About Al-Adil I: General, Kurdish Ruler (n/a – 1218)
Adil I (Arabic: العادل, full text al-Malik al-Adil Sayf ad-Din Abu-Bakr Ahmed ibn Najm ad-Din Ayyub, Arabic: الملك العادل سيف الدين أبو بكر بن أيوب, “Ahmed, Son of Najm ad-Din Ayyub, Bakr, King of Justice, Father of the Sword of Faith”; 1145 – August 31, 1218 ) is the Ayyubid Sultan of Egypt and Syria of Kurdish descent.According to his laqab or honorific title Sayf ad-Din (“Sword of Faith”), he was called by the Crusaders Sapatine, he is still known by this name in the Western world. A talented administrator and organizer, Adil provided vital military and civilian support to his brother Saladin (an early example of a great war minister) in the great campaign. A capable general and strategist in his own right, the foundation and persistence of Ayyubid’s state was as much an achievement as Saladin’s.
early life
Al-Adil is the son of Najm ad-Din Ayyub and the younger brother of Salah ad-Din Ayyubi. He was born in June 1145, probably in Damascus. He was honored for the first time in the army of Nur ad-Din Zengi during his uncle Shirkuh’s third and final campaign in Egypt (1168-1169). After Nur-Din’s death in 1174, Adil ruled Egypt on behalf of his brother Saladin and mobilized the country’s vast resources to support his brother’s campaign in Syria and his war against the Crusaders (1175-1183). He was governor of Aleppo (1183-1186), but returned to govern Egypt during the Third Crusade (1186-1192); as governor of the northern province of Saladin (1192-1193), he took over after Saladin’s death (1193 March 2009) suppressed the rebellion of Iz al-Din in Mosul. After Saladin’s death, he served as governor of Damascus.
In 1190, King Richard I of England proposed to marry his sister Joan and niece Eleanor of Brittany to Adil, but they were unsuccessful because Adil had no interest in Christianity.
Fight for Saladin’s inheritance
After Saladin’s death, the key question for the ruling Ayyubid family was whether power would remain in the hands of Saladin’s own sons, or spread more widely among its various branches, or indeed be concentrated in the hands of Adil himself. Saladin demanded that all emirs swear allegiance to his son Avdar Ali, but after his death some of his other sons would not accept Avdar’s supremacy. In the disputes that followed, Adil often found himself in the position of an honest middleman between Avdal Ali and his brother Aziz Osman, trying to keep the peace. However, Adil eventually concluded that Avdar Ali was simply not fit to rule, and he supported Aziz Uthman to succeed him as sultan, forcing his brother into exile. Al-Aziz Uthman died in a horse riding accident in 1198, restarting the dynastic struggle. Al-Afdal Ali was invited to return to Egypt to serve as regent for al-Aziz Uthman’s twelve-year-old successor, al-Mansur Mohammed. From this base of power, he joined forces with his brother az-Zahir Ghazi to try to drive al-Adil out of Damascus, which they besieged. Al-Adil cleverly used his nephews to attack each other and bribe their loyal vassals. In December 1199, Adil’s son Hamir arrived in Damascus, reinforcements and ongoing brawls led to the siege ending in December 1199. Avdar retreated to Egypt, but his uncle pursued him and defeated his army at Birbais. After fleeing to Cairo, al-Afdal sued Peace on whatever terms he could get from al-Adil; stripped of Egypt, he was given the promise of Samosata and the city of Mea Faraqin. On February 17, 1200, Adil proclaimed himself “Sultan”. Al-Afdal’s other son, al-Auhad, refused to allow Al-Afdal to control Mayyafaraqin. Al-Afdal allied again with az-Zahir, and the two brothers laid siege to Damascus again. However, disagreements broke out again between them, and Avdal eventually lost the will to continue fighting. Al-Adil confirmed al-Afdal’s rule over Samosata, Saruj and some other towns. Az-Zahir recognized his uncle’s suzerainty in the spring of 1202, and al-Adil successfully exercised his power over all Ayyubid lands.
rule
After his victory, he was proclaimed Sultan and for nearly two decades ruled Egypt and Syria wisely and well, promoting trade and good relations with the Crusader states (1200-1217). For most of his reign, however, the effective ruler of Egypt was his son Kamil.
al Adil’s reign was usually more of consolidation than expansion. He was in his fifties when he consolidated power, and by that time he had been fighting for almost two decades. His first concern was rebuilding his treasury, and his brother’s empire building, wars with the Crusaders, and struggles within the Ayyubid dynasty left him all but empty. Al-Adil reformed the monetary and tax system. The effectiveness of his measures can be judged from the relatively quick recovery of Egypt from the earthquake of 1200 (597) and the low flooding of the Nile from 1199 to 1202 (595-98). The resulting drought and famine were serious threats, but through a series of measures, including sending his soldiers to work on the land, Adil ensured continued social and political stability and economic recovery.
Avoiding new crusades was the second major problem of Adil’s rule, for which he encouraged trade with European merchants, calculating that if trading cities in the Mediterranean were involved in peaceful trade, they would be less willing to support new crusades. sports. He was not entirely successful in this regard, and the Franks carried out naval raids on Rosetta in 1204 (600) and 1211 (607).
His third concern is maintaining hegemony within Ayyubid without resorting to force. He proved to be a skilled diplomat in this regard and managed to avoid any confrontation after 1201. Of particular importance was the marriage of his daughter Dayfa Khatun to Az-Zahir Ghazi, son of Saladin of Aleppo, in 1212, marking the end of the rivalry between the two countries. Two branches of the family. Al-Adil also undertook a major renovation project on his domain, and the huge citadel in Damascus is one of his most notable achievements in this regard.
Adil’s territorial ambitions were far from the main centers of Ayyubid rule, namely southern Anatolia and northern Iraq. Over time, he managed to control most of the ancient Zenjid territory except for Mosul and Sinjar, as well as the area around Lake Van. He captured Ahlat in 1207, ending the rule of the Ahlatshahs.
death and legacy
One of the main goals of Adil’s foreign policy was to avoid sparking new crusades. However, in September 1217 (Jumada II 612), a new Crusader army landed at Acre. Al-Adil was completely unprepared for the attack, and even though he was 72 years old, he rushed his troops into Palestine to fight them. However, the campaign in Palestine did not bring him any notable success, and in August 1218 (Jumada 1 615) he received shocking news that a second Crusader force had landed in Egypt and was attacking Dar Mietta. He fell ill while campaigning (August 1218) and was succeeded by his son Malik Alkamil.
El Adil’s rule determined the shape of the kingdom of Ayyubid for many years to come. After him, the Egyptian succession and the coveted title of Sultan remain the eldest male of his successors. His descendants also control the Maya Faricin, an important frontier fortress in the northeastern part of the Ayyubid kingdom. Elsewhere, Saladin’s descendants kept Aleppo, while the family of Adil’s other brother, Noor al-Din Shahanshah, owned Baalbek and Hama. Holmes are held by descendants of Al-Adil’s uncle Shirkuh. Damascus became a major focus of rivalry between the different branches of the family, changing hands several times before Ayyubid’s rule ended.
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