Tulunids
Encyclopedia
The Tulunids were the first independent dynasty in Islamic Egypt (868–905 AD), when they broke away from the central authority of the Abbasid dynasty that ruled the Islam
ic Caliphate
during that time. In the 9th century, internal conflict amongst the Abbasids meant that control of the outlying areas of the empire was increasingly tenuous, and in 868 the Turkic
officer Ahmad ibn Tulun
established himself as an independent governor of Egypt. He subsequently achieved nominal autonomy from the central Abbasids. During his reign (868–884) and those of his successors, the Tulunid domains were expanded to include Jordan Rift Valley
, as well as Hijaz, Cyprus
and Crete
. Ahmad was succeeded by his son Khumarawayh, whose military and diplomatic achievements made him a major player in the Middle Eastern political stage. The Abbasids affirmed their recognition of the Tulunids as legitimate rulers, and the dynasty's status as vassals to the caliphate
. After Khumarawayh's death, his successor emir
s were ineffectual rulers, allowing their Turkic
and black slave-soldiers to run the affairs of the state. In 905, the Tulunids were unable to resist an invasion by the Abbasid troops, who restored direct caliphal rule in Syria and Egypt.
The Tulunid period was marked by economic and administrative reforms alongside cultural ones. Ahmad ibn Tulun changed the taxation system and aligned himself with the merchant community. He also established the Tulunid army. The capital was moved from Fustat to al-Qatta'i
, where the celebrated mosque of ibn Tulun
was constructed.
in the Muslim world
. The Abbasid caliphate was struggling with political disturbances and losing its aura of universal legitimacy. There had previously been Copt
ic and Alid
-led movements in Egypt, without more than temporary and local success. There was also a struggle for power between the Turkish military command and the administration of Baghdad
. Furthermore, there was a widening imperial financial crisis. All of these themes would recur during the Tulunid rule.
The internal politics of the Abbasid caliphate itself seem to have been unstable. In 870, Abū Aḥmad (b. al-Mutawakkil) al-Muwaffaḳ
(d. 891) was summoned from exile in Mecca
to re-establish Abbasid authority over southern Iraq. Quickly, however, he became the de facto ruler of the caliphate. As a result of this uncertainty, Ahmad Ibn Tulun could establish and expand his authority. Thus the Tulunids wielded regional power, largely unhindered by imperial will; as such, the Tulunids can be compared with other 9th-century dynasties of the Muslim world, including the Aghlabid
s and the Tahirids.
, then later settled in Samarra
, upon its establishment as the seat of the caliphate by al-Mu'tasim
. In 254/868, Ibn Tulun was sent to Egypt as resident governor by Bāyakbāk (d. 256/870), the representative of the Abbasid caliph al-Muʿtazz. Ibn Tulun promptly established a financial and military presence in the province of Egypt by establishing an independent Egyptian army and taking over the management of the Egyptian and Syrian treasuries. In 877, troops of the caliphate were sent against him, due to his insufficient payment of tribute. Ahmad ibn Tulun, however, maintained his power, and took Syria the following year.
His reign of more than ten years allowed him to leave behind a well-trained military, a stable economy and an experienced bureaucracy to oversee the state affairs. He appointed his son, Ḵh̲umārawayh, as the heir.
With full autonomy, once the tax income no longer had to go to the Caliph
in Baghdad, it was possible to develop irrigation works and build a navy, which greatly stimulated the local economy and trade. In 878, Jordan valley
was occupied by the Tulunids, extending in the north to the outposts in the Anti-Lebanon mountains on the Byzantine border, enabling them to defend Egypt against Abbasid attack.
The young Tulunid achieved political and military gains, enabling him to extend his authority from Egypt into northern Iraq, and as far north as Tarsus
by 890. Being now a prominent player in the Near Eastern political stage, he negotiated two treaties with the Abbasids. In the first treaty in 886, al-Muwaffakin recognized Tulunid authority over Egypt and the regions of Syria for a thirty-year period. The second treaty, reached with al-Muʿtadid in 892, confirmed the terms of the earlier accord. Both treaties also sought to confirm the status of the Tulunid governor as a vassal of the caliphal family seated in Baghdad.
Despite his gains, Khumarawaih's reign also set the stage for the demise of the dynasty. Financial exhaustion, political infighting and strides by the Abbasids would all contribute to the ruin of the Tulunids. Khumarawaih was also totally reliant on his Turkish and sub-Saharan soldiers. Under the administration of Khumarawayh, the Syro-Egyptian state's finances and military were destabilized.
Khumarawayh's son Abu l-Ashir
(also known as J̲ays̲h) was deposed by the Ṭūlūnid military command in 896 AD, shortly after coming to power. He was succeeded by his brother, Harun
. Though the brother would rule for eight years, he was unable to revitalize the dynasty. He was assassinated in 905. Harun's successor, S̲h̲aybān b . Aḥmad b. Ṭūlūn
was unable to resist an Abbasid invasion under the command of Muḥammad b. Sulaymān, with naval support from frontier forces based in Tarsus. This brought an end to his reign and that of the Ṭūlūnids.
, north of the previous capital Fustat, where he seated his government. One of the dominant features of this city, and indeed the feature that survives today, was the Mosque of Ibn Tulun
. The mosque is built in a Samarra
n style that was common in the period during which the caliphate had shifted capitals from Baghdad
to Samarra
. This style of architecture was not just confined to religious buildings, but secular ones also. Surviving houses of the Tulunid period have Samarran-style stucco panels.
Ḵh̲umārawayh's reign exceeded his father's in spending. He built luxuriant palaces and gardens for himself and those he favored. To the Tulunid Egyptians, his "marvelous" blue-eyed palace lion exemplified his prodigality. His stables were so extensive that, according to popular lore, Khumarawaih never rode a horse more than once. Though he squandered the dynastic wealth, he also encouraged a rich cultural life with patronage of scholarship and poetry. His protégé and the teacher of his sons was the famed grammarian Muḥammad b. ʿAbd Allāh b. Muḥammad Muslim (d. 944). An encomium was written by Ḳāsim b . Yaḥyā al-Maryamī (d. 929) to celebrate Khumarawaih's triumphs on the battlefield.
Through the mediation of his closest adviser, al-Ḥusayn Ibn al-Ḏj̲aṣṣāṣ al-Ḏj̲awharī, Khumarawaih arranged for one of the great political marriages of medieval Islamic history. He proposed his daughter's marriage to a member of the caliphal family in Baghdad. The marriage between the Tulunid princess Ḳaṭr al-Nadā with the Abbasid caliph
al-Mu'tadid
took place in 892. The exorbitant marriage included an awesome dowry estimated at between 400,000 and one million dinar
s. Some speculate that the splendours of the wedding were a calculated attempt by the Abbasids to ruin the Tulunids. The tale of the splendid nuptials of Ḳaṭr al-Nadā lived on in the memory of the Egyptian people well into the Ottoman period
, and were recorded in the chronicles and the folk-literature. The marriage's importance arises from its exceptional nature: the phenomenon of marriage between royal families is rare in Islamic history. The concept of dowry
given by the bride's family has also been absent in Islamic marriages, where mahr
, or bride price
has been the custom.
, in 870. In response, Ibn Tulun organized an army composed of Sudan
ese and Greek
slave-soldiers. Other reports indicate the soldiers may have been Persians
and Sudanese. Ḵh̲umārawayh continued his father's policy of having a multi-ethnic army. His military prowess, in fact, was strengthened by his multi-ethnic regiments of black Sudanese soldiers, Greek mercenaries and fresh Turkic troops from Turkestan
.
Ibn Tulun founded an élite guard to surround the Tulunid family. These formed the core of the Tulunid army, around which other larger regiments were built. These troops are said to have been from the region of G̲h̲ūr in Afghanistan
, during Ibn Tulun's reign, and from local Arabs during the reign of Ḵh̲umārawayh. In a ceremony held in 871, Ibn Tulun had his forces swear personal allegiance to him. Nevertheless, there were defections from the Tulunid army, most notably of the high-ranking commander Luʾluʾ in 883 to the Abbasids. Throughout its life the army faced such persistent problems of securing allegiance.
Ḵh̲umārawayh also established an elite corps called al-muk̲h̲tāra. The corps was composed of unruly bedouin
s of the eastern Nile delta
. By bestowing privileges upon the tribesmen, and converting them into an efficient and loyal bodyguard, he brought peace to the region between Egypt and Syria. He also re-asserted his control over this strategic region. The regiment also included one thousand Sudanese natives.
A list of military engagements in which the Tulunid army constituted a significant party is as follows:
s, also thrived. In his administration, ibn Tulun asserted his autonomy, refusing to pay taxes to the central Abbasid government in Baghdad. He also reformed the administration, aligning himself with the merchant community, and changing the taxation system. Under the Tulunids, there were also repairs in the agricultural infrastructure. The key sector of production, investment, and participation in their Mediterranean-wide commerce, was textiles, linen
in particular (Frantz, 281-5).
taxes as well as the thughūr from Syria. He also achieved victory over ibn al-Mudabbir, the head of the finance office and member of the Abbasid bureaucratic élite.
The de facto ruler of the Abbasid caliphate, al-Muwaffak, took issue with ibn Tulun's financial activities. He wanted to secure Egyptian revenue for his campaign against the Zanj
rebellion (and perhaps limit the autonomy of the Tulunids). This pressing need for funds drew the attention of Baghdad to the considerably more wealthy Egypt. The situation came to a head in 877, when al-Muwaffak, upon not receiving the demanded funds, sent an army to depose Ahmad ibn Tulun. Nevertheless, on at least two occasions, ibn Tulun remitted considerable sums of revenue, along with gifts, to the central Abbasid administration.
Under Ahmad's son, Khumarawayh, the Abbasids formally entered into a treaty with the Tulunids, thereby ending hostilities and resuming the payment of tribute. Financial provisions were made in the first treaty in 886 with al-Muwaffak. A second treaty with al-Muʿtaḍid, the son of al-Muwaffak, in 892, re-affirmed the political terms of the first. Financially, the Tulunids were to pay 300,000 dīnārs (though this figure may be inaccurate) annually.
The Tulunid administration also helped the economy prosper, by maintaining political stability, which in Egypt is a sine qua non
. Isolated revolts among the Copts and some Arab nomads in upper Egypt, which never threatened the dynasty's power, were actually a response to the more efficient Tulunid fiscal practices. The economy was strengthened by reforms introduced both immediately before the Tulunids and during their reign. There were changes in the system of assessing and collecting taxes assessment and collection system. There was also an expansion in the use of tax-contracts, which were the source of an emergent land-holding élite in this period. Ahmad ibn Tulun's agrarian and administrative reforms resulted in encouraging peasants to work their lands with zeal, despite the heavy taxes. He also terminated the exactions of the administration officers for their personal profit.
One final feature of the administration under ibn Ṭūlūn was the discontinued practice of draining off the majority of his revenue to the metropolis. Instead, he initiated building programs to benefit other parts of Egypt. He also used those funds to stimulate commerce and industry.
from his father. The treasury was worth ten million dīnārs at the young Tulunid's succession. When Ḵh̲umārawayh was killed in 896, the treasury was empty, and the dinar had sunk to one-third its value. Part of this financial disaster is attributed to his addiction to luxury, while squandering wealth to win loyalty was also another cause.
Ḵh̲umārawayh, unlike his father, spent lavishly. For example, he gifted to his daughter, Ḳaṭr al-Nadā, an extraordinary dowry of 400,000 - 1,000,000 dīnārs, for her wedding in 892 to the Abbasid al-Muʿtaḍid. This move is speculated by some scholars to have been an attempt by the Abbasid to drain the Tulunid treasury.
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
ic Caliphate
Caliphate
The term caliphate, "dominion of a caliph " , refers to the first system of government established in Islam and represented the political unity of the Muslim Ummah...
during that time. In the 9th century, internal conflict amongst the Abbasids meant that control of the outlying areas of the empire was increasingly tenuous, and in 868 the Turkic
Turkic peoples
The Turkic peoples are peoples residing in northern, central and western Asia, southern Siberia and northwestern China and parts of eastern Europe. They speak languages belonging to the Turkic language family. They share, to varying degrees, certain cultural traits and historical backgrounds...
officer Ahmad ibn Tulun
Ahmad ibn Tulun
Ahmad ibn Ṭūlūn was the founder of the Tulunid dynasty that ruled Egypt briefly between 868 and 905 AD. Originally sent by the Abbasid caliph as governor to Egypt, ibn Ṭūlūn established himself as an independent ruler.-Biography:...
established himself as an independent governor of Egypt. He subsequently achieved nominal autonomy from the central Abbasids. During his reign (868–884) and those of his successors, the Tulunid domains were expanded to include Jordan Rift Valley
Jordan Rift Valley
The Jordan Rift Valley is an elongated depression located in modern-day Israel, Jordan and the Palestinian territories. This geographic region includes the Jordan River, Jordan Valley, Hula Valley, Lake Tiberias and the Dead Sea, the lowest land elevation on Earth...
, as well as Hijaz, Cyprus
Cyprus
Cyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...
and Crete
Crete
Crete is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, and one of the thirteen administrative regions of Greece. It forms a significant part of the economy and cultural heritage of Greece while retaining its own local cultural traits...
. Ahmad was succeeded by his son Khumarawayh, whose military and diplomatic achievements made him a major player in the Middle Eastern political stage. The Abbasids affirmed their recognition of the Tulunids as legitimate rulers, and the dynasty's status as vassals to the caliphate
Caliphate
The term caliphate, "dominion of a caliph " , refers to the first system of government established in Islam and represented the political unity of the Muslim Ummah...
. After Khumarawayh's death, his successor emir
Emir
Emir , meaning "commander", "general", or "prince"; also transliterated as Amir, Aamir or Ameer) is a title of high office, used throughout the Muslim world...
s were ineffectual rulers, allowing their Turkic
Turkish people
Turkish people, also known as the "Turks" , are an ethnic group primarily living in Turkey and in the former lands of the Ottoman Empire where Turkish minorities had been established in Bulgaria, Cyprus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Greece, Kosovo, Macedonia, and Romania...
and black slave-soldiers to run the affairs of the state. In 905, the Tulunids were unable to resist an invasion by the Abbasid troops, who restored direct caliphal rule in Syria and Egypt.
The Tulunid period was marked by economic and administrative reforms alongside cultural ones. Ahmad ibn Tulun changed the taxation system and aligned himself with the merchant community. He also established the Tulunid army. The capital was moved from Fustat to al-Qatta'i
Al-Qatta'i
Al-Qatta'i was the short-lived Tulunid capital of Egypt, founded by Ahmad ibn Tulun in the year 868 CE. Al-Qatta'i was located immediately to the northeast of the previous capital, Al-'Askar, which in turn was adjacent to the settlement of Fustat. All three settlements were later incorporated...
, where the celebrated mosque of ibn Tulun
Mosque of Ibn Tulun
The Mosque of Ahmad Ibn Ţūlūn is located in Cairo, Egypt. It is arguably the oldest mosque in the city surviving in its original form, and is the largest mosque in Cairo in terms of land area....
was constructed.
History
The rise and fall of the Tulunids occurred against a backdrop of increasing regionalismRegionalism (politics)
Regionalism is a term used in international relations. Regionalism also constitutes one of the three constituents of the international commercial system...
in the Muslim world
Muslim world
The term Muslim world has several meanings. In a religious sense, it refers to those who adhere to the teachings of Islam, referred to as Muslims. In a cultural sense, it refers to Islamic civilization, inclusive of non-Muslims living in that civilization...
. The Abbasid caliphate was struggling with political disturbances and losing its aura of universal legitimacy. There had previously been Copt
Copt
The Copts are the native Egyptian Christians , a major ethnoreligious group in Egypt....
ic and Alid
Alid
The Alid dynasties descended from Ali ibn Abi Talib, son-in-law of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. Shia Muslims consider him the First Imam appointed by Muhammad and the first rightful caliph. The Alid are followers of Ali ibn Abi Talib and his sons....
-led movements in Egypt, without more than temporary and local success. There was also a struggle for power between the Turkish military command and the administration of Baghdad
Baghdad
Baghdad is the capital of Iraq, as well as the coterminous Baghdad Governorate. The population of Baghdad in 2011 is approximately 7,216,040...
. Furthermore, there was a widening imperial financial crisis. All of these themes would recur during the Tulunid rule.
The internal politics of the Abbasid caliphate itself seem to have been unstable. In 870, Abū Aḥmad (b. al-Mutawakkil) al-Muwaffaḳ
Al-Muwaffaq (vizier)
Abu Ahmad ibn al-Mutawakkil , better known as al-Muwaffaq , was the brother and regent of the Abbasid Caliph Al-Mu'tamid....
(d. 891) was summoned from exile in Mecca
Mecca
Mecca is a city in the Hijaz and the capital of Makkah province in Saudi Arabia. The city is located inland from Jeddah in a narrow valley at a height of above sea level...
to re-establish Abbasid authority over southern Iraq. Quickly, however, he became the de facto ruler of the caliphate. As a result of this uncertainty, Ahmad Ibn Tulun could establish and expand his authority. Thus the Tulunids wielded regional power, largely unhindered by imperial will; as such, the Tulunids can be compared with other 9th-century dynasties of the Muslim world, including the Aghlabid
Aghlabid
The Aghlabids were a dynasty of emirs, members of the Arab tribe of Bani Tamim, who ruled Ifriqiya, nominally on behalf of the Abbasid Caliph, for about a century, until overthrown by the new power of the Fatimid.-History:...
s and the Tahirids.
Ahmad ibn Tulun
Ahmad Ibn Ṭūlūn was a member of the mostly Central Asian Turkish guard formed initially in BaghdadBaghdad
Baghdad is the capital of Iraq, as well as the coterminous Baghdad Governorate. The population of Baghdad in 2011 is approximately 7,216,040...
, then later settled in Samarra
Samarra
Sāmarrā is a city in Iraq. It stands on the east bank of the Tigris in the Salah ad-Din Governorate, north of Baghdad and, in 2003, had an estimated population of 348,700....
, upon its establishment as the seat of the caliphate by al-Mu'tasim
Al-Mu'tasim
Abu Ishaq 'Abbas al-Mu'tasim ibn Harun was an Abbasid caliph . He succeeded his half-brother al-Ma'mun...
. In 254/868, Ibn Tulun was sent to Egypt as resident governor by Bāyakbāk (d. 256/870), the representative of the Abbasid caliph al-Muʿtazz. Ibn Tulun promptly established a financial and military presence in the province of Egypt by establishing an independent Egyptian army and taking over the management of the Egyptian and Syrian treasuries. In 877, troops of the caliphate were sent against him, due to his insufficient payment of tribute. Ahmad ibn Tulun, however, maintained his power, and took Syria the following year.
His reign of more than ten years allowed him to leave behind a well-trained military, a stable economy and an experienced bureaucracy to oversee the state affairs. He appointed his son, Ḵh̲umārawayh, as the heir.
With full autonomy, once the tax income no longer had to go to the Caliph
Caliph
The Caliph is the head of state in a Caliphate, and the title for the ruler of the Islamic Ummah, an Islamic community ruled by the Shari'ah. It is a transcribed version of the Arabic word which means "successor" or "representative"...
in Baghdad, it was possible to develop irrigation works and build a navy, which greatly stimulated the local economy and trade. In 878, Jordan valley
Jordan Rift Valley
The Jordan Rift Valley is an elongated depression located in modern-day Israel, Jordan and the Palestinian territories. This geographic region includes the Jordan River, Jordan Valley, Hula Valley, Lake Tiberias and the Dead Sea, the lowest land elevation on Earth...
was occupied by the Tulunids, extending in the north to the outposts in the Anti-Lebanon mountains on the Byzantine border, enabling them to defend Egypt against Abbasid attack.
Khumarawaih
Following his father’s death, Ḵh̲umārawayh took control as the designated heir. The first challenge he faced was the invasion of Syria by armies sent by al-Muwaffa'as, the de facto ruler during the reign of caliph al-Mu'tamid. Khumarawaih also had to deal with the defection of Ahmad b. Muhammad al-Wāsiṭī to the invaders' camps, a long-time and key ally of his father's.The young Tulunid achieved political and military gains, enabling him to extend his authority from Egypt into northern Iraq, and as far north as Tarsus
Tarsus (city)
Tarsus is a historic city in south-central Turkey, 20 km inland from the Mediterranean Sea. It is part of the Adana-Mersin Metropolitan Area, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in Turkey with a population of 2.75 million...
by 890. Being now a prominent player in the Near Eastern political stage, he negotiated two treaties with the Abbasids. In the first treaty in 886, al-Muwaffakin recognized Tulunid authority over Egypt and the regions of Syria for a thirty-year period. The second treaty, reached with al-Muʿtadid in 892, confirmed the terms of the earlier accord. Both treaties also sought to confirm the status of the Tulunid governor as a vassal of the caliphal family seated in Baghdad.
Despite his gains, Khumarawaih's reign also set the stage for the demise of the dynasty. Financial exhaustion, political infighting and strides by the Abbasids would all contribute to the ruin of the Tulunids. Khumarawaih was also totally reliant on his Turkish and sub-Saharan soldiers. Under the administration of Khumarawayh, the Syro-Egyptian state's finances and military were destabilized.
Demise
The later emirs of the dynasty were all ineffectual rulers, relying on their Turkish and black soldiers to run the affairs of the state.Khumarawayh's son Abu l-Ashir
Abu l-Ashir of Tulunids
Abu'l-'Asakir Jaysh was the third Emir of the Tulunids in Egypt . The eldest son of Khumarawaih, he succeeded him early in 896 at the age of fourteen. Soon afterwards he ordered the execution of his uncle Mudar ibn Ahmad ibn Tulun. After ruling for only a couple of months the faqihs and qadis...
(also known as J̲ays̲h) was deposed by the Ṭūlūnid military command in 896 AD, shortly after coming to power. He was succeeded by his brother, Harun
Harun of Tulunids
Harun was the fourth Emir of the Tulunids in Egypt He succeed his father Abu-l Ashir who had been murdered by army chiefs. He left state affairs to the vizir Abu Jafar ibn Ali, preferring to live a life of dissolute luxury...
. Though the brother would rule for eight years, he was unable to revitalize the dynasty. He was assassinated in 905. Harun's successor, S̲h̲aybān b . Aḥmad b. Ṭūlūn
Shaiban of Tulunids
Shaiban was the fifth and last Emir of the Tulunids in Egypt He began his reign after Harun was killed in a mutiny in 904 during the invasion of the Abbasid caliphate...
was unable to resist an Abbasid invasion under the command of Muḥammad b. Sulaymān, with naval support from frontier forces based in Tarsus. This brought an end to his reign and that of the Ṭūlūnids.
Culture
Ahmad ibn Tulun founded his own capital, al-Qatta'iAl-Qatta'i
Al-Qatta'i was the short-lived Tulunid capital of Egypt, founded by Ahmad ibn Tulun in the year 868 CE. Al-Qatta'i was located immediately to the northeast of the previous capital, Al-'Askar, which in turn was adjacent to the settlement of Fustat. All three settlements were later incorporated...
, north of the previous capital Fustat, where he seated his government. One of the dominant features of this city, and indeed the feature that survives today, was the Mosque of Ibn Tulun
Mosque of Ibn Tulun
The Mosque of Ahmad Ibn Ţūlūn is located in Cairo, Egypt. It is arguably the oldest mosque in the city surviving in its original form, and is the largest mosque in Cairo in terms of land area....
. The mosque is built in a Samarra
Samarra
Sāmarrā is a city in Iraq. It stands on the east bank of the Tigris in the Salah ad-Din Governorate, north of Baghdad and, in 2003, had an estimated population of 348,700....
n style that was common in the period during which the caliphate had shifted capitals from Baghdad
Baghdad
Baghdad is the capital of Iraq, as well as the coterminous Baghdad Governorate. The population of Baghdad in 2011 is approximately 7,216,040...
to Samarra
Samarra
Sāmarrā is a city in Iraq. It stands on the east bank of the Tigris in the Salah ad-Din Governorate, north of Baghdad and, in 2003, had an estimated population of 348,700....
. This style of architecture was not just confined to religious buildings, but secular ones also. Surviving houses of the Tulunid period have Samarran-style stucco panels.
Ḵh̲umārawayh's reign exceeded his father's in spending. He built luxuriant palaces and gardens for himself and those he favored. To the Tulunid Egyptians, his "marvelous" blue-eyed palace lion exemplified his prodigality. His stables were so extensive that, according to popular lore, Khumarawaih never rode a horse more than once. Though he squandered the dynastic wealth, he also encouraged a rich cultural life with patronage of scholarship and poetry. His protégé and the teacher of his sons was the famed grammarian Muḥammad b. ʿAbd Allāh b. Muḥammad Muslim (d. 944). An encomium was written by Ḳāsim b . Yaḥyā al-Maryamī (d. 929) to celebrate Khumarawaih's triumphs on the battlefield.
Through the mediation of his closest adviser, al-Ḥusayn Ibn al-Ḏj̲aṣṣāṣ al-Ḏj̲awharī, Khumarawaih arranged for one of the great political marriages of medieval Islamic history. He proposed his daughter's marriage to a member of the caliphal family in Baghdad. The marriage between the Tulunid princess Ḳaṭr al-Nadā with the Abbasid caliph
Caliph
The Caliph is the head of state in a Caliphate, and the title for the ruler of the Islamic Ummah, an Islamic community ruled by the Shari'ah. It is a transcribed version of the Arabic word which means "successor" or "representative"...
al-Mu'tadid
Al-Mu'tadid
Al-Mu'tadid was the Abbasid Caliph in Baghdad from 892 to 902. As the son and heir of the powerful vizier and virtual regent Al-Muwaffaq , Mu'tadid was already in possession of supreme power even before he was appointed Caliph, and continued as Caliph to ably administer the Government...
took place in 892. The exorbitant marriage included an awesome dowry estimated at between 400,000 and one million dinar
Dinar
The dinar is the official currency of several countries.The history of the dinar dates to the gold dinar, an early Islamic coin corresponding to the Byzantine denarius auri...
s. Some speculate that the splendours of the wedding were a calculated attempt by the Abbasids to ruin the Tulunids. The tale of the splendid nuptials of Ḳaṭr al-Nadā lived on in the memory of the Egyptian people well into the Ottoman period
Ottoman Egypt
Ottoman Egypt covers two main periods:* Egypt Eyalet 1517–1867 under direct rule of the Ottoman Empire.* Khedivate of Egypt 1867–1914 as autonomous tributary state of the Ottoman Empire....
, and were recorded in the chronicles and the folk-literature. The marriage's importance arises from its exceptional nature: the phenomenon of marriage between royal families is rare in Islamic history. The concept of dowry
Dowry
A dowry is the money, goods, or estate that a woman brings forth to the marriage. It contrasts with bride price, which is paid to the bride's parents, and dower, which is property settled on the bride herself by the groom at the time of marriage. The same culture may simultaneously practice both...
given by the bride's family has also been absent in Islamic marriages, where mahr
Mahr
In Islam, mahr is an amount of money paid by the groom to the bride at the time of marriage which she can spend as she wishes. The English concept of "dower", the gift of funds to the wife in the event she becomes widowed, closely approximates mahr. The terms "dowry" and "bride price" are...
, or bride price
Bride price
Bride price, also known as bride wealth, is an amount of money or property or wealth paid by the groom or his family to the parents of a woman upon the marriage of their daughter to the groom...
has been the custom.
Military
During his reign, Ibn Tulun created a Tulunid army and navy. The need for the establishment of an autonomous armed force became apparent after the revolt of ʿĪsā b. al-S̲h̲ayk̲h, governor of PalestinePalestine
Palestine is a conventional name, among others, used to describe the geographic region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, and various adjoining lands....
, in 870. In response, Ibn Tulun organized an army composed of Sudan
Sudan
Sudan , officially the Republic of the Sudan , is a country in North Africa, sometimes considered part of the Middle East politically. It is bordered by Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the northeast, Eritrea and Ethiopia to the east, South Sudan to the south, the Central African Republic to the...
ese and Greek
Greeks
The Greeks, also known as the Hellenes , are a nation and ethnic group native to Greece, Cyprus and neighboring regions. They also form a significant diaspora, with Greek communities established around the world....
slave-soldiers. Other reports indicate the soldiers may have been Persians
Persian people
The Persian people are part of the Iranian peoples who speak the modern Persian language and closely akin Iranian dialects and languages. The origin of the ethnic Iranian/Persian peoples are traced to the Ancient Iranian peoples, who were part of the ancient Indo-Iranians and themselves part of...
and Sudanese. Ḵh̲umārawayh continued his father's policy of having a multi-ethnic army. His military prowess, in fact, was strengthened by his multi-ethnic regiments of black Sudanese soldiers, Greek mercenaries and fresh Turkic troops from Turkestan
Turkestan
Turkestan, spelled also as Turkistan, literally means "Land of the Turks".The term Turkestan is of Persian origin and has never been in use to denote a single nation. It was first used by Persian geographers to describe the place of Turkish peoples...
.
Ibn Tulun founded an élite guard to surround the Tulunid family. These formed the core of the Tulunid army, around which other larger regiments were built. These troops are said to have been from the region of G̲h̲ūr in Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
, during Ibn Tulun's reign, and from local Arabs during the reign of Ḵh̲umārawayh. In a ceremony held in 871, Ibn Tulun had his forces swear personal allegiance to him. Nevertheless, there were defections from the Tulunid army, most notably of the high-ranking commander Luʾluʾ in 883 to the Abbasids. Throughout its life the army faced such persistent problems of securing allegiance.
Ḵh̲umārawayh also established an elite corps called al-muk̲h̲tāra. The corps was composed of unruly bedouin
Bedouin
The Bedouin are a part of a predominantly desert-dwelling Arab ethnic group traditionally divided into tribes or clans, known in Arabic as ..-Etymology:...
s of the eastern Nile delta
Nile Delta
The Nile Delta is the delta formed in Northern Egypt where the Nile River spreads out and drains into the Mediterranean Sea. It is one of the world's largest river deltas—from Alexandria in the west to Port Said in the east, it covers some 240 km of Mediterranean coastline—and is a rich...
. By bestowing privileges upon the tribesmen, and converting them into an efficient and loyal bodyguard, he brought peace to the region between Egypt and Syria. He also re-asserted his control over this strategic region. The regiment also included one thousand Sudanese natives.
A list of military engagements in which the Tulunid army constituted a significant party is as follows:
- In 877, the Tulunid troops, after displaying their strength, forced the Abbasid army under Mūsā b. Bug̲h̲ā to abandon his plan to depose Ahmad ibn Tulun.
- In 878, the Tulunids, under the pretext of a jihadJihadJihad , an Islamic term, is a religious duty of Muslims. In Arabic, the word jihād translates as a noun meaning "struggle". Jihad appears 41 times in the Quran and frequently in the idiomatic expression "striving in the way of God ". A person engaged in jihad is called a mujahid; the plural is...
to defend the frontiers of Asia Minor against the Byzantines, occupied Syria. This campaign was ended prematurely, as Ibn Tulun had to return to Egypt. - In 885, the Tulunid army led by Khumarawayh met the invading Abbasids at the Battle of the Mills (al-Ṭawāḥīn) in southern Palestine. The Abbasids led by Aḥmad b. al-Muwaffaḳ had invaded Syria, and the governor of Damascus had defected to the enemy. After both Ahmad and Khumarawayh fled the battlefield, the Ṭūlūnid general Saʿd al-Aysar secured victory.
- From 885 - 886, the Tulunid forces, led by Khumarawayh, defeated Ibn Kundād̲j, though the latter had superior numbers. A domino effectDomino effectThe domino effect is a chain reaction that occurs when a small change causes a similar change nearby, which then will cause another similar change, and so on in linear sequence. The term is best known as a mechanical effect, and is used as an analogy to a falling row of dominoes...
followed, as the Jazira, Cilicia and regions as far east as Haran submitted to the Tulunid army. Peace treaties with the Tulunids put an end to the military campaigns. - From 896 to 905, after the emirate's demise the Tulunids were unable to stop the Abbasids from taking their capital al-Qatta'iAl-Qatta'iAl-Qatta'i was the short-lived Tulunid capital of Egypt, founded by Ahmad ibn Tulun in the year 868 CE. Al-Qatta'i was located immediately to the northeast of the previous capital, Al-'Askar, which in turn was adjacent to the settlement of Fustat. All three settlements were later incorporated...
.
Economy
During the reign of Ahmad ibn Tulun, the Egyptian economy remained prosperous. There were propitious levels of agricultural production, stimulated by consistent high flooding of the Nile. Other industries, particularly textileTextile
A textile or cloth is a flexible woven material consisting of a network of natural or artificial fibres often referred to as thread or yarn. Yarn is produced by spinning raw fibres of wool, flax, cotton, or other material to produce long strands...
s, also thrived. In his administration, ibn Tulun asserted his autonomy, refusing to pay taxes to the central Abbasid government in Baghdad. He also reformed the administration, aligning himself with the merchant community, and changing the taxation system. Under the Tulunids, there were also repairs in the agricultural infrastructure. The key sector of production, investment, and participation in their Mediterranean-wide commerce, was textiles, linen
Linen
Linen is a textile made from the fibers of the flax plant, Linum usitatissimum. Linen is labor-intensive to manufacture, but when it is made into garments, it is valued for its exceptional coolness and freshness in hot weather....
in particular (Frantz, 281-5).
Financial autonomy
During the period of 870-872, ibn Tulun asserted more control over Egypt's financial administration. In 871, he took control of the kharajKharaj
In Islamic law, kharaj is a tax on agricultural land.Initially, after the first Muslim conquests in the 7th century, kharaj usually denoted a lump-sum duty levied upon the conquered provinces and collected by the officials of the former Byzantine and Sassanid empires or, more broadly, any kind of...
taxes as well as the thughūr from Syria. He also achieved victory over ibn al-Mudabbir, the head of the finance office and member of the Abbasid bureaucratic élite.
The de facto ruler of the Abbasid caliphate, al-Muwaffak, took issue with ibn Tulun's financial activities. He wanted to secure Egyptian revenue for his campaign against the Zanj
Zanj
Zanj was a name used by medieval Arab geographers to refer to both a certain portion of the coast of East Africa and its inhabitants, Bantu-speaking peoples called the Zanj...
rebellion (and perhaps limit the autonomy of the Tulunids). This pressing need for funds drew the attention of Baghdad to the considerably more wealthy Egypt. The situation came to a head in 877, when al-Muwaffak, upon not receiving the demanded funds, sent an army to depose Ahmad ibn Tulun. Nevertheless, on at least two occasions, ibn Tulun remitted considerable sums of revenue, along with gifts, to the central Abbasid administration.
Under Ahmad's son, Khumarawayh, the Abbasids formally entered into a treaty with the Tulunids, thereby ending hostilities and resuming the payment of tribute. Financial provisions were made in the first treaty in 886 with al-Muwaffak. A second treaty with al-Muʿtaḍid, the son of al-Muwaffak, in 892, re-affirmed the political terms of the first. Financially, the Tulunids were to pay 300,000 dīnārs (though this figure may be inaccurate) annually.
Tulunid administration
The Tūlūnid administration over Egypt bore several notable features. The style of rule was highly centralized and "pitiless" in its execution. The administration was also backed by Egypt’s commercial, religious and social élite. Ahmad ibn Tulun replaced Iraqi officials with an Egyptian bureaucracy. Overall, the administration relied on relied on the powerful merchant community for both financial and diplomatic support. For example Maʿmar al-Ḏj̲awharī, a leading member of the merchant community in Egypt, served as ibn Ṭūlūn’s financier.The Tulunid administration also helped the economy prosper, by maintaining political stability, which in Egypt is a sine qua non
Sine qua non
Sine qua non or condicio sine qua non refers to an indispensable and essential action, condition, or ingredient...
. Isolated revolts among the Copts and some Arab nomads in upper Egypt, which never threatened the dynasty's power, were actually a response to the more efficient Tulunid fiscal practices. The economy was strengthened by reforms introduced both immediately before the Tulunids and during their reign. There were changes in the system of assessing and collecting taxes assessment and collection system. There was also an expansion in the use of tax-contracts, which were the source of an emergent land-holding élite in this period. Ahmad ibn Tulun's agrarian and administrative reforms resulted in encouraging peasants to work their lands with zeal, despite the heavy taxes. He also terminated the exactions of the administration officers for their personal profit.
One final feature of the administration under ibn Ṭūlūn was the discontinued practice of draining off the majority of his revenue to the metropolis. Instead, he initiated building programs to benefit other parts of Egypt. He also used those funds to stimulate commerce and industry.
Large expenditures
Ḵh̲umārawayh inherited a stable economy and a wealthy polityPolity
Polity is a form of government Aristotle developed in his search for a government that could be most easily incorporated and used by the largest amount of people groups, or states...
from his father. The treasury was worth ten million dīnārs at the young Tulunid's succession. When Ḵh̲umārawayh was killed in 896, the treasury was empty, and the dinar had sunk to one-third its value. Part of this financial disaster is attributed to his addiction to luxury, while squandering wealth to win loyalty was also another cause.
Ḵh̲umārawayh, unlike his father, spent lavishly. For example, he gifted to his daughter, Ḳaṭr al-Nadā, an extraordinary dowry of 400,000 - 1,000,000 dīnārs, for her wedding in 892 to the Abbasid al-Muʿtaḍid. This move is speculated by some scholars to have been an attempt by the Abbasid to drain the Tulunid treasury.
Tulunid emirs
- Ahmad ibn TulunAhmad ibn TulunAhmad ibn Ṭūlūn was the founder of the Tulunid dynasty that ruled Egypt briefly between 868 and 905 AD. Originally sent by the Abbasid caliph as governor to Egypt, ibn Ṭūlūn established himself as an independent ruler.-Biography:...
(868-884) - Khumarawaih (884-896)
- Abu l-AshirAbu l-Ashir of TulunidsAbu'l-'Asakir Jaysh was the third Emir of the Tulunids in Egypt . The eldest son of Khumarawaih, he succeeded him early in 896 at the age of fourteen. Soon afterwards he ordered the execution of his uncle Mudar ibn Ahmad ibn Tulun. After ruling for only a couple of months the faqihs and qadis...
(896) - HarunHarun of TulunidsHarun was the fourth Emir of the Tulunids in Egypt He succeed his father Abu-l Ashir who had been murdered by army chiefs. He left state affairs to the vizir Abu Jafar ibn Ali, preferring to live a life of dissolute luxury...
(896-904) - ShaibanShaiban of TulunidsShaiban was the fifth and last Emir of the Tulunids in Egypt He began his reign after Harun was killed in a mutiny in 904 during the invasion of the Abbasid caliphate...
(904-905)