were shocked. Their 200 years of effort had gone in vain. The crusaders' kingdom of Jerusalem had already been destroyed by Saladin, Baibars and Qalawun, and Louis IX's Seventh Crusade against Egypt ended in a complete failure, but the crusaders tried to keep their strongholds on the Syrian coast intact, hoping to be able one day to recapture what they had lost. Pope Nicholas IV tried to act but he died in 1292,[54] and the European kings, who became involved in internal conflicts and struggles,[55] became unable to organize new effective crusades. As for the Templars, they were accused of heresy in Europe and badly persecuted by King Philip IV of France and Pope Clement V.
Militarily, Al-Ashraf Khalil possessed the vigor and capability of two of his predecessor, Baibars and his father Qalawun. But many Emirs disliked him. He started his reign by executing and imprisoning a few prominent Emirs of his father, among them the vice-Sultan Turuntay. During the battle for Acre he arrested Hosam ad-Din Lajin and later after he returned to Cairo he executed Sunqur al-Ashqar[56] and a few Emirs. Khalil continued his father's policy of replacing Turkish Mamluks with Circassians, a policy which contributed in the intensification of the rivalry among the Mamluks. After his victories against the Franks, arrogance got hold of al-Ashraf Khalil, he treated the Emirs roughly and began to sign messages and documents with the letter "KH" only.[57] In addition, his Vizier Ibn al-Salus was envied by many Emirs and by the vice-Sultan Baydara in particular. Ibn al-Salus who, originally, was neither a Mamluk nor an Emir but a merchant from Damascus, became the most influential official during the reign of Khalil. While Al-Ashraf was rough on the Emirs, he was very generous towards Ibn al-Salus who did not treat the Emirs with respect.[58] Ibn al-Salus was involved in the unjustly persecution of the supreme judge of Egypt Ibn Bint al-A'az, as he was involved in provoking the Sultan against Baydara on several occasions.
In December 1293, Al-Ashraf Khalil accompanied by Ibn al-Salus, Baydara and other Emirs went to Turug [59][60] in northern Egypt on a bird-hunting expedition. He sent Ibn Al-Salus to the nearby city of Alexandria to bring materials and to collect the taxes. Arriving at Alexandria, Ibn Al-Salus found out that the deputies of Baydara had already taken everything. On receiving a message from Ibn Al-Salus with this news, Al-Ashraf summoned Baydara to his Dihlis and insulted and threatened him in the presence of other Emirs. The distressed Baydar left the Dihlis and called Lajin, Qara Sunqur and other Emirs and together they decided to kill the Sultan. On 14 December,[61] while the Sultan was walking with his friend Emir Shihab ad-Din Ahmad he was attacked and assassinated by Baydara and his followers. The Emirs who struck the Sultan after Baydara were Hosam ad-Din Lajin and Bahadir Ras Nubah followed by other Emirs. After the assassination of Al-Ashraf Khalil, Baydara and his followers went to the Dihliz and proclaimed Baydara the new Sultan. But Baydara was soon arrested by the Sultani Mamluks and Emirs.[62] Baydara was killed by the Sultani Emirs led by Kitbugha[63] and Baibars al-Jashnikir[64] and his head was sent to Cairo. Ibn al-Salus was arrested in Alexandria and was sent to Cairo where he was mistreated and at last beaten to death. The Emirs who were involved in the assassination of Al-Ashraf Khalil were severely punished and executed. Lajin and Qara Sunqur fled and disappeared.[65]
After the death of Al-Ashraf Khalil, the Emirs decided to install his 9-years-old brother Al-Nasir Muhammad as the new Sultan with Kitbugha as vice-Sultan and al-Shaja'i as the new Vizier. But the death of Al-Ashraf Khalil was concealed for sometime. While Al-Ashraf was dead, his brother Al-Nasir Muhammad was proclaimed Vice-Sultan and heir. A message from Egypt to the Syrian Emirs said: "I appointed my brother al-Malik al-Nasir Muhammad as my Vicegerent and heir so that when I go to fight the enemy he replaces me ".[66] As soon as everything was under control the death of Al-Ahraf Khalil was revealed to the public in Egypt and Syria.[67]
Al-Ashraf Khalil ruled about three years and two months. He had two daughters. Besides being remembered as the conqueror of Acre, he was remembered by Muslim historians as an intelligent Sultan who was fond of reading and learning.[68]
Coins of Al-Ashraf Khalil were unique in Mamluk coinage history. New kind of titles were inscribed on his coins such as : al-Sultan al-Malik al-Ashraf Salah al-Din Nasir al-Milah al-Muhamadiyah Muhyyi al-Dawalah al-Abasiyah ( The Sultan King al-Ashraf Salah al-Din the Promoter of the Muhammadan Nation and the Revitalizer of the Abbasid Caliphate ), al-Sultan al-Malik al-Ashraf Salah al-Donya wa al-Din Qasim Amir al-mu'minin ( The Sultan King al-Ashraf reform of temporal world and faith sharer of the Emir of the faithful ) the Emir of the faithful was the title of the Abbasid Caliph. His father Qalawun was also mentioned on Al-Ashraf's coins as : Mawlana al-Sultan al-Malik al-Mansur ( Our benefactor the Sultan King al-Mansur).[69]
| Regnal titles | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Qalawun |
Mamluk Sultan 1290–1293 |
Succeeded by Al-Nasir Muhammad |