Al-Adil I
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Al-Adil I ( ar, العادل, in full al-Malik al-Adil Sayf ad-Din Abu-Bakr Ahmed ibn Najm ad-Din Ayyub, ar, الملك العادل سيف الدين أبو بكر بن أيوب,‎ "Ahmed, son of
Najm ad-Din Ayyub al-Malik al-Afdal Najm al-Dīn Ayyūb ibn Shādhi ibn Marwān ( ar, الملك ألأفضل نجم الدين أيوب بن شاذي بن مروان Kurdish: Necmeddin Eyûbî) (died August 9, 1173) was a Kurdish soldier and politician from Dvin ...
, father of Bakr, the Just King, Sword of the Faith"; 1145 – 31 August 1218) was the fourth Sultan of Egypt and Syria, and brother of
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 ...
, who founded both the Sultanate of Egypt, and the Ayyubid dynasty. He was known to the Crusaders as Saphadin (derived from his ''laqab'' or honorific title Sayf ad-Din, meaning "Sword of Faith"), a name by which he is still known in the
Western world The Western world, also known as the West, primarily refers to the various nations and state (polity), states in the regions of Europe, North America, and Oceania.
. A gifted and effective administrator and organizer, Al-Adil provided crucial military and civilian support for the great campaigns of Saladin (an early example of a great minister of war). He was also a capable general and strategist in his own right, and was instrumental in the transformation of the decayed Fatimid Caliphate of Cairo into the Ayyubid Sultanate of Egypt.


Family

Al-Adil had 16 sons and several daughters. The names of the surviving children, given in the work of the
Kurdish Kurdish may refer to: *Kurds or Kurdish people *Kurdish languages *Kurdish alphabets *Kurdistan, the land of the Kurdish people which includes: **Southern Kurdistan **Eastern Kurdistan **Northern Kurdistan **Western Kurdistan See also * Kurd (dis ...
historian
Abu'l Fida Ismāʿīl b. ʿAlī b. Maḥmūd b. Muḥammad b. ʿUmar b. Shāhanshāh b. Ayyūb b. Shādī b. Marwān ( ar, إسماعيل بن علي بن محمود بن محمد بن عمر بن شاهنشاه بن أيوب بن شادي بن مروان ...
(who was the Ayyubid Emir of Hama), are as follows; *
Malik Al-Kamil Al-Kamil ( ar, الكامل) (full name: al-Malik al-Kamil Naser ad-Din Abu al-Ma'ali Muhammad) (c. 1177 – 6 March 1238) was a Muslim ruler and the fourth Ayyubid sultan of Egypt. During his tenure as sultan, the Ayyubids defeated the Fifth C ...
* Malik Al-Ashraf Musa *
Dayfa Khatun Dayfa Khatun ( ar, ضيفة خاتون; died 1242) was Ayyubid princess, and the regent of Aleppo from 26 November 1236 to 1242, during the minority of her grandson An-Nasir Yusuf. She was an Ayyubid princess, as the daughter of Al-Adil, Sult ...
*
Al-Awhad Ayyub Al-Malik al-Awhad Najm ad-Din Ayyub ibn al-Adil Abu Bakr ibn Najm ad-Din Ayyub (died 1210) was the third Ayyubid emir (prince) of the Diyarbakir emirate, centered in Mayyafariqin, between 1200-1210 CE. He was the fourth eldest son of Sultan al-A ...
* Al-Mu'azzam Isa * Al-Muzaffar Ghazi * Safiya Sitt Khatun * Mufaddal Kutb ad-din Ahmad * Hafız Nur ad-din Arslanshah * Aziz Imad ad-din Uthman * Salih İmad ad-din Ismael * Malika Adliya Khatun * Amjad Hassan * Al-Mughith Mahmud * Faqiz Ibrahim * Qahir Ishak * Mavdud Khalil * Takiyaddin Abbas * Muzaffar Shab ad-din Ghazi * Avhad Najm ad-Din Ayyub * Zahra * Gaziya * Malek


Early life

Al-Adil was a son of
Najm ad-Din Ayyub al-Malik al-Afdal Najm al-Dīn Ayyūb ibn Shādhi ibn Marwān ( ar, الملك ألأفضل نجم الدين أيوب بن شاذي بن مروان Kurdish: Necmeddin Eyûbî) (died August 9, 1173) was a Kurdish soldier and politician from Dvin ...
, he was member of
Kurdish Kurdish may refer to: *Kurds or Kurdish people *Kurdish languages *Kurdish alphabets *Kurdistan, the land of the Kurdish people which includes: **Southern Kurdistan **Eastern Kurdistan **Northern Kurdistan **Western Kurdistan See also * Kurd (dis ...
Ayyubid family and a younger brother of
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 ...
. He was born in June 1145, possibly in
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 = , ...
. He first achieved distinction as an officer in
Nur ad-Din Zengi Nūr al-Dīn Maḥmūd Zengī (; February 1118 – 15 May 1174), commonly known as Nur ad-Din (lit. "Light of the Faith" in Arabic), was a member of the Zengid dynasty, which ruled the Syria (region), Syrian province (''Shām'') of the Seljuk E ...
's army during his uncle
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 Sal ...
's third and final campaign in
Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...
(1168–1169); following Nur ad-Din's death in 1174, Al-Adil governed Egypt on behalf of his brother Saladin and mobilized that country's vast resources in support of his brother's campaigns in
Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...
and his war against the
Crusade The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and sometimes directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The best known of these Crusades are those to the Holy Land in the period between 1095 and 1291 that were i ...
rs (1175–1183). He was governor of
Aleppo )), is an adjective which means "white-colored mixed with black". , motto = , image_map = , mapsize = , map_caption = , image_map1 = ...
(1183–1186) but returned to administer
Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...
during the
Third Crusade The Third Crusade (1189–1192) was an attempt by three European monarchs of Western Christianity (Philip II of France, Richard I of England and Frederick I, Holy Roman Emperor) to reconquer the Holy Land following the capture of Jerusalem by ...
(1186–1192); as governor of Saladin's northern provinces (1192–1193), he suppressed the revolt of 'Izz Al-Din of
Mosul Mosul ( ar, الموصل, al-Mawṣil, ku, مووسڵ, translit=Mûsil, Turkish: ''Musul'', syr, ܡܘܨܠ, Māwṣil) is a major city in northern Iraq, serving as the capital of Nineveh Governorate. The city is considered the second large ...
following Saladin's death (March 1193). On Saladin's death he was governor of Damascus. In 1190,
King Richard I of England Richard I (8 September 1157 – 6 April 1199) was King of England from 1189 until his death in 1199. He also ruled as Duke of Normandy, Aquitaine and Gascony, Lord of Cyprus, and Count of Poitiers, Anjou, Maine, and Nantes, and was overl ...
successively proposed to marry his younger sister
Joan Joan may refer to: People and fictional characters * Joan (given name), including a list of women, men and fictional characters *:Joan of Arc, a French military heroine * Joan (surname) Weather events *Tropical Storm Joan (disambiguation), multip ...
and his niece
Eleanor, Fair Maid of Brittany Eleanor, Fair Maid of Brittany (c. 1184 – 10 August 1241), also known as Damsel of Brittany, Pearl of Brittany, or Beauty of Brittany, was the eldest daughter of Geoffrey II, Duke of Brittany, and Constance, Duchess of Brittany. Her father, ...
to Al-Adil, but both were in vain, as Al-Adil showed no interest in
Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...
.A Bit of History WebSite
/ref>''The Angevin Empire''


Struggle for succession of Saladin

The key question in the ruling Ayyubid family following the death of Saladin was whether power would remain with Saladin's own sons, or be distributed more widely among its various branches, or, indeed, be concentrated in the hands of al-Adil himself. Saladin had required all the Amirs to swear loyalty to his son al-Afdal Ali, but after his death some of his other sons would not accept al-Afdal's overlordship. In the disputes which followed al-Adil often found himself in the position of honest broker between al-Afdal Ali and his brother
al-Aziz Uthman Al-Malik Al-Aziz Uthman ibn Salah Ad-Din Yusuf (1171 – 29 November 1198) was the second Ayyubid Sultan of Egypt. He was the second son of Saladin. Before his death, Saladin had divided his dominions amongst his kin: Al-Afdal received Palest ...
, trying to keep the peace. Eventually however al-Adil concluded that al-Afdal Ali was simply unfit to rule, and he supported al-Aziz Uthman to become Sultan in his place, forcing his brother into exile. Al-Aziz Uthman's death in 1198 following a riding accident reopened the dynastic struggles once again. Al-Afdal Ali was invited back to Egypt to act as regent to al-Aziz Uthman's twelve-year-old successor, al-Mansur Mohammed. From this power base he joined forces with his brother
az-Zahir Ghazi Al-Malik az-Zahir Ghiyath ud-din Ghazi ibn Yusuf ibn Ayyub (commonly known as az-Zahir Ghazi; 1172 – 8 October 1216) was the Ayyubid emir of Aleppo between 1186 and 1216.
to try and drive al-Adil out of Damascus, which they besieged. Al-Adil, skilfully played his nephews off against each other, and suborned the vassals of both from their allegiance. The arrival of al-Khamil, al-Adil's son, at Damascus with reinforcements and continuing quarrels led to the ending of the siege in December 1199. Al-Afdal retreated to Egypt, but his uncle pursued him and defeated his army at
Bilbeis Belbeis ( ar, بلبيس  ; Bohairic cop, Ⲫⲉⲗⲃⲉⲥ/Ⲫⲉⲗⲃⲏⲥ ' is an ancient fortress city on the eastern edge of the southern Nile delta in Egypt, the site of the Ancient city and former bishopric of Phelbes and a Lat ...
. Fleeing to Cairo, al-Afdal sued for peace on any terms he could get from al-Adil; stripped of Egypt he was promised the cities of Samosata and Mayyafaraqin. On 17 February 1200 al-Adil proclaimed himself 'sultan'. Al-Afdal was refused control of Mayyafaraqin by another of al-Adil's sons, al-Auhad. Al-Afdal once again allied with az-Zahir and the two brothers once more besieged Damascus. However, dissension again broke out between them, with al-Afdal eventually losing the will to continue fighting. Al-Adil confirmed al-Afdal's rule over Samosata, Saruj and a number of other towns. Az-Zahir admitted his uncle's suzerainty in the Spring of 1202, and al-Adil had succeeded in exerting his authority over all the Ayyubid dominions.


Rule

After his victory, he was proclaimed
Sultan Sultan (; ar, سلطان ', ) is a position with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", derived from the verbal noun ', meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it ...
and ruled wisely and well over both Egypt and Syria for nearly two decades, promoting trade and good relations with the
Crusader states The Crusader States, also known as Outremer, were four Catholic realms in the Middle East that lasted from 1098 to 1291. These feudal polities were created by the Latin Catholic leaders of the First Crusade through conquest and political in ...
(1200–1217). For much of his reign however the effective ruler of Egypt was his son
Al-Kamil Al-Kamil ( ar, الكامل) (full name: al-Malik al-Kamil Naser ad-Din Abu al-Ma'ali Muhammad) (c. 1177 – 6 March 1238) was a Muslim ruler and the fourth Ayyubid sultan of Egypt. During his tenure as sultan, the Ayyubids defeated the Fifth Cr ...
. The reign of al Adil was generally more one of consolidation than of expansion. He was in his late fifties by the time he consolidated his power, and by that time had been almost constantly at war for two decades. His first concern was to rebuild his treasury, which had been left almost empty by his brother's empire-building, the wars with the Crusaders and the struggles within the Ayyubid dynasty itself. Al-Adil introduced reforms both to the currency and to the taxation system. The effectiveness of his measures can be judged from the relatively rapid recovery Egypt made from an earthquake in 1200 (597) and the low flooding of the Nile between 1199 and 1202 (595–98). The resulting drought and famine were serious threats, but by a range of measures including sending his soldiers out to work the land, al-Adil ensured continued social and political stability as well as economic recovery. Avoiding a new crusade was the second main concern of al-Adil's reign, and to this end he encouraged trade with European merchants, calculating that if the trading cities of the Mediterranean had a stake in peaceful trade they would be less inclined to support a new Crusade. He was not entirely successful in this, and there were Frankish naval raids on Rosetta in 1204 (600) and Damietta in 1211 (607). His third concern was to maintain hegemony within the Ayyubid domains without resort to force. He proved to be a skilled diplomat in this respect and managed to avoid any confrontations after 1201. Of particular importance was the marriage of his daughter
Dayfa Khatun Dayfa Khatun ( ar, ضيفة خاتون; died 1242) was Ayyubid princess, and the regent of Aleppo from 26 November 1236 to 1242, during the minority of her grandson An-Nasir Yusuf. She was an Ayyubid princess, as the daughter of Al-Adil, Sult ...
to Saladin's son
Az-Zahir Ghazi Al-Malik az-Zahir Ghiyath ud-din Ghazi ibn Yusuf ibn Ayyub (commonly known as az-Zahir Ghazi; 1172 – 8 October 1216) was the Ayyubid emir of Aleppo between 1186 and 1216.
of Aleppo in 1212, which marked the end of the rivalry between the two branches of the family. Al-Adil also undertook a major programme of refortification throughout his domains, and the massive citadel of Damascus was one of his most notable achievements in this respect. Al-Adil's territorial ambitions were focused far away from the main centres of Ayyubid rule, in southern Anatolia and northern Iraq. He succeeded over time in bringing much of the old Zengid dominions, apart from Mosul and Sinjar, under his control, as well as the region around Lake Van. He took Ahlat in 1207 and brought to an end the rule of the Ahlatshahs.


Death and legacy

One of the main objects of al-Adil's foreign policy was to avoid provoking the launching of a new Crusade. However, in September 1217 (Jumada II 612) a new crusader army disembarked at Acre. Al-Adil was totally unprepared for this assault and despite being seventy-two years of age he hurriedly took his forces into Palestine to engage with them. The campaigns in Palestine did not bring him any notable success however, and in August 1218 (Jumada 1 615) he received the shocking news that a second Crusader force had landed in Egypt and were attacking Damietta. He fell ill and died while on campaign (August 1218) and was succeeded by his son
Malik Al-Kamil Al-Kamil ( ar, الكامل) (full name: al-Malik al-Kamil Naser ad-Din Abu al-Ma'ali Muhammad) (c. 1177 – 6 March 1238) was a Muslim ruler and the fourth Ayyubid sultan of Egypt. During his tenure as sultan, the Ayyubids defeated the Fifth C ...
. Al Adil's rule was decisive in determining the shape of the Ayyubid realm for many years to come. After him, the succession in Egypt and to the coveted title of Sultan remained in the eldest male line of his successors. His descendants also controlled the critical border fortress of Mayyafariqin in the far northeast of the Ayyubid realm. Elsewhere, Saladin's descendants retained Aleppo, and the family of Al-Adil's other brother
Nur ad-Din Shahanshah Nur may refer to: In Islam * Names of God in Islam, An-Nur, one of the names of God in Islam, meaning "The Light". * Nūr (Islam), a concept, literally meaning "light" * An-Nur (The Light), the 24th chapter of the Qur'an * ''Risale-i Nur Collec ...
held Baalbek and Hama. Homs was held by the descendants of Al-Adil's uncle
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 Sal ...
. Damascus became the main focus of rivalry between different branches of the family, changing hands a number of times before Ayyubid rule came to an end.Lane-Poole, Stanley,The Mohammedan Dynasties, Constable, London 1894 p.77


See also

*
List of rulers of Egypt Lists of rulers of Egypt: * List of pharaohs (c. 3100 BC – 30 BC) ** List of Satraps of the 27th Dynasty (525–404 BC) ** List of Satraps of the 31st Dynasty (343–332 BC) * List of governors of Roman Egypt (30 BC – 639 AD) * List of rul ...
* Thirty Years' Truce


References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Al-Adil I Ayyubid sultans of Egypt 1145 births 1218 deaths Muslims of the Crusade of 1197 Muslims of the Fifth Crusade Ayyubid emirs of Damascus 12th-century Ayyubid sultans of Egypt 13th-century Ayyubid sultans of Egypt 12th-century Kurdish people Saladin