The previous articles tackled the Ayyubid Dynasty in Egypt, which was founded by Saladin in Egypt and the Levant During his lifetime, Saladin divided it among his sons and family. The rule of Egypt fell to his son, Al-Aziz Uthman, from 1193 to 1198 AD (589-595 AH). The rule then passed to his son, Yusuf, nicknamed Al-Nasir like his grandfather, but he was only ten years old at the time. His uncle, King Al-Afdal, came to take over the rule of Egypt. The matter then reached Al-Adil, the brother of Saladin. Wars ensued between Al-Afdal and Al-Adil, which ended with the victory of King Al-Adil’s army and his ability to enter Cairo in 1200 AD (596 AH). He ruled the country from 1200 to 1218 AD (596-614 AH).
Sultan Al-Adil ruled the lands of Egypt, the Levant, Hejaz, Yemen, DiyarBakr, and Armenia. Once the affairs of his rule were settled, he divided them among his sons, with Egypt falling to King Al-Kamil Muhammad. In the year 1218 AD (615 AH), the Franks managed to seize the tower of Damietta, causing Sultan Al-Adil great sorrow to the extent that he fell ill and died after ruling Egypt and the Levant for approximately nineteen years. Subsequently, King Al-Kamil assumed the rule of Egypt from 1218 to 1238 AD (615-635 AH).
King Al-Kamil governed numerous lands and then proceeded to divide their rule among his sons, appointing his youngest son, King Al-AdilSayf al-Din Abu Bakr, as his successor in Egypt. In the year 1231 AD (629 AH), the danger of the Tatars loomed over the Jazira and Harran after they had filled the lands with killing, captivity, and the enslavement of people. King Al-Kamil and his brother Al-Ashraf convened to repel their threat. In the year 1238 AD (635 AH), King Al-Ashraf passed away, followed by King Al-Kamil. His son, the young Al-Adil, then assumed the rule of Egypt from 1238 to 1240 AD (635-637 AH). However, King As-SalihAyyub, the eldest son of King Al-Kamil, contested his brother, the young King Al-Adil, seized the rule of Egypt, and then imprisoned him in the Citadel for years, which ended with his death. The reign of the young King Al-Adil over Egypt lasted only about one year and two months. As for King As-SalihAyyub, the seventh in the line of Ayyubid sultans, he ruled Egypt from 1240 to 1249 AD (637-646 AH), and he was the one who established the Turkish Mamluks and appointed them as princes within it.
When the illness of King As-SalihAyyub worsened until his death, his wife Shajar al-Durr concealed the news of his demise and managed the affairs of the country until his son Turan-Shah arrived from HisnKayfa and assumed the rule of Egypt. The populace grew resentful of Turan-Shah and united until they killed him in a most heinous manner, after he had spent less than a month in power. The rule of Egypt then passed to Shajar al-Durr for three months, after which she abdicated, and the rule fell to Al-Mu’izz Aybak al-Turkmani after he married her, becoming the first of the Turkish rulers in Egypt. When Shajar al-Durr learned that Al-Mu’izz Aybak desired to marry the daughter of King Al-Rahim Badr al-Din Lu’lu’, the ruler of Mosul, she orchestrated a plot to kill him, and her plan succeeded. The princes agreed to appoint King Al-Mansur Nur al-Din, the son of King Al-Mu’izz Aybak, and Shajar al-Durr was arrested and imprisoned in the Red Tower until she was killed.
As for the affairs of the Coptic Church at that time, it witnessed the papacy of Pope John VI (1189-1216 AD), the seventy-fourth Patriarch of Alexandria, who lived during the reigns of several rulers: Sultan Saladin, King Al-Aziz Uthman, then his son King Al-Nasir Yusuf, his uncle King Al-Afdal Ali, and King Al-Adil. After the passing of Pope John VI, the See of Saint Mark remained vacant for approximately nineteen years until Pope Cyril III (IbnLuqlaq) was consecrated as the seventy-fifth Patriarch of Alexandria.
The Mamluk Sultanate in Egypt
The rule of the Mamluks in Egypt commenced with the fall of the Ayyubid Dynasty in the year 1250 AD (648 AH) and persisted until the year 1517 AD. This was after the Ottoman Sultan Selim I inflicted defeat upon the Mamluks at the Battle of Ridaniya and succeeded in annexing the Levant and Egypt to his empire. During the era of Mamluk rule, the affairs of the country became increasingly turbulent as rulers became numerous. Historians divide the Mamluk Dynasty into two periods: the Bahri Mamluk Sultanate and the BurjiMamluk Sultanate; and… Stories in Beautiful Egypt are far from over!
The General Bishop
President of the Coptic Orthodox Cultural Center
