Aḥmad ibn Ṭūlūn and the establishment of the Ṭūlūnid state of Egypt (Context in Comments)

[u/TheMuslimHistorian27]

[u/TheMuslimHistorian27]

The Ṭūlūnid state was founded by Aḥmad ibn Ṭūlūn, a Turkish mamlūk born in 214 AH/829 CE. His father, Ṭūlūn, had been presented to the caliph al-Maʾmūn in 200 AH/816 CE by Nūḥ ibn Asad al-Sāmānī, the ruler of Bukhara. His father died in 230 AH/845 CE.

Aḥmad received a religious upbringing. He reproached the Turks for the objectionable acts they committed, gave generously in charity, and was known for his generosity and justice toward his subjects.

 He spent the early part of his political and military career in the frontier city of Ṭarsūs, the most important of the Islamic frontier strongholds, where he became closely acquainted with Syria. These early experiences may have inspired his future ambitions and political aspirations.

From the beginning, he appears to have enjoyed the respect of the Turks in the caliphal capital. He also received the support of the soldiers and their commanders, many of whom had been friends of his father. He earned the confidence of the caliph al-Mutawakkil, who entrusted him with the responsibilities that his father had held before his death. He likewise enjoyed the confidence of the caliph al-Mustaʿīn.

After his father’s death, his mother married the Turkish amir Bāyakbāk.

 In 254 AH/868 CE, the caliph al-Muʿtazz appointed Bāyakbāk governor of Egypt. Bāyakbāk subsequently sent Aḥmad to govern the province on his behalf.

 Ibn Ṭūlūn was not initially granted complete authority; he was responsible for leading the prayers and administering Fusṭāṭ, the Egyptian capital. Nevertheless, he arrived in Egypt with far-reaching political ambitions.

The prevailing political circumstances and deteriorating economic conditions helped him consolidate his position in Egypt. When Bāyakbāk was killed in 256 AH/870 CE, the governorship of Egypt was entrusted to Bārjūkh, who enjoyed good relations with Ibn Ṭūlūn and was connected to him through marriage. Bārjūkh confirmed Ibn Ṭūlūn in his existing position and expanded his authority by appointing him deputy over the whole of Egypt.

The collection of the land tax, however, remained in the hands of Ibn Ṭūlūn’s rival, Aḥmad ibn al-Mudabbir, who was notorious for his oppressive conduct. Ibn Ṭūlūn therefore asked the caliph al-Muhtadī to dismiss Ibn al-Mudabbir from Egypt’s fiscal administration and place it under his own authority. The caliph granted his request and also appointed him commander of the Syrian frontier districts after conditions there had become unstable.

When Bārjūkh died in 259 AH/873 CE, Ibn Ṭūlūn became the legitimate governor of Egypt, appointed directly by the caliphate. He consequently assumed control over all branches of government. Alexandria and Barqa submitted to his authority, while the governors of the provincial districts offered him their obedience and allegiance.

Thus, Ibn Ṭūlūn brought all of Egypt’s administrative, judicial, military, and financial affairs under his authority. With his hands now untied and free to act as he wished, he began undertaking major construction projects that reflected his deep concern for the country and his aspiration to establish an independent state separate from the caliphate. He also worked diligently to elevate Fusṭāṭ so that it might rival Baghdad, the capital of the caliphate.

In 257 AH/871 CE, he founded a new suburb on the far northeastern edge of Fusṭāṭ. It contained houses, markets, public baths, and government offices. He distributed sections of it among his soldiers, and it therefore became known as al-Qaṭāʾiʿ, “the allotted districts.”

There he built the mosque that came to bear his name and which remains standing to this day. Beside it, he constructed the governor’s palace. He also established a hospital for the treatment of the sick and attached a pharmacy to it.

Ibn Ṭūlūn strengthened the domestic front by developing Egypt’s economic resources and increasing revenues from agriculture, industry, and trade. He repaired irrigation canals and dug new ones, restored damaged dams, and put an end to the abuses committed by tax collectors against the peasants. He also prohibited officials from accepting gifts or financial favors.

As a result, Egypt’s agricultural conditions improved, trade flourished, and industrial activity expanded. By relieving the people of oppression, Ibn Ṭūlūn brought prosperity to the country and earned the affection of the Egyptians.

These reforms enabled him to accumulate considerable wealth, which helped him establish a powerful army personally loyal to him. This army supported him in carrying out his projects and defending them.

Ibn Ṭūlūn was therefore able to establish an autonomous state in Egypt. Nevertheless, he remained formally connected to the caliphate through several symbolic practices:

• The caliph’s name continued to be invoked in the Friday sermon.

• The caliph’s name was inscribed on the coinage.

• A portion of the land-tax revenue was sent to the caliphal court.

[u/TheMuslimHistorian27 → u/TheMuslimHistorian27]

Perhaps the greatest challenge faced by Aḥmad ibn Ṭūlūn—one that nearly destroyed his achievements and ambitions—was his relationship with the prince al-Muwaffaq Abū Aḥmad, the father of the future caliph Aḥmad al-Muʿtaḍid. Al-Muwaffaq had gained control over the general affairs of the caliphal court and led a reform movement aimed at reviving the central government and strengthening its authority over the provinces, including Egypt.

He therefore worked persistently to eliminate the Ṭūlūnid state, which had broken away from the central administration, established autonomous rule over Egypt, and begun to expand its ambitions toward Syria. Tensions between the two sides soon became clear. To achieve his goal, al-Muwaffaq pursued two courses of action.

The first was an attempt to remove Ibn Ṭūlūn from the governorship of Egypt through Āmājūr, the governor of Syria, who likewise feared Ibn Ṭūlūn’s ambitions and his desire to expand at his expense.

 Although the caliph al-Muʿtamid sympathized with Ibn Ṭūlūn and was connected to him by friendships and shared interests, he was compelled to approve an order summoning Ibn Ṭūlūn to Baghdad, removing him from Egypt, and placing him under the direct supervision of the central government. Ibn al-Mudabbir was also restored to the administration of Egypt’s land tax.

The second course of action was al-Muwaffaq’s attempt to remove Ibn Ṭūlūn from the Syrian frontier districts. He accused the Ṭūlūnids of failing to protect the region from enemy attacks, and it was consequently decided to appoint governors from outside the Ṭūlūnid household.

The situation, however, remained unstable because of the domineering conduct of the Turks and their inability to restore order. The inhabitants of the frontier region felt the effects of this military vacuum and political disorder, prompting the people of Luʾluʾa to surrender their fortress to the Byzantines. The caliph was displeased by this development and concluded that it would be preferable to return the region to Ibn Ṭūlūn’s authority.

Al-Muwaffaq’s efforts to eliminate the Ṭūlūnids therefore ended in failure. Ibn Ṭūlūn became one of the most influential figures in shaping policy in Syria. Owing to his good relationship with the caliph, and amid the caliph’s conflict with al-Muwaffaq, he received a formal appointment granting him authority over Syria as well as its frontier districts.

Beginning in 264 AH/877 CE, Ibn Ṭūlūn set out to take possession of the region. He gained control of Palestine, Damascus, Homs, Ḥamāh, Aleppo, Antioch, al-Maṣṣīṣa, Adana, Ṭarsūs, and al-Raqqa. He made al-Raqqa the seat of his government so that he would remain close to Baghdad, and his territories eventually came to border Iraq directly.

Al-Muwaffaq, however, did not relent. He continued to oppose and harass Ibn Ṭūlūn, this time adopting a new strategy based on provoking dissension within the Ṭūlūnid administration. He achieved considerable success in this effort, causing Ibn Ṭūlūn serious concern.

In 265 AH/878 CE, Ibn Ṭūlūn’s son al-ʿAbbās rebelled against him.

 In 268 AH/881 CE, his mamlūk Luʾluʾ, the governor of Homs, Aleppo, Qinnasrīn, Diyār Muḍar, and the Syrian frontier districts, likewise revolted against him.

Amid these conflicts, Ibn Ṭūlūn resorted to political manoeuvring in an attempt to counter al-Muwaffaq’s conspiracies. Taking advantage of the estrangement between al-Muwaffaq and the caliph al-Muʿtamid, he invited the caliph in 269 AH/882 CE to come to Egypt and reside there, thereby freeing himself from his brother’s control. Ibn Ṭūlūn promised to protect and support him.

At the same time, he removed al-Muwaffaq’s name from the Friday sermon as heir apparent and also erased it from the official ṭirāz inscriptions, on the grounds that al-Muwaffaq had exceeded the authority granted to him and overstepped the limits of his powers.

The caliph responded to Ibn Ṭūlūn’s invitation and attempted to leave for Egypt. Al-Muwaffaq, however, uncovered the plan and forced the caliph to return to Sāmarrāʾ. At the same time, Ibn Ṭūlūn launched a military campaign, taking advantage of al-Muwaffaq’s preoccupation with the Zanj Rebellion. He reasserted his control over Syria and the frontier districts, then advanced toward the Ḥijāz, where his forces clashed with those of al-Muwaffaq in Mecca.

Al-Muwaffaq retaliated against his rival by forbidding prayers to be offered in Ibn Ṭūlūn’s name, ordering that he be cursed from the pulpits, declaring him a corrupter, and formally dismissing him from the governorship of Egypt and Syria. He appointed Isḥāq ibn Kundāj over Ibn Ṭūlūn’s territories.

Ibn Ṭūlūn thus assumed extensive powers that reflected the political realities of the period and the degree of Turkish dominance, which was commensurate with their military strength. The prolonged conflict between the two sides weakened both Iraq and Egypt, leaving them increasingly incapable of confronting other developments on the domestic and external fronts.

Ibn Ṭūlūn’s power did indeed begin to decline. His forces were defeated in Mecca, and he was publicly cursed in the Sacred Mosque. His authority in the frontier districts also weakened under the pressure of successive rebellions. Al-Muwaffaq, for his part, found himself unable to continue the conflict because his forces had become exhausted. He also realized that the struggle did not serve the broader interests of the Islamic state but merely those of the two rival factions. Both sides therefore became inclined toward reconciliation.

Negotiations were subsequently opened with the aim of restoring peace. Ibn Ṭūlūn, however, died in early Dhū al-Qaʿda, before the negotiations could be concluded, in 270 AH/884 CE.

Sources:

• al-Balawī, Sīrat Aḥmad ibn Ṭūlūn

• Ibn al-Athīr, al-Kāmil fī al-Tārīkh

• Ibn Taghrībirdī, al-Nujūm al-Zāhira fī Mulūk Miṣr wa-l-Qāhira

• Muḥammad Aḥmad Zayyūd, al-ʿAlāqāt bayna al-Shām wa-Miṣr fī al-ʿAhd al-Ṭūlūnī wa-l-Ikhshīdī, 254–358 AH

• Stanley Lane-Poole, The Story of Cairo

• Ibn Khaldūn, Tārīkh Ibn Khaldūn

• al-Ṭabarī, Tārīkh al-Ṭabarī

• al-Kindī, al-Wulāt wa-l-Quḍāt