Turan Shah (governor)

Turan Shah ibn Ayyub al-Malik al-Mu'azzam Shams ad-Dawla Fakhr ad-Din for short Turan-Shah ( Arabic توران شاه بن أيوب, DMG Tūrān Šāh b. Aiyūb ; † June 27, 1180 in Alexandria ) was the Ayyubid governor of Yemen (1174–1176) and then of Syria (1176–1179). He is also known for strengthening his younger brother Saladin's position in Egypt . Turan Shah also played a leading role in the conquests of Nubia and Yemen. As with the other Ayyubids, little is known about his previous life prior to his arrival in Egypt.

Arrival in Egypt

Only ad-Din , the then Sultan of Syria, allowed Turan Shah to join his brother Saladin in Egypt. Problems slowly arose between Saladin and his overlord Nur ad-Din. Therefore, Nur al-Din Turan hired Shah to oversee Saladin in order to provoke tension between the brothers. But the plan did not work when Turan Shah received large lands from Saladin. Saladin reformed the power structure of Fatimid Egypt and helped his family gain power. Turan Shah received as fiefs (Arabic Iqta ) the larger cities of Qus and Aswan in Upper Egypt and the seaport of Aidab on the Red Sea . Turan Shah played a major role in putting down a revolt of 1171 led by the Black African garrison of the Fatimid army.

Turan Shah developed a close relationship with the court poet 'Umara, who played an important role within the Fatimids before Saladin came to power in 1169. On September 11, 1171, the last Fatimid caliph al-ʿĀdid died and the Ayyubids officially took control of Egypt. After Turan Shah's death, several allegations of murder were made against him. According to a eunuch in the service of the widow al-Adids, the caliph died when he heard that Turan Shah was looking for him in the palace. In another version, Turan Shah is said to have murdered the caliph after he refused to reveal the hiding place of the palace treasures to Turan Shah. After al-Adid's death, Turan Shah settled in Cairo in a former Fatimid neighborhood.

Military campaigns

Conquest of Nubia

For a long time there had been skirmishes between the Nubian Empire of Makuria and the Egyptians on the border in Upper Egypt. After the deposition of the Fatimids, tensions rose again when the Nubians besieged Aswan in late 1172 and early 1173. The governor of Aswan, a former Fatimid loyalist, sought help from Saladin.

Saladin sent Turan Shah with Kurdish troops, but the Nubian soldiers had already withdrawn. Nevertheless, Turan Shah conquered the Nubian fortress city of Qasr Ibrim . From here his troops undertook a series of raids across the country over the next two years. His attacks appeared to be successful, as the Nubian king asked for a truce in Dongola . Turan Shah - eager to conquer - refused to accept the offer. When his negotiator returned from Dongola, he reported that the country was poor and that Nubia was not worth occupying.

Although the Ayyubids had to move against Nubia in the future, Turan Shah chose more worthwhile countries. Turan Shah received great fortunes after his return from Nubia and brought many Nubian and Christian slaves with him.

Yemen's conquest

After his success in Nubia, Turan Shah wanted to further consolidate his position. Meanwhile, the conflict between Saladin and Nur ad-Din, who seemed to be preparing an invasion of Egypt, grew. Baha ad-Din, the author and biographer of Saladin, assumed that the reason for the Turan Shah's campaign in Yemen was a heretical leader who described himself as the Messiah. In addition to this likely reason, 'Umara was also believed to have had a significant impact on Turan Shah's desire to conquer Yemen. Through 'Umara, Turan Shah was able to persuade his brother and, despite an impending invasion, received a large part of the army for his train to Yemen. But after Turan Shah withdrew in 1174, 'Umara was suspected of plotting against Saladin and executed.

Turan Shah quickly captured the city of Zabid in May 1174 and later that year the port city of Aden , which was an important trade hub between India, the Middle East and North Africa. In 1175 he drove the Hamdanid emir al-Wahid Ali ibn Hatim from the city of Sana'a , whose army had already been weakened by fighting with the Zaidi of Sa'da .

Turan Shah then spent much of his time securing his conquests in southern Yemen and bringing them under firm control. Ali ibn Hatim was able to flee over the northern mountains while the ruler of Adens named Yasir, who was the tribal leader of the Shiite Banu 'l-Karam, was captured and executed. The Kharijite Mahdid ruler of Zabid, Abd an-Nabi ibn Ali, and his two brothers were also executed. Turan Shah's conquests had a major impact on Yemen, which had previously consisted of several principalities (Sana'a, Sa'da, Zabid, Aden) and was now united under the Ayyubids.

Power shift

Though Turan Shah made great conquests in Yemen, he lost his power in Cairo. Saladin left large estates in Yemen as personal property to his brother. Turan Shah was not feeling well in Yemen and asked several times whether he could return. In 1176 he was appointed governor of Syria and entered Damascus . In addition, he received large fiefs in Baalbek , which had previously belonged to his father Nadschmuddin Ayyub .

In 1179 he was appointed governor of Alexandria , but he died a short time later on June 27, 1180. His body was buried at the request of his sister Sitt al-Sham Zumurrud near a madrasa in Damascus that she had built.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b} Lev, 1999, pp. 96-97.
2. ^ Lev, 1999, p. 115.
3. ↑ ^{a b} Lev, 1999, pp. 88-89.
4. ^ Lev, 1999, p. 83.
5. ↑ Lev, 1999, p. 111.
6. ↑ ^{a b} Lev, 1999, p. 100.
7. ↑ ^{a b c d e} Houtsma / Wensinck, p. 884.

bibliography

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