''Shajarat al-Durr'' ( ar, شجرة الدر, also transliterated as ''Chagarat al-Dorr'') is an
Egyptian
Egyptian describes something of, from, or related to Egypt.
Egyptian or Egyptians may refer to:
Nations and ethnic groups
* Egyptians, a national group in North Africa
** Egyptian culture, a complex and stable culture with thousands of years of ...
film released in 1935. It is considered the first
historical feature film produced in
Egyptian cinema.
Synopsis
In the 13th century, the Turkish Or Armenian slave girl
Shajar al-Durr wins the heart of the last
Ayubbid ruler,
As-Salih Ayyub
Al-Malik as-Salih Najm al-Din Ayyub (5 November 1205 – 22 November 1249), nickname: Abu al-Futuh ( ar, أبو الفتوح), also known as al-Malik al-Salih, was the Ayyubid Kurdish ruler of Egypt from 1240 to 1249.
Early life
In 1221, as-S ...
, and so begins a web of intrigue. She ensures the news of his death in 1249 is hidden from soldiers fighting the
Seventh Crusade, spearheading a victory at the
Battle of Mansurah in the process. She is sidelined by the heir
Al-Muazzam Turanshah, a son of As-Salih’s first wife, but her cause is championed by the chief
Mamluk in the Guard,
Aybak, who kills Turanshah and his men and crowns her his queen as the new King of Egypt, beginning the
Mamluk Sultanate. Soon Aybak himself becomes an obstacle to her ambitions, and she pays an assassin to kill him in 1257. Salama, his first wife, is depicted in the film as avenging her with the blessing of the last
Abbasid Caliph in
Baghdad,
Al-Musta'sim, who sends an envoy to convey his excommunication of Shajar and help Salama pay off Shajar’s guards to abandon her. Within a year Al-Musta’sim would himself be slaughtered and Baghdad razed to the ground by the troops of
Mongol ruler
Hulagu Khan, ending his dynasty and continuing their invasions until thwarted by her enduring Mamluks in 1260 at the
Battle of Ain Jalut.
Cast
*
Assia Dagher (Shajar al-Durr)
*
Mary Queeny (Salama)
*
Abdel Rahman Rouchdi (Aybak)
* Michael Atallah (Hossam El-Din)
* Mukhtar Hussein (Songhar)
* Mufidah Ahmed (Boran)
* Nazik El-Sayed (Shokar)
* Assed Azzam (merchant)
* Sami Said (Zahra al-Rumman)
* Ahmad Darwish (Caliph’s messenger)
References
{{reflist
Egyptian historical films
1930s Egyptian films