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Rahba
Al-Rahba (/ALA-LC: ''al-Raḥba'', sometimes spelled ''Raḥabah''), also known as Qal'at al-Rahba, which translates as the "Citadel of al-Rahba", is a medieval Arab fortress on the west bank of the Euphrates River, adjacent to the city of Mayadin in Syria. Situated atop a mound with an elevation of , al-Rahba oversees the Syrian Desert steppe. It has been described as "a fortress within a fortress"; it consists of an inner keep measuring , protected by an enclosure measuring . Al-Rahba is largely in ruins today as a result of wind erosion. The original site, which was known as "Rahbat Malik ibn Tawk" after its Abbasid namesake and founder, was located along the Euphrates. It was viewed by Muslim armies, caravans and travelers as the key to Syria from Iraq and sometimes vice versa. Bedouin tribes often took control of it and used it as a launching point for invasions of northern Syria. Because of its strategic location, al-Rahba was frequently fought over by Muslim powers, incl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mayadin
Mayadin ( ar, ٱلْمِيَادِين/ALA-LC: ''al-Miyādīn'') is a town in eastern Syria. It is the capital of the Mayadin District, part of the Deir ez-Zor Governorate. Mayadin is about 44 kilometers southeast of Deir ez-Zor. The Euphrates River flows through the town. In the 2004 census, the population was 44,028, making it the second most populous town in the governorate. History Ancient era Mayadin has been identified to be the ancient Audattha known to Ptolemy, though some suggest Audattha was where Haditha now stands in Iraq. Middle Ages Mayadin is the successor of the medieval town and fortress of Rahbat Malik ibn Tawk, founded by the Abbasid lord and the original town's namesake, Malik ibn Tawk. Strategically located at a crossroads on the western bank of the Euphrates and considered the key to Syria from Iraq, control of the town was highly contested by the Muslim powers and Bedouin tribes of the region. It grew to become one of the major Muslim towns of the Euphra ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mirdasid Dynasty
The Mirdasid dynasty ( ar, المرداسيون, al-Mirdāsiyyīn), also called the Banu Mirdas, was an Arab dynasty which ruled an Aleppo-based emirate in northern Syria and the western Jazira (Upper Mesopotamia) more or less continuously from 1024 until 1080. History Dominance of the Kilab in northern Syria The Mirdasids were a family of the Bedouin (nomadic Arab) tribe of Banu Kilab. The Kilab's ancestral home was in central Arabia and its tribesmen first established themselves in northern Syria and the western Jazira (Upper Mesopotamia) in the years after the 630s–Muslim conquest. A second major wave of Kilabi tribesmen migrated to northern Syria from Arabia in the 9th century. The political vacuum and frequent revolts throughout the region during that period paved the way for the Kilab to strengthen their influence, becoming the predominant tribe in the region north of the Palmyrene steppe and west of the Euphrates River by the early to mid-10th century. A thir ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Malik Ibn Tawk
Malik ibn Tawk ibn Malik ibn 'Attab at-Taghlibi () (died 873) was an Arab Abbasid official during the reigns of caliphs al-Wathiq (r. 842–847) and al-Mutawakkil (r. 847–861). He is best known as the founder of the fortress town of al-Rahba on the western banks of the Euphrates, part of the modern-day Syrian town of Mayadin. Biography Malik ibn Tawk belonged to the Arab tribe of Banu Taghlib and traced his lineage to the 6th-century Taghlibi poet warrior Amr ibn Kulthum. His father, Tawk ibn Malik, served as governor of Diyar Rabi'a, the district of the eastern Jazira (Upper Mesopotamia) under the Abbasid caliph al-Ma'mun (r. 813–833). He also served as a general under al-Ma'mun's predecessor, Caliph Harun al-Rashid (r. 786–809), Some Muslim sources have often incorrectly made the son Malik ibn Tawk to have been the one in the service of Harun and al-Ma'mun instead of his father. Malik ibn Tawk served under the caliphs al-Wathiq (r. 842–847) and al-Mutawakkil (r. 847–86 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shirkuh
Asad ad-Dīn Shīrkūh bin Shādhī (; ar, أسد الدين شيركوه بن شاذي), also known as Shirkuh, or Şêrko (meaning "lion of the mountains" in Kurdish) (died 22 February 1169) was a Kurdish military commander, and uncle of Saladin. His military and diplomatic efforts in Egypt were a key factor in establishing the Ayyubid dynasty in that country. Name Shirkuh is a Kurdish name which literally means "the lion (of the) mountain". Shirkuh is also the name of several villages in modern-day Iran. His Arabic honorific ''Asad ad-Din'' similarly means "the lion of faith". In Latin, his name was rendered as "Siraconus"; William of Tyre, referring to the expedition of 1163, describes him as: an able and energetic warrior, eager for glory and of wide experience in military affairs. Generous far beyond the resources of his patrimony, Shirkuh was beloved by his followers because of this munificence. He was small of stature, very stout and fat and already advanced in years. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Al-Mujahid
Al Malik Al-Mujahid Asad ad-Din Shirkuh II was the Ayyubid emir of Homs from 1186–1240. He was the son of An-Nasir Muhammad ibn Shirkuh, grandson of Shirkuh and second cousin of Saladin. His domains also included Palmyra and ar-Rahba. Al Mujahid became emir at the age of thirteen when his father died unexpectedly in Homs on 4 March 1186 (10 Dhu’l Hijja 581). External threats Within the Ayyubid confederacy Hama was a marcher realm, bordering on the Crusader County of Tripoli and close to the great Hospitaller fortress of Krak des Chevaliers. The role of the emir of Hama was to prevent the Crusaders from raiding into northern Syria, despoiling the land, and threatening Aleppo or Damascus. Frequently Al-Mujahid worked together with his second cousins, the emir Bahramshah of Baalbek and Al-Mansur Muhammad of Hama, to repel Crusader raids and, on occasion, to make forays into Crusader territory. Thus in November 1197 (Muharram 594) Al Mujahid, together with Bahramshah of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1157 Hama Earthquake
The 1157 Hama earthquake occurred on 12 August after a year of foreshocks. Its name was taken from the city of Hama, in west-central Syria (then under the Seljuk rule), where the most casualties were sustained. In eastern Syria, near the Euphrates, the quake destroyed the predecessor of the citadel al-Rahba, subsequently rebuilt on the same strategic site. The earthquake also affected Christian monasteries and churches in the vicinity of Jerusalem. See also * List of historical earthquakes * Shaizar * Timeline of Hama history * Banu Munqidh The Banu Munqidh ( ar, بنو منقذ, Banū Munqidh), also referred to as the Munqidhites, were an Arab family that ruled an emirate in the Orontes Valley in northern Syria from the mid-11th century until the family's demise in an earthquak ... References {{Earthquakes in the Levant 1157 Hama Hama earthquake 12th century in the Kingdom of Jerusalem 12th century in the Seljuk Empire Hama Earthquake, 1157 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Al-Mujahid
Al Malik Al-Mujahid Asad ad-Din Shirkuh II was the Ayyubid emir of Homs from 1186–1240. He was the son of An-Nasir Muhammad ibn Shirkuh, grandson of Shirkuh and second cousin of Saladin. His domains also included Palmyra and ar-Rahba. Al Mujahid became emir at the age of thirteen when his father died unexpectedly in Homs on 4 March 1186 (10 Dhu’l Hijja 581). External threats Within the Ayyubid confederacy Hama was a marcher realm, bordering on the Crusader County of Tripoli and close to the great Hospitaller fortress of Krak des Chevaliers. The role of the emir of Hama was to prevent the Crusaders from raiding into northern Syria, despoiling the land, and threatening Aleppo or Damascus. Frequently Al-Mujahid worked together with his second cousins, the emir Bahramshah of Baalbek and Al-Mansur Muhammad of Hama, to repel Crusader raids and, on occasion, to make forays into Crusader territory. Thus in November 1197 (Muharram 594) Al Mujahid, together with Bahramshah of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ayyubid Dynasty
The Ayyubid dynasty ( ar, الأيوبيون '; ) was the founding dynasty of the medieval Sultan of Egypt, Sultanate of Egypt established by Saladin in 1171, following his abolition of the Fatimid Caliphate, Fatimid Caliphate of Egypt. A Sunni Muslim of Kurds, Kurdish origin, Saladin had originally served Nur ad-Din (died 1174), Nur ad-Din of Syria, leading Nur ad-Din's army in battle against the Crusaders in Fatimid Egypt, where he was made Vizier. Following Nur ad-Din's death, Saladin was proclaimed as the first Sultan of Egypt, and rapidly expanded the new sultanate beyond the frontiers of Egypt to encompass most of the Levant (including the former territories of Nur ad-Din), in addition to Hijaz, Yemen, northern Nubia, Tripolitania, Tarabulus, Cyrenaica, southern Anatolia, and northern Iraq, the homeland of his Kurdish family. By virtue of his sultanate including Hijaz, the location of the Islamic holy cities of Mecca and Medina, he was the first ruler to be hailed as the Cus ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Seljuks
The Seljuk dynasty, or Seljukids ( ; fa, سلجوقیان ''Saljuqian'', alternatively spelled as Seljuqs or Saljuqs), also known as Seljuk Turks, Seljuk Turkomans "The defeat in August 1071 of the Byzantine emperor Romanos Diogenes by the Turkomans at the battle of Malazgirt (Manzikert) is taken as a turning point in the history of Anatolia and the Byzantine Empire. or the Saljuqids, was an Oghuz Turkic, Sunni Muslim dynasty that gradually became Persianate and contributed to the Turco-Persian tradition in the medieval Middle East and Central Asia. The Seljuks established the Seljuk Empire (1037-1194), the Sultanate of Kermân (1041-1186) and the Sultanate of Rum (1074-1308), which at their heights stretched from Iran to Anatolia, and were the prime targets of the First Crusade. Early history The Seljuks originated from the Kinik branch of the Oghuz Turks, who in the 8th century lived on the periphery of the Muslim world, north of the Caspian Sea and Aral Sea in their Oghuz ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Zengid Dynasty
The Zengid dynasty was a Muslim dynasty of Oghuz Turkic origin, which ruled parts of the Levant and Upper Mesopotamia on behalf of the Seljuk Empire and eventually seized control of Egypt in 1169. In 1174 the Zengid state extended from Tripoli to Hamadan and from Yemen to Sivas. The dynasty was founded by Imad ad-Din Zengi. History Zengi, son of Aq Sunqur al-Hajib, became the Seljuk atabeg of Mosul in 1127. He quickly became the chief Turkic potentate in Northern Syria and Iraq, taking Aleppo from the squabbling Artuqids in 1128 and capturing the County of Edessa from the Crusaders after the siege of Edessa in 1144. This latter feat made Zengi a hero in the Muslim world, but he was assassinated by a slave two years later, in 1146. On Zengi's death, his territories were divided, with Mosul and his lands in Iraq going to his eldest son Saif ad-Din Ghazi I, and Aleppo and Edessa falling to his second son, Nur ad-Din, atabeg of Aleppo. Nur ad-Din proved to be as competent as his f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mamluk Sultanate (Cairo)
The Mamluk Sultanate ( ar, سلطنة المماليك, translit=Salṭanat al-Mamālīk), also known as Mamluk Egypt or the Mamluk Empire, was a state that ruled Egypt, the Levant and the Hejaz (western Arabia) from the mid-13th to early 16th centuries. It was ruled by a military caste of mamluks (manumitted slave soldiers) headed by the sultan. The Abbasid caliphs were the nominal sovereigns. The sultanate was established with the overthrow of the Ayyubid dynasty in Egypt in 1250 and was conquered by the Ottoman Empire in 1517. Mamluk history is generally divided into the Turkic or Bahri period (1250–1382) and the Circassian or Burji period (1382–1517), called after the predominant ethnicity or corps of the ruling Mamluks during these respective eras.Levanoni 1995, p. 17. The first rulers of the sultanate hailed from the mamluk regiments of the Ayyubid sultan as-Salih Ayyub (), usurping power from his successor in 1250. The Mamluks under Sultan Qutuz and Baybars ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Saladin
Yusuf ibn Ayyub ibn Shadi () ( – 4 March 1193), commonly known by the epithet Saladin,, ; ku, سهلاحهدین, ; was the founder of the Ayyubid dynasty. Hailing from an ethnic Kurdish family, he was the first of both Egypt and Syria. An important figure of the Third Crusade, he spearheaded the Muslim military effort against the Crusader states in the Levant. At the height of his power, Ayyubid territorial control spanned Egypt, Syria, Upper Mesopotamia, the Hejaz, Yemen, the Maghreb, and Nubia. Alongside his uncle Shirkuh, a military general of the Zengid dynasty, Saladin was sent to Egypt under the Fatimid Caliphate in 1164, on the orders of Nur ad-Din. With their original purpose being to help restore Shawar as the to the teenage Fatimid caliph al-Adid, a power struggle ensued between Shirkuh and Shawar after the latter was reinstated. Saladin, meanwhile, climbed the ranks of the Fatimid government by virtue of his military successes against Crusader assault ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
