A previous article in the “City of Peace” series tackled the era of Aybak as a ruler over al-Quds, followed by Sultan Al-Nasir Yusuf, the ruler of Damascus in 1256 AD. Then, al-Quds was threatened by the Mongols’ invasion. The Mongols received aid from the Abbasid Caliph al-Nāṣir li-DīnAllā opening the door to their expansionist ambitions, leading them to enter and destroy Baghdad, thus ending the Abbasid Caliphate. The article also mentioned the wave of Mongol invasions of the Levant, heading towards Egypt, where the Mamluk Sultan Sayf al-Din Qutuz managed to defeat them in the Battle of AinJalut; hence the Mamluks ruled al-Quds after they broke the back of the Mongols. The Mamluks turned the city of al-Quds into an independent emirate directly under their control. Similarly, the Mamluks fought off the Crusaders until they left the East.
The Mamluk state continued its rule for more than a century and a half (1250-1517 AD), but due to a number of internal and external factors, their rule ended by the Ottomans: for corruption spread, chaos prevailed, bribery and abuse of power became widespread, and the Mamluk rulers themselves became weak and preoccupied with the struggle for power and neglected the affairs of the state. Moreover, the Mamluk state fought long wars with the Mongols and Crusaders, then with the Ottoman state, until their defeat in the Battle of MarjDabiq in 1517 AD and the death of Sultan Qansuh al-Ghuri.
The Ottomans began their state in Anatolia (southeastern Turkey today), then expanded until the Ottoman lands surrounded the city of Constantinople; provoking the Franks, who led a large campaign to fight them and return to seizing al-Quds, but they were defeated in a number of battles such as the Battle of Nicopolis. The Ottomans managed to conquer Constantinople in 1453 AD. As for the city of al-Quds, it joined the Ottoman Empire in 1517 AD during the reign of the Ottoman Sultan Selim I and remained under its banner until 1917 AD.
Following the victory of Sultan Selim I over the Mamluks, he headed towards Aleppo and Damascus, then entered Jerusalem and spent some time there. History recounts that he wanted to renovate its walls but time did not allow him, so his son, Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent, completed that mission. For he paid special attention to the city. He also constructed the tower to the right of Bab al-Khalil’s entrance, the Sultan’s pool on the Mahta road, and the Dome of the Rock, and others.
During the Ottoman rule, which lasted for centuries, The political climate shifted between stability and unrest. Al-Quds was subjected to a number of crises: for example, Sultan Murad IV (1623-1640 AD) issued a decree banning the drinking of coffee and smoking tobacco, provoking the inhabitants of al-Quds and leading them to revolt. Therefore, security was compromised for a while. Similarly, a revolution broke out during the reign of Sultan Ahmed III (1703-1730 AD), but he managed to quell it. When the French campaign led by Napoleon Bonaparte attacked Egypt and Syria (1798-1801 AD), al-Quds followed the province of Acre and Napoleon did not enter it.
Muhammad Ali Pasha came to power in Egypt (1805-1848 AD).For the scholars of Egypt and its notables pledged allegiance to him as the people revoluted against his predecessor Khurshid Pasha. The Ottoman Sultan Selim III agreed to their request to appoint him as a governor of Egypt and dethrone Khurshid Pasha. He sent a strong army led by his son Ibrahim Pasha to Sham; and seized al-Quds in 1831 AD to become under his father’s rule. In al-Quds, conscription was imposed by force, so a revolution against Ibrahim Pasha erupted in 1834 AD; hence, the affairs of the country were greatly disturbed; leading to the intervention of a number of Western countries; and the defeat of the army of Ibrahim Pasha who returned to his country, leaving the Levant after about ten years during which he had introduced the first wheat mill, renovated the Ibrahimi mosque, a number of forts between al-Quds and Yafa, and many other achievements.
The story of al-Quds continues to amaze us, for the stories of “Sweet Egypt” are endless!
The General Bishop
Head of the Coptic Orthodox Cultural Center
