Turan-Shah
Encyclopedia
Turan-Shah ibn Ayyub al-Malik al-Mu'azzam Shams ad-Dawla Fakhr ad-Din known simply as Turan-Shah (d. 1180) was the Ayyubid governor of Yemen
(1174-1176), then Damascus
(1176-1179). He is noted for strengthening the position of his younger brother, Saladin
, in Egypt
and playing the leading role in the Ayyubid conquests of both Nubia
and Yemen. Like many of the Ayyubids, little is known of his early life before his arrival in Egypt.
and Aswan
in Upper Egypt
as well as the Red Sea
port of Aidab
. Turan-Shah was the main force behind the deposition of a revolt staged in 1171 by the Black African garrisons of the Fatimid army in 1171.
Turan-Shah developed a close relationship with the poet courtier 'Umara, who had been a power player in Fatimid politics before Saladin's ascendancy to the vizierate in 1169. On September 11, 1171, the last Fatimid caliph al-Adid died and the Ayyubid dynasty gained official control of Egypt. A number of accusations of murder against Turan-Shah arose following his death. According to a eunuch in the service of al-Adid's widow, al-Adid died after hearing that Turan-Shah was in the palace looking for him. In another version, Turan-Shah is said to have killed al-Adid himself after the latter refused to reveal the location of state treasures that were hidden in the palace. After his death, Turan-Shah settled in Cairo
in a quarter formerly occupied by Fatimid emir
s.
. After the Fatimids were deposed, tensions rose as Nubian raids against Egyptian border towns grew bolder ultimately leading to the siege of the valuable city of Aswan by former Black Fatimid soldiers in late 1172-early 1173. The governor of Aswan, a former Fatimid loyalist, requested help from Saladin.
Saladin dispatched Turan-Shah with a force of Kurdish
troops to relieve Aswan, but the Nubian soldiers had already departed. Nonetheless, Turan-Shah conquered the Nubian town of Ibrim
and began to conduct a series of raids against the Nubians. His attacks appear to have been highly successful, resulting in the Nubian king based in Dongola
, requesting an armistice with Turan-Shah. Apparently eager for conquest, he was unwilling to accept the offer until his own emissary had visited the King of Nubia and reported that the entire country was poor and not worth occupying. Although the Ayyubids would be forced to take future actions against the Nubians, Turan-Shah set his sights on more lucrative territories. He managed to acquire considerable wealth in Egypt after his campaign against Nubia, bringing back with him many Nubian and Christian
slaves.
, Saladin's aide, suggested that there was a heretical leader in Yemen who was claiming to be the messiah
, and that this was the principal reason that Saladin dispatched Turan-Shah to conquer the region. While this is likely, it also appears 'Umara had considerable influence on Turan-Shah's desire to conquer Yemen and may have been the one who pushed him to gain Saladin's approval to use such a large part of the military forces in Egypt when the showdown with Nur al-Din seemed to be so near. Turan-Shah's departure from Egypt did not bode well for his adviser, 'Umara, however, as the poet found himself caught up in an alleged conspiracy against Saladin and was executed.
Turan-Shah set out in 1174 and quickly conquered the town of Zabid
in May and the strategic port city of Aden
(a crucial link in trade with India
, the Middle East
, and North Africa
) later that year. In 1175, he drove out the Hamdanid emir, Ali ibn Hakim al-Wahid, from Sana'a
after the latter's army was weakened by continuous raids from the Zaidi tribes of Sa'dah
. Turan-Shah then devoted much of his time to securing the whole of southern Yemen and bringing it firmly under the control of the Ayyubids. Although al-Wahid managed to escape Yemen through its northern highlands, Yasir, the head of the Shia Banu Karam tribe that had ruled Aden was arrested and executed on Turan-Shah's orders. The Kharijite
rulers of Zabid—Mahdi Abd al-Nabi and his two brothers—shared the same fate. Turan-Shah's conquest held great significance for Yemen which was previously divided into three states (Sana'a, Zabid, and Aden) and was united by the Ayyubid occupation.
. Saladin rewarded him rich estates in Yemen as his personal property. Turan-Shah did not feel comfortable in Yemen however, and repeatedly requested from his brother to be transferred. In 1176, he obtained a transfer to Syria
which he governed from Damascus
. In addition, he was given large fiefs in Baalbek
that used to belong to his father Najm ad-Din Ayyub
.
Upon leaving Yemen, the administrator of his estates there was unable to promptly transfer the revenue from his properties to Turan-Shah. Instead, he left Turan-Shah behind roughly 200,000 dinar
s in debt, but this was paid off by Saladin. In 1179, he was transferred to govern Alexandria
and died soon after on June 27, 1180. His body was taken by his sister Sitt al-Sham Zumurrud to be buried beside a madrasa built by her in Damascus.
Yemen
The Republic of Yemen , commonly known as Yemen , is a country located in the Middle East, occupying the southwestern to southern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the north, the Red Sea to the west, and Oman to the east....
(1174-1176), then Damascus
Damascus
Damascus , commonly known in Syria as Al Sham , and as the City of Jasmine , is the capital and the second largest city of Syria after Aleppo, both are part of the country's 14 governorates. In addition to being one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, Damascus is a major...
(1176-1179). He is noted for strengthening the position of his younger brother, Saladin
Saladin
Ṣalāḥ ad-Dīn Yūsuf ibn Ayyūb , better known in the Western world as Saladin, was an Arabized Kurdish Muslim, who became the first Sultan of Egypt and Syria, and founded the Ayyubid dynasty. He led Muslim and Arab opposition to the Franks and other European Crusaders in the Levant...
, in Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
and playing the leading role in the Ayyubid conquests of both Nubia
Nubia
Nubia is a region along the Nile river, which is located in northern Sudan and southern Egypt.There were a number of small Nubian kingdoms throughout the Middle Ages, the last of which collapsed in 1504, when Nubia became divided between Egypt and the Sennar sultanate resulting in the Arabization...
and Yemen. Like many of the Ayyubids, little is known of his early life before his arrival in Egypt.
Arrival in Egypt
Nur ad-Din Zangi, the Sultan of Syria at the time, allowed Turan-Shah to join Saladin in Egypt where he was vizier to the Fatimid caliph in 1171 when tensions between Nur al-Din and Saladin were rising. Nur al-Din empowered Turan-Shah to supervise Saladin, hoping to provoke dissension between the brothers. However, this attempt failed as Turan-Shah was immediately granted an immense amount of lands by Saladin who was in the process of reforming the power structure of the Fatimid state around him and his relatives. The iqta or "fief" given to Turan-Shah composed of the major cities of QusQus
Qus is a city in the modern Qena Governorate, Egypt, located on the east bank of the Nile. Its modern name is one of many borrowings in Egyptian Arabic from Coptic, the last living phase of Ancient Egyptian...
and Aswan
Aswan
Aswan , formerly spelled Assuan, is a city in the south of Egypt, the capital of the Aswan Governorate.It stands on the east bank of the Nile at the first cataract and is a busy market and tourist centre...
in Upper Egypt
Upper Egypt
Upper Egypt is the strip of land, on both sides of the Nile valley, that extends from the cataract boundaries of modern-day Aswan north to the area between El-Ayait and Zawyet Dahshur . The northern section of Upper Egypt, between El-Ayait and Sohag is sometimes known as Middle Egypt...
as well as the Red Sea
Red Sea
The Red Sea is a seawater inlet of the Indian Ocean, lying between Africa and Asia. The connection to the ocean is in the south through the Bab el Mandeb strait and the Gulf of Aden. In the north, there is the Sinai Peninsula, the Gulf of Aqaba, and the Gulf of Suez...
port of Aidab
Aidab
Aidab is a small town in the far south of Egypt near to the border with Sudan. It is a port that was used for traveling to Saudi Arabia especially for hajj....
. Turan-Shah was the main force behind the deposition of a revolt staged in 1171 by the Black African garrisons of the Fatimid army in 1171.
Turan-Shah developed a close relationship with the poet courtier 'Umara, who had been a power player in Fatimid politics before Saladin's ascendancy to the vizierate in 1169. On September 11, 1171, the last Fatimid caliph al-Adid died and the Ayyubid dynasty gained official control of Egypt. A number of accusations of murder against Turan-Shah arose following his death. According to a eunuch in the service of al-Adid's widow, al-Adid died after hearing that Turan-Shah was in the palace looking for him. In another version, Turan-Shah is said to have killed al-Adid himself after the latter refused to reveal the location of state treasures that were hidden in the palace. After his death, Turan-Shah settled in Cairo
Cairo
Cairo , is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab world and Africa, and the 16th largest metropolitan area in the world. Nicknamed "The City of a Thousand Minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a centre of the region's political and cultural life...
in a quarter formerly occupied by Fatimid 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.
Conquest of Nubia
The Nubians and Egyptians had long been at engaged in a series of skirmishes along the border region of the two countries in Upper EgyptUpper Egypt
Upper Egypt is the strip of land, on both sides of the Nile valley, that extends from the cataract boundaries of modern-day Aswan north to the area between El-Ayait and Zawyet Dahshur . The northern section of Upper Egypt, between El-Ayait and Sohag is sometimes known as Middle Egypt...
. After the Fatimids were deposed, tensions rose as Nubian raids against Egyptian border towns grew bolder ultimately leading to the siege of the valuable city of Aswan by former Black Fatimid soldiers in late 1172-early 1173. The governor of Aswan, a former Fatimid loyalist, requested help from Saladin.
Saladin dispatched Turan-Shah with a force of Kurdish
Kurdish people
The Kurdish people, or Kurds , are an Iranian people native to the Middle East, mostly inhabiting a region known as Kurdistan, which includes adjacent parts of Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Turkey...
troops to relieve Aswan, but the Nubian soldiers had already departed. Nonetheless, Turan-Shah conquered the Nubian town of Ibrim
Qasr Ibrim
Qasr Ibrim is an archaeological site in Lower Nubia. It was originally a major city perched on a cliff above the Nile, but the flooding of Lake Nasser after the construction of the Aswan High Dam transformed it into an island and flooded its outskirts. Qasr Ibrim is the only major archaeological...
and began to conduct a series of raids against the Nubians. His attacks appear to have been highly successful, resulting in the Nubian king based in Dongola
Dongola
Dongola , also spelled Dunqulah, and formerly known as Al 'Urdi, is the capital of the state of Northern in Sudan, on the banks of the Nile. It should not be confused with Old Dongola, an ancient city located 80 km upstream on the opposite bank....
, requesting an armistice with Turan-Shah. Apparently eager for conquest, he was unwilling to accept the offer until his own emissary had visited the King of Nubia and reported that the entire country was poor and not worth occupying. Although the Ayyubids would be forced to take future actions against the Nubians, Turan-Shah set his sights on more lucrative territories. He managed to acquire considerable wealth in Egypt after his campaign against Nubia, bringing back with him many Nubian and Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
slaves.
Conquest of Yemen
Following his success in Nubia, Turan-Shah still sought to establish a personal holding for himself while Saladin was facing an ever increasing amount of pressure from Nur al-Din who seemed to be attempting invading Egypt. Baha ad-Din ibn ShaddadBaha ad-Din ibn Shaddad
Bahā' ad-Dīn Yusuf ibn Rafi ibn Shaddād was a 12th-century Muslim jurist and scholar, an Arabian historian of great note, notable for writing a biography of Saladin whom he knew well.Ibn Shaddād was born in Mosul on 10 Ramadan 539 AH , where he studied the...
, Saladin's aide, suggested that there was a heretical leader in Yemen who was claiming to be the messiah
Messiah
A messiah is a redeemer figure expected or foretold in one form or another by a religion. Slightly more widely, a messiah is any redeemer figure. Messianic beliefs or theories generally relate to eschatological improvement of the state of humanity or the world, in other words the World to...
, and that this was the principal reason that Saladin dispatched Turan-Shah to conquer the region. While this is likely, it also appears 'Umara had considerable influence on Turan-Shah's desire to conquer Yemen and may have been the one who pushed him to gain Saladin's approval to use such a large part of the military forces in Egypt when the showdown with Nur al-Din seemed to be so near. Turan-Shah's departure from Egypt did not bode well for his adviser, 'Umara, however, as the poet found himself caught up in an alleged conspiracy against Saladin and was executed.
Turan-Shah set out in 1174 and quickly conquered the town of Zabid
Zabid
Zabid is a town with an urban population of around 23,000 persons on Yemen's western coastal plain. The town, named after Wadi Zabid, the wadi to its south, is one of the oldest towns in Yemen...
in May and the strategic port city of Aden
Aden
Aden is a seaport city in Yemen, located by the eastern approach to the Red Sea , some 170 kilometres east of Bab-el-Mandeb. Its population is approximately 800,000. Aden's ancient, natural harbour lies in the crater of an extinct volcano which now forms a peninsula, joined to the mainland by a...
(a crucial link in trade with India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, the Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
, and North Africa
North Africa
North Africa or Northern Africa is the northernmost region of the African continent, linked by the Sahara to Sub-Saharan Africa. Geopolitically, the United Nations definition of Northern Africa includes eight countries or territories; Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, South Sudan, Sudan, Tunisia, and...
) later that year. In 1175, he drove out the Hamdanid emir, Ali ibn Hakim al-Wahid, from Sana'a
Sana'a
-Districts:*Al Wahdah District*As Sabain District*Assafi'yah District*At Tahrir District*Ath'thaorah District*Az'zal District*Bani Al Harith District*Ma'ain District*Old City District*Shu'aub District-Old City:...
after the latter's army was weakened by continuous raids from the Zaidi tribes of Sa'dah
Sa'dah
Sa`dah is the capital city of Saada Governorate in north-western Yemen. It is located at , at an elevation of about 1,800 meters. Known in antiquity as Karna, its population in 2004 was estimated at 51,870.- External links :*...
. Turan-Shah then devoted much of his time to securing the whole of southern Yemen and bringing it firmly under the control of the Ayyubids. Although al-Wahid managed to escape Yemen through its northern highlands, Yasir, the head of the Shia Banu Karam tribe that had ruled Aden was arrested and executed on Turan-Shah's orders. The Kharijite
Kharijites
Kharijites is a general term embracing various Muslims who, while initially supporting the authority of the final Rashidun Caliph Ali ibn Abi Talib, the son-in-law and cousin of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, then later rejected his leadership...
rulers of Zabid—Mahdi Abd al-Nabi and his two brothers—shared the same fate. Turan-Shah's conquest held great significance for Yemen which was previously divided into three states (Sana'a, Zabid, and Aden) and was united by the Ayyubid occupation.
Transfers of power
Although Turn-Shah had succeeded in acquiring his own territory in Yemen, he had clearly done so at the expense of his power in CairoCairo
Cairo , is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab world and Africa, and the 16th largest metropolitan area in the world. Nicknamed "The City of a Thousand Minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a centre of the region's political and cultural life...
. Saladin rewarded him rich estates in Yemen as his personal property. Turan-Shah did not feel comfortable in Yemen however, and repeatedly requested from his brother to be transferred. In 1176, he obtained a transfer to Syria
Syria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
which he governed from Damascus
Damascus
Damascus , commonly known in Syria as Al Sham , and as the City of Jasmine , is the capital and the second largest city of Syria after Aleppo, both are part of the country's 14 governorates. In addition to being one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, Damascus is a major...
. In addition, he was given large fiefs in Baalbek
Baalbek
Baalbek is a town in the Beqaa Valley of Lebanon, altitude , situated east of the Litani River. It is famous for its exquisitely detailed yet monumentally scaled temple ruins of the Roman period, when Baalbek, then known as Heliopolis, was one of the largest sanctuaries in the Empire...
that used to belong to his father Najm ad-Din Ayyub
Najm ad-Din Ayyub
al-Malik al-Afdal Najm ad-Din Ayyub ibn Shadhi ibn Marawan ) was a Kurdish soldier and politician from Dvin, and the father of Saladin. He is eponymous of the Ayyubid dynasty founded by Saladin.-Life and career:Ayyub was the son of Shadhi ibn Marwan and brother of Shirkuh...
.
Upon leaving Yemen, the administrator of his estates there was unable to promptly transfer the revenue from his properties to Turan-Shah. Instead, he left Turan-Shah behind roughly 200,000 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 in debt, but this was paid off by Saladin. In 1179, he was transferred to govern Alexandria
Alexandria
Alexandria is the second-largest city of Egypt, with a population of 4.1 million, extending about along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in the north central part of the country; it is also the largest city lying directly on the Mediterranean coast. It is Egypt's largest seaport, serving...
and died soon after on June 27, 1180. His body was taken by his sister Sitt al-Sham Zumurrud to be buried beside a madrasa built by her in Damascus.