Diriliş: Ertuğrul - Part 4: The Ayyubids of Aleppo
“The Ayyubid confederation was established by al-Malik al-Nasir Salah al-Din Yusuf b. Ayyub (Saladin), a Kurdish military commander in the service of Nur al-Din b. Zangi. Saladin took control of Egypt in 1171 CE, and, from this Egyptian base, brought much of Bilad al-Sham (modern-day Palestine, Syria, Jordan & Lebanon) and the Jazira (Upper Mesopotamia) under his rule.”
- Medieval Islamic Civilization: An Encyclopedia, Volume 1 By Josef W. Meri (Page 84)
P.S.: This article may contain spoilers for watchers of Dirilis Ertugrul.
Who were the Ayyubids?
The Ayyubid Dynasty was a Sunni Muslim Kurdish dynasty founded by Al-Malik al-Nasir Salah al-Din Abu'l Muzzafar Yusuf ibn Ayyub al-Tikriti al-Kurdi (An-Nasir Salah ad-Din Yusuf ibn Ayyub), otherwise more commonly known as Salahuddin al Ayyubi or (in the West) as Saladin.
The Ayyubid Sultanate was based in Egypt, ruling over the Levant (Shaam), Hijaz, and parts of the Maghreb (North Africa), and was loyal and pledged allegiance to the Abbasid Caliphate (in Baghdad).
Both Salahuddin and the Kurdish Ayyubid Empire are fondly remembered for uniting vast portions of the Muslim world and in particular, retaking Jerusalem from Crusader hands.
Prior to the First Crusade and the capture of Jerusalem by the Catholic Crusaders, the Muslim world was severely disunited making the Crusaders’ job much easier, but due to Salahuddin’s efforts, Jerusalem was again in Muslim hands in 1187 CE after it’s 88 year occupation of the city.
Salahuddin was said to be born in Tikrit in modern-day Iraq (Abbasid Caliphate) in 1137 CE with his personal name being "Yusuf" whilst "Salah ad-Din" being his epithet (laqab), meaning "Righteousness of the Faith".
Salahuddin’s origins was said to have been traced back to the Kurdish Rawadiya tribe which was a branch of the Hadhabani: a large medieval Sunni Muslim Kurdish tribal confederation.
His ancestors were said to have settled in the town of Dvin, in modern-day Armenia, and were the most dominant Kurdish tribe within the Hadhabani confederation, forming part of the political-military elite of the town.
The Ayyubid dynasty which Salahuddin formed in the year 1171 CE - a century after the Battle of Manzikert - was named after his father Najm ad-Dīn Ayyūb ibn Shādhi ibn Marwān.
The founder of the Oghuz Turkic Zengid Dynasty: Imad ad-Din Zengi - the (future) Atabeg of Mosul, Aleppo, Hama and Edessa - made Ayyub ibn Shadhi (father of Salahuddin) the commander of Ba’albek whereas Salahuddin’s uncle Shirkuh ibn Shadhi entered the service of the son of Imad ad-Din - Nūr ad-Dīn Abū al-Qāsim Maḥmūd ibn ʿImād ad-Dīn Zengī or more commonly known as Nur al-Din Zengi - a devoted enemy of the Crusader presence in the Muslim world, the future leader of the Zengids, and future mentor & arguably the most influential teacher of Salahuddin himself.
Salahuddin’s military career initally began under the tutelage of his aforementioned uncle Asad al-Din Shirkuh and then later Nur al-Din himself; it is said that without Nur al-Din, there probably wouldn’t be a Salahuddin (in terms of his military success, etc).
Moreover, historian Abdul Ali also mentions that it was under the care and patronage of the Zengids that the Ayyubid family eventually rose to prominence.
Salahuddin was originally sent to Fatimid Egypt in 1164 CE alongside his uncle Shirkuh, a general of the Zengid army, on the orders of Nur ad-Din to help restore Shawar ibn Mujir al-Sa'di (Shawar) as Vizier (Wazir) of the teenage Fatimid caliph Al-Adid.
Salahuddin managed to climb the ranks of the Fatimid government by virtue of his military successes against the Crusaders and his personal closeness to al-Adid.
In 1169 CE, after the passing of both Shawar and Shirkuh, al-Adid appointed Saladin as vizier of the Fatimids, which was an extremely rare nomination for a Sunni Muslim to be elected to such an important position within the Ismaili Shia dynasty.
During his tenure as Vizier, Salahuddin began to undermine the Fatimid establishment and, following al-Adid's death in 1171 CE, he abolished the Shia Fatimid Caliphate and realigned Egypt’s allegiance to the Sunni Abbasid Caliphate (in Baghdad).
Three years later, he was proclaimed Sultan of Egypt and Syria following the death of Nur al-Din by the Abbasid Caliphate.
For the next decade, the Ayyubids launched conquests throughout the region and by 1183 CE, their domains encompassed Egypt, Syria, Upper Mesopotamia, the Hejaz, Yemen and much of North Africa.
In addition, most of the Crusader states including the Kingdom of Jerusalem fell to Salahuddin after his victory at the Battle of Hattin in 1187 CE and thereby ending 88 years of Crusader occupation of Jerusalem.
After Saladin's death in 1193 CE, his sons contested control of the sultanate, but Salahuddin's brother al-Adil ultimately became the Sultan in 1200 CE, and all of the later Ayyubid Sultans of Egypt were the descendants of Al-Adil.
In the 1230s, the Emirs of Syria attempted to assert their independence from Ayyubid Egypt and the Ayyubid realm remained divided until Sultan As-Salih Ayyub restored its unity by conquering most of Syria, excluding Aleppo, by 1247 CE.
During their relatively short tenure, the Ayyubids ushered in an era of economic prosperity in the lands they ruled, and the Ayyubids were directly responsible for the resurgence in intellectual activity in the Muslim world.
The Ayyubids also pursued a strategy of constructing numerous madrasas in their major cities so as to strenghten the Sunni Muslim presence.
The Ayyubids in Aleppo
After Salahuddin had abolished the Fatimids in 1171 CE and established the Ayyubid dynasty whereby he ruled over the previous Fatimid territories, he wasn’t operating fully independently and was technically a vassal of Nur al-Din and the Zengid dynasty (though he attempted to adopt an increasingly independent foreign policy).
The death of Nur al-Din caused chaos as Al-Salih Ismail al-Malik, his son and successor was only eleven. The Zengid governors fought for power with each one of them trying to be the atabeg of Al-Salih, and one of them managed to become the guardian of the young Zengid ruler and thereby tried to eliminate the others causing the governor of Damascus to ask Salahuddin (then the Zengid Governor of Egypt) for help.
Salahuddin marched on Syria not only to offer protection to the son of his mentor but he also came with the intention of conquering the rest of Syria and entered Damascus in November 1174 CE.
The Ayyubid besieging of Aleppo and Salahuddin’s successes alarmed Al-Salih's cousin, Sayf al-Din Ghazi ibn Mawdud/Sayf al-Din Ghazi II (Ghazi II), who regarded Syria as his family's estate and was angered that it was being usurped by a former servant of Nur al-Din, and he mustered an army to confront Salahuddin near Hama but was decisively defeated.
After his victory, Salahuddin proclaimed himself as ruler and suppressed the name of As-Salih Ismail al-Malik (Nur al-Din's adolescent son) in Friday prayers and Islamic coinage, replacing it with his own name.
The Abbasid caliph, Al-Mustadi, graciously welcomed Salahuddin’s assumption of power and gave him the title of "Sultan of Egypt and Syria".
Salahuddin thereafter met Al-Salih and concluded a peace treaty with the 13-year old in 1176 CE whereby he would rule Aleppo independently for the rest of his life whilst Salahuddin ruled the rest of Syria.
After the death of Al-Salih, Salahuddin then expelled Al-Salih's relative Zengid II and entered Aleppo on 20 June 1183 CE thus ending the Zengid Dynasty.
Four generations of Ayyubids thereafter ruled over Aleppo (as Emir of Aleppo) until it was taken by the Mongols in 1260 CE: (1)Salahuddin; (2) Salahuddin’s third son Al-Malik az-Zahir Ghazi ibn Yusuf ibn Ayyub (Az-Zahir Ghazi); (3) Salahuddin’s grandson Al-Aziz Muhammad ibn Ghazi ibn Yusuf ibn Ayyub/Al-Aziz Muhammad (known in Dirilis Ertugrul as El Aziz) and (4) the last Ayyubid Emir of Aleppo, Al-Malik al-Nasir Salah al-Din Yusuf ibn al-Aziz ibn Ghazi ibn Yusuf ibn Ayyub (An-Nasir Yusuf).
In terms of the the Ayyubids of Aleppo in Dirilis Ertugrul, the series was definitely set in the time period of El Aziz Muhammad (see below) but I haven’t seen any account of the Kayi Tribe ever going to Aleppo so it’s highly likely that the Kayis settling in modern Syria is most likely fictional.
Moreover, depictions of Crusader infiltration of the Ayyubids in Aleppo also seem very fictionalised.
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Who was Emir Al-Aziz Muhammad (El Aziz)?
Not much is known about Al-Malik Al-Aziz Muhammad ibn Ghazi or Al-Aziz Muhammad, but he was said to be born in 1213 CE and was the Ayyubid Emir of Aleppo from October 1216 CE until November 1236 CE when he passed away at the very young age of twenty-three.
He was the son of Az-Zahir Ghazi and grandson of Salahuddin al Ayyubi, the liberator of Jerusalem; his mother was Dayfa Khatun, the daughter of Salahuddin’s brother Al-Adil (Al-Malik al-Adil Sayf ad-Din Abu-Bakr Ahmed ibn Najm ad-Din Ayyub/Al-Adil I).
Not much is recorded about Dayfa Khatun’s earlier life but El-Aziz’s parents’ marriage were pivotal in ending hostilities between the different branches of the Ayyubid family and managed to keep the Ayyubids united.
His mother also grew in influence after giving birth to him and even more so when she acted as a regent for her grandson - An-Nasir Yusuf - since he was only 7 years old when (his father) Al-Aziz passed away in 1236 CE.
Under her reign as regent, not only did she manage to keep the Ayyubids of Aleppo neutral from various conflicts but via this neutrality, particularly amongst the Ayyubids, she was able to broker a formal declaration from the Ayyubid Sultan of Egypt, As-Salih Ayyub himself, to allow the Ayyubids of Aleppo to be recognised as an independent state.
In Dirilis Ertugrul, she is not explicitly mentioned but both her and her husband are said to have already died making this partially incorrect, because though her husband (Az-Zahir Ghazi) had already died based on the historical timeline of the series, she in fact lived longer than Al-Aziz/El-Aziz (since as mentioned above, she was the regent of Al-Aziz’s son, An-Nasir Yusuf, after he passed away).
The series Dirilis Ertugrul itself is initially set in 1225 CE (as seen in Season 1 Ep 1) and within this same time period, we see Ertugrul Bey & his Alps being sent by Suleyman Shah as an envoy to the Ayyubids of Aleppo and El-Aziz himself.
If we take the various dates into consideration, Al-Aziz Muhammad would have only been 12 years old when Ertugrul apparently came to Aleppo, so the series not only depicts Al-Aziz much older but in fact Al-Aziz would not come to the position of leadership for another 6 years since Shihab ad-Din Tughril (see below) ruled on behalf of him for the next 15 years (until Al-Aziz reached eighteen years of age).
Moreover, I think it’s fair to say that the series didn’t depict him well at all, and he definitely came across much more naive and gullible when compared to what I have read on him.
From an actual historical stance, Al-Aziz avoided becoming drawn into the complex disputes between different members of the Ayyubid dynasty (a policy which his mother Dayfa Khatun continued in her role as regent of Al-Aziz’s son), and instead concentrated on strengthening the defences and general infrastructure of Aleppo.
Among the construction works begun by Az-Zahir Gazi and completed by Al-Aziz Muhammad were the re-fortification of the Citadel of Aleppo, and, within it, the building of the palace, the mosque, the arsenal and the water cisterns.
The Citadel has been occupied by many civilizations over time – including the Ancient Greeks, Eastern Romans (Byzantines), Ayyubids, Mongols, Mamluks, Ottomans, etc – though the majority of the construction as it stands today is thought to originate from the Ayyubid period.
The Citadel also suffered significant damages due to the ongoing civil war in Syria in the 2010s but was reopened in 2017 coinciding with the undertaking of repair; if you look closely at Aleppo in Dirilis Ertugrul, the picture below is very similar.
Who was Vizier Sahabettin/Atabey Şahabeddin Toghrul?
Known as Atabey Şahabettin/Vizier Sahabettin in Dirilis Ertugrul, not much is known about Shihab ad-Din Tughril/Shihab ad-Din Toghril.
We know that he was the Atabey or guardian of Al-Aziz Muhammad and thereafter his treasurer, as well as a Mamluk* of Az-Zahir Gazi; he was also the effective ruler of Aleppo from 1216 CE when Az-Zahir Ghazi died, until 1231 CE when Al-Aziz Muhammad officially took the reigns.
*Mamluk (also transliterated as Mameluke, mamluq, mamluke, mameluk, mameluke, mamaluke or marmeluke) is a term most commonly referring either to slave soldiers, freed slaves, Muslim converts assigned to military and administrative duties, and Muslim rulers of slave origin (most prominent of which is the Mamluk Dynasty of Egypt which repelled and saved the Muslim world from the scourge of the Mongols).
(It’s also important to recognise that the term “slave” here does not have the same connotation as to how we understand slavery, etc due to the European Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade.)
A regency council was formed when Az-Zahir Ghazi died and which appointed Shihab ad-Din Toghrul as the Atabey or guardian of Al-Aziz Muhammad and hence he acted on the young Emir’s behalf until El-Aziz reached the age of eighteen (1231 CE).
Moreover, he is presented as Al-Aziz’s uncle in Resurrection Ertugrul but this seems to be fictional and for storyline purposes.
In Resurrection: Ertugrul, he is falsely accused as having allied with the Crusaders and betrayingAl-Aziz, because the Crusaders in Season 1 of Dirilis Ertugrul are said to have aimed to infiltrate both the Ayyubids and Anatolian Seljuks, so as to sow discord between them and allow for the retaking of Jerusalem.
Hence, Vizier Sahabettin’s apparent betrayal and consequent death would make it much easier for the Crusaders to control Al-Aziz through their man in the palace, Nasir.
Sahabettin is saved in Resurrection: Ertugrul (before he was about to be executed) by Ertugrul and his Alps and finds refuge in the Kayi Tribe. Upon his return to Aleppo, he is killed in the dervish lodge by the Crusader commander Titus or under his alias, Ebu Hisham.
Who was the Chief Judge (Qadi) of Aleppo?
Though Dirilis Ertugrul does not specifically mention the name of the Qadi of Aleppo, looking at the timelines and historical data available, the Qadi of Aleppo around the year 1225 CE would have been the reputable scholar: Baha ad-Din Abu al-Mahasin Yusuf ibn Rafi ibn Shaddad or simply Baha ad-Din ibn Shaddad.
His depiction, though momentary, is not particularly good either as he is seen accepting a bribe by the Crusader spy within the Ayyubid palace - Nasir - before the aforementioned court case of Vizier Sahabettin (so as to proclaim Sahabettin guilty of his alleged crimes).
Baha ad-Din ibn Shaddad was a 12th century Muslim scholar and jurist, a Kurdish historian and well known for writing the biography of Sultan Salahuddin al Ayyubi, titled “al-Nawādir al-Sultaniyya wa'l-Maḥāsin al-Yūsufiyya” (The Sultan’s Rare Qualities and the Excellences of Yusuf [that is Saladin]).
In the book titled “The Rare and Excellent History of Saladin”, which is based on Ibn Shaddad’s work on Salahuddin, Ibn Shaddad was said to be born in Mosul, Iraq on 7 March 1145 CE (10 Ramadan 539 AH) and where he went on to study what is termed as the “sacred sciences”, namely the Quran, Hadith (sayings of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ) and Islamic law.
From there he went on to to further his studies in the Nizamiyya madrasah in Baghdad (the Nizamiyyah Madrasah of Baghdad was one of the first nizamiyyah madrasahs founded in 1065 CE, with nizamiyyah being a group of medieval institutions for higher learning founded by the Seljuk Vizier Nizam al Mulk ).
In 1204 CE, Ibn Shaddad founded his own madrasah in Aleppo - Madrasah al-Sahibiyyaa - to which he added the study of Hadith/Prophetic traditions of Muhammad ﷺ (Dar al-Hadith).
Moroever, Baha ad-Din’s diplomatic skills were also apparent and proved useful to the Ayyubids of Aleppo; he made a number of visits to Ayyubid Cairo on behalf of Al-Malik Az-Zahir Gazi in order to resolve the various disputes amongst the various Ayyubid rulers, and as mentioned earlier, also served Al-Aziz Muhammad.
In fact, in 1232 CE, he headed the delegation that went to Ayyubid Cairo so as to bring the aforementioned Fatima Khatun - daughter of the Ayyubid Sultan Al-Kamil (of Egypt) - to Aleppo in order to marry Al-Aziz Muhammad.
Whilst serving in his position as Qadi of Aleppo, he passed away on 8th November 1234 CE (14 Safar 632 AH) aged 89 years old.
Fictional Characters
Leyla Sultan: The sister of El-Aziz Muhammad and niece of Atabey Şahabeddin. She helped Ertugrul to flee from palace after he had saved Şahabeddin from being executed.
Ummulhayr Hanim: A guardian to El-Aziz and Leyla Sultan, and responsible for the internal affairs of the Ayyubid palace.
Nasir: Commander of Aleppo. Conspired against Atabey Sahabeddin and secretly a spy of the Templars and Ustad-i-Azam. Later killed by Ertugrul.
Esma/Eftelya: Another Crusader spy within the Ayyubid palace, though unlike Nasir, she takes an undercover Muslim name (Esma) whereas she is actually a Christian and her real name is Eftelya.
And Allah knows best.
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