Page images
PDF
EPUB

A. D.

868.

an absolutely independent State. In 870 he built. the suburb of Cairo, called Al-Kațâi, which covers an area of one square mile. He built a splendid palace under the old "Dome of the Air," and he supplied it with water by an aqueduct. His famous mosque was built on the top of the rocky hill of Yeskhur, on the spot where God is supposed to have talked with Moses. It contains true pointed arches, was built of new materials instead of old ones stolen from Christian churches, etc., and its 300 arches and pillars are built of brick. Its total cost was over £63,000.

833. Abû'l-Jêsh Khumâraweyh, the second of Ţûlûn's seventeen sons, succeeded his father. In the battle against the Turkish Governors of Môșul and Anbâr he was seized with panic and fled, but his General, Sa'ad al-A'sar, stood firm, and eventually entered Damascus in triumph. Subsequently Khumâraweyh defeated his enemies in two pitched battles. He enlarged the suburb of Al-Ķațâi, and made a beautiful garden of the Medân. He filled his "golden house" with pictures of himself, his wives, and his singers, and slept upon an air bed, which was laid upon a lake of quicksilver nearly 100 feet square. He was murdered by his slaves at Damascus in 896.

896. Abû'l-'Asâkir Jêsh murdered three of his uncles, and was himself murdered a few months later. Abû Mûsâ Hârûn succeeded when a boy of fourteen; he was murdered by Shêbân, son of Tûlûn, at 'Abbâsa, a small town on the Syrian frontier, in 904. On January 10th, 905, Muḥammad ibn Sulêmân, the General of the Khalifa of Baghdâd, marched into the suburb of Kațâi, put all the black troops to the sword, burnt their

A. D.

896.

headquarters, and destroyed the beautiful buildings everywhere. For four months murder, lust, and rapine reigned, and then Shêbân and all the other descendants of Tûlûn were deported to Baghdâd and kept prisoners.

905. Muhammad al-Khalangi entered Al-Fustât; he ruled Egypt for eight months, but was betrayed to the Khalifa's Government and taken to Baghdâd, where he was executed in May, 906.

IV. THE FAȚIMID KHALIFAS.

909. Al-Mahdi. He died in 934.

910. Tekin al-Khâssa.

914. Khubâsa, the Fâțimid General, captured Alexandria. 915. Dhukâ ar-Rûmî.

919. Restoration of Tekîn.

921. Maḥmûd ibn Ḥamal (3 days).

921. Restoration of Tekin (a few days).

921. Hilal ibn Badr.

923. Aḥmad ibn Kêghalagh.

924. Restoration of Tekin.

933. Muḥammad ibn Tekin. 934. Al-Kâ'im.

He died in 946.

935. Muḥammad ibn Tughj became master of Egypt; he died at Damascus, and was buried in Jerusalem. He is best known as the Ikhshid. He laid out the beautiful" Garden of Kâfûr" near the modern bazaar of the brassworkers.

[blocks in formation]

965. Abû'l-Misk Kâfûr, the black tutor of two of

the Ikhshid's sons ; he died in 968.

A.D.

969. Al-Mu'izz was the first Fâțimid ruler of Egypt; he belonged to the Shî'a section, i.e., the "freethinkers" among the Muḥammadans, who think that the succession to the Prophet's office belonged to 'Alî, the husband of Muḥammad's daughter Fâtma, and father of Muḥammad's only male descendants. He was an able and prudent ruler. The general of Mu'izz was Gawhar, who founded the new capital Al-Kâhira,* i.e., Cairo, and built the mosque Al-Azhar. Mu'izz died in 975.

'975. Al-'Aziz. Great peace and prosperity in Egypt. 996. Al-Hâkim was a social and religious madman. He founded a hall of science, and established an observatory on the Mukaṭṭam Hills. He declared that he was an Incarnation of God, and he founded the sect of the Druzes. He was murdered about February 13, 1021.

1021. Zâhir died of the plague in 1036.

1036. Ma'add or Abû Tamim Ma'add al-Mustansirbi-llâh; in his reign Palestine and Syria were lost to Egypt.

1094. Al-Musta'li.

1101. Abû-'Ali al-Manşûr.

1131. Al-Ḥâfiz.

1149. Az-Zâfir.

1154. Al-Fâiz.

1160. Al-'Âdid was the last of the Fatimid Khalifas.

169. Salâḥ ad-Dîn, or Saladin; born at Tekrît 1137, died 1193. He built the great walls of Cairo and the Citadel, and his architect Karâkûsh excavated the famous Well there, which is 280 feet deep. He also built the Gîzah Dyke.

القاهرة .

V. THE AYYÛBID DYNASTY OF EGYPT.

Saladin's successors were :

A.D.

1193. Al-'Aziz 'Othmân, his son.

1198. Al-Manşûr Muḥammad. 1200. Al-'Âdil Sêyf ad-Dîn.

1218. Al-Kamil Muḥammad.

1238. Al-'Adil II.

1240. Aş-Şâlih Ayyûb, grandson of Saladin's brother. 1249. Al-Mu'azzam Tûrânsháh.

1250. Al-Ashraf Mûsâ.

VI. THE FIRST MAMLÛKS.*

1249. Louis IX collected 2,800 French knights, 5,000 archers, and sailed for Egypt in 1,720 ships. He took Damietta, and marched on to Manşûra, but here some 1,500 of the flower of his army were killed. Subsequently he retreated to Damietta, but the Saracens pursued him and annihilated the Christian army. It is said that 30,000 Crusaders were slain. King Louis and the remainder of his army were held at ransom for 10,000,000 francs, but Tûrânshâh is said to have reduced this sum by one-quarter.

The Mamluks derive their name from the fact that they were originally slaves, who were either purchased or captured in war. The Baḥri Mamlûks, i.e., "the white slaves of the

[ocr errors][merged small]

A.D.

1249.

river," were thus called because they lived on the Island of Rôḍa, opposite Fusțâț.

Baḥri rulers were:

Sheger ad-Durr, a Queen.

The 25

1250. Al-Mu'izz Aybek. He was murdered in his bath by his wife in 1257.

1257. Al-Manşûr 'Ali ibn Aybek. He was deposed in November, 1259.

1259. Al-Muzaffar Kutuz. He conquered the Mongols, who were led by Hûlûgû. He was murdered in October, 1260.

1260. Az-Zâhir Rukn ad-dîn Bêbars. He was the first Mamluk Sulțân. He died in July, 1277.

1277. As-Sa'id Baraka Khân. He abdicated the throne, and died in 1280.

1279. Al-Âdil Selâmish. He was deposed.

1279. Al-Mansûr Kalâ'ûn. He built the Mâristân (completed in 1284). He died in his tent in

1290.

1290. Al-Ashraf Khalil. He captured 'Akka (Acre), May 18th, 1292. He was murdered in 1293. 1293. An-Nâsir Muḥammad. He was deposed in a year, but restored in 1298 and 1309.

1294. Al-'Adil Ketbugha. A terrible famine occurred

in his reign.

1296. Al-Manşûr Lâjîn. He was murdered in January,

1299.

1298. An-Nâșir (second reign). Deposed for 10 years. 1308. Al-Muzaffar Bêbars II. He abdicated and was shut up in prison in Gaza.

1309. An-Nâşir (third reign). Reigned for 30 years more. He died in June, 1341.

« PreviousContinue »