Izz al-Din Usama

Last updated

Izz al-Din Usama was a 12th-century Ayyubid emir and a nephew of Saladin. [1]

Contents

Emir of Ajlun and Kawkab

In 1183, he was ordered by Saladin to build the Rabbadh Fortress at Ajlun in northern Jordan (known as al-Urdunn at the time[ citation needed ]) with the purpose of protecting Ayyubid holdings in area and threatening the Crusader forces based in Kerak to the south. [2] Both the Rabbadh Fortress and the Crusader-built Belvoir Castle in Kawkab al-Hawa, west of the Jordan River in the southern Galilee, were granted by Saladin to Izz al-Din in the late 1180s as iqta'a or "fiefs". They served as strategic fortifications commanding the Jordan Valley. [3]

After the death of Saladin in 1193, his son al-Afdal succeeded him in control of Syria, but was seen by the local governors as abdicating his responsibilities of kingship for its favors. Rivalry grew between him and his brother, al-Aziz Uthman of Egypt. In 1194, Izz al-Din became the first local governor to defect from al-Afdal and left for Egypt in order to convince al-Aziz Uthman to launch a conquest against Damascus. [4] Five years later, in 1199, Izz al-Din secretly joined in a conspiracy to depose al-Afdal in favor of Saladin's brother al-Adil. [5] When al-Adil's forces besieged Damascus that year, Izz al-Din attempted to negotiate with al-Afdal's ally and brother based in Aleppo, az-Zahir Ghazi, to surrender Damascus to al-Adil. [6]

In 1202, when al-Adil achieved an unbreakable grip of the Ayyubid empire, Izz al-Din was allowed to remain in control of Ajlun and Kawkab al-Hawa. [7]

Demise

In 1212, while Izz al-Din was in Cairo with his mamluks attempting to have a rest from his ongoing conflict with al-Adil's son al-Mu'azzam, simultaneously al-Adil and his two sons, al-Kamil and al-Mu'azzam were in Damietta in the Nile Delta. Al-Adil suspected that Izz al-Din was colluding with az-Zahir Ghazi, even telling historian Sibt ibn al-Jawzi that letters to that effect had been found. In 1213 Izz al-Din was pressured to give up hies fiefdoms at Kawkab and Ajlun in exchange for al-Fayyum in Egypt, which he refused. When Izz al-Din tried to slip from Egypt and return to Ajlun, al-Adil told al-Mu'azzam that if he could capture him he would be given Izz al-Din's fortresses. Al-Mu'azzam began a pursuit to seize him and his forces managed to halt Izz al-Din while he was on the road to Jerusalem. Al-Mu'azzam promised Izz al-Din that if he were to voluntarily surrender his fortresses he could retain his life and all of his other properties, but Izz al-Din refused—insisting on trading his iqta'a in Jordan for al-Fayyum [8] [9] —and after being captured near Darum, he and his son were immediately imprisoned in Kerak, where he finished his life in captivity. [10] [9] The castles of Kawkab and Ajlun were besieged, captured, and Kawkab was razed to the ground. [9] Izz al-Din's demise is seen as part of a change of generations at a juncture when Saladin's emirs were being pushed off the political stage. [9]

Related Research Articles

Saladin Founder and first sultan of the Ayyubid dynasty (1137–1193)

Yusuf ibn Ayyub ibn Shadi, better known by his epithet Saladin was a Sunni Muslim Kurd who became the first sultan of both Egypt and Syria, and was the founder of the Ayyubid dynasty. Saladin led the Muslim military campaign against the Crusader states in the Levant. He was an important figure in the Third Crusade. At the height of his power, his sultanate spanned Egypt, Syria, Upper Mesopotamia (Iraq), the Hejaz, Yemen, parts of western North Africa, and Nubia.

Ayyubid dynasty Sultans in Egypt from 1174 to 1341

The Ayyubid dynasty was the founding dynasty of the medieval Sultanate of Egypt established by Saladin in 1171, following his abolition of the Fatimid Caliphate of Egypt. A Sunni Muslim of Kurdish origin, Saladin had originally served Nur ad-Din of Syria, leading Nur ad-Din's army in battle against the Crusaders in Fatimid Egypt, where he was made Vizier. Following Nur ad-Din's death, Saladin was proclaimed as the first Sultan of Egypt, and rapidly expanded the new sultanate beyond the frontiers of Egypt to encompass most of the Levant, in addition to Hijaz, Yemen, northern Nubia, Tarabulus, Cyrenaica, southern Anatolia, and northern Iraq, the homeland of his Kurdish family. By virtue of his sultanate including Hijaz, the location of the Islamic holy cities of Mecca and Medina, he was the first ruler to be hailed as the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, a title that would be held by all subsequent Sultans of Egypt until the Ottoman conquest of 1517. Saladin's military campaigns in the first decade of his rule, aimed at uniting the various Arab and Muslim states in the region against the Crusaders, set the general borders and sphere of influence of the Sultanate of Egypt for the almost three and a half centuries of its existence. Most of the Crusader states, including the Kingdom of Jerusalem, fell to Saladin after his victory at the Battle of Hattin in 1187. However, the Crusaders reconquered the coast of Palestine in the 1190s.

Al-Kamil 4th Ayyubid Sultan of Egypt (r. 1218-38)

Al-Kamil was a Muslim ruler and the fourth Ayyubid sultan of Egypt. During his tenure as sultan, the Ayyubids defeated the Fifth Crusade. He was known to the Frankish crusaders as Meledin, a name by which he is still referred to in some older western sources. As a result of the Sixth Crusade, he ceded Jerusalem to the Christians and is known to have met with Saint Francis.

Al-Adil I Ayyubid sultan of Egypt (r. 1200–1218)

Al-Adil I was the fourth Sultan of Egypt and Syria, and brother of Saladin, who founded both the Sultanate of Egypt, and the Ayyubid dynasty. he was known to the Crusaders as Saphadin, a name by which he is still known in the Western world. A gifted and effective administrator and organizer, Al-Adil provided crucial military and civilian support for the great campaigns of Saladin. He was also a capable general and strategist in his own right, and was instrumental in the transformation of the decayed Fatimid Caliphate of Cairo into the Ayyubid Sultanate of Egypt.

Al-Malik Al-Aziz Uthman ibn Salah Ad-Din Yusuf was the second Ayyubid Sultan of Egypt. He was the second son of Saladin.

Ayyub ibn Shadi Kurdish military leader (d. 1173)

Ayyub ibn Shadi ibn Marwan, also known as Najm al-Din or as Malik al-Afdal was a Kurdish soldier and politician from Dvin. The father of Saladin, Ayyub was eponymous ancestor of the Ayyubid dynasty.

Al-Afdal ibn Salah ad-Din (Arabic: الأفضل بن صلاح الدين, "most superior"; c. 1169 – 1225, generally known as Al-Afdal, was one of seventeen sons of Saladin, Sultan of Egypt and Syria, and thus of Kurdish descent. He succeeded his father as the second Ayyubid emir of Damascus. His career as a ruler was chequered and punctuated by repeated armed conflict with other prominent members of his family. He was eventually politically marginalised by his uncle, al-Adil, and given a number of less important towns to rule.

Az-Zahir Ghazi Ayyubid emir of Aleppo from 1193 to 1216

Al-Malik az-Zahir Ghiyath ud-din Ghazi ibn Yusuf ibn Ayyub was the Ayyubid emir of Aleppo between 1186 and 1216. He was the third son of Saladin and his lands included northern Syria and a small part of Mesopotamia.

Kawkab al-Hawa Place in Baysan, Mandatory Palestine

Kawkab al-Hawa, is a depopulated former Palestinian village located 11 km north of Baysan. It was built within the ruins of the Crusader fortress of Belvoir, from which it expanded. The Crusader names for the Frankish settlement at Kawkab al-Hawa were Beauvoir, Belvoir, Bellum videre, Coquet, Cuschet and Coket. During Operation Gideon in 1948, the village was occupied by the Golani Brigade and depopulated.

Nasir ad-Din al-Malik al-Mansur Ibrahim bin Asad ad-Din Shirkuh, better known as al-Mansur Ibrahim, was a Kurdish ruler, the emir ("governor") of the Homs principality from 1240 to 1246 under the Ayyubid dynasty. He held Homs with relative independence, but initially as under the command of as-Salih Ismail of Damascus. He would later fight against as-Salih Ismail and his Khwarezemid allies—al-Mansur confronted the latter in 1241, 1242, 1244, and 1246.

Al-Malik al-Salih Imad al-Din Ismail bin Saif al-Din Ahmad better known as al-Salih Ismail was the Ayyubid sultan based in Damascus. He reigned twice, once in 1237 and then again from 1239 to 1245.

Al-Muzaffar Taqi al-Din Umar was the Kurdish Ayyubid prince of Hama from 1179 to 1191 and a general of Saladin. He was the son of Saladin's brother Nur ad-Din Shahanshah, and brother of Farrukh Shah of Baalbek.

Al-Malik al-Awhad Najm ad-Din Ayyub ibn al-Adil Abu Bakr ibn Najm ad-Din Ayyub was the third Ayyubid emir (prince) of the Diyarbakir emirate, centered in Mayyafariqin, between 1200-1210 CE. He was the fourth eldest son of Sultan al-Adil I of Egypt.

Al-Mansur Nasir al-Din Muhammad was the third Ayyubid Sultan of Egypt, reigning in 1198–1200.

Al-Mansur I Muhammad was the Ayyubid emir of Hama, son of Al Muzaffar Taqi ad-Din Umar and grandson of Nur ad-Din Shahanshah, brother of Saladin and Al-Adil. He ruled from 1191–1219.

Al Malik Al-Mujahid Asad ad-Din Shirkuh II was the Ayyubid emir of Homs from 1186–1240. He was the son of An-Nasir Muhammad ibn Shirkuh, grandson of Shirkuh and second cousin of Saladin. His domains also included Palmyra and ar-Rahba. Al Mujahid became emir at the age of thirteen when his father died unexpectedly in Homs on 4 March 1186.

Khwarazmian army between 1231 and 1246

The Khwarazmian army, also called the Khwarazmiyya, maintained itself as a force of freebooters and mercenaries between 1231 and 1246, following the Mongol conquest of the Khwarazmian Empire (1221) and the death of the last Khwarazmshah, Jalal al-Din (1231). It was active in Upper Mesopotamia, Anatolia, Syria and Palestine and shifted its allegiance several times, often acting autonomously before it was defeated and destroyed by the Ayyubids.

Husam ad-Din Lu'lu' was a Mamluk commander during the reign of Saladin.

The Qaymariyya were a Kurdish tribe that formed an important military unit under the late Ayyubids and early Mamluks between the 1240s and 1260s. They played a secondary role in the Khwarazmian invasion of Palestine in 1244 and a leading role in the pro-Ayyubid coup d'état in Damascus in 1250.

References

  1. ↑ Maguire, Henry; Nelson, Robert S. (2010). San Marco, Byzantium, and the Myths of Venice. Harvard University Press. p. 24. ISBN   9780884023609.
  2. ↑ Shoup, p.xxi.
  3. ↑ Humphreys, p.77.
  4. ↑ Humphreys, pp.97-98.
  5. ↑ Humphreys, p.118.
  6. ↑ Humphreys, p.120.
  7. ↑ Humphreys, p.140.
  8. ↑ Sato, p.59.
  9. 1 2 3 4 Richards, D.S. (2010). The Chronicle of Ibn al-Athir for the Crusading Period from al-Kamil fi'l-Ta'rikh. Part 3: The Years 589–629/1193–1231: The Ayyubids after Saladin and the Mongol Menace. Crusade Texts in Translation (Book 17). Routledge. p. 158. ISBN   9780754669524 . Retrieved 15 June 2018.
  10. ↑ Humphreys, p.144.

Bibliography

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.