| al-Manṣūr Qalāwūn | |
|---|---|
| al-Malik al-Manṣūr kassim amir al-mu'minin | |
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| Sultan of Egypt | |
| Reign | November 1279 – 10 November 1290 |
| Predecessor | Solamish |
| Successor | al-Ashraf Khalil |
| Born | c. 1222 |
| Died | November 10, 1290 (aged 67–68) Cairo,Egypt |
| Burial | |
| Consort |
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| Issue |
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| Royal name | الملك الْمَنْصُور سيف الدّين قَلَاوُونَ بن عبد الله الألفي العلائي الصَّالِحِي |
| House | Qalawunid dynasty |
| Dynasty | Bahri Mamluks |
| Religion | Sunni Islam |
Qalāwūn aṣ-Ṣāliḥī (Arabic:قلاوون الصالحي,c. 1222 – November 10, 1290) was the seventh TurkicBahri Mamluk sultan ofEgypt; he ruled from 1279 to 1290. He was calledal-Manṣūr Qalāwūn (المنصور قلاوون, "Qalāwūn the Victorious").[1] After having risen in power in the Mamluk court and elite circles, Qalawun eventually held the title of "the victorious king" and gainedde facto authority over the sultanate. He is the founder of theQalawunid dynasty that ruled Egypt for over a century.
The current sultan,Barakah was exiled and rumored to have been poisoned by Qalawun. He would then wage war against the Crusaders, capturing lands held by theCounty of Tripoli, and later totally defeating them in 1289.Acre, a major Crusader stronghold was besieged by Qalawun but would only be taken by his sonal-Ashraf Khalil as the former died before the siege was won in 1291. His son Khalil succeeded him as sultan.
Qalawun was aKipchak (aTurkic people living between the Black Sea and Caspian Sea) from the Burj Oghli (Arabic:برج اغلي) tribe, the same tribe as the earlier Mamluk sultanBaybars. They were both probably sold into slavery during theMongol invasions of Kipchak territories in the 1220s and 1230s. When he was 14 years old, Qalawun was brought by slave merchants to Egypt, which was underAyyubid rule at the time.[2] He was then purchased as amamluk (slave soldier) sometime in the 1230s or 1240s, by a mamlukamir (commander) whom different historical sources name as either 'Ala al-Din Aqsunqur al-Kamili (a mamluk ofSultan al-Kamil) or 'Ala al-Din Aqsunqur al-Saqi al-'Adili (a mamluk ofSultan al-Adil).[3] He was bought for the unusually high price of a thousanddinars, which earned him the nicknameal-Alfī ("the Thousander").[3]
Qalawun initially spoke littleArabic, but he rose in power and influence, becoming anemir under SultanBaibars,[a] whose son,al-Said Barakah, was married to Qalawun's daughter. Baibars died in 1277 and was succeeded by Barakah. In early 1279, as Barakah and Qalawun invaded theArmenian Kingdom of Cilicia, a revolt in Egypt forced Barakah to abdicate upon his return home. He was succeeded by his brotherSolamish, but it was Qalawun, acting asatabeg, who was the true holder of power. BecauseSolamish was only seven years old, Qalawun argued that Egypt needed an adult ruler, and Solamish was sent into exile inConstantinople in late 1279.[5][6] As a result, Qalawun took the titleal-Malik al-Manṣūr ("the victorious king").
The governor ofDamascus,Sunqur al-Ashqar, opposed Qalawun's ascent to power and declared himself sultan. Sunqur's claim of leadership, however, was repelled in 1280, when Qalawun defeated him in battle.[7] In 1281, Qalawun and Sunqur reconciled as a matter of convenience whenAbaqa Khan, head of theIlkhanate, invaded Syria. Qalawun and Sunqur, working together, successfully repelled Abaqa's attack at theSecond Battle of Homs.[citation needed]
Barakah,Solamish, and their brother Khadir were exiled toal-Karak, the formerCrusader castle. Barakah died there in 1280 (it was rumored that Qalawun had him poisoned), and Khadir gained control of the castle, until 1286 when Qalawun took it over directly.[citation needed]
In 1282 he foundedRibat al-Mansuri, aribat (hospice) next to theḤaram ash-Sharīf in Jerusalem.[8] The nearbyRibāṭ Kurt al-Manṣūrī was founded by Kurd al-Manṣūrī, a mamluk of Qalawun.[9]
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As Baibars had done previously, Qalawun entered into land control treaties with the remainingCrusader states,military orders and individual lords who wished to remain independent; he recognizedTyre andBeirut as separate from theKingdom of Jerusalem, now centered onAcre.[10][11] The treaties were always in Qalawun's favor, and his treaty with Tyre mandated that the city would not build new fortifications, would stay neutral in conflicts between the Mamluks and other Crusaders, and Qalawun would be allowed to collect half the city's taxes.[citation needed]
In 1281 Qalawun also negotiated an alliance withMichael VIII Palaiologos of theByzantine Empire to bolster resistance againstCharles I of Naples, who was threatening both the Byzantine Empire and the Kingdom of Jerusalem.[citation needed] In 1290, he concluded trade alliances with theRepublic of Genoa and theKingdom of Sicily.[citation needed]
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Undeterred by the terms of these newly formed peace treaties, Qalawun sacked the "impregnable"Hospitaller fortress ofMargat in 1285, and established a Mamluk garrison there. He also captured and destroyed the castle ofMaraclea. He capturedLatakia in 1287 andTripoli on April 27, 1289, thus ending the CrusaderCounty of Tripoli. TheFall of Tripoli in 1289 was spurred by theVenetians and thePisans, who opposed rising Genoese influence in the area. In 1290, reinforcements of King Henry arrived in Acre and drunkenly slaughtered peaceable merchants and peasants, Christians and Muslims alike.
Qalawun sent an emissary to ask for an explanation and above all to demand that the murderers be handed over for punishment. The Frankish response was divided between those who sought to appease him and those who sought a new war. Having received neither an explanation nor the murderers themselves, Qalawun decided that the ten-year truce he had formed withAcre in 1284 had been broken by the Franks. He subsequently besieged the city that same year. He died in Cairo on 10 November 1290, before taking the city, but Acre was captured the next year by his son and successoral-Ashraf Khalil.
Despite Qalawun's distrust of his son, Khalil succeeded him following his death. Khalil continued his father's policy of replacing Turkish Mamluks withCircassians, which eventually led to conflict within the Mamluk ranks. Khalil was assassinated by the Turks in 1293, but Qalawun's legacy continued when his younger son,an-Nasir Muhammad, claimed power.
Qalawun's first wife was Fatima Khatun, known as Umm Salih.[12] She was the daughter of Sayf ad-Din Karmun (Karamūm), a Mongol commander from theGolden Horde who had integrated the Mamluks.[13] They married in 1265–66. She was the mother of his eldest son, as-Salih Ali[14] (died 2 September 1288[15]) and Ghaziya Khatun.[16] She died in 1283–84, and was buried in her own mausoleum inSouthern Cemetery,Cairo.[12]
After her death, he married her sister, the widow of Sayf ad-Din Kunduk.[17] Another wife was Qutqutiya Khatun. She was the mother of his second son, Sultanal-Ashraf Khalil.[18][19]
Another wife was Sitt Ashlun Khatun (Ašlūn), the daughter of anIlkhanateMongol notable named Suktay bin Qarajin bin Jighan Nuwan (Šaktāy) who also had joined the Mamluks.[20] They married in 1282. She was the mother of his third son, Sultanan-Nasir Muhammad.[21][20] An-Nasir Muhammad was raised and behaved in Mongol fashion until the age of 29, until he had a change of mood after an illness in 1315, which led him and his followers to "shave their heads [...] and give up their flowing locks".[20]
Another wife was the daughter of Amir Shams ad-Din Sunqur al-Takriti al-Zahiri. They married in 1288–89. Qalawun, however, dissolved the marriage shortly thereafter.[15] Another son was Amir Ahmad, who died during the reign of his brother al-Ashraf Khalil.[22] Qalawun's daughter Ghaziya Khatun was betrothed toas-Said Barakah (son of SultanBaibars) on 28 May 1276, with a dowry of five thousand dinars. The wedding took place on 8 June 1277.[23] She died in August 1288,[24] and was buried in the mausoleum of her mother.[16] Another daughter was Dar Mukhatar al-Jawhari (Altumish). She was the wife of Mukhtar al-Jawhari.[22] Another daughter was Dar Anbar al-Kamili. She was the wife of Anbar al-Kamili.[22]
When Qalāwūn assumed the throne in 1280, he took the regnal titleal-manṣūr (the victorious).
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)Qalawun Cadet branch of theMamluk Sultanate Born:c. 1222 Died: 10 November 1290 | ||
| Regnal titles | ||
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| Preceded by | Sultan of Egypt and Syria November 1279 – 10 November 1290 | Succeeded by |
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