Jamal al-Din Aqqush al-Afram al-Mansuri (died 1336) was a high-ranking
Mamluk
Mamluk ( ar, مملوك, mamlūk (singular), , ''mamālīk'' (plural), translated as "one who is owned", meaning " slave", also transliterated as ''Mameluke'', ''mamluq'', ''mamluke'', ''mameluk'', ''mameluke'', ''mamaluke'', or ''marmeluke'') ...
emir and defector, who served as the Mamluk viceroy of
Damascus
)), is an adjective which means "spacious".
, motto =
, image_flag = Flag of Damascus.svg
, image_seal = Emblem of Damascus.svg
, seal_type = Seal
, map_caption =
, ...
and later the
Ilkhanid
The Ilkhanate, also spelled Il-khanate ( fa, ایل خانان, ''Ilxānān''), known to the Mongols as ''Hülegü Ulus'' (, ''Qulug-un Ulus''), was a khanate established from the southwestern sector of the Mongol Empire. The Ilkhanid realm ...
governor of
Hamadan
Hamadan () or Hamedan ( fa, همدان, ''Hamedān'') ( Old Persian: Haŋgmetana, Ecbatana) is the capital city of Hamadan Province of Iran. At the 2019 census, its population was 783,300 in 230,775 families. The majority of people living in Ha ...
.
Mamluk emir
Aqqush al-Afram was an ethnic
Circassian and began his career as a
mamluk
Mamluk ( ar, مملوك, mamlūk (singular), , ''mamālīk'' (plural), translated as "one who is owned", meaning " slave", also transliterated as ''Mameluke'', ''mamluq'', ''mamluke'', ''mameluk'', ''mameluke'', ''mamaluke'', or ''marmeluke'') ...
(slave soldier) of Sultan
Qalawun
( ar, قلاوون الصالحي, – November 10, 1290) was the seventh Bahri Mamluk sultan; he ruled Egypt from 1279 to 1290.
He was called (, "Qalāwūn the Victorious").
Biography and rise to power
Qalawun was a Kipchak, ancient Turkic ...
() in the Mansuriyya corps. He was the governor of
al-Karak
Al-Karak ( ar, الكرك), is a city in Jordan known for its medieval castle, the Kerak Castle. The castle is one of the three largest castles in the region, the other two being in Syria. Al-Karak is the capital city of the Karak Governorate.
...
, the desert fortress capital of a province spanning much of
Transjordan Transjordan may refer to:
* Transjordan (region), an area to the east of the Jordan River
* Oultrejordain, a Crusader lordship (1118–1187), also called Transjordan
* Emirate of Transjordan, British protectorate (1921–1946)
* Hashemite Kingdom of ...
.
Viceroy of Damascus
On 25 February 1299 Aqqush was promoted as viceroy of
Damascus
)), is an adjective which means "spacious".
, motto =
, image_flag = Flag of Damascus.svg
, image_seal = Emblem of Damascus.svg
, seal_type = Seal
, map_caption =
, ...
. This followed the defection of his predecessor there, Qibjak, to the
Baghdad
Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesiphon ...
-based Mongol
Ilkhanate
The Ilkhanate, also spelled Il-khanate ( fa, ایل خانان, ''Ilxānān''), known to the Mongols as ''Hülegü Ulus'' (, ''Qulug-un Ulus''), was a khanate established from the southwestern sector of the Mongol Empire. The Ilkhanid realm, ...
. Aqqush held office until 1309. He was commended by the historian
al-Safadi
Khalīl ibn Aybak al-Ṣafadī, or Salah al-Dīn al-Ṣafadī; full name - Salah al-Dīn Abū al-Ṣafa Khalīl ibn Aybak ibn ‘Abd Allāh al-Albakī al-Ṣafari al-Damascī Shafi'i. (1296 – 1363); he was a Turkic Mamluk author and historian. ...
for his valor, strategic planning against Ilkhanid offensives, care for the poor in his jurisdiction and hunting skills. Aqqush was highly regarded by the people of Damascus, particularly for his battlefield reputation, and often adorned their clothes or weapons with his heraldic symbols. He wielded considerable power within the province, appointing officials unilaterally and only informing the central government in Cairo afterward. At the time, Mamluk strongmen, namely the emirs
Salar and
Baybars al-Jashnakir, held the reins of power, the sultan
al-Nasir Muhammad
Al-Malik an-Nasir Nasir ad-Din Muhammad ibn Qalawun ( ar, الملك الناصر ناصر الدين محمد بن قلاوون), commonly known as an-Nasir Muhammad ( ar, الناصر محمد), or by his kunya: Abu al-Ma'ali () or as Ibn Qal ...
playing a largely ceremonial role. Aqqush considered himself equals to Baybars and Salar and once remarked that were it not for his "''
ablaq
Ablaq ( ar, أبلق; particolored; literally 'piebald') is an architectural technique involving alternating or fluctuating rows of light and dark stone. Records trace the beginnings of this type of masonry technique to the southern parts of S ...
'' palace, green square, and
beautiful river n Damascus I would not have left them alone to rejoice in the kingship of Egypt
apital of the sultanate.
Viewing himself of high stature, he attempted to marry the Ilkhanid princess
El Qutlugh Khatun
El Qutlugh Khatun (; ) was the daughter of Abaqa Khan (r. 1265–82), the second Mongol ruler of the Ilkhanate. Her story, included in Khalīl ibn Aybeg al-Ṣafadī's (around 1297-1363) bibliographic dictionary, sheds light on changing gender no ...
during his rule over Damascus, as marrying into Mongol royalty was rare and considered prestigious. She rebuffed his entreaties, however, and it is not mentioned in the sources that he married a Mongol woman.
Defection to the Ilkhanate
Aqqush fled the Mamluk realm with his father-in-law Aydamur al-Zardakash and the high-ranking emir Qarasunqur in 1312 due to fears of punishment by Sultan
al-Nasir Muhammad
Al-Malik an-Nasir Nasir ad-Din Muhammad ibn Qalawun ( ar, الملك الناصر ناصر الدين محمد بن قلاوون), commonly known as an-Nasir Muhammad ( ar, الناصر محمد), or by his kunya: Abu al-Ma'ali () or as Ibn Qal ...
(). The latter had returned to power for the third time and rumors of his ill disposal toward Aqqush and Qarasunqur had reached the two emirs. They were welcomed by the Ilkhanid khan
Oljeitu, who appointed Aqqush governor of
Hamadan
Hamadan () or Hamedan ( fa, همدان, ''Hamedān'') ( Old Persian: Haŋgmetana, Ecbatana) is the capital city of Hamadan Province of Iran. At the 2019 census, its population was 783,300 in 230,775 families. The majority of people living in Ha ...
. Aqqush served the post until his death in 1336.
Aqqush and Qarasunqur encouraged the last major Ilkhanid offensive against Mamluk Syria, which was the failed siege of the
Euphrates
The Euphrates () is the longest and one of the most historically important rivers of Western Asia. Tigris–Euphrates river system, Together with the Tigris, it is one of the two defining rivers of Mesopotamia ( ''the land between the rivers'') ...
fortress of
al-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 Maya ...
in 1313.
References
Bibliography
*
*
*{{cite book , last1=Guo , first1=Li , title=Early Mamluk Syrian Historiography: Al-Yūnīnī's Dhayl Mirʼāt Al-zamān, Volume 1 , date=1998 , publisher=Brill , location=Leiden, Boston and Koln , isbn=90-04-11028-3 , url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BENi4BfMnl8C
1336 deaths
Year of birth unknown
Mamluk emirs
Bahri dynasty
Circassian Mamluks
Defectors
Officials of the Ilkhanate
Mamluk viceroys of Damascus
14th-century Kipchaks