As-Salih Imad ad-Din Abu'l Fida Isma'il, better known as as-Salih Isma'il, (1326 – 4 August 1345) was the

Bahri Bahri () is a masculine Arabic given name. Given name People with given name are include: * Hüseyin Bahri Alptekin (1957–2007), Turkish artist * Bahri Tanrıkulu (born 1980), Turkish taekwondo athlete *Bahri Fazliu, Kosovo Albanian poet, publi ...

Mamluk Mamluk or Mamaluk (; (singular), , ''mamālīk'' (plural); translated as "one who is owned", meaning "slave") were non-Arab, ethnically diverse (mostly Turkic, Caucasian, Eastern and Southeastern European) enslaved mercenaries, slave-so ...

sultan of Egypt between June 1342 and August 1345. He was the fourth son of

an-Nasir Muhammad Al-Malik an-Nasir Nasir ad-Din Muhammad ibn Qalawun (), commonly known as an-Nasir Muhammad (), or by his kunya: Abu al-Ma'ali () or as Ibn Qalawun (1285–1341) was the ninth Mamluk sultan of the Bahri dynasty who ruled Egypt between 12 ...

to succeed the latter as sultan. His reign saw a level of political stability return to the sultanate. Under his orders or those close to him, his two predecessors and brothers,

al-Ashraf Kujuk Al-Ashraf Ala'a ad-Din Kujuk ibn Muhammad ibn Qalawun (), better known as al-Ashraf Kujuk (also spelled ''Küçük/Küchük''), (1334 – September 1345) was the Mamluk sultan from August 1341 to January 1342. He was a young child on the throne, a ...

and an-Nasir Ahmad, were killed. He was succeeded by another brother,

al-Kamil Sha'ban Al-Kamil Sayf ad-Din Sha'ban ibn Muhammad ibn Qalawun, better known as al-Kamil Sha'ban, was the Mamluk sultan of Egypt between August 1345 and January 1346. He was the fifth son of al-Nasir Muhammad to serve as sultan, having succeeded his brother ...

Early life and family

Isma'il was born in 1324 or 1325 and was likely named after the

Ayyubid The Ayyubid dynasty (), also known as the Ayyubid Sultanate, 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 Egyp ...

emir of

Hama Hama ( ', ) is a city on the banks of the Orontes River in west-central Syria. It is located north of Damascus and north of Homs. It is the provincial capital of the Hama Governorate. With a population of 996,000 (2023 census), Hama is one o ...

at the time, Abu'l Fida Isma'il. The latter was a highly favored emir of Isma'il's father, the

sultan

(r. 1310–1341).Holt 1998, p. 6. Isma'il's mother was a concubine of an-Nasir Muhammad, whose name is not provided by the Mamluk-era sources. In 1342, Isma'il married a black slave girl named Ittifaq and had a son (unnamed in sources) with her that year. On 11 July 1343, he married a daughter of Emir Baktamur as-Saqi and had a daughter with her. The following year, on 2 January 1344, he married a daughter of Emir Tuquzdamur al-Hamawi.

Reign

Following an-Nasir Muhammad's death in 1341, three of his sons inherited the sultanate in succession, although the first two, al-Mansur Abu Bakr and

, were sultans in name only while senior Mamluk emirs held the actual reins of power. The third son, an-Nasir Ahmad, came to power in January 1342, but was a highly seclusive leader who ruled from the isolated desert fortress of

al-Karak Al-Karak (), in English sources often simply Karak, 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 ...

, beginning in May. His refusal to return to Cairo and his alienation of the Egyptian emirs led to his dethronement in June. Isma'il, by then known as "as-Salih Isma'il" was chosen by the leading emirs to replace his half-brother Ahmad.Holt 1986, p. 122. He was 17 at the time of his accession to the sultanate in June, but was already well known for his piety. Moreover, he made a pact with the leading Mamluk emirs that he would bring no harm to a ''

mamluk Mamluk or Mamaluk (; (singular), , ''mamālīk'' (plural); translated as "one who is owned", meaning "slave") were non-Arab, ethnically diverse (mostly Turkic, Caucasian, Eastern and Southeastern European) enslaved mercenaries, slave-so ...

'', unless he committed an injustice, in return for the emirs' loyalty. An-Nasir Ahmad refused to surrender the regalia of the sultanate or recognize Isma'il's accession. Isma'il resolved to arrest him and sent a total of eight military expeditions against an-Nasir Ahmad in al-Karak. The final siege, commanded by Emir

Sanjar al-Jawli Sanjar (, ; full name: ''Muizz ad-Dunya wa ad-Din Adud ad-Dawlah Abul-Harith Ahmad Sanjar ibn Malik-Shah'') (6 November 1086 – 8 May 1157) was the Seljuq ruler of Khorasan from 1097 until 1118, arranged for Isma'il's full brother,

to succeed him as sultan by purchasing many of Isma'il's ''mamluks'' on Sha'ban's behalf.

Legacy

Isma'il was deemed the best of an-Nasir Muhammad's sons by the Mamluk-era historian

Ibn Taghribirdi Jamal al-Din Yusuf bin al-Amir Sayf al-Din Taghribirdi (), or Abū al-Maḥāsin Yūsuf ibn Taghrī-Birdī, or Ibn Taghribirdi (2 February 1411— 5 June 1470; 813–874 Islamic calendar, Hijri) was an Islamic historian born in the 15th century i ...

. However, according to historian

Peter Malcolm Holt Peter Malcolm Holt, FBA (28 November 1918 – 2 November 2006) was a historian of the Middle East and Sudan., British Academy, 2008 He was generally known as P. M. Holt. Biography The son of a Unitarian minister, Holt attended Lord Williams ...

, Isma'il' "made little impression on the course of events in his short reign". Isma'il was praised by the Mamluk-era historian Ibrahim al-Qaysarani as the "renewer" (''

mujaddid A ''mujaddid'' () is an Islamic term for one who brings "renewal" () to the religion. According to the popular Muslim tradition, it refers to a person who appears at the turn of every century of the Islamic calendar to revitalize Islam, clean ...

'') of the

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

ic faith in the sultanate during the closing of the first 100 years of Mamluk rule.Holt 1998, pp. 6–7.

References

Bibliography

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Salih Ismail 1326 births 1345 deaths 14th-century Mamluk sultans Bahri sultans Qalawunid dynasty