Turan Shah (ruler)

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Mameluks murder Sultan Turan Shah, right next to him the imprisoned King Louis IX. from France. French miniature, Guillaume de Saint-Pathus: Vie et Miracles de Saint Louis , around 1330–1350

Al-Malik al-Mu'azzam Turan Shah ( Arabic الملك المعظم توران شاه بن صلاح الدين يوسف بن غياث الدين محمد, DMG al-Malik al-Muʿaẓẓam Tūrān Šāh b. Ṣalāḥ ad-Dīn Yūsuf b. Ġiyāṯ ad-Dīn Muḥammad ; † May 2, 1250 in Fariskur ) was the seventh Sultan of the Ayyubids in Egypt . He ruled in 1250.

Life

Turan Shah came after the death of his father as-Salih Ayyub (1240-1249) with the help of his stepmother Schadschar ad-Durr to the throne in Egypt. He first had to deal with the crusaders of the Sixth Crusade , who landed in Egypt and conquered the fortress city of Damiette . The crusaders advanced in the direction of Cairo and besieged al-Mansura , but were finally forced to retreat and on April 6, 1250 a large part of their army, including their leader, King Louis the Holy , was captured. In return for the payment of a ransom of 800,000 dinars and the return of Damiette, the crusaders were finally allowed to withdraw to Acre .

Despite this great success, the rule of Turan Shah did not last long. After the victory over the Crusaders, he tried to end the Mamluks' influence on the court by intending to eliminate their leaders. The Mamluk emirs were warned in good time by Shajar ad-Durr, who also feared for her life, and now used this as an excuse to end the rule of the Ayyubids. A group around the war-tried Baibars entered the Sultan's apartment in Fariskur on May 2, 1250 and surprised Turan Shah when he was eating. Baibars struck the sultan with his sword, but he was seriously injured and managed to escape to a wooden tower erected on the bank of the Nile. But the assassins set it on fire, whereupon Turan Shah is said to have offered to renounce the sultan's throne if only he would be left alive. The Mameluks did not respond, so that Turan Shah tried to escape the flames by jumping into the Nile. His clothes went up in flames when he fell and he was additionally wounded when he hit the shallow bank water. When he was still not dead, the Mamlukes shot him several arrows. Turan Shah was most recently beheaded by Faris ad-Din Aktay .

The historian Al-Maqrīzī later reported that the events on the Tower of Fariskur could be watched by the entire army assembled in the city, but none of the Sultan's warriors did anything to save him. The last Ayyubid of Egypt lost his life to iron, fire and water. His body was only recovered and buried three days later by an envoy of the caliph from the Nile.

Since the Mameluks initially disagreed about the continued rule over Egypt, they proclaimed Shajjar ad-Durr to be the first sultana of an Islamic state. However, she was later married by the Mamlukemir Aybak , who took over the actual power.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Sibt Ibn al-Jawzī: Mir'at al-zaman , 8/2, pp. 781–783
predecessor Office successor
as-Salih Sultan of Egypt ( Ayyubid dynasty )
1250 		Shadjar al-Durr and Izz al-Din Aybak
as-Salih Sultan of Damascus
1250 		an-Nasir Yusuf
personal data
SURNAME Turan Shah
ALTERNATIVE NAMES al-Malik al-Mu'azzam Turan Shah
BRIEF DESCRIPTION seventh Sultan of the Ayyubids in Egypt
DATE OF BIRTH before 1250
DATE OF DEATH May 2, 1250
Place of death Fariskur