AYYUBIDS

AYYUBIDS , dynasty of sultans in Egypt and Syria (1171–1250). The founder of the Kurdish family of Ayy?b was one of the commanders of Zang?, a freed Turkish slave and one of the greatest emirs in the court of Malik Sh?h the Seljuk (1072–92). His son *Saladin Yusuf, who was educated in Syria in the Turkish-Seljuk military tradition, succeeded in founding the Ayyubid dynasty in 1171, in conquering Jerusalem in 1187, and expanding his country from Egypt to East Asia in the east and Yemen to the south. Even before his death Saladin divided his country between his sons and his brothers. One of his sons, al-Malik al-Af?al, received Damascus in 1186 and Ere? Israel, but his uncle ?Adil took Damascus from him in 1196. The second son, al-Malik al-??hir (1186–1216), received Aleppo. But ?Adil, the brother of Saladin, succeeded in the early 13^th century in uniting most of the areas under him. After his death in 1218, the Ayyubid rulers were compelled to fight harsh wars with the Crusaders, losing Safed, Tiberias, and Ashkelon. In 1229 ?Adil's son, the sultan Kamil (1218–38), who ruled in Egypt and in Ere? Israel, gave Emperor Frederick ii Jerusalem and Bethlehem, as well as a corridor of free passage to them from Jaffa. In 1244 with the aid of the Khw?rizmis Jerusalem was returned to ??li? the Ayyubid (1240–49), the ruler of Egypt and Syria. An energetic sultan, ??li? succeeded in uniting almost all the kingdom of Saladin under him. His death and the murder of his son al-Mu?azzam T?r?n Sh?h put an end to the Ayyubid dynasty, and after ten years of changes of succession, the Mamluks established their reign in Egypt (Baybars, 1260). Ayyubid rule only lasted about 80 years and was accompanied by many wars. Despite this, the Ayyubid reign was a period of cultural development. Their devotion to orthodox sunna Islam, their war against the sects of the shi?a, and their concern for the spread of learning did not affect their tolerance toward Jews and Christians. Saladin opened Jerusalem to the Jews in 1190, and the number of Jews in Ere? Israel increased under the Ayyubids. *Egyptian Jewry also benefited from the stable regime and Jewish scholars from Christian countries settled in Egypt.

bibliography:

Mann, Egypt, 1 (1920), 255–8; Mann, Texts, 1 (1931), 412–34; Ashtor, Toledot, 1 (1944), 46f., 117–24; eis; eis³. add. bibliography: N.A. Stillman, "The Non-Muslim Communities: The Jewish Community" and M. Chamberlain, "The Crusader Era and the Ayyubid Dynasty," in: The Cambridge History of Egypt, vol. 1; Petry, C.F. (ed.), Islamic Egypt, 640–1517 (1998), 198–211, 211–42.

[Haïm Z'ew Hirschberg]